Old Country Inn — Restaurant in Markham

The 2 stars are to account for the wonderful food and lovely server, however the incredibly unwelcoming and rude owner made our visit here an awful experience.

It started the second one of our guest’s car was parked and the owner made a point to tell my brother he could not park there assuming he was using the lot illegally, before even asking if he had a reservation. Then when we walked in with a stroller and our toddler and newborn, and the looks we got from him and not a single welcome (the way he was wandering around to the other tables that’s evening), we knew this was not a family friendly establishment and he is clearly not interested in gaining new guests.

To make matters worse, when our 4 month old was crying (as babies do) and I took him to the front foyer and outside, rather than the owner asking if there was anything he could do to help (maybe bring me a chair, my jacket, my drink, etc.), he proceeded to shame the crying (“wow he hasn’t stopped crying since he got in here, is there something wrong with him”) and constantly giving me disapproving looks. Way to make a stressed out mother feel even worse! I couldn’t believe his lack of decency. He needs an attitude adjustment.

On top of all of that, he was taking his mask on and off while at the bar, which is right at the foyer where guests are passing through regularly. I reported the violation and the bylaw officer updated me that the owner said “he needed a break sometimes” and didn’t do it around customers, but it was off when I was walking around in that area with the baby. And if you need a break from your mask, go outside!

Overall, we were a family of 10 celebrating a birthday, but will definitely never take our business here again given how terrible he made our family...

We have been coming to the Old Country in for 6+ years, sadly, the quality has plummeted severely in the last year. Tonight's experience was unfortunately extremely bad and my final straw before writing a review, however it seems that the owner doesn't check these. Most notably, one of the waitresses, who we have been served by multiple times now, is so unfit for the job it is simply uncomfortable to have her serve the table. Aside from her extreme unprofessionalism, her uncomfortable comments and the fact that she doesn't remember any orders or provide any assistance ... didn't even bring an ice bucket for the white wine ... by 5:30pm the kitchen were already out of many of the basic items on the menu. The portions were small and instead of apologizing for the fact that so early in the evening, at an Austrian restaurant, they had no more spatzel (how? they easily can make it) they instead spread one portion onto two plates and served the other order with the wrong sides instead of telling us they were out and asking what we would like to substitute with. We left hungry and disappointed. I know we are not the only loyal customers who feel this way, just take a glance at the guest book, I saw a note written in there tonight stating exactly the same thing about one of the waitresses. It was also a member of our parties birthday, which we told the waitress many times, and that was not acknowledged at all. After many many years, I think tonight was our last dinner at the Old Country Inn. I am sad to say it but until the owner does anything to make it better, its a major rip off and you will leave hungry and feeling stressed out due to the horrific...

We visited this restaurant with two friends (so four of us in total), and were courteously informed that the air conditioning does not work as well in the old part of the building as it does in the new part, so we had a choice of either the old part by ourselves or the busier new part. We chose the old section and it was very warm, but not too hot, even on a sultry evening. The server was extremely helpful at every single stage of the service, from bringing us water, to organising the table so it fit the HUGE platter for two etc). To start I had the smoked trout with creamed horseradish sauce which was simply delicious and packed just the right amount of punch into the dish. My husband had the potato soup and our friends the mushroom and cold cucumber respectively. All found their soup extremely tasty and would have it again. For main courses, there was a little bit of a mixed experience (for me anyway). Our friends had the House Platter, which comprised Schnitzel, Pork Loin, Sausage, Home Fries and Sauerkraut. This was HUGE and easily enough for two with food to spare! Our friends do have this on a regular basis and declared it delicious. My husband had asked for the trout, but they had ran out, so he had sole instead and absolutely loved it. I had a pepper steak which was well cooked, but a little bit fatty for me, and I wasn't keen on the potatoes (too bland) and vegetables (too hard), but that was the only criticism I had of the entire meal. The ambience is great, as is service, the place is alive with history, the menu extensive and we would/will definitely go back again. Highly...