East Side Mario's

Reviews

• GG

  G GK

  Nov 16, 2025
  1.0
  Wow, I don't think I've ever had a worse off experience than at my first time at this franchise. Good lord. Never again. From the long wait times just to be attended to, to the mediocre service once they do show up. The menus had food caked on them and the tables were slightly sticky too. At this point, it had been over 10 minutes until we gave our orders. We were happy to see our food coming up pretty fast..... Until we got to see our plates. I've ordered more appetizing food from the room service of shady hotels I've had the misfortune of experiencing. The food was shockingly bland. It was...... Depressing. The cheese sauce was a stale puddle of milk, the lasagna looked like it was reheated in a microwave and came from a plastic box. The chicken parm was...... Just that. Breaded Chicken with some white melted goo they suspiciously call parmesan. I did not order anything else. My partner packed her penne pasta to take home and we're now going to add it to a salad just to not have wasted food. One waiter was nice enough to apologize for the delay but that and the fact that the water was chill is probably the only good things I can say about this limbo space for Italian eats. Just.... Depressingly bland and more dead than the chicken on my plate.
• AH

  Ashley H

  Nov 15, 2025
  1.0
  We arrived at the restaurant at 4:45pm on a Saturday night. The hostess was extremely unprofessional and informed us that there were no tables available for a party of three, with a wait time of 45 minutes to one hour. I expressed my surprise and requested to speak with the manager. Initially, the individual claimed to be the manager, but I asked to speak with their superior. The manager, who was standing 10 steps away, approached me after speaking with the initial individual, but offered no assistance. I pointed out that there was a vacant table, but was informed that it was reserved for a 5:00pm reservation. When I mentioned that I intended to contact head office and requested the manager's name, he refused to provide it. Eventually, he claimed his name was Robert, but I have doubts about its accuracy. I am aware that this establishment is the only one of its kind in Scarborough or Toronto, but I find it unacceptable that customers, particularly those with young children, are treated in such a manner when arriving early for dinner and being unable to secure a table.
• JN

  J Ng

  Nov 10, 2025
  4.0
  I was planning my child's bday after activate and was a bit concerned when no one responded to my email or multiple phone msgs to make a reservation (could not do so online for larger party). However, I went in person and was able to secure a reservation. When the bday came - I was most impressed with the staff who were accommodating and willing to help out. Florin was great with the kids, their food orders (with changes in mind of dessert) and serving the adults as well. With 13 people in our child's party, bread was provided to keep the hungry ones settled and their meals and drinks came very promptly. The restaurant was spacious and ample room for our group. Thank you to your team for making our child's bday a memorable one and for making it easy for us parents. I would easily plan another event at ESM in Scarborough. As I have since then heard from other parents that they had the same problem in contacting the restaurant, my only suggestion is for management to be better about returning msgs and emails to assist their customers in making a reservation for larger groups. Thanks for a fun lunch at your restaurant.
• SS

  S S

  Nov 6, 2025
  5.0
  Dimitri took care of us this evening. He is very kind and professional. Our food came out pretty fast which was great. Pasta was not hot enough though but overall the food was still good! Great service.
• SS

  Spencer

  Oct 21, 2025
  2.0
  I'm really disappointed with our most recent trip to East Side Mario's. First off, this is a location I would frequent most, always ordering the same pasta and salad mean every single time, but the most recent visit was very disappointing. When I first received my salad, it was still very wet and with barely any dressing. I didn't mind, as I was getting my pasta shortly, but when my pasta arrived, same thing. The pasta had probably 2tbs of sauce added. It looked like it was washed in tomato sauce as the clean red hue was falling off of each noodle. I was severely disappointed with everything especially seeing as our $65 bill was for something we could have made at home for under $3. When paying a premium for pasta, I expect it to be even slightly better than when made at home and not a lazy, sad excuse for pasta. My girlfriend also immediately got sick from the tomato bacon soup (with cheese). We had not eaten anything prior that day so we can almost guarantee that was the issue (as I had the salad instead and was fine). The final straw was when we asked the waitress working that day if we could split the bill in half or separate food items (2 mains, 2 drinks). The waitress then sighed in a very short manner, and said "can I use my phone?". We paused and said "...yes" before she whipped out her phone to do "calculations". I expressed it doesn't really matter and just split it down the middle or charge me the larger sum, yet she seemed mad about the whole ordeal. The restaurant was literally empty besides us and another table. Eventually I just told her "it's fine, I'll pay the entire thing" before she handed me the till. As someone who works with the exact same debit / credit terminal, I know how simple it is to split the bill, but she made us feel like we caused a huge inconvenience for asking for this. I used to visit this East Side Mario's about once a month for a pint and some food, but definitely won't be returning after this bad experience.

Frequently Asked Questions About East Side Mario's