I have been to this small restaurant on a few occasions. It is disappointing to say, that while the food is always good, but the service is always terrible. I have waited 10 min or more (on many occasions) @ the bar for even an ounce of acknowledgement but it never seems to happen. Busy or not, the servers always seem to walk past me (or us) without even touching our table (really, I don't think a 'I'll be right with you' or 'Hi' is hard to say perhaps even dropping off some h20 just to get the ball rolling). For the most part I always feel like I have inconvenienced them when I have come in. I find the service cold and I feel that they are generally unhappy. I really want to like The Templeton, but unfortunately service makes up a huge part of the 'dining out' experience. If that is poor, then it reflects on the restaurant as a whole.

I have never been so mistreated by a person in my life, never mind by a person who's job it is to offer me a pleasant experience. Both waitresses were arrogant and flat-out insulting. When these two waitresses managed to pass our table of four dozens of times over an hour without offering drink refills, asking how are meals were, or acknowledging our very presence, I have to wonder how they could have been hired in the first place.

When my boyfriend paid our bill he did not leave a tip as it wasn't earned, and the waitress said - I quote: "Just so you know, ten percent is the minimum tip. If you aren't going to leave that, then serving you isn't worth my time." Then she turned her back on us and loudly mumbled, "Jerkoff". Way to earn that tip.

It's a shame the staff are so awful, because my meal was quite good. If you have any self respect, you will not eat at The Templeton - I know I sure never will again.

Having served in the past, my biggest pet peeve were patrons who complained, but kept returning to the restaurant, only to complain more. Why not just go somewhere else? This is what I suggest you do instead of paying The Templeton a visit.
I have been there a few times, but after repeated awful, and slow service (when I say slow, I actually mean ignored) I will not return. I am certain I won't be missed as this diner is aways busy (how? I don't know).
Most of the servers act like/resemble grown-up versions of sad, emo teenagers with attitude. There have been a few instances where I have waited @ the counter for @least 1o min while being seen but not acknowledged . I know what it is like to serve brunch, so I am usually quite forgiving, but after a few visits I am starting to realize that this is their 'style' of 'service'.
I have the usual plethora of complaints eg. water glass never filled, waiting for drinks, being ignored, the list could go on. I will sum it up by saying that on all of my visits, I have gotten the distinct feeling I, the customer have inconvenienced the SERVER by coming in to eat.

The food is decent (if you are willing to brave this place, the veggie meatloaf is good) but not memorable enough to encourage a repeat visit.

True, the place is dirty, but the design and concept are attractive. With that in mind, it's unfortunate that they do not have enough of a follow through with there staff.

I ordered myself a spinach salad and asked for it without the blue cheese, but for some reason the server seemed to miss the fact that fresh apples are part of the salad. The dressing tasted like someone took oil and a squirt of lemon and poured it on even though the salad was said to have come with an apple cidar vinigarette. The service was terrible and I found the server was rude, didn't bother to pay any attention to our empy water glasses or to anything for that matter. My date and I felt compleatly ignored. Not to mention he got his plate of food aprox. seven minutes later than when mine was served.
If I am going to be eating at a greasy, grungy little diner, the food and service might as well be the part that brings in the people. I know this place is usually packed and I have heard good things about it but if this keeps up the costomers will not keep comming. I know for sure I wont be back again and felt no need to tip.

I would say this is a lunch place - not for dinner (or even brunch). I like the food but feel it is a tad overpriced. The service is always (and always has been) terrible here. None of the servers are ever friendly. However, it's close to my work (which is why I go) and as I say the food is good. If you go at lunch time be prepared to wait for a table as it's always busy.

How the Templeton stays in business is a mystery.
The restaurant is filthy, the servers are apathetic, the food is sloppily prepared and overpriced. The special portobello burger was served with burnt mushrooms and a soggy bun. The dessert looked like it had been scooped out of a can and thrown on the plate. The neighbourhood is seedy but there are restaurants nearby that can prepare a delicious meal and serve it with enthusiasm. Walk on by.

Mrs. C and I were out looking for chow when we spotted this place. We passed it many times, but finally decided to give it a try. The restaurant is in a crummy part of town, but it is conveniently located near the peep show and adult emporium, for those among you who enjoy a bit of a seedy nightlife...

The restaurant itself attains a lovely 'old diner' motif. By that I mean it is dirty and run down. Despite this, the staff are friendly, and the food isn't awful. I had a bacon cheeseburger with fries and a lime soda, and Mrs. C had a chicken burger and Caesar. The burgers were okay, and the Caesar was quite good. The fries were only average, and the soda was 'different'. It was a bit pricey for the location and food quality, but if you want to safely experience the real underbelly of the city this place might be for you.

For the adventurous.

Sunday brunch shouldn't be difficult, in my opinion. Eggs, some sort of meat (or similar facsimile), potatoes, and bread. Simple ingredients, but oh, how foul it can go.

My friend and I entered the dive and was met with smoke of a different kind - grease. That should have been our clue to flee. But, I've been there before and it was decent so we stayed.

The menu needs a bit of a review, as they were not very good at describing what I ordered. I ordered the scrambler (or something like that, can't remember the name) with scrambled eggs, rosemary potatoes, brie cheese on croissant. I thought it was going to be scrambled eggs with a side of croissant and brie, but it came out as a sandwich. And NOWHERE on the menu did it mention anything about garlic (more about this later). My friend ordered the blueberry banana pancake.

The people who ordered after us got their food first. But to be fair, maybe my friend's pancakes were holding it up?...

I got my food, and the potatoes were black. I would be ashamed to serve people burnt food. I asked for better potatoes, which they replaced. The first bite of the sandwich was so overpowering with garlic, I nearly spat it out. I'm not a fan of garlic, and a little bit is fine, but this was loaded with it. I didn't know where it was as I couldn't see it. I bared with it as long as I could and stopped about 3/4 of the way through as I started feeling nauseous.

Turns out the brie is infused with garlic. I wish they had mentioned that in the menu or I would not have ordered it. Again, I stress that it was not a little bit, it was overpowering.

The final insult was having to pay $12 for that horrible experience. I came out and my clothes and my hair reeked of burnt oil. I felt gross inside and out. Never again will I set foot in that disgusting joint.

The place feels unique,
It's been around forever and the first thing i noticed that i loved
about this place is they have a huge fresh and yummy
Cesar salad. I was lucky enough to get to try there Ahi tuna and have to say its better then the Fish house's Ahi tuna. It has a really unique flavor and it was still tender when i asked for well done (Sometimes tuna gets chewy when its over done) you also get your choice of 2 sides with the dish so i went with their Cesar salad (of course) and their thai chili sauce and i wasn't disappointed. My partner had the soup of the day and a great milk shake, it was a pretty good meal and i'm happy to say i've found a new favorite lunch spot. The place fills up quickly at dinner time. I'm keen on trying the burgers and sandwiches. People looked pleased with theirs. This place has been around forever and i can tell by how busy the place gets even on a Tuesday night that there gonna be around for a long time, by the way instead of mints at the end of your meal you get a piece of double bubble gum you know the old school gum you get with a joke comic strip inside, oh and music was great we got some neil young and tons of other great oldies.

This is a wonderful seedy little dive. There is nothing about each of the individual elements of this places that stands out as great. The food is barely good, but its not about the food so much. The place is kitchy. Its great fun griping about the food you end up getting with your buddies.
This is one of those, its so bad its good scenarious. I would never go here for dinner. But for a fun time at lunch, this is a blast. It falls into the category of the Elbow Room, but this is more alternative and edgy.