The Cheesecake Factory at Yorkdale Mall – Sweet and Crowded

“The Cheesecake Factory story begins in Detroit, Michigan in the 1940’s. Evelyn Overton found a recipe in the local newspaper that would inspire her “Original” Cheesecake. Everyone loved her recipe so much that she decided to open a small Cheesecake shop, but she eventually gave up her dream of owning her own business in order to raise her two small children, David and Renee. She moved her baking equipment to a kitchen in her basement and continued to supply cakes to several of the best restaurants in town while raising her family”. This is how the empire of The Cheesecake Factory begun according to their website. As stated by cp24, “the first Cheesecake Factory restaurant opened in 1978 in Beverly Hills, CA. and the chain has since grown to nearly 200 locations”.

The Buffalo shopping excursion days are over! On November 2017, the first Cheesecake Factory shop opened in Canada, at the Yorkdale Shopping Mall, and it was an instant success! Canadians have been desiring their own restaurant for years and the opening weeks did the impossible, by making Yorkdale Mall even more crowded than it is! Even 3 months after their grand opening, it is still impossible to get a table without waiting for it in a massive line, sometime for hours! Reservations are still unavailable at this location.

Video by CTV TORONTO {link to https://toronto.ctvnews.ca/video?clipId=1267669}

According to The Globe and Mail, “the 10,400-square-foot location at Toronto's Yorkdale mall is the first company-owned store outside the United States”. The architecture follows the layout of all other restaurants and it was defined brilliantly by game developer Max Krieger’s Twitter essay as “postmodern design hellscape”. The Canadian restaurant feature two covered patios and impressive decor as creative and imaginative as the menu served.

Image by Amy Grief / Chatelaine {link to http://www.chatelaine.com/food/trends/cheesecake-factory-canada/}

Images Courtesy of
The Cheesecake Factory Website

Even though the entire menu was mouth-watering, during our visit focused on the desserts, more specifically the cheesecakes! The 30+ cheesecake menu ranges from soft tastes, as the Original, to options that are very robust and sugared, like the extremely popular Oreo® Dream Extreme Cheesecake. It is interesting to know that the base of all cheesecakes are made in the U.S. in a central, corporate-run kitchen. The base is then frozen and delivered to a variety of locations, including the one in Canada. So every day, the restaurant receives this base and their employee finish it up in the Yorkdale kitchen.

From all available option, we tried: The Fresh strawberry, a mixture of the original cheesecake topped with glazed strawberries; The White Chocolate Raspberry Truffle®, a creamy cheesecake swirled with raspberry and white chocolate; The Key Lime, which is a tart and soft tasted cheesecake; and the popular Oreo® Dream Extreme Cheesecake, that deserves its place as number one!

“I particularly prefer desserts that are more tart than sweet, so The White Chocolate Raspberry Truffle® and the Key Lime cheesecakes were my favorites choices. The first one is the perfect mixture of the cream and fruits, and the white chocolate taste in it is very delicate. The second one has its cream as the centre of its taste, being tart and pleased. The lime flavour is delicate, but it still has character. I recommend these choices for those, like me, who like tart type of desserts!” – Isabela

“I have a sweet tooth, so when the waiter told us that the Oreo® Dream Extreme Cheesecake was the most popular cheesecake in the restaurant, I didn’t even think twice (specially since Oreo's are my weakness). This cheesecake is everything we’ve been told, and it definitely deserves its position as the best one. I strongly recommend this choice to those who have a sweet tooth like me! But if you are not into something too sweet, the original cheesecake topped with glazed strawberries is your best pick, since it is a classic.” – Salome

Image Courtesy of  The Cheesecake Factory Website

The Cheesecake Factory is worth the visit and we can confidently say that their cheesecakes are one of the best in town! The restaurant target market are families, couples, and friends that want to experience a special dining moment! The restaurant has established their excellent cost-benefit relationship by having gigantic portions for affordable prices, which is very attractive for larger groups. It took years to get to Canada, but now that it is here it is a must-go!

Now it is your turn, we want to know your opinion! What is your favorite cheesecake?

Let us know if you find it as amazing as we did, comment, and participate in our poll below!

What would be your favorite cheesecake?

Bon Appetit!

The Cheesecake Factory

3401 Dufferin Street

North York, M6A 2T9

at Yorkdale Mall

416.781.4477