East Side Mario's — Restaurant in Ontario

I never like to give bad reviews as I understand forgiveness, maybe a bad day etc etc but in this circumstance I need to share this experience. Four of us came for lunch on 05/24/2025. My mother, 2 teenage sons and myself. Even though there were many open tables we had to wait about 15 mins. (I can understand that, staggered seating to avoid overwhelming the kitchen and serving staff, after all it was 1pm on a Saturday). After we were sat, we waiting an additional 10 mins for the waiter to come get our drink order. We were not in any rush, but after we said our drinks, he said "and to eat?". We were kind of taken back and he just stood there with pen to paper - so we went ahead and ordered. Our drinks came, 3 pops and 1 ceaser. The ceaser only had 1 pepper on a screw across the top. No lemon/lime and did not look like the photo or when I have got it other East Side locations. At this point the waiter also brought a loaf of bread. Of course my 16 & 14 year olds ate that right up. My sons did create your own pastas from the lunch menu, I did the lunch portion of chicken parm and my Mom had the meatball sandwich again from the lunch menu. We waited longer than typical for our food, but again that was okay as we were not in any rush. The waiter brought our food - and my chicken parm just about slide off the plate onto my son. The food was very messed up on the plate as he caught it on the tray but still handed it over to me. My Mom then asked for her salad as that was her side with her sandwich. He said "Oh ya" and left before we could also ask for new drinks as our cups had been emptied for some time. We could see him go over to the counter and wait for the salad to be made. He brought it back and I asked for spoons for our pastas as they all were long noodle. Before I could again ask for new drinks, he took off. 5 mins later he walked by and again I asked for spoons and he took off. About 5 mins later he finally brought us spoons as we sat trying to eat our long noodles without them for 10 mins now. My pasta was so cold upon arrival it was not edible. It wasn't even warm. It was cold and semi hard. I wanted to ask for it to be reheated but as he threw the spoons down he took off so quick again. Note: our drinks have been empty for 20 mins now and he as been at the table 3 times. My son's also are desperate for more bread to eat long with their pastas. I kept trying to get the waiters attention by saying "excuse me" every time he passed but he would never stop (5 times). My Mom also wanted cheese for her salad. He never checked in to see how our meals were and if we needed anything. Finally, he returned and started gathering dishes and without us prompting said "I'll bring the bill". I said "No thank you. We actually would love another beverage and more bread please." He looked shocked and annoyed. He even took my plate which was barely touched without asking if it was okay. He brought us another loaf of bread and new drinks along with the bill. My Mom paid, but afterwards said she felt so awkward as he starred at her and watched her type in the debit machine. She gave him a 18% tip as his eyes were fixed on the screen. I should also note that who I believe was the Manager was hanging out mostly in the passthru, but when was out on the floor would make eye contact with me looking at our table (empty drinks) and never would come over. In fact, would walk away. I was hoping to maybe grab his attention to the matter. Upon leaving we used the washroom which was also a complete disgusting mess. Very disappointing. I previously have worked a waitress and Manager at a chain restaurant for many years and I also offer lenience as you never know the background of what was going on, but this was not acceptable in any case, in...

Update: management promptly reached out to me which was appreciated. They offered me a free appetizer after discussion. I have returned once and the service was improved, mostly because the manager was actually walking around and checking in on tables consistently (they wouldn’t have known who I was as I returned with a different party and also didn’t claim my free appetizer yet). He was very friendly. Our waitress this time may have been new, as we had two simple questions throughout the night and she had to ask for help both times. Nevertheless, she was friendly and very quick/attentive. The soup was hot this time. The chicken while appearing burnt and crispy again this time, was soft enough to eat and still tasted good. Tried the ravioli as the all-you-can-eat soup and it is very bland, I wouldn’t recommend. The portion of the cheese cappelletti is fairly small (doesn’t even fill up the small takeout container when no bites have been taken!) The blackberry Italian soda was a good refreshment to try, however given it is the same price as the lavender lemonade and the other flavour of Italian soda (stone fruit), I wish you could mix and match, especially if trying for the first time and not being sure whether you’ll even like the first glass to be able to want free refills. Our trip ended up being over $60 for 2, with no alcoholic beverages, which I find to be expensive for mediocre food, but we keep coming back for the free bread, tomato soup, and Caesar salad!

