They really have a good pizza oven. Unfortunately the Margherita pizza was mediocre at best, not soft enough, too salty and not tasty enough to be a good Italian pizza. read more

Joia on Main - Margherita pizza - Italian Near Me - Newmarket, Ontario

Food was fresh, Price was reasonable, hope the portion could be a little bigger. Service was alright, I think the girl that served us was new, but I know she tired very hard Ambiance, definitely need more space between tables, can not go in and out of my seat, and the servers definitely have trouble as well read more

See all

Amazing big covered patio looking onto the square. Nice waitresses. They have an extensive specials menu. We tried the stuffed zucchini flowers which were good. Then the pizza and salad were very good as well. read more

See all

The food is always great! patio in summer is amazing but cute, quaint Italian gem all season long

1. There is no parking directly at the restaurant. Loads of street parking behind the building though. 2. The ambiance is absolutely wonderful. Massive patio area and the decor is very nice. They try and work towards a fine dining experience but I'd say it's more fancy than a casual dining but not black tie. There isn't any dress code from what I saw: 3. Food is amazing. Buratta is soft and tasty. The tomatoes they use are ripe and sweet. You cannot go wrong with it. Frito misto- shrimp are a nice size. Calamari is tender and yum. The batter is light and crisp. Fried to perfection. Spaghetti bolognese - meat sauce is rich. The pasta is fresh and cooked to al Dente. I layered mine with Parmesan but even without it's delicious. A burst of flavour in every bite. Veal Marsala - thinly sliced veal cooked in a rich mushroom wine sauce. The vegetables that accompany are seasonal and so crunchy. It was very very good! Zucchini con gamberi - shrimp is cooked well. The sauce works very well with the zucchini noodles. Flavorful! Dessert - literally drooling as I talk about this. Tiramisu was so smooth and yum. You taste the mascarpone, the coffee and the chocolate. It was a very nice way to end a meal. Crème brûlée - so not a lot of places do a crime brûlée well but I've got to say, this is one of my favourite desserts and they did it so good. Very velvety smooth. The right amount of sweetness. Rich without being too heavy. So good! Overall, this experience was absolutely delicious. The staff were attentive and amazingly kind. The food was soooo yum! Totally worth every bite! read more

See all

This place has a beautiful patio. Other than that, this place was mediocre at best. The menu was surprisingly limited. Nothing tasted bad, but nothing was that great or memorable either. Prices were decent. Service was fine. If this is your option, it will be okay but there are definitely better choices read more

Joia on Main - Bianchi - Italian Near Me - Newmarket, Ontario

See all

Terrible food. The pizza was NOT authentic at all. Margherita pizza looked like it came out from cheap frozen brand. The pasta was soupy, not a vodka style at all. Bottled water was not a closed bottle but some open bottle of so called filtered water for $6.00. Bad service. Will never go back. read more

2.5 stars We patronised Joia in Aurora instead of this venue due to poor to fair reviews, so this was our first time here. We were in the main entrance, the servers saw and ignored us, after 5 mins, someone said we'd go to the patio entrance in order to be seated, so please post a sign on main entrance to let customers know! Servers were mechanical, unfriendly, no smile, acted busy and didn't always attend to customers. Foods were a bit too salty but were generally fine. The best part is to sit on the airy patio to enjoy the sunny day & beautiful Newmarket Main Street. Food & services in Joia Aurora are better than here obviously. read more

Joia on Main - two plates of food on a table - Italian Near Me - Newmarket, Ontario

My friends and I tried Joia for the first time. We ordered different appetizers, drinks, and main dishes. If you go to Joia, stick to the appetizers and pizza, but skip the main courses. We tried five meals, like fish, risotto, and steak, but none liked them. The appetizers and pizza were good, though. The restaurant is a good place to go for a walk after eating. read more

Went to eat dinner with my family on the weekend. We sat on the patio since their was good weather. I would recommend sitting in the patio if you have a chance as the atmosphere and vibe was really nice. Food and service was both pretty good despite it being a busy Sunday read more

