Lone Star Cantina — Restaurant in Whitby

We had a very disappointing experience at Lone Star Grill, even though it started off well. Our first server was absolutely amazing — so kind, patient, and helpful. When we asked about the happy hour prices (since the sign said Mon–Fri and also 9 pm to late every day), she didn’t have all the details, but instead of guessing, she went back several times to check for us. She was even kind enough to bring the manager so we could get the correct information before ordering. That effort really showed how much she cared about giving us the right answers. After placing our food and drink order, we told her we were stepping outside for a smoke. She thanked us for letting her know. We went to the parking lot (not inside the premises) and smoked. When we came back to the patio, our drinks — frozen margaritas with bulldogs — were already served. It all went downhill when we asked another staff member for straws. Instead of bringing them, he accused us of “doing drugs.” A brown girl (not in uniform) also joined in, repeatedly saying we “did drugs” and making rude comments like, “Have you ever been to a restaurant or bar where they allow smoking weed?” She even claimed there were “signs everywhere” saying no smoking, but there are none — I took photos to confirm. The girl even kept on saying loudly we cant serve you, you have to leave! you have to pay your bills and leave and was making rude comments, the friend who has has anxiety issue was almost about to cry. This was extremely offensive and triggering for my friend, who has anxiety and a prescription for cannabis. We never meant to cause trouble, and although we did smoke weed outside, it was away from the premises. The manager later mentioned she could smell it, but she still handled the situation professionally, apologized, and offered the food we ordered. We had lost our appetite after the incident, so we declined and asked her to give the food to someone in need. When we asked for an apology, the manager brought back the male staff member, who admitted there was a miscommunication — he thought we had smoked on the premises, and threw buds on the patio which wasn’t true. Alejandro explained that her concern was about other guests, especially kids, being around. To her credit, she handled everything with professionalism and respect and actually fixed the situation. That said, this was Sunday night at 9 pm — it wasn’t busy at all, and kids shouldn’t have been playing in the parking lot anyway. We also made sure not to smoke near them. We hadn’t even touched our drinks, but were told we wouldn’t be served food and had to leave, while still paying for the drinks. Thanks again to Alejandro and our first server — they were the only positive part of the experience. If you go here — you’ll be in good hands with Alejandro and amazing servers like the one we had at first. But avoid that brown girl — she was rude, unprofessional, and completely...

Lone Star indeed! (only deserves one star).

Writing this review as a PSA, as it would be neglectful not to inform people about the poor quality, overpriced and bland food we experienced at this restaurant.

It was our first time at a Lone Star restaurant and have to say we liked the atmosphere, booth seating with the lights not too bright. Our waiter was friendly and answered menu questions well. But that's about where the positive experience ended.

We ordered wings and fajitas. Which took forever to arrive.

8 small chicken wings were $18.99!!! Just a basket with 8 small wings with no celery, carrots or fries! Think about that, just 8 plain wings, almost $20.... Then to add fries it was an extra $4 lol. Really?! $23 for chicken wings and fries, talk about greedflation. If the wings were really good, it would bring down the sense of being ripped off, but they were small, dried and basic.

The fajitas were unfortunately lackluster as well. The iron skillet they came on was not sizzling and looked like they just dumped sliced chicken nuggets on a cold skillet onions with barely any peppers. I touched the skillet just to see how hot it was and felt luke warm. Needless to say everything on the skillet got cold pretty quickly. And the flour tortillas which were recommended to us by the waiter were undercooked and smelled very doughy, almost raw. Also no guacamole either.

The price for fajitas for two was $53.49+taxes which is insane, and again it wouldn't be as bad if they got it right, or even close, but it was bland and terrible.

The only item we really enjoyed was the salsa and chips at the beginning, nice and crispy with fresh tasting salsa.

So if you feel like being taken advantage of and paying wayyy too much for bland marginal food, this is your place.

There are plenty of other restaurant options in the same plaza which we wished we would've tried instead.

First and last time...

On April 6, like most human beings, I ordered my food ahead of time (online), so that I could pick it up by a certain time and get to where I needed to be. Note: once I placed my order online, I was given/emailed an expected pick-up time. Unfortunately, when I arrived later than I expected (by 10mins), I was told “The kitchen is backed up, so the order will take another 10mins.” This meant that my order—even though I was given a pick-up time—was now 20mins behind schedule, making me even later than I had to be. After I waited the extra 10mins, the waitress decided to ignore me and seat and serve other customers. It wasn’t until a kind group of seniors who noticed I had been standing around for a while, acknowledged that I may have been there longer than them and allowed me to get the greeter’s attention. At that time, I was told that my food STILL isn’t ready. I asked for the manager. She said, she’ll get the manager, but them proceeded to seat another 2-3 groups of people before actually getting the manager! I had to interrupt her again and demand to speak with someone—honestly, this experience was infuriating! When the manager finally came out, she informed me that she could not refund my money, because the online ordering system is a third-party entity that is not directly affiliated with the restaurant. Like, WHAT?! I’d like to recommend that the restaurant find a better online ordering system and provide better training for their staff on the protocols of customer service and how to process online orders—or else DON’T OFFER ONLINE ORDERING. It’s now been over two weeks, and I have yet to receive some sort of compensation for this inconveniences of the...