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I went with my dad for a late lunch/early dinner. Our server was East Indian (not that we have a preference or a problem with that, just mentioning as a descriptor) with dark hair. She did come back to the table a few times, since we weren’t ready to order right away. However, she did the bare minimum in her efforts in waiting on us. She did NOT come off as a polite, happy, or helpful. Very basic, poor energy, no small talk. I am in a wheelchair and have poorer-than-average motor control and speech. The server would’ve noticed this if attempting to connect with me. She brought out our drinks, full to the top, and didn’t even ask if we wanted a straw. I get that it’s not nice to assume, but she should’ve immediately noticed the tremors in my movements and realized that she could politely ask all members in our party if we wanted straws, so as not to single me out if that was the concern. The drink would’ve immediately been spilled if we didn’t ask for a straw ourselves. The food was AWFUL. We got chicken and pasta, but subbed the standard menu option pasta for fettuccine Alfredo. The chicken was completely burnt. Any cook or server could plainly see this and it should not have been brought out to the table! The ends and outer layer had to be cut away to leave anything to eat. The pasta was cold upon being served to us and in the several times I’ve been to this location, there is NEVER enough sauce! If you want more, you have to pay just to get a dumb tiny little extra cup. Hint to the establishment - your pasta shouldn’t look dry and have you seeing every part of every noodle plain in colour.. especially after stirring it. We got the tomato basil soup and unfortunately it was lukewarm at best. Such a disappointing experience. The management really needs to step up and monitor both their food quality and their staff performance! My dad has said that this experience completely turned him off from ever wanting to return to this establishment again. I’m sad because this was once my...

Review update** Newest dine in experience 3/5:

Unfortunately they cut corners with the food today where the salads were basically dry without dressing. They skimped out on the amount of soup given, which I feel is counterintuitive as it creates more dishes. If you topped up the soup more, people would have to order less soup - therefore less dishes. My pizza tasted like I was just eating dough, with lack of sauce and over 2 inches of missing toppings. So little cheese that when I bit in, all the cheese came off in nearly one bite. This was disappointing as I had just eaten at the east end location, and my food there was done correctly so it was tasty and plentiful. Even so much so where I left feeling full, bringing some of my pizza home with me. This is what made me want to eat at East Side Mario’s again. Today at the Wonderland Rd. location it was mediocre because they skimped out. Considering it’s $17 for the pizza alone, you’d expect them to put more than a small handful of cheese. It was super loud here today and hard to have a conversation. The servers however did a great job keeping up with the amount of customers and noise. It is not their fault the kitchen staff or management is pushing for less quality.

Previous dine in experience 5/5 -

Touched by an angel..Andrew If Andrew was in track and field, he would win high jump because he raised the bar and exceeded all expectations Hey Bada boom bada bring me some more Andrew 5 Star!

Oldest dine in experience 2/5 - Came to this East Side Mario’s as a special treat for my wedding anniversary. Unfortunately a lot was left to be desired. We were sat at a table that was obviously not cleaned, as pieces of food were still on the table and when I went to move the salt and pepper shakers, they stuck to the table - so gross! Then when the waitress brings me spare plates for our meal, the top plate was dirty with marks, so I reached for the bottom one and it had old butter on it! Must have not been washed because butter would melt right off. They did not have enough servers to deal with the amount of people, but the restaurant wasn’t overly full so I’m not sure why they cannot have the right amount of staff employed to handle a few tables of customers. The server was busy all over the place, which caused neglect in actually being able to wait on tables properly. Tables left with trays of food and cups from previous dinners, no real communication (until it came to giving the tip of course). I know this isn’t a high class restaurant, but come on, for over $20.00 a person they should at least wipe down tables and clean plates for customers. Food from AYCE was half the amount as it used to be, where you have to feel guilty asking for an extra salad or soup even though it’s all you can eat! The only person who seemed really happy was one gentleman who brought out our entrees, in which he had a smile that you could tell was genuine! I figured this would be a better maintained restaurant because of being in a more profitable area, but this was one of the worst East Side Mario’s experiences in terms of cleanliness. Overall the food was good. My husband enjoyed his seafood pasta and found it really tasty. It also wasn’t our waitress’ fault, she was doing the majority of the work it seems in terms of...