Jack Astor's Bar & Grill Pickering — Restaurant in Pickering

UPDATE - No reply from this location or the head office about this. Poor customer service via the lack of a response makes it lose another star.

The location was clean, Cass, our server was very sweet and polite, and the food was delivered quickly. The lack of two stars does not go to the location, itself, but to the Head Office because of their (lazy) error with the misrepresentation of a menu item.

During the pandemic, I have been to a restaurant once. After a Holiday Celebration with my family of going to the movies (again, since the pandemic began in early 2020, we have not done this), we decided to ride the wave of enjoyment by stopping at Jack Astor's for dinner.

My daughter and I were excited for the calamari - we've been craving it for ages, and prefer it fresh-fried instead of soggy from takeout. It appeared on the menu, both the online version and the print (which is a black and white photocopy on a piece of white copy paper). We placed the order and were told that, unfortunately, they no longer serve calamari due to supplier issues. This began a while ago, so I questioned why it was still on the menu. Cass said she didn't know, that it was not a location concern (her manager knew of the issue), but a Head Office decision. It ruined my night. This may seem like a small issue to some readers, but as an individual with a cognitive disability, that disappointment was very upsetting. It deflated the good feelings I'd had and forced me and my daughter to eat something less appealing (I had the guacamole and found bizarre bits of something in it that no one could identify...).

Why didn't we leave? Because we were there, we were hungry and my partner was intent on eating a steak. The hassle of leaving, finding another restaurant or the option of having fast food was undesirable. There were few other dietary options for me, but I chose the guacamole because I hadn't eaten for hours. It was average.

I was very disappointed, especially because this supplier issue (they went out of business earlier in the pandemic) was well-known to the Company and, really, how hard is it to modify the menu and remove that option from a photocopied piece of paper? It's just the responsible thing to do. Also, from a consumer rights perspective (Ontario), offering something that you know is not available is considered Misrepresentation : "It’s illegal for the business or individual to give you false information about themselves or the product or service they offer. Some examples of misrepresentation include: ... promising to deliver a service or product when they know or should know that it’s not possible."

Again, the location and staff were fine, but I would be uncomfortable patronizing any Jack's restaurant again after this; if they're willing to falsely represent themselves in this manner, what are they doing...

Update: July 30th, 2024 Below is the review I posted after experiencing a rather lackluster celebratory dinner at Jack's. The manager reached out so quickly and was more than sympathetic. To say he made things right is an understatement! he was very generous and now have us feeling valued as customers. We look forward to revisiting the restaurant sooner rather than next year on our special date.

A tad disappointed with our special 45th wedding Anniversary dinner at Jack's. We celebrated there last year, the food, waitstaff and ambiance were above and beyond. This year was the worst, it started with our server. A truly hard worker who was cordial but simply lacked the ability to cover many tables.

She asked and we indicated that it was our 45th Anniversary. After that we honestly felt ignored. A few things: we had to ask for a steak knife, and a coffee refill, which took time and at no point once we were served our meals did she inquire how they were?? They ALL do that at some point don't they.

We had wine, appetizers, large steak dinners and dessert so not a frugal night out. All the food was top notch, however, for the cost we expected way better service.

When ordering dessert we asked for coffee to accompany it. That never came and my dessert was already half eaten so we flagged her down to cancel the java and asked for the bill. Unbelievably she brings a coffee to the table ?? Then realizing her error says she will remove it from the final bill. ( she didn't ) The final insult is she handed us a " coupon " for a FREE appetizer on the next visit, actually making it sound like such a great offer. Only this morning did I check the written details on this card and it expires on July 31, 2024. If all of this wasn't so insulting we would laugh about it. Next year we will NOT be...

Very disappointing visit on AUG 24! We went there specifically because I wanted the ‘Chicken Truffle Linguine’ (because I had it at the Don Mills location a few weeks prior and it was incredible) and when the dish arrived, the sauce looked nothing like the one I had at the Don Mills location: at the Don Mills location, the sauce was thick, white, creamy and flavourful, and at this Pickering location it was watery, brown, and tasted disgusting. When the dish arrived, there were no utensils at the table and it took almost 10 minutes for someone to come by for me to get utensils and at that point the pasta was getting cold. Once I had a fork and tasted the dish, it was gross so I waited for the waitress (who wasn’t around) and instead the hostess came. I told her what was wrong with the dish and showed her the picture I had of the dish I had at Don Mills (so she could see the difference in colour of the sauce/dish) and she agreed, the dish I got at Pickering looked different than what I got at Don Mills. She took the dish away and asked me if I wanted something else. I said ‘No’ as that was the only thing on the menu I wanted, I was disappointed (and hungry…I had to go home and cook something for myself and it was after 11 pm at that point). Then after that, my fiance wanted a refill of his drink and oncr again, no waitress to be found. At that point, we gave up, paid the bill and left. I’m very surprised a Manager did not come by the table to apologize and make things right…every other restaurant I go to, when something goes wrong, the Manager comes by. Oh well, will not be going back and do not recommend this location (go to the Don Mills location where the...