See all

In the summer, when the patio is open it has a nice location that overlooks the Riverwalk. The problem is they have an electronic pergola that has shutters/louvers that open and close. After a day of rain or hot sun, the raccoon droppings that accumulated on the closed louvers turned to liquid/mush... once nightfall came and these louvers were opened, the raccoon mush went all over the patio guests. When the owner/chef was told what happened, he attacked the guest saying that these things happen when customers sit outside. The altercation that ensued was disrespectful and unforgivable. read more

Not impressed, made reservations on the phone and showed up only to be told that they don't take reservations, after waiting 20min they sat us down on the second floor and it was extremely loud like a bunch of students talking in a cafeteria (loud and echoing) When I asked for shredded parmesan on my ceaser salad, the waitress said "this isn't Eastside Mario's" not a very big menu and very expensive.. although the food was tasty read more

Disappointed is an understatement... After visiting the Aurora location and receiving hands down the finest service I've ever received, my wife and I had high hopes for our experience at Joia on Main. Waiting in line was of no bother- and completely understandable for such an alluring patio. A hostess even came by a short time into our wait to let us know it wouldn't be too long before we were sat. That proved false when we saw three tables leave and none of the tables be cleared for us for almost fifteen minutes post. After being sat, our waiter came by and hastily dropped water, and told us he would be right back for our drink order right after he finished setting up a table for six, and bustled off. Not a great start, but okay, at least he made contact. He came back for our drink order, and didn't say a word when he dropped them off- just the ol' plunk and run. We were ready to order apps and mains at that point. The party of six was already sat and getting set with drinks. When taking our order, he made no effort to connect with us, and we could tell he was rushing to get going. Keep in mind, he hadn't even introduced himself. The table of six, which was sat five minutes after us, received all of their apps and mains long before we did. Our server came by to let us know the kitchen was backed up on pizzas and it would be a bit longer. Again, no connection, no empathy. At this point, we're starting to feel pretty neglected. Finally, we received our apps. Don't let an otherwise negative review fool you- the food is killer. Except the focaccia, actually... which we ordered. When our waiter came to pick up our empty plates (upwards of ten minutes after we finished our food and drink), he offered to leave it behind. I told him no thank you, because it wasn't very good. He didn't even ask why! No apology or inquiry, he just said okay and headed off. Before you ask, yes, it still ended up on my bill. Meanwhile, the party of six is effectively having their feet kissed by this dude. Stellar service over there, and we still don't know our servers name. The mains come by, and again, amazing food. He actually checked in this time to see how it was. That was the last we saw him until after our meal. I actually flagged down another server to get my wife some pepper, and the 45 seconds with him was better customer service than the entire rest of our visit. Our server actually came by to lean on the railing behind us during our meal and didn't connect with us. Unprofessional +1. He collects our plates and brings the bill, still completely unprofessional and cold, brings the machine, doesn't ask how anything was. Doesn't this guy then tell me he's the manager?!? I've been in food service almost ten years, and I've never seen anything like this. Daniel the manager, you need to step it up, dude. Bar none, worst service I have ever had. Period. No redeeming factors. Absolutely brutal. Great food though. read more

Decided to visit this place on a whim- SO glad I did! I don't want to sound like a patio snob but ever since COVID there's definitely been a standard for outdoor dining, and this has been the best so far! The patio by itself is beautiful with a fantastic view of Newmarket street life. Perfect atmosphere, good music, friendly staff. Also, don't let the 4 dollar signs deceive you! This place is shockingly affordable with great food. Highly recommend the pesto chicken pizza & the mojitos! read more

Joia on Main - patio area - Italian Near Me - Newmarket, Ontario

See all

I have been to Joia several times in the past for the patio and food but unfortunately tonight will be my last visit. We had terrible service and the manager talked down to us. There are plenty of good restaurants that are respectable to customers and this is not one of them. read more

Disappointing diner. the pizza and salad were good but these are preludes to the main. I took in their signature dish, veal with a wild mushrooms and marsala wine sauce. The meal itself tasted decent enough, if not just a little too salty. However, the "wild mushrooms" were regular sliced button mushrooms, and the sauce had no hint of marsala that I could decern. It did have an acidic taste as if wine or vinegar had been added. I've had marsala mushroom sauces before, I love its flavours. This version was most disappointing and falsely advertised. read more

The food was good but the service was not guaranteed. As they're always packed, I came across being ignored a few times. A bit uncomfortable but I do love their food! read more

See all

Good food and very nice ambience. It is fairly new, give it a chance and you will love it.

