Unlike the unfortunate trend of live-possum scarves, the café trend is as hot as a European espresso. Bandage up those neck scratches and join in the movement with today’s Wagjag: $10 for $25 worth of upscale casual eats and drinks at Symposium Café.

Symposium offers a menu of classic café fare, along with decadent desserts, coffees, and specialty beverages. Appetizer plates of antipasto ($9.50) and pita with dip ($7) are designed for sharing. Continue the conversation over entrée favourites like pizzas, the Symposium chicken wrap ($8), or hearty cheese and spinach lasagna ($7.50). For the most important meal of the day – dessert – choose carefully between cakes, pies, sundaes, waffles, and pastries (and tell your dining companion to order their own). Organize a meeting between “delicious” and “your tastebuds” with the East Meets West crepe, where vanilla ice cream and strawberries meet chocolate ice cream, bananas, and chocolate sauce ($7). If it’s liquid refreshment you’re after, peruse the selection of fresh juices, milkshakes, daiquiris, and hot or iced specialty coffees.

Generally, café art is limited to pictures of coffee, coffee cups, and coffee beans, but Symposium’s patrons will surely notice the Renaissance frescoes adorning the walls, including Raphael’s “The School of Athens.” Like the famed Greek philosophers socializing in the painting, Symposium is a forum for café-goers to gather, discuss, and exchange ideas, but without all the togas and the restrictions against people who are not land-owning males.

Reviews

“We have just moved to Guelph and found this treasure, and have taken many friends and everyone said the same....we'll be back for sure.”  - Jill, Restaurantica.com

“The decor is truly lovely . . . The desserts look amazing . . . AND they serve all day breakfast!”  - Daisy, Restaurantica.com