East Side Mario's Winona Crossing

Reviews

• AW

  Adam Wojcicki

  5 days ago
  1.0
  Hate to leave a bad review but nothing about this visit was good. Walked in with a reservation, took forever the server to come to our table and take drink order and bring bread. After every visit to the table she was gone for 10-15 minutes when we were looking to place our order and get more soup and salad. The food was honestly terrible, salad didn't have enough dressing, lots of brown lettuce barely any bacon. All the main course meals were not good chicken parm very overcooked, all the pasta barely had any sauce, pizza overcooked, balsamic chicken barely had any sauce. The worst part of all was next day went to give the kids their chicken fingers and when I cut them in half they were all completely raw, thank God I caught this otherwise they would have got extremely sick. We usually love going to ESM but will never be back to this one, we will stick to our usual one. Both front and back of the house don't have it together and it is very evident in the food and the service. Very disappointed when we spent over $200 on the meal.
• MS

  Melissa Soltes

  Nov 9, 2025
  2.0
  Decided to try out the new East Sides near us and were quite disappointed with our first experience. Our first impression of the restaurant was pretty busy but it seemed like the servers were running around and a bit overwhelmed. Waited 10 minutes for a table for 2 that was open the whole time. It was squished between two other tables and felt very uncomfortable for all the parties involved. Waited another 10 minutes at our table and not a single person came to greet us. Our last straw was the table beside us got their food and called the manager over as they were not happy with the dish they received. Since they basically were sat at our table with how close we were we heard that his chicken parm was cold and hard and he was very dissatisfied with the quality and service of his evening. We left after this incident to go to a different restaurant. We understand they are a new restaurant and need to work out some kinks so we will come back later to try once they get their bearings.
• SY

  Salma Yusaf

  Nov 7, 2025
  5.0
  Outstanding Service from Michelle at East Side Mario’s! I had such a wonderful experience at East Side Mario’s, thanks to our amazing waitress, Michelle. From the moment we arrived, she greeted us with a genuine smile and made us feel right at home. She was incredibly attentive, friendly, and professional, always checking in at the perfect time without ever making us feel rushed. Michelle went above and beyond to make sure everything was perfect. She took the time to explain the menu, offered great recommendations, and even noticed small details like refilling drinks before we had to ask. Her warm personality and positive energy truly elevated our dining experience. The food was delicious as always, but Michelle’s service made the visit exceptional. It’s rare to find someone who blends efficiency with such kindness and care. We’ll definitely be coming back, and asking for Michelle again! Highly recommend both the restaurant and especially Michelle for anyone who wants a great meal with top-notch service.
• ME

  M Elmo

  Nov 5, 2025
  1.0
  Server Margo was lovely, but that's all that salvaged tonight's dinner experience. Our food was cold, pasta was extremely dry due to tomato sauce shortage (yes, they ran out of tomato sauce and still served customers pasta with hardly any sauce). To top it off, it was a 'buy one - get a free pasta' night which was "sold out" before 6pm and they failed to notify us after we waited nearly an hour to be seated. When we expressed our concerns to management about the food being dry, their response was far from reassuring. Instead of addressing the issue or offering a solution, they seemed indifferent and actually seemed pleased that we were taking the food home to reheat it. It felt dismissive, as if our feedback wasn’t being taken seriously, and that the problem was being brushed off rather than handled in a way that would improve the dining experience for us or future customers. They did provide us a gift card for our next visit, which was nice but that didn't help the overall experience.
• ED

  Elyssa Denison

  Nov 2, 2025
  5.0
  We didn’t have super high expectations considering this location just opened, but everything was great. We were sat at this awkward little table right by the expo/serving station so there were frequently servers standing and talking beside our table (it ended up being a good people watching table). However that seat ended up being great because it must have been right beside where the they keep the bread, we had non stop bread the entire time. Our server was great, not sure her name but the receipt said “pm bar”. We had drinks delivered quick and she was always there when we needed something. It was nice to see the managers clearing tables and running food and checking in on tables. The Bruschetta appetizer was amazing, you could tell the bread was super fresh. I could tell my pasta had been under the heat lamp awhile, the plate was scorching hot and the fettuccine was rubbery but it was still decent. Overall, as a server myself I notice everything when I go out to eat but it really seems like this new location runs well already. Service was great, food was good, we’ll definitely be back.

Frequently Asked Questions About East Side Mario's Winona Crossing