Good to see the place open after what seemed like an eternity to build. We got their early as they don't do reservations which I think is a mistake as I would go somewhere else first and skip it if we went later just for this reason. No desire to wait in a line to eat when you can call ahead elsewhere. Anyway not a big deal at 5:30. Sat on the patio which is spacious as mentioned several times below. It's a bit open and the wind was pretty strong so bring a jacket and I'd wear pants next time. I just mention this as I suspect it might be windy more often than not. Had the fried calamari as an app. Was not anything better or worse than calamari anywhere else. Maybe spice up the dipping sauce to differentiate it or give it a bit of a kick. Had the beet salad which was tasty as it had feta and lettuce. Nicely presented. Main was pizza. Nice thin crust. Spilt the salad and main with my wife. Couple of beers and wine. Overall a good spot to head to and glad to have another spot to eat in downtown Newmarket. On my "would I go back" meter. For sure! read more

We came here on a Saturday at 5pm and sat on the patio. This is one of the better patios in the downtown area - very spacious. Wine selection was pretty good. We were served bread with spicy peppers while we waited for our entrees which was a nice touch. The menu doesn't have a lot of options for entrees - mostly just pizza and pasta with a few daily specials. I opted for the daily special pasta - orecchiette with mushrooms and sausage. It was good but nothing special. Service was attentive throughout our meal. Overall we enjoyed sitting on the patio and the food is okay. read more

I stopped by Joia with a few friends over the weekend for lunch. I was immediately impressed by how nice the place looked. It's relatively new, and had been decorated nicely, and the space seemed well taken care of and inviting. It also has a huge patio, which we were easily able to get a table at, as they weren't extremely busy when we got there. They appear to have a great wine list, but since I'm not a wine drinker, and the rest of my party aren't drinkers, I asked for beer instead. There is a limited selection (the waitress named 3 or 4 they had on tap; there was no written list or prices), but I was able to find something I liked. I was a little disappointed, however, that my beer arrived a good two inches or more from the top of my glass. When paying for a beer out I expect it to be full. The menu is pretty simple, but if you like pizza and pasta, there's definitely something for you. We started with the Calamari, which was excellent. Then three of us had pizza, while one had gnocchi. All the food was good, but I did find the pizza crusts were overdone (see pic - mine was black around the edges, and therefore inedible - and I like to eat my crusts), and the toppings were a little scarce (the pizzas were individual ones cut in 6, and mine averaged only 1 piece of pepperoni per slice). I did find the service to be a little lacking. Our server was nice enough, and was quick to get us drinks and our app, but for the good 50+ minutes it took to get our main course, she was pretty absent. We eventually tracked down a man who appeared to be in charge, and asked him to check on our food order, to which he replied "did you order pizza? Because they're a bit backed up right now as a lot of people have ordered pizza". He was polite and apologetic, but I wasn't happy with the answer. As I noted earlier, the menu is mostly pizza and pasta. If you can't get out pizza orders in good time with a half full restaurant, there are going to be a lot of problems in your future. I'll probably wait a couple of months or so before giving it another shot. Maybe by then they'll have the kinks ironed out. read more

See all

Great thin crust pizza and patio. All Covid measures are followed and the patio is a great way to enjoy mIm street Newmarket from a different perspective. We went today (Saturday) whole farmers market was taking place so was able to enjoy live music from the farmers market. We had the Puglia pizza and the Bianchi pizza and both were outstanding. read more

Horrible service absolutely not worth going to this establishment at all! Very good food but service people have a horrible attitude!

