There is often a line up at the door and always a slew of empty tables. We counted 10 empty tables when we arrived for dinner at 5:30. There were 3 hostesses and a 6 minute wait. There is now a line up out the door inspire of the rain, and we've been waiting to pay for 11 minutes and counting. No check has arrived at the table thus far. This place is so understaffed it's annoying. Also, in spite of there only being 3 couples seated ahead of us, the hostess almost gave our table to someone further down the list by mistake. We, hungry and anxious to eat, caught her error before they gave our table away. These complaints may seem minor, but this is a franchise here- you expect more flow and more effort put in to your visit. The food isn't bad, but again a tiny bit more care would have made a dif. The server just dropped off the check and CC machine and left the table. Lucky we are self servers I guess. read more

I ordered again from here and I dont know why. The food is pre-packaged now and microwaved then plated . The only good thing is the salad and that is not great these days either. Why they have long waiting times is beyond me since all they have to do is heat the food up and serve it. read more

Ordered through skip the dishes never got my order Guess they don't need the business read more

The staff are always very friendly and accommodating! We have had to wait for food, but also realize that things are different these days with lots of staff shortages. I do find it a bit pricey, but my kids love the salad and bread you get with meals and we never leave there hungry! read more

Failure on every metric. Bad service bad food waiting for 90 minutes to get the wrong order. Won't return.

I've emailed them about the issue before and they gave me a free meal coupon which I gave away. The waitress we had was rude and got an attitude after we told her she brought us something different than what we ordered. We never got refills during the entire meal. It was the middle of the day and only two other families so it's not like she was busy. Also it took forever to get the right order and by the time it arrived everyone else at our table was finished eating. Never going back. read more

I will start by saying I previously had a negative experience with East Sides about 6 months ago at a different location. Tonight I was hopeful it was a one off but sadly NO, it is a trend. This particular East Side was just newly renovated but that is clearly only the physical space! The service and the food were both sub par at best. I sure hope management/ head office pays attention cause the Yelp universe is filled with negative reviews of this location!!! Make change. Where to start, I ordered the appetizer mozzarella balls, and they took a very long time to get to our table once they arrived they were not cooked properly, I actually felt the grease in my mouth and subsequently felt ill. The endless salad and bread is East Sides calling card and we had one salad arrive right away and the other salad delayed almost 20 mins!! One loaf of bread is all we received throughout. The mains were suppose to be chicken Parmesan sandwich and steak and cheese wrap. We were notified that they were out of chicken, ok veal was available no big deal. But when the food arrived, we were SO disappointed! The veal Parmesan sandwich was served on a hamburger bun the menu clearly states a Calabrese bun two very different things. We asked the manager and she said it was all they had right now, we'll tell your customers BEFORE they order. And the wrap was BURNT to a crisp on the bottom side. At that point we had enough, we spoke to the manager and said we were leaving. The service was not great and the food was terrible! the manager attempted to say she would print up a bill, for food we didn't even touch no thank you. We left! East Sides should seriously consider a revamp in concept SALAD BAR and that's it! The only thing they do consistently well. I will not return to East side again two strikes I am OUT. read more

We were at first happy to enjoy lunch before a movie next door. Was shocked and saddened to see they have an absurd QR code only rule. Even if you are fully vaxxed and can prove it, they stubbornly refuse your business. I believe this kind of discrimination is illegal. Went to one of their competition close by, had a great meal, left a generous tip and will for sure return to them frequently in the future. Will never, ever go back to ESM again. read more

So me and my boyfriend just moved to Bowmanville and I was super excited that there was a east side marios right down the street from our house. Its one of my most favorite restaurants. But the first time we went it was very disappointing. We were sat in the bar and then told after we ordered drinks that the restaurant was closing. Wtf why didnt anyone tell us that before we sat down. So we were rushed through the whole meal. The waitress was miserable and didnt even smile once. The second time we went the food was horrible we got one serving of salad and bread. Or bada boomers were hard and over done. And they were also out of food as well. Ie. Steak. The waitress had no personality and didnt even bring us a refill on our drinks. This is one restaurant I really enjoy eating at. But this location is horrible. It sucks becuse its so close to home. And my boyfriend said he will never eat here again. We never complain but this was really a let down. Eating out is expensive and when you get shit service and food it makes you really upset. read more

