Oh man. The Cheesecake Factory and I go waaaaaaay back! 2010 to be exact, when I visited their San Francisco location for the first time. Big portions, super legit comfort food (I am all about this), and an amazing strawberry cheesecake… I was HOOKED!!! My go to is for sure their Chicken Alfredo, with it’s really creamy, parmesan goodness. Ah, I love comfort food so much!

So when I got a chance to try the first Canadian location in advance of the opening, I started counting down the days!! No lie. Finally… the day arrived! My first impressions are that the Yorkdale location is huge and extremely busy. They’re expecting it to be busy for a few months though, so get ready for long wait times Toronto.

Ok now on to the food. I should say though that they offered a limited menu for the media preview (with their full menu being around 200+ items). First up, apps. My boyfriend shared their Buffalo Blasts, which came as a HUGE portion of a lot chicken pieces. Man, I really forgot what their sizing was like. The only way I can describe it is cut up chicken pieces with buffalo sauce and cheese that had been coated in a spicy wrapper and deep fried. I’ve never tried anything like this app before and I really have to say that it was an awesome surprise. A super interesting take on chicken fingers. This is definitely best paired with a pint. By the time we finished this, I was feeling pretty stuffed (and we were only on the apps!!).

For the entrees we tried the Chinese Chicken Salad, and the Bacon Bacon burger. Again these were huge (I LOVE this about Cheesecake Factory). Let’s start with the Chinese Chicken Salad, which is a staple for me whenever I visit a location. Presentation wise it was awesome, but taste wise it felt lacking and a bit bland, kind of like they went light on the dressing. The ingredients still tasted fresh though!

The Bacon Bacon burger is not a typo!! This burger is pure American goodness with two different types of bacon: crispy bacon and thick cut slow roasted smoked bacon. Loved how juicy the patty was, and the slight sweetness of the smoked bacon. This also came with fries. At this point, I was struggling to breathe and mentally unbuttoning my pants… and I was in heaven!!!!

And now we get to my favourite part, the cheesecake!! I typically get the original with whole strawberries and whipped cream, which is a classic and something I would recommend anybody. This time we shared the Oreo Dream Extreme cheesecake, and man the name reflects how decadent and delicious this was! Everybody, this is the best Oreo cheesecake that I have ever tried!!! They’ve baked whole Oreos into their original cheesecake, sandwiched between layers of fudge cake and an Oreo cookie mouse, topped with a milk chocolate icing and a huge piece of Oreo. I died and went to heaven!!!

To wrap up this super long post, I strongly urge you to give one of my favourite classic spots a try (hopefully when the lines die down). You will for sure love the food and not to mention the service is pretty great!

The Cheesecake Factory (opening November 21, 2017)
3401 Dufferin St,
Toronto, ON M6A 2T9