Michael & Marion's and The Side Door — Restaurant in Barrie

I hosted my 75th birthday celebration at Michael and Marions. While the food was enjoyable and the space itself was lovely, the overall experience was disappointing — especially given the cost and how my concerns were handled afterward.

Positives:

The venue was ready on time for our cocktail hour, which was appreciated (considering they had an event right beforehand). The cocktail food and dinner were well prepared and enjoyed by guests. The charcuterie board served later in the evening was beautifully arranged.

Concerns (raised directly with the owner after the event, as advised by staff):

Dinner service was extremely delayed. Our group of ~40 was seated upstairs by 6:40PM, but food orders weren’t taken until an hour later, and main courses didn’t arrive until after 9PM. After sharing the feedback with the owner, they claimed it was my responsibility to tell staff when to take orders — during the initial meeting with the owner, he did mentioned the pace was up to me, but I expected someone would check in with me during the event. Everyone was seated, and I even gave a short welcome speech around 7PM, which should have been a clear signal.

Bar service was inconsistent. I had clearly stated that drinks were limited to selected wine, beer, and bar rail, yet guests were served premium drinks. After speaking with the owner, the explanation given was that the bartender may have been “embarrassed” to say no, which is not acceptable when it results in a higher bill. That said, I was reimbursed the difference after the fact. Children’s meals were inadequate. They were served late (with adult meals) and were small and poorly prepared. I was told I could have asked for more, but that was never offered or suggested at the time. Vegan options were mishandled. Despite confirming in advance that vegan meals would be available, the server didn’t know what “vegan” meant and offered only one option. I was later told there were more, but how would guests know to ask when the server didn’t understand the request?

Cleanliness was questionable. The washrooms had visible rings in the toilets. When I mentioned this, the owner’s wife became defensive rather than concerned.

Owner response was disappointing. When I followed up after the event, as the servers suggested I do, I was met with defensiveness and excuses. I was made to feel like the issues were my fault, despite having made arrangements well in advance and honoring the agreed-upon terms, including the tip (which I was told I could have reduced if I wasn’t happy)

I’ve enjoyed dining here in the past, but based on this experience, I wouldn’t recommend hosting an event unless every detail is documented and confirmed in writing. Unfortunately, I left feeling dismissed and...

We ate here regularly for the past couple of years, until today.

Seared Ahi tuna salad was served with the oldest, brownest, most decrepit avocado I've ever seen in my life. It was black in places. My partner literally had to pick through the salad and remove it before eating. I've attached a photo of the avocado in question.

Kinda low standards for a 'fine dining' restaurant, but I can live with it. The fries were like sticks of chalk last time we came, but we overlooked that, as we would overlook most minor issues. What I can't abide, however, is being treated like I was born yesterday, and treated with disrespect for daring to mention it.

To be clear, we didnt even actively complain about this. The waitress asked us if our food was good, I said 'mine's ok yeah'. She then asked my partner if hers was also good and she said 'yes, but the avocado is pretty brown'. Waitress disappears for a bit, we hear the kitchen staff loudly mock us and laugh at the situation before she returns and tells us 'the avocados are still fresh, they're just brown'. This is an insult to our intelligence - anyone who has seen a fresh avocado can attest to this.

I thought that was the end of it, and we kept eating. A few minutes later the owner, a portly red-faced gentleman in an ill-fitting dress shirt appears, practically floating on a cloud of his own arrogance, and says 'sorry my avocados aren't perfect, I'll pay for your lunch ok?'. A nice gesture in principle, but the way it was delivered oozed disrespect. This is the same owner that has in the past told me to 'get out of his parking lot' (we were parked waiting for the restaurant to open) because he thought we were 'crackheads smoking up', so I guess I shouldn't be too surprised.

But really, it's not a case of it not being perfect, it's literally rotten, and I didnt ask for the meal to be comped to begin with. It was mentioned to the waitress merely as a point of constructive criticism. There was no need to BS me that the rotten food we were served is fresh, and there was no need to send the owner out to obnoxiously comp the meal.

Won't be eating here again. There are multiple restaurants offering superior food at this price point - we will go to...

Ahhh, we were looking forward to some good eats after reading all the good reviews, but the food was a complete letdown. It's not worth it, in my humble opinion. Staff are outstanding here.

No high chairs are available for children.

We celebrated my wife's birthday and ordered handsomely from the menu and had a couple of mocktails.

The wife and I both ordered the chicken breast wrapped in prosciutto ham, grilled lemon, sage pan jus, potato, and vegetables $38. I added the lobster for an additional $25. I also ordered the locally sourced sautéed mushrooms $13. We could not cut into the chicken. It was overcooked and dry. I had to put some real muscle into cutting the chicken. My wife and I were laughing at how bad the food was, it was just ridiculous. Our waiter was new, and we are not the complaining type. We simply asked for more jus, which she brought us right away. Without the extra sauce, it would not have been edible. For a restaurant of this caliber, they should know how to cook chicken to perfection. However, this was not the case. Funny thing, the bartender and the other waitresses saw us having a difficult time eating the chicken, but no one offered to do anything about it. The potatoes and vegetables were really good. Mushrooms were terrible.

The lobster was great. I highly recommend it.

For our starter, we had the Burrata, strawberry rhubarb chutney, grilled focaccia, and candied pistachios. It was good.

Overall, customer service is great. Plenty paid street parking available (free on weekends). Unfortunately, we won't be back. Paid $190 for 2 people with a $30 tip. In my humble opinion, we would have had a much better meal at The Keg for far less money.

Give them a try and judge for yourself. Perhaps this might have been a one-off, but we were...