The Jokers Crown — Restaurant in Ingersoll

My friends invited me out to music bingo, even though I’d had negative experiences in the past I decided to try again as it had been over a year. We arrived at 6:45, the bar tender brought us to a seat on the dining side where there was one other couple (that were almost done their meal) our drink orders were not taken until almost 7:15, we opted to order food at this point as well since it was such a long wait. We all ordered from the pub fare menu, a friend ordered garlic cheese bread which came out way before everyone else’s food (approx 45 minutes after ordered). Everyone else had their food served to them except for me, I only ordered nachos (with no tomato due to an allergy) it came out when the rest of my party was basically done their food, loaded with tomato. I returned it to the server and let her know she returned a few minutes later stating “they are going to have to remake it because they are layered in there” should it not have been remade anyways? I let her know if it was going to be another 45 minutes to just forget it, she put a rush on it and it was ready in about 10-15 minutes. I added beef to it thinking nothing of it but turns out it was actually a chopped up hamburger patty and it was $5 to add that. The server apologized stating they were really busy, at this point we were the only table in the dining side and were the only table other than the one couple mentioned above…..if Jokers Crown wants my business again they have a lot of work to do, I wasn’t even offered a discount so for this awful service and food I probably could’ve made at home it cost me $36 including a tip (cause it’s not the servers fault the kitchen...

Most reviews of this place make it seem pretty good, so maybe I went on a bad day, but my experience was one of the worst I've had in a restaurant in over 25 years.

Went in with my family on a Friday afternoon, and there were only a few other customers. Yet, despite this, service was excruciatingly slow. Getting a cup of coffee took 10+ mins, and even fountain drinks were very slow to arrive.

I had to place my order THREE times... and they still got it wrong. I wanted stuffed mushroom caps and the French Onion soup. Instead, I got the mushrooms, but also a beef dip with a side of French onion soup. Sigh. I found the soup grossly underwhelming, being little more than the "au jus" with some bread in it and some cheese on top. It was a shining example of mediocrity. The mushroom caps tasted bizarre; I couldn't eat them and after trying three of them, I left the rest behind. The beef dip was cold and musty, it tasted somewhat stale, and I think there was too much garlic in it. It left a weird film on the inside of my mouth.

My stomach bothered me much of the rest of the day, and despite what people say about the prices, I don't think it's that affordable. My family's lunch at the Joker's Crown was almost as expensive as our previous night's dinner at the Charles Dickens pub in Woodstock, and that food was hot, fast, tasty and the orders were correct the first time.

In short, I found this place to have below-par food, far below-par service and the value of the meal was exceptionally poor. I will never return to this place, and I would encourage others to...

2nd time here.

Got the fries again with my meal. Fries are good, but I wouldn't go out of my way to get them. They are the best and many are satisfied with them (7.8/10).

I got the Beef Dip Devine also (7.1/10). A little dry, needed more cheese, but the dip was good and I dipped my fries in it.

The live music and the atmosphere is definitely the strong point. Always good. Singer I saw today was good and good looking. I should've asked her for her number. 😄

3rd appearance (2/10/24)

Came here to see some friends I hadn't seen in awhile.

Decided to start with the Cauliflower Bites (7.9/10). These are the best ones I've had so far. It was refreshing to see bites covered in something other than Buffalo or BBQ sauce like most places do. These were covered in Thai Sauce and diced green onion which paired really well with the cauliflower. My only criticism is that they weren't fully coated in Thai sauce, so I had to move them around a little bit. Would still recommend.

I got the Haddock & Fries (aka Fish and Chips) as the main course (7.8/10). This was recommended online a little. It was good. I didn't try the tarter sauce or coleslaw because I don't eat dairy anymore, but I don't you need it if you don't want it. The batter was flavorful and the haddock inside was relatively juicy. I think the battered haddock could be offered separately as well and not just with fries. The option to have a salad instead of fries or another side would've made the choice even more appealing.

Until...