Took my kids there today for a quick lunch. Was there just before 1 pm. Took almost an hour for us to get our food. So our quick lunch turned out to be over an hour and a half. Restaurant was not even busy. read more

Worst food I've ever eaten! Apparently the owner made my food ... it was a hell's kitchen chicken. The portion was extremely small and sat in a pool of oil! The staff was rude and she acted like serving my wife and I was problem. read more

Second time I have been here since the renovation and once again as I stand at the door I count 4 empty booths and 7 empty tables. Absolutely rediculous. I have never been here and not had to wait while tables sit empty and offen the hostess is no where to be seen. I would not recommend this East Sides to anyone no matter how hungry you are! read more

Me and my girlfriend were sat in the bar section, I ordered a beer and was asked for my ID, I totally understand this because I'm only 23 and I look 17, but when I provided my ID.. our server began to question me asking me what my date of birth was, and what my postal code is? I answer the questions even though it seemed ridiculous because I had already given her my ID with all my information, plus my ID is not fake, she then replied "see? That wasn't so hard" with such an attitude, when I hadn't fussed about it or given her any attitude at all. We never received any refills on salad or bread, while our server walked passed us giving us dirty looks and served the people in front and behind us. When we were brought our meals our server asked if we wanted fresh parmesan, we waited around forever until we just started eating because our food was getting cold, our server literally never came back with parmesan, never checked up to see how our meals were, finally comes back with our bill after we finish eating, we were also never offered any more refills on drinks. We waited around to pay her and say thank you ( even tho we shouldn't have) but she was no where to be found and we couldn't handle waiting anymore for her to come back that we just left cash( no tip, and i always tip even with bad service) I do not recommend this east side marios to anyone under the age of 25 because the blonde middle aged server who works in the bar clearly has an agism issue. read more

service was so slow, my friends and i went around 7:15 and didn't leave until 9:30. there were so many empty tables so it wasn't like they were busy. i do not recommend. read more

My wife and I decided to take the family out for dinner tonight but quickly changed our minds and decided to leave before we all risked getting sick. The wait staff was friendly but the plates we were served were stomach turning and covered in slimey goo. When we began handing them out to the kids a few of them were stuck together with a couple of them looking like they were not even washed after the last people that are off of them!!! The rumours are true, stay away from this location the new management has driven this establishment straight into the ground. read more

I took my 2 teenagers on New Year's Day for early dinner. The spinach dip was dry and crusty (reheated from day before?) and the baked pita we requested came as fried dough blobs. The Caesar salad was iceberg lettuce and the requested light dressing was not available. The dish of bowtie pasta was minimal. C'mon folks! It's cheap pasta! We will never go back. $56.00 well wasted! read more

The last few times I've been to this location the food and service was terrible. For my most recent visit I got the Fettuccine Alfredo with the unlimited bread and salad. The wait time was terrible. We sat in the bar area(but not at the bar) and went late afternoon, it was not busy at all. We had to wait over 30 minutes to get our main meal and initially had to wait at least 15 mins to even get any salad or bread. The Cesar salad was lacking dressing but the bread was decently good. Our waitress only came back to our table a two times the whole visit so we weren't even able to place another order of bread or salad before our meal came . 30 minutes or more after ordering we got our main meal (fettuccine Alfredo). When the girl brought it out it looked disgusting. It had looked and tastes as if it was made 20 minutes ago and had just been sitting out. The portion was tiny (even though I ordered the fettuccine Alfredo on the menu which claimed to be a larger then usual size...which it was not) The noodles seems over cooked and mushy And there's was barely any sauce on it at all. It was not creamy or anything, it was super sticky and very very dry. I was super disappointed in the quality. I was so unimpressed with it that I didn't even finish all of the Fettuccine Alfredo. Our server maybe came to refill our water once and never came back to check on us after we got our meal. After this experience I have not gone back since, nor do I plan on it. Very disappointed with the quality of the food here. read more