Although we dropped by before the dinner rush (restaurant was nearly empty) we were seated very near the door - the table located to the right of the entranceway if you are walking into the establishment, next to the wood divider.
There was one customer seated at a bench reading a book.
Service was slow, and it was noisy and drafty where we were seated (possibly due to the acoustics of our location?).
The Caesar salad was drowning in dressing when it arrived and so, I tried to toss the lettuce and move it around to try to more evenly distribute the dressing which though I like it, was just too much and was quite overpowering.
We finished the bread and salad but we're not offered anymore (it is advertised as all you can eat) until some time later (quite some time) when our main course was just about to arrive.
Because hubby and I are retired and live on a fixed income, when we dine out, we seldom order beverages because this allows us to give a good tip of 20%.
We are of the mind that because we have to watch our money, we do not dine out (like some folks do) who do not tip in order to save money.
At $ 3.99 for a non-alcoholic beverage x 2 plus tax, that makes up a good portion of the tip we plan to leave the server.
So, we order wateras our beveragevof choice and it is a healthy option too. However, perhaps we are judged for not ordering anything but our meal because we did not even receive an offer for water top up.
Added to our dilemma is the fact that hubby is immuno-compromised, so we choose to dine out infrequently and at less busy times if possible.
Therefore, we try to really enjoy our meals when we dine out because it happens so infrequently. And we do not live in Owen Sound, so dining at East Side Mario's was to be a real treat for us.
I had an emergency ophthalmology appointment in Owen Sound, and it took several hours, so we were quite hungry when we decided to dine out.
I have fond memories of East Side Mario's and had not tried the Owen Sound location so when considering where to dine, I suggested East Side Mario's
Paint me disappointed on all accounts.
The double whammy? It is our 48th wedding anniversary this month, so I told hubby that we would count this as our wedding anniversary dining out experience and celebration (as we cannot budget for two dining out experiences in a single month).
So, to be met with an inferior dining experience was a tremendous disappointment on so many levels, not least of which I had expected better from East Side Mario's.
We still tipped the full 20% because in my mind's eye, I have no idea what is going on in the kitchen or in the server's life and workplace - too often there are circumstances about which we have no knowledge and which we do not need to know but staff have lives outside of work that might negatively impact their performance so I am not going to deprive them.of a decent tip and maybe if they did judge us for keeping our purchase to a minimum so left us to our own devices having judged us and found us lacking, maybe the next person will be treated with a little more dignity and not judged.
As for hubby and I - it is doubtful we will return to this location to dine again as we cannot afford to spend money on dining experiences that are less than desirable because they are such a rare treat for us.
PS
We dined around 4:30 p.m.
Wheelchair accessibility: Wheelchair accessible parking and dining.
Atmosphere: 2
Food: 3
Service: 3
Misty Dog
I’ve been coming here since as long as I can remember and let me tell you last night was some of the worst service I’ve ever seen. It was completely dead in there and it took are server Olivia 20 minutes to even ask us what we wanted to drink. She went to her other table behind us having conversation and was so nice to them and all we got was are food slammed on are table.
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 5
Service: 1
Brooklyn Goossen
Really good food. And the staff were efficient and friendly even when they were really busy.
Marilee Kennedy
Great atmosphere! A nice bar area with screens to watch sports. Food is typical for such places. Good for family or friend gatherings.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 4
Service: 4
Ashley kinch
Menu options are limited to mainly pasta or chicken Parm, if you get fries don’t ask for gravy because this restaurant doesn’t have gravy at all anymore, and to top it off beer was flat. Overall a reminder why we do not come here.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 2
Service: 4
Laurie Fleming
Birthday dinner for my daughter a bit loud! But dinner was great
Parking: Lots of parking
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Garden Salad, Roasted Garlic Fettuccine Alfredo with Chicken
Michael Brodeur
Great food good staff.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Garden Salad
Britney Sifuentes
Great food and great service
Parking: Great place!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Chicken Parmigiana and Spaghetti, Italian Wedding Soup
Ryan McLean
It's about what you'd expect from an Eastside Mario's. Food is good, with decent options for the kids. It does get busy so you may need some patience.
Kid-friendliness: They have loads of fun options for the kids, complete with a kids cocktail menu.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 4
Service: 3
Recommended dishes: Chicken Parmigiana and Spaghetti
Georgia Lumley
Came for lunch. Our server Jess was extremely attentive, upbeat and super friendly. I’ve rarely, if ever, had such quality service from a server.
Our server Jess was amazing and very welcoming, and the food was awesome
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Italian Wedding Soup, Roasted Garlic Fettuccine Alfredo with Chicken, Garlic Alfredo Pasta, Loaded Pepperoni Pizza, Mozzarella Sticks
James Oppenauer
Liz made of feel like family . A great representative of your company. ?
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Gail Robinson
I was disappointed to find the Caesar Salad dressing has been changed to an overly creamy gooey mess. Always looked forward to the salad but not anymore.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 3
Service: 5
Phil Loree
I would say terrible service but we weren’t even served! Waited 15 minutes at the door on a slow Tuesday night at 7:30 then waited another 15 at the table to never be served. I brought my kids because its kids eat for 2 bucks but looked like there was no intention of ever serving us. While I was there they kept apologizing to people for horribly long waits for pick up orders and seating at the tables. When I got up to leave other patrons said good call because there waits were incredibly long just to place there orders. Beyond terrible service. Why be open if you can’t accommodate even the slightest amount of people. So disappointed!
