The Toronto Cafe and Food Blog: Roll Play Now (Originally: Roll Play Cafe)

Cafe: Roll Play Now
Address: 10A Edward St.
Phone: 416-904-8483
Store Hours: Mon-Sun 11 AM - 12 AM
Website: www.rollplaynow.com

Wi-Fi?: Yes
Study Appropriate?: No
Stamp Cards?: No

Interior

By around 7 PM, the cafe became packed!

Menu

Drinks - Soy/Almond/Lactose-Free Options?: Almond and skim milk
- Offers floats
- Offers Italian soda
- Offers seasonal drinks

Food - Vegan/Vegetarian/Gluten-Free Options?: Vegan and vegetarian
- Offers a wide selection of pizza
- Cakes from La Rocca
- Cupcakes from Noni Cakes

Vanilla Latte, $5.50

Vanilla Ice Cream Float with Black Cherry, $6.50

Strawberry Ice Cream Float with Coke, $6.50

Strawberry Ice Cream Float with Cream Soda, $6.50

Passion Fruit Italian Soda, $5.50

Orange Juice, $4

Roasted Chicken Pesto Sandwich, $8.50

Meat Lovers Pizza, $9.50

Carrot Cake, $8

Cookies and Cream Cake, $8

Review

Drink of Choice: Raspberry Truffle, $5.50

Food of Choice: Roll Play Pizza, $11.50

Dessert of Choice: Strawberry and Chocolate Cake, $8

Update: The establishment has changed its name to Roll Play Now. This review was written when it was still known as Roll Play Cafe.

When I first found out about Roll Play Cafe, it became one of the top cafes I wanted to visit. Being a fan of Snakes and Lattes, I wanted to know how Roll Play Cafe (and other board game cafes such as Castle Board Game Cafe) differed. I was fortunate enough to be invited to come in to review!

Roll Play Cafe recently opened this past September in the heart of downtown Toronto. The owners were inspired by the cafe board game trend in South Korea and wanted to open their own, before Snakes and Lattes became popular. They felt that adults didn't have many social venue options to relax and have a good time with friends. The motto of the cafe is to offer good food, fun games, and create long lasting relationships!

There are some house rules within the cafe that you should know beforehand (which is also at the bottom of the menu). Unlike Snakes and Lattes, there is no sitting fee. However, there is a $10 food purchase minimum. No worries though, Roll Play Cafe offers a wide selection of food. This folks, is a cafe with restaurant-quality food! There is also a two hour maximum stay during the rush hour. However, if you come in when it is less busy, you are welcomed to stay for as long as you'd like. The owners want to give all customers an equal opportunity to enjoy their stay at the cafe without having to wait for hours to be seated. As well, your two hours start once your food order has been punched into the computer, not when you are seated.

Two of my friends, my boyfriend and I settled in around 2:30 PM. Being the cafe blogger, I wanted to try a hot drink from their menu. The Raspberry Truffle tasted as delicious as it sounded! It was sweet enough where I didn't need to add sugar and had a yummy raspberry flavour. I got to sample the Vanilla Ice Cream Float with Black Cherry and the Strawberry Ice Cream Float with Coke and I enjoyed both! I'm not sure which one I preferred more, but I definitely recommend both of the floats. The Passion Fruit Italian Soda was a miss since I generally found Italian soda bland for my taste. However, you can decide for yourself by trying it out at the cafe if you love Italian soda. My friend did comment that the Vanilla Latte was top quality and had a balance of flavours (he used to be in culinary arts, so he should know!). During this time, we went through a couple of rounds of a card game called Bang!, which I have yet to fully grasp.

I really enjoyed the signature Roll Play Pizza that I had ordered. The pizza was soft and chewy with many fresh toppings. The Meat Lovers Pizza was also very tasty that my friend ordered a second platter! I felt the pizzas were priced just right for the portions given and they covered the $10 minimum purchase easily. My boyfriend liked his Roasted Pesto Chicken Sandwich, which I definitely recommend for a nice lunch since it includes a bit of salad as well. He preferred the sandwich over the pizza, but I didn't get a chance to taste the sandwich to compare. If you end up buying a sandwich and a pizza here, let me know which one you like better! By the time we rolled around to dessert while playing Personally Incorrect (similar to Cards Against Humanity), our bellies were happily full. We tried our best to get through the cakes as much as we could. I preferred my boyfriend's Cookies and Cream over my Strawberry and Chocolate. Maybe it was because his cake had a piece of Oreo on it, haha.

Towards the end of our stay, the game master (who comes in during the busy hours, usually Thursday to Saturday around 6 PM) helped chose the King of Tokyo to play and explained it thoroughly. I would be picking up this game again in the future because it's simple yet very engaging. There was an intense battle where everyone wanted their monster to be the King of Tokyo! I luckily won a round although I forgot to keep track of my monster's points.

Everyone all agreed that we had a fantastic time and we would definitely be coming back in the future! Roll Play Cafe created a memorable experience for me and it was a great way to bond and re-connect with friends which I haven't seen for a long time. I just wish I had another stomach to try more of their food because on their Facebook page, I keep seeing things I should've ordered! I forgot to try out their Bubble Pop Waffle so if anyone had tried it, what was your opinion?

So if you decide to head to Roll Play Cafe, my advice is to go during the afternoon and on a weekday if you want to avoid the full house and two-hour sitting limit. Top menu items I highly recommend trying out are their pizzas and floats. Also, try to get your hands on King of Tokyo if you need a game recommendation. They no longer have Cards Against Humanity, but they do have Personally Incorrect, which is practically the same game.

Roll Play Cafe will be obtaining its liquor license soon and will be doing a grand opening this February (currently the cafe is under a soft launch in order to gather data before finalization). The cafe does take reservations but not on Fridays and Saturdays because these days are for first-come, first-served.