Scaddabush Italian Kitchen & Bar Richmond Hill — Restaurant in Richmond Hill

It all started on a blistering hot day, the kind of day where the sun glares down with no mercy and every conversation somehow leads back to food. We’d been running errands, getting caught in traffic, and making all the worst decisions when it came to grabbing a bite to eat closed kitchens, long waits, and disappointing drive-thrus. Time ticked on, and our hunger evolved from a minor inconvenience into a full-blown crisis.

By 6 p.m., we were hangry tired, weak, delirious. Someone muttered something about eating couch cushions. Someone else tried to rationalize licking the condensation off a water bottle. Things were getting bleak.

And then, as if summoned by some divine force of pasta and mercy, we saw it: Scaddabush. The glowing sign called out like a lighthouse to lost ships at sea. We didn’t think twice we just stumbled through the doors, bellies growling like angry wolves.

That’s when Rocky entered the story.

He didn’t walk he glided. With a warm smile and the energy of someone who’d just stepped out of a feel-good movie montage, he greeted us like he’d been waiting for us all day.

“Looks like you’ve been through it,” he said, somehow managing to both sympathize and laugh without judgment. “Don’t worry. I’ve got you.”

And did he ever.

Within minutes, we had cold water, warm bread, and menus in hand. Rocky wasn’t just a server, he was a culinary therapist, easing us back to sanity one plate at a time. He made recommendations like he had tasted everything on the menu twice, and somehow knew exactly what each of us needed.

We laughed, we ordered, and we waited. But not long because Rocky was on it. Food came out piping hot, perfectly plated, smelling like heaven had just opened up its own Italian bistro.

We devoured everything. Every single bite felt like a lifeline. The mozzarella was warm and gooey, the pasta was cooked with love, and the desserts? Let’s just say if angels made tiramisu, it would still come in second place to Scaddabush’s.

But as incredible as the food was, it was Rocky who made the experience unforgettable. He cracked jokes, refilled drinks before we even noticed they were empty, and somehow made us feel like regulars on our very first visit.

By the time we rolled out of there full, happy, and emotionally healed, we agreed on one thing: Rocky wasn’t just a 10/10 server. He was a legend.

And Scaddabush? That wasn’t just a restaurant anymore. It was a turning point. A place where the starving found salvation, and where one amazing human reminded us that sometimes, a great meal with even better service can save the day.

To Rocky thank you for feeding our bodies, lifting our spirits, and giving us the best damn meal...

As anyone living in or near Markham knows, there's a large complex of excellent restaurants on York Boulevard near the intersection of East Beaver Creek and Highway 7. The competition amongst these restaurants is fierce, and Scaddabush stands out as one of my favourites, if not my most favourite.

I've been here several times over the years, and the food, service and ambience are consistently terrific. I had lunch here on a weekday - it was too hot to sit on the patio (which was unfortunate as it looks very nice), so I was seated inside.

The decor is unique and upscale, yet functional. I would describe it as modern high-end industrial-Italian chic. It's a massive place - several thousand square feet. It would take an hour to walk through all the tables. Although it's a large place, it has a homey, casual feel.

I started with the Caesar salad, which was fresh and delicious. I ordered a small one, but I guess "small" in Italian means "large" because it was a good size. For the main course, I had the Sophia pizza, which has roasted chicken, pecorino alfredo sauce, goat cheese, roasted red peppers, caramelized onions, roasted garlic, fresh basil, and basil oil. And yes, it was as tasty as it sounds - cheesy and soft on top and crispy on the bottom. The goat cheese paired especially well with the chicken - absolutely delicious, and also enormous - almost the size of my upper thigh.

I like how they give you industrial-strength pizza scissors to cut it up. Although massive, it was so tasty I had to finish it, although it took me quite a while to consume it all. (None of this "doggy bag" nonsense.)

My waitress, Stephanie, was terrific. She epitomizes the 3 F's in all excellent wait staff: Fast, Focused and Friendly. I was seated promptly, and the food arrived within minutes. She checked in on me regularly. If there were an Olympics for waitressing, she'd win multiple gold. Thank you, Stephanie!

The combination of fresh, high-quality food, excellent service and a warm, funky environment makes this place exceptional.

Sept 18, 2025 update: I enjoyed another lunch here. I had the small Caeser salad, the spaghetti carbonara with chicken and garlic parmesan polenta fries. Everything was delicious. The salad was fresh and tangy, the pasta was perfectly cooked with a wonderfully creamy sauce, and the polenta fries were a crispy and hearty add-on. Stephanie was again my waitress and was again terrific - very friendly and attentive: 5 stars for Stephanie.

I look forward to...

Really good food but Poor service . If I’m able to give 0 star ⭐️. I will give 0 ⭐️ for this location ( Richmond hill ) I like Scaddabush food and we come very often. But today got a bad experience with our service at the end of our meal.

The server only came to our table one time. We didn’t expect she will provide any good service. She didn’t ask if our food was ok or provide any Parmesan cheese. I’m a cheese lover . I like to add more Parmesan cheese on my pasta . But I can’t find her anywhere when I need some extra .

Also, we ordered two kids meal Pastas and she asked our kids if they wanted to add extra chicken or shrimps but didn’t mention how much it would be so we ended up paying for two kids meals with extra chicken, which was eight dollars for each . That’s extra $ 15.98 . We knew we would have to pay extra for the chicken, but not that much. If it was that much, I would order another meal instead.

When we requested the bill, she gave us the bill and said we have to pay a minimum of 18% gratuity. Mentioned the bill doesn’t include tip and kept telling us to pay 18% tips. We can’t understand that why she saying that. She may thinking that we won’t tip her any???🤔🤔🤔

Then we asked her why we had to pay 18% tips and she said we had 8 people, but we only had 7 people of our table . then she took the bill and said something wrong with the bill and she said she charged the extra kids meal, she needs to change another bill for us . But she actually didn’t charge us an extra kids meal. When we got the new bill back it was the exact same bill as before she was making up a story for us to pay 18% tips. 😡😡😡 She was kind of forcing us to pay more tips and making us feel more pressure & uncomfortable. We had three families so we divided the bill into three and then she wrote on her bill how much tips we needed to pay for family. And she give us the card reader And set the minimum tips as 18%. And then my other friend wanted to pay cash of $100 and she asked my friend how much change do you want back? She didn’t wanna calculate the change or wanted more tips instead. So we requested her to just give us a change and told her that it’s not our job to calculate the change.

I don’t recommend my friends & family to go to this location because of...