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 lthough Lucy’s food lineup has been just fine, the service has sabotaged it. My recent meals have been endurance tests of disorganized and confusing service, which is overwrought and ineffective. Basically this is a small, ordinary-looking restaurant on the King West strip. The combination of good café food, merciful prices and the buzz fills its tables most nights.
When we arrive one Saturday night, lucky customers fill all the seats and hopefuls hang nearby, staring them down. This is our first chance to look around. The small room is packed with tables crammed with a fairly hip crowd. Decor is understated and plain, our view is somewhat obscured by people coming and going. The menu (Italian) is nicely balanced. From a selection of mostly Pizzas and Pastas, Hello Lucy covers everything one would hope to find in a small Italian eatery.
Our entrées floated in mere moments after we'd begun our appetizers -- a true sign of a kitchen more concerned with productivity than grace -- and we felt forced to choose between plates. And If you're lucky, you’ll get adequate service. Should you have the bad fortune of being seated on a busy night, service can be negligent. One reader reported waiting two hours for a main course only to be told the chef had gone on holiday and the waiters were doing their best to help in the kitchen. - B.J.
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 AT A GLANCE
Hey Lucy Cafe
295 King Street West Toronto, ON
416-408-3633
Contemporary
Entertainment District
Venue:
Bistro
Hours:
Mon. to Sun.: 12:00pm - 3:00pm 5:00pm - 11:00pm
Price Range:
$$ (Affordable)
Payment:
Master Card, Visa, American Express
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THE BUZZ
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IN THE AREA
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18 Reader Reviews | Initially we had a positive experience with a friendly, if spacy waitress and a pleasant ambience on the rooftop patio. When we arrived it was about midnight and we didn't think to ask about when they closed, as it was a Friday night and most places close at 1am or after. Just before 1 am we were informed that it was last call and were given our bill (it had to be taken back and corrected, as we were charged for an item we didn't order). We paid up within 10 min and were informed they'd be closing soon. We assumed we'd have some time to finish our pitcher and we planned on leaving within the next 15 min. or so. 10 min. later a dark-haired man of medium build approached us and very rudely told us "Look guys, it's time to leave, we need you to go now!". I said he didn't need to be so rude (calmly, if pretty shocked) and he said that we were being rude by still be there, as if they had repeatedly asked us to go and we had ignored them. If it had been clearly communicated to us that they were closing within a specific period of time and that everyone in the place was going home, OBVIOUSLY we would have gone quickly. We were quiet and respectful and could at least have been given the benefit of the doubt(if they felt somehow we were ignoring them etc.) and be treated respectfully. My boyfriend remained seated and said he was going to finish his drink on principal and the guy tried to take his glass and asked him if he was going to be a dick about it. Really classy service. I appreciate they may have been tired etc. but to treat customers that way is disgraceful. We were walked out the door and the staff watched us from inside as we said our goodbyes to our friends from the UK. Needless to say we were deeply embarassed by the treatment they received as visitors to our city. Obviously we won't recommend this place to anyone and have shared our story.
1. Mel's Review :: August 11, 2008 Mel's Rating: 1 Stars |
I recently moved from N.Y.C to Toronto due to a company transfer. On my last trip to finalize the deal, I was invited by company executives for Martini's to your Bistro. I found that the atmosphere was excellent, and the service was outstanding. The host was very pleasent and made a point to find the right seating to accommadate all of us. I must say, that staff gave us all the time to order, and we did not feel rushed into ordering,eating, drinking and getting pushed out the door for the next group of customers. The food was great, and the double Martini's were even better. Overall coming from a very fast paced out the door city, I would be glad to go back, in fact I will be meeting a client for double Martini's next Wednesday. Great atmosphere and cheap double Martini's, can't ask for more.I would recommend this facility to everyone.
2. Vicky's Review :: August 08, 2008 Vicky's Rating: 4 Stars |
I also used to go here all the time for Wednesday night $3.50 martinis.. not anymore. The service is unacceptably slow, which I was ok with.
The past 4-5 times I went there my party was overcharged. One time they added 2 appetizers to our bill that we didn't order. And every single time we were charged extra martinis. CHECK YOUR BILL very carefully. The drinks are really watered down and so people end up ordering about 8 martinis each, and lose track. Go somewhere else and you just have to order 2.
This place has gone downhill in the past few years, it's too bad.
3. SS's Review :: July 29, 2008 SS's Rating: 2 Stars |
I was there recently on a Wednesday evening for their $3.50 martinis, and I was prepared for the worst after all the bad press the place had received. I think they're trying to turn things around though, because the drinks were good, the food came out 10 min. after ordering, I had no complaints about the service and even the bouncer was helpful. It's no high quality restaurant and their martinis aren't the best I've ever had, but from my experience, it was a nice place with cheap drinks (on Wednesdays) with a lively atmosphere and decent service. Overall, no better or worse than most places you go to.
