The Junction - Autentica Cucina Italiana — Restaurant in Whitchurch-Stouffville

Context...my GF and I are foodies and enjoy great restaurants/experiences. This review is for benefit of management to get feedback, not to be overly critical. Firstly...the overall ambiance is very well done! Kudos. We sat in just outside the private room, with 3 small tables. Feel it was designed for a 2-top and a 4-top OR a 6-top. It was set up as 3 2-tops...way way too close and we were in the middle (almost sitting at same table). Drinks...we're cocktail people (her - big margarita fan (real recipe, no bar mix) and me, whisky/bourbon drinks) and we both decided to start with a spicy Marg. No rimmer. Spicy oil drizzle on top of margarita looked cool, but left an oily taste and feel in the mouth...not appetizing. Couldn't actually get a good feel for quality of the marg itself because of it. Bartender came by and asked for feedback (which is great!) and we were honest about the oil...he suggested he recreate without. A good Margarita is booze-forward...this tasted like it was more lime than anything else (at least it wasn't bar mix) and actually couldn't taste any booze. Food...we had a pizza. Carpaccio. Mussels. We get mussels all the time and we've not been to a place that does not serve baguette/bread/crustini's...the best part of mussels is the deep flavoured broth that you can soak up with some bread/toast. There is no bread/toast served...and so when it was delivered, we asked for some. Only option...a $9 bread service. We ordered...waited and ate most mussels before cancelling the order as it was getting cold. Depth of flavour in mussels was missing anyway...but $9 bread service to make up for a dish that should have it anyway did not make sense. Carpaccio...again, we get often. Never before had a carpaccio that did not have any vinegrette/oil/lemon/vinegar...the beef was absent of anything on it at all (light greens on top were dressed, but meat, in our experience, always has something on it). Pizza...wasn't bad, wasn't great. Doesn't compare to good wood burning pizza available in better italian restaurants in GTA. Lastly...prices are indicative of Toronto restaurants, clearly attempting to appeal in a much-needed upper-scale offering in Stouffville. Food/Drink does not match up...but I truly hope that this is growing pains in a new restaurant as I'd love to frequent this place given we're nearby and convenience to good food/drink is not a strong-suit for Stouffville...but willing to go to Watercolour in Unionville, or Locale, or Fishbone...if we're looking for value for money. Will keep trying occasionally given we really like the ambiance and hopeful it grows. Service...appreciated the bartender offering to remake the drink regardless of not enjoying either. Main server(s)...combination of possibly too many tables and being relatively new. Pleasant but a few things took longer than expected (i.e. bread service). Will likely come back to this review in months after we've tried a few more times and will update/remove...

We were looking forward to visiting this new restaurant in Stouffville. We found the food to be OK, but not fantastic; the atmosphere felt a little like a roadhouse, due to the tall ceilings, size and noise; and the service was mediocre.

The maitre d’ was extremely friendly and professional… we felt very welcome. He took us into a smaller room in the middle of the restaurant, which was appreciated, as it was a very cold night and the front room was a bit chilly.

The table for the three of us was very large, and we found we had to shout at each other over the music, as well as all the other loud conversations around us.

The waitstaff were there quickly, but totally forgot one of our drinks. During the meal, we saw a number of different staff wandering around with items trying to figure out what table they belonged to… there seemed to be some confusion. When our waiter came to take our order, I had some questions about two different meals that I was considering… He really did not listen to my questions at all, spoke over me, and proceeded to tell us about all kinds of other things on the menu, then disappeared. He was pleasant enough during the evening, but we felt he was always in a hurry.

The food was good, but not spectacular. For the prices they charge, it should be spectacular. My pasta had Guanciale, which I have had numerous times elsewhere, and I was very disappointed… the pieces were so small that it felt more like I was eating bacon bits. The crispy skin on the porcetta was fabulous, but the meat was overly fatty. The venison ragú on my husband’s pasta was good, but lacking a little in flavor, although the actual pasta was delicious. The best part of the whole night was my husband’s tiramisu, which was homemade, and the cream on top was excellent. My cannolo was a little boring and the ricotta could have been fluffier.

All in all, between the roadhouse atmosphere, the waitstaff not taking the time with us, and the mediocre food at spectacular prices, it would sadly not be somewhere I would return to...

Let me start by saying I didn’t want to write this review, but unfortunately, here we are.

The Good: Kevin’s cocktails were outstanding. He went out of his way to offer our group some truly creative libations, and his passion for his craft was evident. We especially enjoyed his Garden of Verona cocktail and the story behind it. We hope he’s given the creative flexibility to thrive in his role as lead bartender at The Junction. The food we were able to order was delicious—probably some of the best carpaccio I’ve had (even compared to Italy). The bread was overpriced at $9, but the beetroot caprese was fantastic.

The Bad: Our reservation was for 8:30 PM, but our table wasn’t ready until 9:10 PM. There’s nowhere to park. While waiting at the bar, we struggled to get service. It took 30 minutes just to flag someone down for a cocktail. Once seated, we weren’t given menus. When we finally received them, we were told the kitchen was closing in 15 minutes.

Frankly, the entire experience felt a bit ageist. When I spoke with management about the lengthy wait, I was told that they don’t typically take reservations for groups just coming in for drinks and that an exception had been made for us.

This response was disappointing—most restaurants understand that good customer service goes a long way. A simple comped drink or dessert for the birthday girl would have helped smooth over the long wait, especially given that it sounds like the reservation shouldn’t have been accepted in the first place. Kevin did his best to try to compensate for the bad management decisions but you could just tell his hands were tied and even he'd wanted to maybe give us a round of Limoncello shots, he would've heard about it.

Their poor choice in taking the booking led to a cascade of issues, resulting in an overall negative experience. In the end, for the cost of one comped cocktail, they lost future business, goodwill, and positive word of mouth. Unfortunately, I won’t be recommending this place to...