Essence of Unionville

Last year was excellent and lots of people. Somehow this year is less than half of the people. Food was much better last year. The service was ok, example there was no soup bowls until I asked for it. Then they didn’t put out soup spoons and small plates for soup bowls. Remember the price is $65 plus service charge, so I expected a little bit better organized.

Went to try their afternoon tea buffet, the food was sadly very underwhelming. Almost the entire selection of cakes and pastries were store-bought, maybe 3-4 items at most were made in-house (the difference in taste was noticeable). Unfortunately for a restaurant inside of a hotel, the overall experience was disappointing. Perhaps their lunch or dinner options may be more promising.

Seafood bar was bad, crab is not fresh, shrimp is literally still frozen, the roast beef was okay but nothing special, nobody should eat their sushi and dessert is probably the worst out of all.

Disappointing. Made reservations for Father’s Day and when we got there were told the buffet closes in 30 mins (it was only 9:30). If they were clearing breakfast for brunch they shouldn’t have take out reservation. The food was also mediocre- not worth $24 pp. Used to be better

Food was great but seating us out in the hall by the window and far from the food wasnt ideal... especially after we made reservations in advance. Also, we were asked asked if we were celebrating an occasion thinking wes get some kind of bonus but nobody did anything... not even wish us a Happy Anniversary!

Comfortable afternoon tea buffet experience with great selection of food & dessert 👍🏻

Food was excellent and our servers were very attentive. Thank you for the great experience.

The food is okay but the service needs improvement. 1 our server gave us the bill without us asking it first 2 there was a lousy kid who make noise with his ballon but the server does not care

Service was poor, slow, unattentibe. My ravioli came out of the kitchen with a heap of cream sauce that was dried out as if it sat under a slaw set overnight for a long time. Pasta was clumped together and dry. Didn’t eat most of it. Waiter never asked how the food was after placing the dishes and when he saw all of it left over, never asked if we were not happy with the food. Bad all around!

Ordered a 5 course Valentine dinner with my wife. 1st and 2nd course came, but they missed 3rd course and served 4th. We had to ask the waiter and had it served afterwards. The waiter also didn't clear our finished empty plates and expected us to move the plates over so he can put down the food. Lastly, all ladies were suppose to receive a rose at the end, our waiter forgot about that also. Other that issues with the waiter, food was quite good.

Great atmosphere, good food and friendly service. Will visit again

Nice brunch with a fair amount of variety. Family enjoyed the outing. I think the price was wrong on our bill but we paid anyway. Food was very good and the hotel setting is good. I am sure we will come again in the future.

Food variety is too limited for a $29 afternoon tea buffet.

We were delighted with the excellent service, communication re special occasion, seating and fine food. The lunch menu was original and tasty. We were seated at the window looking outside where we enjoyed the outside scenery. A lovely birthday cake was prepared and served. Thank you.

Menu not extensive but very good food. Comfortable seating and medium to low noise level. Very good and friendly service. Overall a fine dining experience.

Amazing buffet at a good price. The selection is generous and varied. The staff are incredibly observant and never let your glass go dry.

Food was pretty good and reasonably priced. However, If I want to summarize our experience in a sentence, we did not feel welcomed. They said there was a big event going on but the restaurant was almost empty that did not make sense. Servers were not are attentive. Their Attitude was not so welcoming either.

...the restaurant was very clean and bright...we were early, so had a booth...very comfortable with some privacy...servers were friendly and efficient...we were catered to but not rushed...the food was fresh, perfectly cooked and artistically presented...we have been here before and will be here again in the future for another special meal...thanks...

We booked for buffet for 9:30AM. We were seated at 9:45AM and told that buffet would finish by 10AM. Brunch buffet would not start until 11:30. We should have been informed when we were seated that buffet would be finishing and given the choice to come in or leave. Our server was good enough to waive our buffet charges and we ended up ordering a la carte from with choices the of the same food they were serving at the buffet. This put quite a damper on what was suppose to be a birthday celebration. We will not be back.

Service was great.
The veal is excellent as recommanded by server over the beef steak.
The Singapore noodles were not as good as anticipated.
Setting was veey good , but our seats were not too comfortable.

My family had brunch this past Sunday for Father's Day at Essence of Unionville. We have eaten a number of times before at the brunch buffet and have been very happy with the experience. This time, not so much. The live music, omelette station and service were excellent. The buffet itself was disappointing compared with previous experiences, in terms of the number of items as well as the diversity of the items offered... especially for a special occasion like Father's Day.

