Food 3/5* - for the chicken parmigiana and the take home free offer of spaghetti bolognese Service 3/5 Ambience 3/5 A weeknight dinner at the East Side Mario. The restaurant had a few tables going around 630pm and it is nicely decorated for this chain. Service was quick and the server followed up with us on a replacement bread and offered to refill the soup or salad. We ordered the trio which comes with a jr serving of chicken parmigiana, Alfredo fettuccine and a 1/2 pound slice of lasagna. I ordered the veal parmigiana. I was so disappointed with my meal. The texture of the veal can be compared to a compacted and dry meat that may have been left in the freezer too long. The 3 stars on the food is attributed to the tender chicken parmigiana and daily deal, buy one, take one home free! Our take home special was spaghetti bolognese in a lovely takeout container with heating instructions. It appears to be a smaller serving but it was a welcome lunch for the next day. The table water and the ginger ale soda were undrinkable. The glasses had a strong bleach taste and smell. Our server offered to replace the glass of ginger ale, but it was still undrinkable. Our server said that there maybe something missing with the syrup level in the soda tap. Pros There are a lot of menu offerings, special menus and weekly daily deals, read it carefully. Cons The veal parmigiana a real disappointment Only order a beverage if it comes in a can or a bottle you can open yourself and drink directly from the original container. We were charged in full for our dinner. Ample parking outside the restaurant. read more

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With the unlimited soup, salad and bread, the meal is very filling and worth the price. The parmigiana chicken was also bomb but felt that the proportion of tomato spaghetti was overwhelming relative to the amount of chicken. read more

East Side Mario's - Mario's Chicken Parmigiana - Italian Near Me - Stouffville, Ontario

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Service was great but food is just mediocre. Portions are decent and I would probably only go for their weekly deals.

Took a visit to this location on a weeknight. Overall a beautiful renovated restaurant with comfortable seating and good service. Ordered a Linguine Chicken Tetrazzini, scallop carbonara and the ultimate canadian pizza. The pastas were hot and creamy, but would prefer to have more toppings on it. The pizza was well made and hot out of the oven. Overall, a fun experience and will always come back for their pizza and unlimited soup/ salad. read more

East Side Mario's - a plate of pasta with mushrooms and parmesan cheese - Italian Near Me - Stouffville, Ontario

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I'm always a bit excited to eat at east side Mario's. It reminds me of my childhood. I really enjoy the all you can eat bread, salad and soup. I always have the jumbo shrimp Alfredo. It's so comforting to me. I tried the tomato garlic soup, I was pleased with this soup, I usually go for the Italian wedding soup which is also very nice and feels light when you eat it. The bread is always served warm when I come here, although I would like it to be more garlicky, but perfect for the kids palate of level of garlic. The service is usually pretty good here, at least the few times I have visited. Although the waitress forgot to bring our refill of bread, the overall experience is nice here, your stomach will never go hungry home. This place is Italian themed and the decor is fun and cheerful. I would come back as it's very family friendly. read more

Typical of what would be expected from ESM. Service was attentive and pleasant, but not very knowledgeable of the menu. (This weekend as shortly after opening) Food was mediocre at best. The inferno Mac n cheese was terrible. The garlic tomato soup was ok, and the complimentary bread was good. Location was clean and cheerful, as would be expected from a new. read more

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What I don't understand is who surveyed this population of people in Stouffville and who said they actually wanted another chain restaurant - OK, boomers??? We went once and probably wouldn't come back again. We tried ordering their special back in the summer when it first opened and nobody knew what was going on despite the advertisements that were sent to our house. We finally ended up ordering a veal parmesan and some other pasta (I already forgot) and both were equally awful tasting. The food was oversalted, the bread was tasteless, and the salad was just gross with fake parmesan powder and not so great salad dressing. Service was also super slow despite the fact that it wasn't even busy that day (weekday). Our server, however, was nice and kept apologizing - so she earned one star back for that. Unfortunately, we won't come back again and seriously, people of Stouffville want GOOD restaurants, not stupid chains restaurants. read more