4. Ioana's Review :: July 09, 2008 Ioana's Rating: 3 Stars |
Yes they have cheap drinks, but if you don't mind the absent-minded to down-right rude service, dirty martini glasses, and deplorable bathroom conditions (I can only imagine how unsanitary their kitchen must be), then this is your place! There are far too many dining establishments in Toronto for me to ever step foot in this place again.
5. Geets's Review :: April 28, 2008 Geets's Rating: 1 Stars |
This place was awful. Service was slow and rude. I would never suggest this place to anyone. Bitchy bartender had one too many half price martinis that night too.
6. Nick's Review :: March 27, 2008 Nick's Rating: 1 Stars |
Thanks for the reviews everyone...I was going to visit this bar after watching a play tonight but after reading about the poor service I'll take my business elsewhere!
7. Lady's Review :: February 21, 2008 Lady's Rating: 1 Stars |
Service was very very slow and the hot meal came almost at the same time as the salads.Getting and paying the bill took forever to the point we went to the cash ourselves.
The washrooms were very dirty and no soap was available.Hope the kitchens were cleaner
Wouldn't recommend to friends.
8. Brenda's Review :: January 11, 2008 Brenda's Rating: 1 Stars |
Met a bunch of friends on the very quaint patio to a fun fulfilled night of the worst service I have ever experienced in my life. It took 30 minutes to get served our first drink and over an hour for spring rolls to arrive.
It took 30 minutes for the waitress to bring our bill…we paid and left. As we were stepping into the cab, the server ran after us because she forgot to charge us for 2 drinks, she made us go back inside to pay. Perhaps she should have paid with the $14 tip I gave her which she did not deserve.
At this point, the manager (pretty woman with long dark hair) was incredibly rude, to an unacceptable and offensive level. Our entire party probably spent around $400 throughout the night and they made us come back, due to their error and pay for 2 more drinks. Don’t get me wrong, I always pay what I owe, at this point, we were half in the taxi.
The manager's excuse for the bad service was that one of the waitresses was new and being trained, but I can see from the above reviews “Hey Lucy” Café repeatedly has bad service, perhaps they are just training this waitress to uphold this tradition.
9. Deb Jabroni's Review :: August 17, 2007 Deb Jabroni's Rating: 1 Stars |
I've been going to Hey Lucy for their 3.50 martinis on wednesdays for about the past 4 years. Yes service is slow, the hostess can be unpleI've been going to Hey Lucy for their 3.50 martinis on Wednesdays for about the past 4 years. Yes service is slow, the hostess can be unpleasant, and the wait long…so why do we keep coming back? Those good old Jolly Rancher martinis (the Lucy is good too). In order to ensure a fun night, all you have to do is keep a couple of things in mind.
1.The place is TINY, and jam packed on a Wednesday so trying to get your group of 8 seated ALTOGETHER is frankly not so smart. Break it up into smaller groups (3/4) and table switch from time to time
2.Order your next martini when the waitress BRINGS you your current order…that way you know you’ll get the next one in good time.
3.And as for the wait…well suck it up! It’s worth it. We’ve gone there, been told it’s an hour and a half wait, gone for dinner somewhere else, and tried again a couple of hours later and only waited 15 minutes. And it’s seriously not that bad if you’re only trying to seat 2 to 4 people.
Enjoy!
10. Alicia's Review :: June 06, 2007 Alicia's Rating: 3 Stars |
Hey Lucy's used to be a place where the group of our friends would be excited to go to since on Wednesday's they'd have $3.50 martini's.
A group of friends met up this past Wednesday to enjoy a few drinks, although we knew that we were going to be expecting a line-up.
Usually when there's a line-up the people in the front of the line are to be served first, not the people behind. DUMBASS! So whoever is managing this place needs to RE-TRAIN their incompetent staff. You know two groups of four were let in before us, YES! THAT'S RIGHT!!! 4+4= 8. That's how many people we had. Who cares if that's the way the restaurant is set up,you stupid BIYATCH. The tables aren't bolted to the floor, rearrange the tables. We saw two tables right infront of our eyes that could have easily been rearranged.
The sercurity guard was busy getting cheap thrills from a hoesbag, who arrived an hour after us and accomodated her ugly ass, and her group of friends before us. That pathetic slut. I'm not going to show you my stomach and give you a hug so you could feel my breasts. Screw that shit!!!
After two hours, and most of the line cleared out behind us (imagine that), we decided to leave because we knew that we were not going to be accomodated. And as we left the stupid hostess made a rude comment that made me wish very horrible things upon her.
So anyway, $3. 50 martinis are cheap at Hey Lucy's, that's their theme. Cheap drinks, Cheap security guard, cheap looking-ass waitresses and cheap bleached dumb blonde hostess. Don't go there unless you like HORRIBLE service. Trust me, even when we did get to go in, the service was terrible. I'm not being bitter just because we didn't get to get in last Wednesday.