Great food and Service. Good location and free parking by the hotel.

Milan, our server, was great, very helpful and very nice. Halibut was quite delicious with tasty veggies and potatoes. Everyone was so friendly. There is something about lobby bars that really appeals to me.

The food was excellent, but the service was very poor. We went for brunch (buffet), and were not offered coffee or water. When we asked for coffee, the waiter brought one cup and did not ask if anyone else wanted coffee. I had to ask for a refill and the waiter did not ask if anyone else wanted a refill. We had to bus our own plates or ask for assistance several times. The service was almost non-existent. Too bad, because the food is very good.

Highly recommended

I have been here for brunch in the past and was impressed that's why I thought it would be a nice place to have Easter brunch, but I must say the quality this time was missing. I had the eggs Benedict but the bun was very hard and the eggs dry. I tried the omelette station but the egg white in the omelette was not cooked and very runny. I liked that they offered meat alternatives but they were cold and rubbery. They added an 18% service charge but the service was not that great to be honest, plates were left of the table and for a buffet I usually only give 15% and that is if the service is exceptional. I don;t know what happened to this once great place, but unfortunately I will not be returning. I

We had a show at the Markham Flato theatre across the street, it was the closest location. It is in a Hotel, and hotel food is usually a bit high in price but they have a captive audience. We paid about $37 each for a buffet. The Roast beef was excellent, and the deserts were very nice. The Buffet was a new addition, first night, so it should get better.

If we were going out for something special, don't think I would go there, but for a good meal across the street from the show it was worth it.

PS: The Tower Of Power show was great!!!!

Food selection was less than desirable, especially for the price we paid. Buffet with no soup, no carve station and no fruits. Totally unexpected.

We were there the first night of the Spring Buffet and the food was delicious. There were many options for both of us, a meat lover and a veggie lover.

Afternoon tea buffet. Least variety. Too sweet. Better goto cake shop to eat. Not worth.

Excellent service from the greeter, waiter Paul. Food quality was excellent and worth the value of quality and price

Very professional welcoming, table nice and clean, good table location. Food is one of best, for brunch, I have complimented the chefs. Servers were professional. Pricing reasonable.
I recommend this place, at least for brunch. Parking was free, courtesy of Open Table restaurant.

Starting with the positives.....lobby and restaurant are beautiful. For the price it is good value for a Sunday buffet brunch in a hotel. The service was attentive and friendly however you have to ask for coffee - they don't offer it. Having said that, the water and orange juice was filled without asking. The lunch foods on the buffet are very good as is the sushi and dessert choices. The egg station chef was great and very accommodating to our requests.

Now for the not so great.......when we got to the hotel we parked and paid for parking at the machines as you're instructed to do. When we got to the dining room they had a clipboard to fill in your license plate for free parking. ??? When I asked the hostess why we weren't told about free parking BEFORE we paid she advised that it was because we booked through Open Table and didn't offer to rectify the situation. Not happy that our party of 8 (with 4 cars) each paid $6.00 when we didn't have to.

The breakfast item choices are limited. There's the omelette/egg station which is nice. They have bacon and sausages and eggs benedict that unfortunately were dried out and looked very unhappy with the sauce completed hardened on the eggs. No waffles, pancakes or French toast which is almost unheard of for a buffet brunch. No toast or breads or any kind except for croissants and some rolls. They have a beautiful display of smoked salmon and then offer cream cheese in those little packages you find in the holder on the table at a diner, but there's nothing to put the cream cheese and smoked salmon on except for a roll or a croissant.

So all in all, if you know in advance that you don't have to pay $24.00 for parking like we did and you're looking for a nice venue for a large group with good food albeit limited choices for a lower than average Sunday Brunch Buffet price I would recommend Essense. If you're not worried about spending the extra $15.00 or $20.00 there may be better options available.

We loved the booth because it was private so we could talk. The service was amazing. The food that we ordered was amazing with every dish better than the other. My wife wanted to try different dishes and we very satisfied with everything. I would definitely recommend this restaurant to everyone.

Great choice. Good food. Nice seats. Good for gatherings.

Nothing special. Pizza had bought in crusts. Not gourmet. Steak was good. Very quiet place to chat.

Food and services were not up to Hilton standard. Bread was not serve with soup until we ask for it, and spoon was dirty.

Server took 20 minutes to take our order. The restaurant was 30% full, with two waiters.

Great place for brunch. I went for a Breakfast meeting and the ambiance was good. Food was good and lots of healthy options.

Attentive service! Well done Paul! Nice table by the window and lots of parking