MR. JOHN'S Real Kerala Kitchen - Brampton — Restaurant in Brampton

A Deeply Disappointing Experience – Mr. John’s Brampton Needs a Serious Rethink

My recent visit to Mr. John’s in Brampton was, quite frankly, one of the most disappointing dining experiences I’ve had in a long time. I rarely leave negative reviews, but when a restaurant fails on almost every basic standard of hospitality, food quality, and customer respect, it becomes necessary to speak up.

My wife and I went in for lunch, and I ordered a fish curry meal along with a coffee. What followed was nothing short of frustrating.

To begin with, the coffee was served before the meal—a completely illogical move. When I politely requested that it be taken back and served after the food or at least reheated later, the server questioned me as if I had made a mistake: “Did you mention the coffee should be served later?” I’m sorry, but since when does a customer have to spell out the obvious? In any standard restaurant setting, beverages like coffee are naturally served after the meal unless otherwise stated.

This lack of basic service logic speaks volumes. It felt as if they had their own rules of service and the customer’s preferences didn’t matter at all. And yes—they charged me in full for it, with zero acknowledgment of the issue. When I asked whether they normally serve items in such a mismatched sequence, there was no answer—just silence and a bill.

Let me be very clear: every dish we ordered was a disappointment. • My fish curry meal was bland and lacked any depth of flavour. • My wife’s tawa prawns, kappa, and boti curry were borderline inedible—either overcooked, underseasoned, or just poorly executed.

The only thing remotely decent was the pineapple juice. That’s it. Imagine visiting a restaurant and the only thing worth remembering is the juice.

The overall attitude made us feel not like paying guests, but like we were being handed food in a mess hall or prison, where we had no say in how, what, or when our food would be served. There was no flow, no care, no understanding of what dining should feel like. Just robotic service and a refusal to acknowledge or correct their own mistakes.

A restaurant can have good ambience—which Mr. John’s does—but when everything else collapses, the decor means nothing. Hospitality is not just about bringing food to a table, it’s about respect, attention, and service with dignity.

If this is how they believe customers should be treated—served whatever they feel, whenever they feel, regardless of how bad it tastes—then they seriously need to reevaluate why they are in the restaurant business at all.

I will not be returning. I do not recommend this place to anyone who values basic standards of...

I recently dined at Mr. John's with high expectations, given the hype surrounding their offerings. However, the experience fell short of the promises.

We ordered the Kalyana Biriyani, which is traditionally known for being a rich and flavorful dish served at Kerala weddings. Unfortunately, what we received was far from the authentic experience. It was essentially a regular biriyani served on a banana leaf, accompanied by fried chicken pieces, coconut chutney, a beetroot dish, and the usual accompaniments like raita, pappad, pickle, and a boiled egg.

While the food was flavorful, it lacked the richness and depth typically associated with Kalyana Biriyani. The dish seemed like a basic attempt at recreating something truly special, and it did not live up to the expectations or the name it carried.

The biggest disappointment, however, was the price. At $21 + tax for mutton Kalyana Biriyani and $16 + tax for the chicken variant, the cost felt exorbitant for what was offered. It was hard to justify the price, considering the underwhelming experience.

Overall, my visit to Mr. John's was disappointing. The food was decent but far from extraordinary, and the pricing left me feeling it was more about the hype than the quality. I wouldn’t recommend it unless they improve their dishes or adjust their prices to match the experience.

Another big thing was the atmosphere. Being an open hall, with little to no seperation between diners, the loudness was quite overwhelming. I asked the server if I could sit in the unoccupied corner of the restaurant but was denied stating that the area was already closed which made our visit...

Hey Mr. Johns I hope you read this and even if you don’t, it actually doesn’t bother me. I have visited Mr. Johns 7 times in total. 3 times at their Scarborough location and 4 times at their Brampton location. This is it and am never going to visit this restaurant ever again, period! This review is for their Brampton location. When you look online to see until when they are open, it says until 10:30PM but they close their dine-in by 9PM. They don’t let you dine-in even if you come in at 9:01PM. Their service when it comes to taking orders to greeting customers is below average. They don’t even know how to professionally deal with customers. Give your customers 5-10 minutes to decide and wrap their mind on what they would like to have & don’t be in a hurry-burry. If you order a drink, they will give it to you after you are done with your food and after reminding them 2-3 times. The worst part is they don’t even serve you water on the table until asked. Charge high prices for your food, if that price is reflected by your food and service quality. Last day when I visited them here, I had placed an order for their Sea Food Platter and Kerala Porotta. The Sea Food Platter (Half Plate) costs you 55$ and the platter wasn’t even hot. It was cold and pale. It breaks my heart cause I had to spent 81$ and what did I get in return; poor service quality and a bad experience with both food and service expectations. Me being a Malayali, I am extremely dissatisfied and disappointed in them. I’m never visiting this...