Library Bar - Fairmont Royal York

The server was really really nice. The sandwiches and dessert were stale. They brought my tea out luke warm, and the tea leaves couldnt steep properly. The service was extremly slow, took me 10 mins to waive someone down to add hot water to my teapot. The ambience smelled like mold - not appealing at all. Way over priced for what it's worth. Much better places in Toronto for high tea. This place did not live up to luxury standards, more like a hole in the wall.

Beautiful and delightful! ‘High’ tea expectations! Wonderful service and lovely atmosphere! I could eat scones and cream all day!

My mom and her two friends had an absolute blast have ranted and raved about the level of service of all of the staff.
Their waiter was very attentive and friendly. They especially enjoyed speaking with Ilda who was part of the staff.

The food was fresh, and beautifully presented- and the quality was top notch.

Noteworthy mentions are the burata and the crab cakes.

Thank you for providing a beautiful desert tray for Jill’s birthday - the little touches truly go a long way in making a dining experience memorable.

I am told that they now want to make the library bar a monthly event.

Always a pleasure at the Library Bar and that is why we return. Always graciously greeted by Marina "the hostess with the mostest" and the service provided by Christopher (CJ) was excellent and very attentive. Food was excellent and did not feel rushed. An enjoyable 3 hours. Will be back at the end of the month and next month to celebrate my birthday.

Staying at the Fairmont Royal York is a special occasion in itself but when you’re needing extra special treatment you must dine at the Library Bar with a glass of Prosecco to top it off. Thank you Marina, Ilda and all the staff for making this stay a memorable one 🍾♥️♥️

Afternoon tea

Excellent service. But the food at high tea was unimaginative & some pastries were dry.

When you’re greeted by a hostess like Marina there’s nothing else to say except amazing. She’s a Huge bonus to a great welcome. Thank you @Fairmont Royal York and thank You Marina for a warm Royal welcome... as always!! ♥️♥️

Brilliant - all round excellence; highly recommended. Would go time and time again

Excellent atmosphere, specially for business meetings. I enjoyed the food and overall price was reasonable. I had the onion soup and I was absolutely top-notch.

Yes but only for the service and ambiance. Otherwise, the food was average unfortunately. For $55 and the status that the Royal York holds, one would expect a higher grade and more abundant offering of savoury items. Sweets were nice but also average.

We needed a quiet time with our friend and were able to have that. Our waiter was unobtrusive and yet we had everything at our fingertips. Will go back again and again.

Update: Today I was contacted by a Mr. Rejeant on behalf of the Library Bar. Mr. Rejeant kindly apologised to myself and the rest of the ladies in our party for our unfortunate champagne bath. He recognised that not enough was done at the time of the incident, apologised and amends for the situation. Very classy indeed! I was happy with the way that he followed up and will return to the Library Bar in the future.


I hosted a small baby shower for my cousin this past weekend. Service was good up until the Champaign from that table behind us sprayed all of us. My hair was drenched, my pregnant cousin had champagne all down her back. We were told sorry and given a few napkins. This was not sufficient. In addition the price we paid for the amount of food given was not worth it. I was not pleased to have to pay 18% gratuity when I now need to pay to dry clean my champagne drenched coat.
I have had high tea multiple times at the Peninsula hotel in Hong Kong, the Grand Hyatt in Tokyo, and Four Season’s Hotel in HK. All were better value for money and service.

Used to be my haven decades ago. Returned recently to find it hasn't changed although the Hotel itself has changed a lot. Comfortable spot to meet friends or clients.

Always a pleasure and that is why we keep coming back. Marina as always greets us royally and Dina, our server was excellent. Looking forward to the June 11th grand opening of the new lobby.

The overall experience was very positive as the service was impeccable and the food quality was great. I was there for lunch and previously noted the occasion was for a celebration of a friend's promotion. When I arrived, they led me to a great spot where and towards the end, actually brought out a complimentary dessert for my friend. This exceeded my expectations. The food was great too and if you are looking for a place around the core, check this place out.