11. Gen's Review :: May 28, 2007 Gen's Rating: 1 Stars |
a bunch of my friends and I always used to go to Hey Lucy's for $3.50 Martinis on Wednesdays. A couple of nights ago we tried to go again and we waited in line just like everyone else for ONE hour. We were at the front of the line and an hour later we were last, because everyone else behind us had gotten seated. Mind you we were 8 people so we didnt complain much. However the way the hostess treated us was absolutely unproffessional and RUDE! Not only did not she not care that we had been waiting that long but she just ignored us hoping we would just leave. After a few minutes we decided to leave so as we turn around to cross the street I hear her say to her other friend "OH Thank GOd they're leaving!!!"
In other words, service is absolutely terrible! A complaint letter has been sent but I am sure nothing will come out of it because I think the kind of owner or manager who hires such rude ignorant and racist rich blondes just because they have nice tits obviously would not care about unsatisfied customers!
I don't think it's too much to ask for...I will never go back to this place and neither will any of my friends!
12. Andrew's Review :: May 27, 2007 Andrew's Rating: 1 Stars |
This restaurant had a beautiful relaxed atmosphere. It is definiatly one of those places that you can enjoy an evening in. I say evening in because you have to be willing to wait for food and drinks at times. There kitchen is small so only so much food can be made at a time. So be willing to wait. Its well worth it.
13. Cara's Review :: May 13, 2007 Cara's Rating: 3 Stars |
food was really awefully. I ordered a pasta which sauce seemed to be from the Can. I think that I should have bought the cream sauce from the supermarket and made it myself at home should be better off.
Anyhow, I do not think that they care for quality of food there.
I heard that they ordered the pizza from another store for their customer's order. I stopped going there when we saw a mice around the dining area.
14. J.b. Homes's Review :: April 13, 2007 J.b. Homes's Rating: 1 Stars |
First of all - thank you - to the individual that provided the advanced warning of the having a large group for dinner upstairs. Unfortunately, I didn't make the reservation, and only read the review as I was walking out the door. Long story short...the assessment was bang on.
The Bill - no flexibility to create multiple bills, for a combined 20 people
Waitress - up and down the stairs was obviously a chore, which explains why we didn't see her very often.
Food - I'm sure they have no salt left...it was clearly used to saturate every dish they served.
15. Brian's Review :: December 16, 2006 Brian's Rating: 1 Stars |
my frnds and i went after work on a wednesday for a martini or two. i'd like to be able to rate the drinks but after waiting for 35 minutes for 3 martinis we left. i'd also like to accurately rate the service but the site doesn't let me rate anything lower than a 1. put if this way, the service is like the coldest day in winnipeg in the middle of january, -50.
16. RD's Review :: April 30, 2006 RD's Rating: 1 Stars |
The owner was very very rude and tried to rip us off.
A friend spoke to the owner a few days in advance and was told that we could have the room upstairs with a bartender and waitress as long as we had over 30 people. We had 40 plus and were, as usual, very thirsty and a bit famished. The owner did not provide us with a bartender, and gave us a waitress that had to go downstairs and up with every tray and order. The owner made her take all the orders as one bill. As service was quite slow, I went to the bar downstairs to get a drink. The friend who had organized our visit to Hey Lucy's was talking to the owner about his not meeting his end and making it one bill. He was very short and unchanging in his forceful attitude. It was mentioned that one waitress traipsing up and down the stairs was not enough for 40 plus and I decided to add my 2 cents, telling him that I was at the bar because I wasn't going to be served quite a while, and he said "That's BULL, I've been here alone with six hundred people and they've all gotten served." It is very insulting to be told you are wrong in such tones and words, especially given that I had waited to put an order in upstairs for a good while.
When the time came for everyone to leave, after 1 1/2 hours +, the waitress was tallying the bill and the owner told her to just charge us $700. When she said that it wasn't the price of the bill, he insisted on her charging $700. When the organizer saw that the bill was very clearly wrong she took it to the waitress, who had walked up and down the stairs at least 30-40 times, and the waitress barely contained her look of sorry.
It took some words of dissapointment and some hard eyes on the owner for him to scramble for the "supposed" actual bill.
It would have been so easy to please us. We're certainly willing to spend money, enjoy an atmosphere and come back with more friends.
The owner dicked us around and tried to steal from us.
17. B's Review :: March 03, 2006 B's Rating: 1 Stars |
This place is really cute, especially if you get the chance to sit on their patio. It's quaint, hip and romantic. Generous portions for generous prices. Servive could be better, but not too cumbersome.
18. Diana's Review :: January 31, 2006 Diana's Rating: 3 Stars |
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295 King Street West Toronto, ON |
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MBO Toronto :: Toronto Restaurants & Dining Guide
