East Side Mario's

Reviews

• JS

  Jasper Stapleford

  1 day ago
  5.0
  I LOVE East Side Mario’s and the staff at this location are amazing! I’ve been to this location twice before but this time was the most memorable. Caitlin was an absolute joy and sweetheart to myself and my partner. She made sure we had what we got exactly what we needed. I asked to make the cheesy bow tie pasta that’s usually on the kids menu in an adult size and East Side Mario’s provided. Caitlin also got my partner not one but THREE of the Italian wedding soups to go after he mentioned he liked it. We love East Side Mario’s especially in St. Catharines. Well worth the wait
• EB

  Emily Birmingham

  4 days ago
  3.0
  While I am a fan, and eating IN the restaurant is an overall pleasant experience, I cannot recommend ordering food for takeout/delivery. Their soup portions are EXTREMELY small for the price ($8 each on DoorDash) and come in poorly sealed, tiny containers. I ordered 2 tonight because I was craving Italian Wedding soup, and not only was the bag soaked because one of the lids popped open, but the two containers combined amounted to what looks like less soup than you’d get in a $2 can from the grocery store. I also added Garlic Homeloaves to both orders of soup, and didn’t even recieve them. In total, $25 for a child’s portion of soup and missing items. Eating in however, is great. You get endless soup, salad and bread, and the pasta dishes are good for the value. Just definitely won’t be ordering delivery here again. I feel ripped off.
• CM

  Catharine Merritt

  Aug 10, 2026
  5.0
  Stopped in on August 7th at about 4pm for an early dinner after shopping. Glad we did!!!! Ali, our server, was nothing short of FANTASTIC!!!👏🏆 Very friendly, attentive and competent. It was nice to not be looking around for our server because we needed something or there was an issue with our order. We wanted for nothing. The food was EXCELLENT and exactly what we ordered. Atta girl Ali; you're terrific!!! Cudos to the chef as well.👏 We were a party of three and are in total agreement that five stars are not enough for this establishment. We will definitely be returning to this location. Food, staff, atmosphere, cleanliness ALL 5+++🌟
• CR

  Conrad Romer

  Jul 25, 2026
  2.0
  I was excited to learn that East Side Mario's had opened in St. Catharines, so I chose it to celebrate a friend's birthday. Unfortunately, our experience was disappointing from beginning to end. We initially asked to sit on the balcony, despite many empty tables, but were told we could not because there were only two servers assigned there. While waiting for our table, we sat at the bar where three seats were available. Unfortunately, the area had not been cleaned and was still covered with dirty dishes and takeout containers. We ended up moving the items ourselves, and when a passing waitress noticed, her response came across as dismissive rather than helpful. After approximately 20 minutes, our table was ready. As I began handing out the bread plates to my group, I immediately noticed visible tomato sauce and food residue on two of the plates. I brought this to the hostess's attention, and she assured me that the dishes had just come out of the dishwasher. Regardless of where they had come from, the plates were clearly not clean. I asked that the entire stack of plates, along with the cutlery resting on top of them, be removed and replaced. Unfortunately, when the replacement plates arrived, one of those plates was also visibly dirty. This gave the impression that dishes were simply being taken directly from the dishwasher without anyone verifying they were actually clean before being placed into service. From both a cleanliness and food safety perspective, I found this very concerning Service was inconsistent throughout the meal. We received only one breadstick for three people (other tables were receiving one breadstick/person) and were never offered more, despite watching nearby tables receive bread refills. The same happened with soup and salad refills—other tables were asked repeatedly if they wanted more, while our table was never asked once. Near the end of the meal I requested a refill of my drink, only to be told the bar had already closed. No one had mentioned the bar was closing or offered us a refill beforehand. Two members of our party ordered the Steak Fettuccine after seeing the generous portion pictured on the menu. When the meals arrived, one plate had only two small strips of steak, while the other had only slightly more. When we mentioned this to our server at the end of our meal, she responded, "I kind of noticed that," which was surprising. To add to the inconsistency, I overheard a nearby table being asked if they had a CAA membership so they could receive the available discount. Our table was never asked, so we missed out on the savings. The bartender was friendly, and my own pasta was enjoyable, but those positives were overshadowed by dirty dishes, inconsistent service, disappointing entrées, and a general lack of attention to detail. I genuinely want this new St. Catharines location to succeed, but based on our first visit, there is significant room for improvement.
• JD

  Josh Daoust

  Jul 18, 2026
  1.0
  We gave this East Side Mario’s location another chance because we enjoyed the food during our previous visit, but unfortunately the service this time was extremely disappointing. We had a reservation, and right from the start there were issues. When our server checked my girlfriend’s ID for her drink, she had a completely valid Ontario driver’s licence. However, instead of simply accepting it, the server repeatedly questioned her age, asked “Are you sure?” multiple times, and made comments about how young she was in front of the table. She is legally old enough to order alcohol, and I am only one year older than her, yet my ID was barely looked at before the server said, “That’s better.” The way she handled the situation was unnecessary, rude, and unprofessional. We were given one tiny loaf of bread for a table of four and had to ask for more. Before our soup and salad arrived, one person’s pasta was brought out first, so we had to ask for it to be taken back since the appetizers were supposed to come first. Throughout the meal, we repeatedly had to call our server over because things were being missed or forgotten. When our entrées arrived, one order was completely wrong. A Crispy Chicken Rosé Pasta was brought out as a salmon pasta with green sauce instead. Since our server didn’t come back to check on the table, we had to get someone else’s attention to have it corrected. The drink service was also very disappointing. Our empty glasses sat on the table while we waited for someone to ask if we wanted refills, but we eventually had to ask ourselves. After ordering another round, we waited around 20 minutes and didn’t receive our drinks until after we had already finished eating. We understand that the bar can get busy, but that wait time was unreasonable for a few basic drinks. When we mentioned that we had been waiting after 15 minutes, the response that “the bar is busy” came across as dismissive. There was also an issue where someone at our table ordered a Caesar salad and clearly stated they did not want alcohol, yet an alcoholic Caesar was brought out instead. The issues continued when it was time to pay. We had to ask for the bill, were almost given another table’s bill, and then our server had to rewrite the entire order because there were mistakes. It took multiple attempts to finally get everything corrected. The most disappointing part is that the food was actually very good, which is why we wanted to come back. Unfortunately, the service completely ruined the experience. There were many tables waiting outside while tables inside were left uncleared, and staff appeared more focused on chatting than checking on customers. After giving this location another chance, we unfortunately won’t be returning.

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