Please do not bring cheque if not asked. Ok value but there should be cheaper lunch solutions/combo.

Very pleasant experience and excellent service and all in our business breakfast enjoyed their meals.

Fantastic food and atmosphere. Old school elegance. Really quite enjoyable.

Pre-requested wingback chairs and did not get them.
Food was good, tea nice. Servers nice.

Delicious but too many sweets. A few more savoury treats to balance out menu would be delicious

I haven’t been back to Library Bar in over 25 years and now remember why i hadn’t returned While the over ambience of the Royal York and Library Bar is one of opulence, the Library Bar remains the same. Dated, old leather chairs give the restaurant a feeling of comfort. But the menu prices for a lunch are outrageous, $85 for two clubhouse sandwiches, decaf coffee and orange juice.

Excellent as always and have just made another reservation for the 29th.

The Library Bar has been a favourite of mine for 15 years. And I often refer many people to dine here. The service is great, the ambience is great and the food is delicious.

On this particular occasion, I decided to break tradition and ordered the Korean Beef Short Rib instead of my usual Prime Rib Sandwich.

I have to say that it wasn’t as good as I’d hoped. It was a little on the tough side for my liking and difficult to eat as a result.

I will be sure to stick with my 15 year fave in the future!!

As always a wonderful experience for us. Made to feel very welcome by the wonderful hostess Marina and our server Rene. The table we requested was ready for us and since we were entertaining friends from England it was a memorable experience for them as well.

Never disappoints. Has the same comfortable ambience that I’ve become used too over 30 years of popping in for drinks and nibbles. Always pleasantly greeted! Service is always excellent! Great location.

Everything was delightful. I will definitely be back. Thank you.

I love the Library Bar but my most recent experience was poor value for money. I shared the charcuterie platter with a friend and asked for a couple of slices of cheese to be added. The charge was almost the full price of the charcuterie plus a full cheese platter (and the charcuterie platter did not even include the pate as cited). Huge overcharge for what we received.

Excellent service in a space that is refined but still feels comfortable. The newspapers were an option I wasn't expecting. The only disappointment wasn't with the restaurant at all, but with my unfortunate timing that the hotel lobby wasn't available to see due to being closed for renovations.

Very attentive service. Good quality food. An enjoyable place to meet a friend and to have a conversation while enjoying a nice meal.

This was the best Experience we had in a long time. The Service was impeccable, friendly not intrusive but also informative of the Items that were on the plates.
Definitely, I will return for the next Birthday celebration

Very attentive staff. Always a treat

The occasion was my birthday. We’ve been here multiple times to have ladies tea, as this is one of our favourite places. The only thing that was a bit different this time was that we weren’t seated until the majority of our party arrived. It was raining that day, so a few people were running late, but we had to stand outside. During previous occasions we have visited, we were always allowed to sit inside and wait for the rest of the party before the tea presentation. Not a huge deal, but we had presents we were holding, so it was a bit inconvenient to be standing outside holding them.

We also noticed the scones and butter have changed! We loved the old scones!!!

Other than that, the staff was amazing as usual, and we had the best time! We’ll definitely be back again.

Great ambiance and feel. Food was terrible. Ordered the club and Caesar salad. Both were terrible and not what I would expect from the Fairmont.

Great location. Food was fab. Service incredible.

Our first time experience is great and the service is exceptional. Definitely would recommend this to everyone.

A great experience as always. I was entertaining a friend on the occasion of his retirement and it was made all the more special by the attention paid to us by Marina the hostess and Gordie the server. Excellent and very attentive service. I will be returning on April 18th with a party of 4.

Diverse lunch menu selection and excellent choice of beverages. Friendly, efficient service. Great ambience. A real classic Toronto meeting place.

Great place for lunch. But come early gets packed and a little noisy around 1 PM.

The Library Bar is the perfect location for an afternoon meeting. The noise level is low, the service and food are exceptional. Clients are impressed every time!