Gino's Fired Up Kitchen & Bar — Restaurant in Sault Ste. Marie

I never usually post reviews but felt this one needed to be done. Sit back it's a long one. Unfortunately we were late on making Valentine reservations at a classier establishment and ended up settling for Gino's Fired Up. We were there once before shortly after they opened and the food was subpare and the service was so quick we felt like we were being rushed out. Our food was cold like it was sitting for awhile like waiting for someone to order it. Tonight our total time here was 2.25 hours and that's with being seated 10 minutes earlier then our reservation time. We started with ordering a bottle of Pinot Grigio. Now I know, why order a bottle of wine in a place like that but hey it's Valentine's Day. The server first brought a glass of ice to our table and 2 wine glasses. We looked at each other puzzled. Next she brought over the bottle. So warm. She said it's very warm so I brought some ice for you to put in your glass with it. What?? Then she decided to take the bottle back and put it in a draft jug and filled it with ice thinking that would help. I'm telling you this bottle felt warm to the touch like it was next to a heater or something. If you have bottles of wine on your menu, maybe put a couple in the fridge in case someone does order one. We ended up ordering a small glass of wine each to enjoy while waiting for our bottle to chill (insert eye roll). How about give those $9 of 6oz glasses on the house...just a tip for the future for someone else. We placed our order. Calamari, I order the Greek salad and the Fettuccine Alfredo dish with the bruschetta mix and grilled chicken. My husband order the NY steak, well done, with mashed potatoes and a Greek salad to start. Now we wait...and wait and wait. My Greek salad finally arrives but where's my husband's salad? She says oh you ordered one too? I'm sorry and goes to the salad bar (where the salads are prepared) and then comes right back and tries to tell me I ordered a garden salad. I know very well I didn't. And if that's what you thought where is that? Why was only one served to the table and placed in front of me if you don't think I ordered it. So she confirms again that it's 2 Greek salads. I wasn't going to start eating mine until he got his and offered to share mine until his came and he said no I will wait. Well wait we did!! So long that he went outside and had a smoke 15 minutes after I got mine before it finally came. Eat salad. To make a very long story short the exact same thing happened with our entrees. She put down mine and said the steak will be coming soon but mine is piping hot. Uhmmm...bring them together. Not lying when I say his took 10-15 more minutes to come to the table. I didn't start eating mine until his arrived. I will say my food tasted good. His steak was medium to medium rare and potatoes were cold and I mean cold as well as the broccoli which was hard and crunchy. And his came after mine. Lastly we have both been fighting for the washroom all night. Not sure what was the root of that but the only thing we had the same of was the calamari, Greek salad and warm wine. I did give the server a 20% tip still because she seemed to be all over the place and having been a server I know you can't control the kitchen and on a night like Valentine's it's going to be hectic. Oh and we sat right beside the pizza station and the guy making the salads...you may want to have a talk with him about what should be done in the kitchen out of sight of customers because a few things we observed made me question freshness and quality of some foods. Amanda you did your best with what you were given and don't take this awful experience out on you totally. In at 6:20,...

Another update to my review: BAD EXPERIENCE ☹️ The newly renovated Gino's is beautiful. I went last night June 28th 2023. I made a reservation to take a friend for her birthday. When we arrived the staff were friendly, however when the waitress took us to our table they had stuck our table against a window facing the outdoor patio looking right at the another party eating their meal up against the glass, it was so wierd as it was just a piece of glass separateing the other party. It felt like fish bowl. The table was so tightly packed in behind another table we could not properly get into our seats without affecting the other table eating their meal. It was very obvious that table had been moved to accommodate a very large party. I had to insist to be moved as it was ridiculous. That became an issue as well, as at first they said this is it, take it or leave it. They finally conceded we could have one of the empty booths. It was to say the least very uncomfortable and we felt like an inconvenience as we were just a party of two 😠. I did not want to stare at the people outside up against the glass and I'm sure they would not have liked it either. Now about the food. I ordered the chicken parm. My spaghetti was so over cooked, I could not separate it properly, I asked for more sauce hoping it would help to break it up, but there was no hope for the pasta, it was a blob of paste. At this point I did not say anything😪. The chicken parm was okay but not like I have there before. The birthday guests lasagne was good, so I was greatful for that, she ate it all. The deserts were very fresh & good. We did not stay long as the noise was extreme. We could not communicate appropriately and had to practically scream, so we left. My family has always been a Gino's fan. I was excited to go back. I hope my review will help the new owner work out some of the bells and whistles. At this point I cannot recommend Gino's. Times are expensive and I want a good meal.

Update on my review. Took our Family to Gino's tonight. Monday August 1st, 2022. The food was amazing. My husband had the Lasagna, the size for him was great. Definitely a man size. I know he loved it as he never said one word the entire time. My son in-law had the ribs, they fell off the bone and they were juicey. My daughter had the Alfredo fettuccine with bacon & crispy chicken, she said it was mouth watering & could not stopping eating it. Infact she ate to much and was uncomfortable. I had the Chicken Parmigiano with choice of pasta, as well soup or salad. I chose the soup. It was a tomato basil, best I have ever had. I highly recommend trying it, you will not be disappointed. The spaghetti sauce on my spaghetti was even more incredible than before. I found out they have new owners. One of the owners spoke with us which we really appreciated. He expressed that they are continually trying improve there recipes. He sure has accomplished that. We are all looking forward to going back soon. THANK FOR GREAT FOOD AND SERVICE IT MADE OUR NIGHT.

I have been back to Gino's a few times now. It sure has up the quality. The veal parm special is amazing. I suggest if you have not been in a while try it .

Well Im writing another review Oct 25/ 2020. I usually eat in at Gino's But because of the pandemic I chose to order take out. We ordered Chicken Parm. I had been graving this dish from them. It was Fantastic. We also ordered a pizza which I had never tryed . It was pure perfection. Now I know there take out is as delicious as the eat in I will order again and again. Thank for the...

My soup came in a very scratched ceramic bowl (you could see the lead which would have been covered by the missing ceramic) that should have been thrown out long ago. There were 5 of us and I received my spaghetti 10-15 mins before anybody else's food, so I waited to eat with my family and not alone in front of them. My wife's order came first and before accepting it from the waittress she asked her if she was actually receiving the veal parmesan. The waittress went back to the kitchen and came back with a confirmation that it was. Well it turns out the kitchen doesn't know what they serve because they gave my sister's order to my wife. Well my wife likes salt so she sprinkled it on her plate of food. She realized it was the wrong parmesan (chicken instead of veal) after having cut off a piece and then taken a bite. She immediately told the waittress. The waittress took the mistaken order back to the kitchen only to return with that same order to our table and asked my sister if she would be willing to take the order that was had already been cut into and eaten from. They were offering to cut off a piece from the chicken parmesan that my wife had eaten from and then give it to her after they reheated it. My sister told them no because there was to much salt on the mistaken order so they came back with another order much later. These were both supposed to be parmesan dishes which they were not. Instead there was a small layer of mozzarella cheese on their parmesan dishes contrary to what the special offered as a parmesan dish on the board at the front door. The waitress needs proper training because she has a bad habit of reaching over our platesto grab items while we were eating. Not impressed with the overall service or food, sorry. Telling it like...