Marathon Cafe Downtown

Good spot for a quick takeout breakfast with quality value. Been a few times to get a pineapple bun sandwich which is an enjoyable mix of savoury and sweet. It's crumbly and is a tad messy to eat so sit down for it.

December 3, 2024 on Google

Honestly so thankful they're in my neighbourhood and I could easily grab something tasty quick. Staff is always so friendly ❤️

October 13, 2024 on Google

I've been looking for a good HK restaurant downtown so I was excited to try this place. Overall, I'd say it's just "okay". The baked cheese macaroni with pork chop was pretty filling. But I found the pork chop a bit too soggy and salty. It just felt pretty generic. The chicken in the chicken rice was de-boned, which I appreciate! Unfortunately that's the best I can say about it. The rice was bland and without the usual chilli sauce, the dish didn't taste too interesting. There was also no soup. Compared to the chicken rice I've had at other HK restaurants, this was disappointing. I didn't get to try the milk tea but the food didn't impress me. It tasted too much like home cooking.

August 17, 2024 on Google

Maybe I don’t really understand the concept of Hongkong food. I ordered satay pork with spaghetti noodles. Was not sure “not very saucy satay sauce” would be enough to cover generous amount of plain spaghetti noodles underneath. Also I should have ordered some veggies on the side to complete meal cause it was just straught up meat+carb. coffee +tea( Yuanyang) was pretty cool tho. Store was very tiny and looks like they utilize the space as much as possible. All the visible boxes stocked up looked a bit messy. Also had issues with communication with casher and a cook. Not sure I would return to this location.

July 13, 2024 on Google

I love Hong Kong cafes as they remind me of weekend meals with my family growing up! As part of Yelp's Asian Pacific Islander Heritage Month (APIHM) celebration, I had the opportunity to try Marathon Cafe (Downtown location). Tucked away on a street between Bloor and Wellesley Stations, Marathon Cafe Downtown is a small restaurant with only 3 seats for dine-in. What I Got: - Satay Beef Vermicelli - Lemon Tea Final Thoughts: Satay Beef Vermicelli is my go-to and this one was pretty solid. It was a bigger portion than I expected and the staff were kind enough to check in on me and even asked if I wanted more soup as I ate! I went right after work on a weekday so it wasn't busy but considering how small the space is, I can imagine it can get hectic if you're trying to dine in. I'd definitely stop by again! Thank you to Marathon Cafe Downtown and Yelp for a great event!

May 26, 2024 on Google

I am so thankful to the yelp elite squad for allowing me to discover new places. This cozy little cafe has an extensive menu. I honestly didn't know what to order. From my research, it Looked like people love the buns and the baked pastas so I ordered a baked spaghetti. I didn't check before leaving otherwise I would have asked about the cheese... Thought there was supposed to be some. But even without cheese it was still a sizeable dish that was extra saucy. A different flavor of spaghetti than I'm used to but the herbs / spices do come out . I also ordered an iced Milk tea and it was absolutely AMAZING. So creamy and flavorful. I will definitely order this again. The addition of the mini steamer with some candies and pea snacks was adorable. I love yelp goodies & this was a cute one.

May 20, 2024 on Google

I ordered the fish fillet and eggs breakfast combo. I really wanted to like this place for the convenience, but I was disappointed in what I received. My meal consist of 2 eggs, 1 piece of toast cut in half, a small palm sized piece of fried fish, and a signature tea. I paid more for hash-browns, which was just 1 hash brown patty. Aside from the sauce (which is why I gave this place ⭐️⭐️⭐️ instead of ⭐️⭐️), there wasn’t anything exceptional about this meal. The total amount was $18.01. The staff member punched a slightly higher amount on the interact machine than my online order. There are a couple of items on the menu, I still want to try, so I hope I will have a better experience then. **UPDATE** Someone by the name of Tracy reached out to me, wanting to make things right. The portion I received in the fish breakfast, was a new portion (about half the size of the fish portion and minus the corn from the picture of the meal on their website) that was not the larger original portion when they priced the dish initially. As for the price difference, Tracy informed me that they charge you extra to use the Interac debit machine, that the staff member did not inform me of. Tracy informed me that there was a sign in the storefront that explains it, but I didn’t see as I was in and out of that place in less than five minutes. I applaud Tracy for attempting to make things right. She offered me a complimentary meal and beverage. I ordered the Baked Triple Cheese Meat Sauce with Macaroni (see picture below). The portion of this dish is more generous than the fish breakfast order I made with them. The flavour is okay overall, depending on your liking, you may want to add a little bit more on your own. The beverages is where Marathon truly shines. I got to say, both beverages I ordered were delightful. The first one I ordered was the Marathon Signature Milk Tea, and the second one I ordered was their Hong Kong Style coffee/tea. Am I done with Marathon? No, not at all. I think I will have to assess dish by dish. The beverages have been great thus far and I really have to thank Tracy for taking the time to make amends. Her effort in wanting to improve the customer experience, is worth your support and mine.

April 6, 2024 on Google

Update: editing my review from 5 stars to 3. My Ying Yuan drink order is consistently good but the food items are hit or miss. More recently ordered hainan chicken rice and the rice was complete mush like one big mochi ball. The texture was not right and should not have been served. It also takes pretty long to get orders each time I visit. Previous review: Dropped by last Saturday just to see if it was opened because we’ve been waiting for it to open and it was! We were their first customers and seemed like they had limited menu. We got their Ying Yang drink (half coffee/tea) and pineapple bun and it was delicious. Owners were super friendly as well. Happy to have them around here!

October 20, 2023 on Google