I can't serve you free food. We step into the restaurant at 8:40 and the owner told us with an attitude you must be fast because the kitchen will close in 20 minutes. We ordered 3 meals to share. I usually take my stake medium rare but since we were sharing it, I asked for medium. The meal arrives literally in less than 5 minutes. the outside of stake was nice, the inside was not even rare, or blue it was basically raw. I tried to be polite and made a comment to the server and I said this is not Medium which she acknowledged, I didn't make a big deal out of it and tried to have it alone without sharing but the more I was trying to have it the worse it would get, with uncooked fats and veins, which at that point I asked the server to inform the kitchen. Again, no reaction from the kitchen nor the so-called owners. At the end the server asked if it's ok to bring the bill which I asked if she informed the kitchen, she replied yes and sorry that's it. I got upset and said they should take the stake out from the bill; she said I will talk to the OWNERS. 10 minutes later (apparently, they had a full-blown meeting) another guy brings the bill with no apology or anything with the stake included,I asked for the manager, which he replied I'm one of them. I tried to reason with him and told him this is not about the money and asked him to bring the server which I immediately tipped $110 cash (All the cash I had), because she was nice and tried to help me plus I wanted to tell them I don't care about the money, this is prestige and class, Anyways the unprofessional owners thought I'm trying to get free food, where I was just trying to be nice and not waste the food, but they took advantage of me. Bottom line I tipped the server and paid the full amount for the raw meat they sold me as medium stake as there's no point to reason with these kinds. I genuinely believe racism was a big factor. This behavior is not expected even in a food truck, let alone a fancy Italian restaurant with owners present. read more

Food was decent, leftover pizza was wrapped in tinfoil and placed face down on top of our bruschetta. read more

Joia on Main - This is how our leftovers were packed, face down pizza and bruschetta, i dont think we will be returning to this location. - Italian Near Me - Newmarket, Ontario

Omg I'm just so shocked right now I called this place today to make reservations for my Anniversary on August 25th for 5 people. A young woman answered the phone stating they do not take reservations unless you are booking a large party. She said reservations could only be made on the patio but a minimum of 500$ had to be spent!! I was trying to book for 5 people on the patio and had no idea on what I would spend. In this time of COVID, you would think they would welcome customers with open arms, but not at this place, It's all about the $$ for them unfortunately. The young woman actually said "we don't need to take reservations, we have enough customers" what the heck?? read more

Great patio the atmosphere is really nice.. the waitress was good and helpful.. the food was below average ! not great its not as good as their Aurora location.. I cannot recommend this place to anyone not worth going it doesn't bring value for money we paid.. Pasta was flavorless and pizza dough soggy not crispy.. it was a very disappointing experience.. I think the owner should do something to improve the quality of food. read more

great patio atmosphere, the staff are very friendly (5stars) but the bolognese sauce was very dry and the alredo sauce was very watery. other than, the food was delicious! highly recommend the burata and the chili oil is a must! read more

The ricotta gnocchi itself was delicious but the dish left something to be desired. I took it to go and added parm, basil and chili flakes when I got home. I wish there was more to it. The tiramisu was tasty! I found it to be a little wet but none the less, it was good. I probably won't come back to be honest. Twice I've waited to be seated, the first time I left because it was impossible to get a host's attention, second time I was forced to wait because I called ahead and was craving. I stood outside for about 8-10 mins before anyone noticed me waiting.(couldn't go inside because of covid). read more

1st time at Joia in Newmarket. Beautiful day on the patio at 5 ish. I haven't had such a perfect thin pizza for a long time ordered the Modena - artichokes, proper black olives and prosciutto. Crust perfectly done. Enjoyed it with red wine and finished off with their Tiramisu. Gets very busy after 6. Highly recommended. Lovely waitress let me taste test 2 reds when she thought i would prefer another. I did. Owner even came out to ask around if all was good. Now that's a good establishment. read more

Our dinner of ceaser salad, vodka penne and pizza was very good. Excellent list of cocktails. We were served right away. Enjoyed people watching while dining from the patio that overlooks the fountain. After dinner we took a nice long stroll. What a perfect evening. read more

