Café Reznikoff

Really expensive and always busy but its proximity to rez can’t be beat.

Having lived in the uft res two summers in a row, I have been eating food from this café quiet a few times (since my stay in the res included mandatory a meal plan). Everything in this café is overpriced. Ranging from gum, chips to actual lunch. The only decently priced item here would be the cold pasta ($ 5). However, most of the time it would be so salty (that it tasted bitter) that I had to throw it out — happened twice, I should have avoided it after having it the first time.
Let me move onto the hot foods that they serve at lunch. On the days that they serve some type of stew, like beef stew, it is pretty good. However, if you want a balanced meal that consisted of protein (meat), carbs (rice, potato), and vegetables, it would cost you around 15 dollars for your lunch. Because it is $ 6 for a meat item, 2 dollars for rice, and another 6 dollars for a vegetable item, then theres tax. Most of the time, students only get one item (either meat or vegetable) with rice or potato for the meal. Because it is simply over-​priced.
They cook a big pot of soup in the beginning of the day and as more and more people purchase the soups, they increase the volume of the soup by adding hot water. I have seen them doing that a couple of times.
Starting from late July, they also cut down the amount of oatmeal that they put in the fruit yogurt parfait by half, without adjusting the price accordingly. In Aug, they further decreased the amount of fruit in the fruit yogurt parfait.
They are also very stingy with giving out their tiny plastic bags. One time I purchased a lunch box, and a drink and I had to meet up with a friend that was 35 min walk away and I was afraid that if I put the lunch box in my purse the sauce would spill out into my purse and when I explained that to the cashier lady, she refused to give me the tiny plastic bag because I only purchased a lunch takeout.

Have eaten quite a few times over the course of the past few months here — it’s definitely a bit crowded in the mornings when they only have one poor lady staffing the counter and the register while everyone tries to get their morning coffee and pastry. They have a pretty good selection of pastries, and a lot of snacks — some fairly exotic chip flavors like gravy, or ketchup. Cereal, oatmeal, gum, a lot of what a student is going to want.
Most of the food is cold. They will have some hot options but they usually run out by 3 pm at the latest. I’ve seen samosas, steamed fish, potatoes, and a lotttt of pasta.

Has a great location for students rushing to class, it is overpriced especially if you want to go for one of their prepared food items such as sandwiches or cold pastas (e.g. a couple of packaged sandwiches or salads would go for around $ 5) The coffee is affordable though but would not be my first stop for a small cup of coffee. The quality of most food is good, and they do carry more and more organic items including their coffee. So that’s a plus. They have pastries as well, but they are mostly hit or miss depending on the time of day you go there.
They do offer hot meals at times, and in the summer they have (if open) cold slushies which is amazing since it’s cheaper than anything you could find in the immediate vicinity.
I do enjoy their late hours of operations (I believe they are open till 11 on weeknights) so that is always helpful if you’re spending some quality time studying late at night (and with most other coffee stores on campus long closed by then).
It is cheaper if you have the University College Meal Plan (or Flex Dollars) since you get to skip out on the taxes for most items. They also offer you a good WiFi spot (as long as you have access to the UofT WiFi network).