I don't usually post reviews but I felt that I had to for this place. Reason is that I had the worst dinner experience at this place, and I haven't felt this way about a restaurant in awhile. So the wife and I decide to dine in at this place because it just opened and we tried the take out once from 'Skip the Dishes' and it was alright. Man was I wrong... First off, my wife asked for lemons and a straw for her water. She had to ask the waiter/bartender 3 times. But I had already had that feeling he wasn't really a server. Which I later found out from him that he is suppose to be the bartender. He's forgetting things left right and center. From our soup to our salad not coming and being replenished. We ordered the calamari and it was soaked in sauce. At this time I'm still waiting for my soup. A little while after our main dishes come and the chicken parmigiano I ordered was burnt. So I tell our waiter, he apologizes and he takes it back and says he will bring me a new one. My wife is eating already and she was halfway through when my second chicken parmigiano comes and it's burnt again and my pasta is in a different sauce. At this point I'm starving and I still can't eat. We tell the waiter/ bartender again and he says to me no one has complained about the chicken parmigiano implying that I should just eat it and not complain. I tell him that it is burned you want me to eat burnt food? I ask him. So he says to me he will get the owner to come out and speak with me. After waiting for him for a good 15 mins he finally comes and asks me what the problem is. I explain to him that my chicken is burned. He apologizes and says he will take it off the bill and dessert is on them. Not even asking me if I would be interested in anything else knowing that I have not eaten. So I end up eating only the appetizer, salad and soup for dinner. No one should have to go to a restaurant and be hungry. I will be surprised if this place is still open for a year! Never will I ever go there again and I will let everyone I know that this place is a no go! If h still decide to go... Godspeed!!! read more

The buy one take one home is such a great deal! Spent like $20 for a huge cheese cappeletti, ceasar salad, bread, and a sausage penne arbarrita to go! Would definitely go back again since all the food was delicious! read more

Came here last week for dinner to try out the new spot in Stouffville. All the food we ordered was super fresh and hot. The servers are quite young and inexperienced as they don't provide timely follow up such as asking if you'd like more water, salad, or bread. It is understandable as we're a town and finally providing more job opportunities to the younger generation. I think they should work on training their waitresses a bit more. Other than that super clean and welcoming environment. Keep up the great work! read more

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the worst ESM experience I have ever had. I usually frequent the Warden/Eglinton location in Scarborough and have generally always had a wonderful time, but this location was totally different. At first it went okay, the waitress seemed friend and attentive. Then as we begin ordering we hear her say to other tables "it's the last one" or "it'll be a 20 minute wait for that soup". Thought it was odd but carried on. I asked for Italian wedding soup at one point and she said there was no more. We were there for 8pm.. the hours say it's open until 11pm. The manager then said they actually close at 10pm. Regardless, how do you not have your best selling soup.. when you are known for all you can eat soup/salad/bread? Consider me shocked. I asked for the Minestrone instead and she said she had just enough for one more bowl. I was beyond confused at this - I understand not wasting food but... it's ESM? What is the point of AYCE salad/soup at this point? Anyway. The waitress then asked if we needed anything takeout containers even though some of us were literally mid-bite. We decline politely. Few minutes later, she asks again. There's plenty of open tables so I'm not sure why we were being rushed out. We decline and say we are still in the midst of eating. She claims she sees this, but wanted to ask because she would be doing some stuff in the back. Could we not have asked for containers from any other staff if she wasn't around?? She hardly initiated refills for us, but boy did she want us to have those containers. Fast forward, we try to make the best of our time here, finish our meal and ask for the bill. We jokingly argued over the bill as my family always does, and she said "well how about I split it?" Sure, why not. She jokes "wait who's the bigger topper? Haha!" (Rude.) I receive the machine and it's the full amount on the screen. Not that I had a problem with this but I wanted to discuss with my family first - but the waitress stood behind me the entire time waiting for me to process. Is it not common courtesy to leave your guests alone? Or is peering over their shoulder a trick to low-key pressure them into leaving a good tip? Actual food: I usually always get the lasagna at the other location and you can supersize it for an added $5! This location: no upsize and totally different recipe. Weird cream cheese type filling with barely any meat sauce. Personally a huge NO. Calamari was okay but a little on the soggy side. Parm sliders were okay, nothing to call home about. Pizza was good (a meat lovers type, can't remember the name) - I would actually recommend this. Truly can't believe it. I'll never return to this stingy, classless location. read more

