So for this Thanksgiving Weekend my boyfriend and I decided to go to Buffalo. From Toronto it’s roughly 2 hours of driving but factor in an extra 30 minutes or so for border times. We tried crossing the Rainbow Bridge and it was fucking busy. When we went back to Toronto, we paid a toll but passed by the Peace Bridge which was 10x faster. For an average-sized car, the toll charge is around $3.25. We went to 2 shopping malls: Walden Galleria and Fashion Outlets Mall. Both are about 25-30 minutes apart from each other, with Walden Galleria being further away from the border. Walden Galleria is your average mall (similar to something like Markville Mall) but offers 2 things that can’t be found in Toronto: Cheesecake Factory and DSW (place to buy shoes). Fashion Outlet is like a replica of Toronto’s newest outlet mall, in other words not really worth going lols. I don’t regret going because I did buy “some” stuff and Cheesecake Factory is honestly one of my favourite restaurants. Let’s now take a look at the review.
Atmosphere:
It’s a family-oriented restaurant but that doesn’t mean couples can’t enjoy the decor. The chairs and tables are quite comfy but my complaint is that there isn’t enough space in between. The restaurant itself is quite big and they have probably one of the biggest waiting areas I’ve seen (which by the way is always full) but due to its popularity the place is always crowded. It’s quite beautiful outside and inside which is great for photo-whores like myself except the lighting is more on the dim side.
Service:
Pretty average, no complaints and no compliments here. What I do like is that they give you a button that vibrates when your table is ready. This is quite similar to McMaster’s Bistro restaurant and Gal Sushi in Markham. The limitation is that the button can only be functional within the restaurant/waiting area.
Food:
There are too many choices. It’s good that you can choose basically anything out of the menu but I didn’t know what to order. We all know that you HAVE to order the cheesecake but what else? I ordered the Shepherd’s Pie and my boyfriend ordered some salmon dish. Both can be found under the lunch specials which was I think $13-16 USD. My boyfriend commented that it was a bit expensive but if you see the portions that they gave you…I say it’s fair. The cheesecake itself is definitely decent but because we were so full, we never got to fully taste its quality.
Price:
Cheesecake Factory is not cheap but it’s not super overpriced. You do pay for the decoration, its portion and the quality of the food. I don’t recommend ordering any of the entrees unless you are sharing or want to take the leftovers home. And my greatest suggestion is that you leave LOTS OF ROOM for the cheesecake because that slice is HUGE. I’d prefer if they lowered each dish by $2-3USD but it’s a restaurant I think everyone should try at least once.
MY RATING: 3,8/5
CHEESECAKE RATING: 4.3/5
ACTUAL RATING: 3.5/5
The Sophisticated Farm 