Although we dropped by before the dinner rush (restaurant was nearly empty) we were seated very near the door - the table located to the right of the entranceway if you are walking into the establishment, next to the wood divider.
There was one customer seated at a bench reading a book.
Service was slow, and it was noisy and drafty where we were seated (possibly due to the acoustics of our location?).
The Caesar salad was drowning in dressing when it arrived and so, I tried to toss the lettuce and move it around to try to more evenly distribute the dressing which though I like it, was just too much and was quite overpowering.
We finished the bread and salad but we're not offered anymore (it is advertised as all you can eat) until some time later (quite some time) when our main course was just about to arrive.
Because hubby and I are retired and live on a fixed income, when we dine out, we seldom order beverages because this allows us to give a good tip of 20%.
We are of the mind that because we have to watch our money, we do not dine out (like some folks do) who do not tip in order to save money.
At $ 3.99 for a non-alcoholic beverage x 2 plus tax, that makes up a good portion of the tip we plan to leave the server.
So, we order wateras our beveragevof choice and it is a healthy option too. However, perhaps we are judged for not ordering anything but our meal because we did not even receive an offer for water top up.
Added to our dilemma is the fact that hubby is immuno-compromised, so we choose to dine out infrequently and at less busy times if possible.
Therefore, we try to really enjoy our meals when we dine out because it happens so infrequently. And we do not live in Owen Sound, so dining at East Side Mario's was to be a real treat for us.
I had an emergency ophthalmology appointment in Owen Sound, and it took several hours, so we were quite hungry when we decided to dine out.
I have fond memories of East Side Mario's and had not tried the Owen Sound location so when considering where to dine, I suggested East Side Mario's
Paint me disappointed on all accounts.
The double whammy? It is our 48th wedding anniversary this month, so I told hubby that we would count this as our wedding anniversary dining out experience and celebration (as we cannot budget for two dining out experiences in a single month).
So, to be met with an inferior dining experience was a tremendous disappointment on so many levels, not least of which I had expected better from East Side Mario's.
We still tipped the full 20% because in my mind's eye, I have no idea what is going on in the kitchen or in the server's life and workplace - too often there are circumstances about which we have no knowledge and which we do not need to know but staff have lives outside of work that might negatively impact their performance so I am not going to deprive them.of a decent tip and maybe if they did judge us for keeping our purchase to a minimum so left us to our own devices having judged us and found us lacking, maybe the next person will be treated with a little more dignity and not judged.
As for hubby and I - it is doubtful we will return to this location to dine again as we cannot afford to spend money on dining experiences that are less than desirable because they are such a rare treat for us.
PS
We dined around 4:30 p.m.
Wheelchair accessibility: Wheelchair accessible parking and dining.
Atmosphere: 2
Food: 3
Service: 3
I’ve been coming here since as long as I can remember and let me tell you last night was some of the worst service I’ve ever seen. It was completely dead in there and it took are server Olivia 20 minutes to even ask us what we wanted to drink. She went to her other table behind us having conversation and was so nice to them and all we got was are food slammed on are table.
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 5
Service: 1
Really good food. And the staff were efficient and friendly even when they were really busy.
Great atmosphere! A nice bar area with screens to watch sports. Food is typical for such places. Good for family or friend gatherings.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 4
Service: 4
Menu options are limited to mainly pasta or chicken Parm, if you get fries don’t ask for gravy because this restaurant doesn’t have gravy at all anymore, and to top it off beer was flat. Overall a reminder why we do not come here.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 2
Service: 4
Birthday dinner for my daughter a bit loud! But dinner was great
Parking: Lots of parking
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Garden Salad, Roasted Garlic Fettuccine Alfredo with Chicken
Great food good staff.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Garden Salad
Great food and great service
Parking: Great place!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Chicken Parmigiana and Spaghetti, Italian Wedding Soup
It's about what you'd expect from an Eastside Mario's. Food is good, with decent options for the kids. It does get busy so you may need some patience.
Kid-friendliness: They have loads of fun options for the kids, complete with a kids cocktail menu.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 4
Service: 3
Recommended dishes: Chicken Parmigiana and Spaghetti
Came for lunch. Our server Jess was extremely attentive, upbeat and super friendly. I’ve rarely, if ever, had such quality service from a server.
Service: 5
Restaurantji Recommends
Our server Jess was amazing and very welcoming, and the food was awesome
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Italian Wedding Soup, Roasted Garlic Fettuccine Alfredo with Chicken, Garlic Alfredo Pasta, Loaded Pepperoni Pizza, Mozzarella Sticks
Liz made of feel like family . A great representative of your company. ?
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
I was disappointed to find the Caesar Salad dressing has been changed to an overly creamy gooey mess. Always looked forward to the salad but not anymore.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 3
Service: 5
I would say terrible service but we weren’t even served! Waited 15 minutes at the door on a slow Tuesday night at 7:30 then waited another 15 at the table to never be served. I brought my kids because its kids eat for 2 bucks but looked like there was no intention of ever serving us. While I was there they kept apologizing to people for horribly long waits for pick up orders and seating at the tables. When I got up to leave other patrons said good call because there waits were incredibly long just to place there orders. Beyond terrible service. Why be open if you can’t accommodate even the slightest amount of people. So disappointed!
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 1
Service: 1
Jessica was a delight!!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 4
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Build Your Own Pasta
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