Swanmore Terrace - Orillia

This restaurant is the perfect spot for a midday or evening meal. It has a beautiful view of Pumpkin Bay on Lake Couchiching, with the added bonus of being next to the Stephen Leacock Home. Guests can easily visit the museum and gardens before or after their meal. During our recent lunch there, we enjoyed the cool breeze coming off the lake. The terrace is covered overhead, providing shade without blocking the view as it's open on three sides. We would definitely return to this restaurant. The wait staff were friendly and accommodating.

Being locals, we were eager to see what the new operator had in store, especially since the previous one was quite disappointing. In terms of location, this restaurant is in one of the best spots in Orillia. However, the venue itself leaves much to be desired. The building is in poor condition, the grounds are lacking maintenance, and the tables and chairs in the restaurant are very cheap. Despite these drawbacks, dining outside by the water on a beautiful summer day is a nice experience. We tried a soup and a sandwich - the sandwich was decent, but the soup was not good and we thought it was overpriced for the quality and portion size. With some investment and better management, this place has the potential to be something great.

When a friend invited me to lunch at the restaurant connected with The Leacock Museum in Orillia, I was hesitant at first due to previous experiences of having indifferent meals there. However, the restaurant is now under new management (Cornucopia Catering and Ashlea Barrett), and the difference is like night and day. Ashlea is a skilled chef who has trained her staff to be welcoming and knowledgeable. The food is the best part: fresh, delicious, and beautifully presented. Each of us ordered different main dishes and desserts, and we all agreed that our lunch was excellent. The menu includes homemade soups, hearty salads, paninis, savory crepes (including a spectacular seafood crepe), and Reuben sandwiches. For dessert, don't miss out on the mixed berry tart, raisin butter tart, fresh rhubarb pie, or fresh fruit crepes. Give it a chance. I promise you won't be disappointed.

I visited with my mother and daughter for a Sunday lunch. As it was a muggy day, and the terrace quite busy, we selected a table inside. The lunch was very good - salads, soups and quiche. However, the restuarant itself needs an upgrade. The chairs were outdoor lawn furniture and difficult to pull up to the table. Both my mother and daughter are small, and found them uncomfortable. It was also quite dark inside. The windows face the parking lot or the covered terrace and you can't see much of the Lake. The waitstaff was very friendly, but there were only two of them and service was slow.

Nice place for quiche and so on, a lunch place, so far as I know its not open for dinner usually, The location is what separates it from the herd, being affiliated with the Steven Leacock Home and Museum.