I'll admit, I was skeptical. The old ESM in Stouffville was a dumpster fire. This place is doing things right. Food: pretty good, upgraded to great considering the prices Service: consistently good, a bit chaotic when really busy Atmosphere: pretty fair, even for a family restaurant We keep going back... and we keep choosing this place over BPs and even the local Italian-fare. read more

Visited the new East Side Marios tonight, was very happy with food and service. The place was extremely busy but our wait time was minimal considering. Food was very good, hot and delicious. Servers were very considerate, looking after our needs in a timely way. I'll look forward to going there again read more

My husband and I decided to drop by for dinner last week after a busy day of errands. I have to say, this was one of the best chain restaurants I have ever visited. Our server's name was Alex and he was attentive and knowledgeable about the whole menu. I have some food sensitivities and he made sure to double check with the kitchen directly for me! Our dinner came promptly and was hot and delicious. Great service, good food, no complaints. read more

East Side Mario's stouffville is only weeks old and after visiting in the first week open the wife and I shrugged off the bad service. Today we went to try again for a second time and again the service was poor and the waitresses all seem to be very new to serving. The lack of attention to the customers needs and following up to see if drinks ( non alcoholic ) were ok and not once asking if our table wanted more bread or salad. Having to ask the sever for drink refills and additional bread and salad and never getting the bread is a minor thing. The lack of enthusiasm by our server has left a bad taste in our mouths. Also there is the East Side commercials that state buy one meal take one home and the waitress informed us this was not provided at this location as a new business and trying to gain the share of customers in the Stouffville area this should have been clearly posted when entering the building or mentioned by our server before we asked for our take home meals. I would rate this lower than a 1 but that is the lowest allowable rating before I could post this. read more

This is probably one of the worst dining experiences I've ever had The service was horrible...server forgot we'd ordered drinks...using excuse that her section was full We thought so what that's no excuse Did not offer to replenish our bread even once My partners food was under cooked and inedible She sent it back and ordered something else By the time it came I was already finished And her new dish was just as bad as the first Server never once checked on us The owner made some lame offer of a free dessert.. No thx.We paid and left never to return read more

Surprised that these franchises are still surviving. The food was subpar and the service could be improved. No one got my order wrong, the wait time was alright but I did not feel the service was friendly. I am not surprised considering its an East Side Mario's but that's on me for going back. read more

I have been disappointed with the service today and food as well. Our server was 122 Danielle. While we were greeted, it happened to have leftover a Mario's bag with bred from the other table . She told us " you can have this bread , I will bring the butter later" . We were 3 adults and one child . After she brought me the wrong soup ( I asked the Italian minestrone , she brought me the tomato soup , I asked her the Cesar salad I got garden salad ) she brought the plate with ONE bread and 2 butters cups for 4 people ! Until the end , we asked to bring us the bread but she always find excuses (it is not ready now , it is in the oven ..) until we gave up. I ordered home made lasagna---- it was just pasta, tomato sauce and cheese ---NO meat . I ate in Scarborough location long time ago and I could not believe how well stuffed with meat was Maybe she gave me the vegan one -- I am not sure if there is vegan lasagna. She gave to my kids a gelato, that was a positive note for this night --- actually it was a gentleman working in the restaurant who saw us waiting for the gelato who came in and he hand them out . Anyway, this is was my last time at this location --- good luck with your verbal order next time when you want a nice dinner--- they dont have notebook to write your order so they will bring whatever they remember. Don't give a chance to this restaurant, there are so many other options. read more

I have been to this ESM four times now. The first time the service was wonderful and my waitress was delightful. The last three times, I have attended ESM in Stouffville with my group. Each and every time, the waiter has talked over us, interrupted our conversations with his opinions and has frankly annoyed me to the point I'm going to suggest going somewhere else for our meetings. The waitress was a bit better, but she did insist I eat my dessert in a very specific way and checked up on me twice to see if I heeded her suggestions. I AM NOT A CHILD. I don't mind a bit of light banter with a waiter/waitress. Each and every time I ordered a coffee at the end of my meal.. it was forgotten by the wait staff at each visit. Frankly, the management better have a word with the wait staff, or I will on my next and last visit. read more