It's unhealthy. I ordered low fat orange roughy. Instead the fish I got is very fat. The consequence is terrible to me. I have been diarrhea for 2 days. I tried to let them know the situation. Unfortunately their answer is my body is allergy to their orange roughy, which is totally unacceptable. Sorry to be disgusted here. But just want to share this message. read more

Had lunch today on the patio. Calamari fritti was good and a healthy serving. I ordered the fish of the day, red snapper with chimichurri. It was bland . Fish was ok. Chimichurri was Terrible lacking flavour and taste. So overpriced. Service was excellent though. One last thing, washrooms looked like it hasn't been cleaned in days (mens anyway). The patio itself is very nice. Will not be my first choice next time I'm in the area. read more

the food is fine and atmosphere is also good but service is terrible its much worse than what you think!

It is quite disappointing that the service at Joia on Main is terrible given that they have great food and an incredible atmosphere. Their pizzas, pastas and desserts are always delicious, and their patio is a great summer spot for drinks. Unfortunately, the staff make zero effort to connect with their guests and always seem to be in a rush. The restaurant is clearly understaffed and isn't capable of handling the crowds they receive, forcing waiters to run from table to table. This restaurant has what I and others would consider to be a " snobby " attitude, and refuses to take reservations, making it sadly impossible to choose as a venue for celebrations. If the owners were to improve on these areas, this restaurant would without a doubt earn five stars and become absolutely fantastic. read more

Very good meal. I had the steak special. The steak was incredible. Moist and tender - perfect. Not very many sides though. Had dessert which was raspberry ice cream covered with chocolate ice cream and chocolate syrup, yum!!! Would have been a 5 if there were more sides. read more

Server was great, beautiful atmosphere....terrible food sorry would not come back, mediocre Italian, brushetta was an oil drenched pita with whole tomato slices and crushed garlic thrown together with no love, grilled calamari was decent, gnocchi was okay, dessert was served on a a doily lined plate....lol....too bad the location and atmosphere is perfect if they could do so much with this place. read more

We were at Joia on Main last night for a Birthday Celebration. We were a table of 6. We sat for 10 minutes before a server came over to take our drink orders. We ordered a bottle of red and a bottle of white wine. After another 10 minutes passed we still had received our bottles of wine. We finally flagged down our waiter, who was obviously "in the weeds" and he informed us that they were out of the white wine we ordered, so we had to take another look at the wine menu to order another bottle...the wine finally arrived and he took our food order once he had brought the wine to the table. I have to say after that the service was fine, another server was helping him out with our food etc and the food was great as usual. We are regulars there, my husband and I go quite often, sometime twice a week in the summer, because we enjoy their lovely patio and good food. The other 4 people we brought were newbies and had never been there before. Half of the party are smokers, and they were going downstairs and outside to have a cigarette through out the night, when one of them noticed there was an empty patio on the upper part of the restaurant where we were seated. He asked one of the staff if it was okay to smoke out there and he was told sure, no problem. So for the rest of the evening they were going out on the empty patio to smoke, nobody said anything to us about it. We ordered a couple more bottles of wine and a bottle of Champagne as well, our bill was well over $1000.00 and we also left a very generous 25% tip even tho the service at first wasn't the best, but we understand it happens sometimes so no harm done. We left the restaurant and waited on the once again empty, downstairs patio for our Taxi to come. The heaters were still warming the empty patio so we stood there as it was chilly. Now the Restaurant was empty as well and the doors were locked as they were closed, but...a server came out and rudely told us that we were not allowed to smoke on the patio, I said to him the restaurant is closed and there are no patron's out here so why would you care, he turned around and muttered something rude under his breath. I reminded him that we were still paying customers and that he was being very rude, and again he turned around and told us to get off the patio and went inside. So I went around to the door just as someone was coming out and went in to ask for the manager, he told me he was the manager but I didn't believe him, then another server came over and told me she was the manager, so I don't know if they were lying to me or not but she also didn't care that he was rude, and she was equally as rude, even tho she quite often serves my husband and I when we have been there before. She then told me we were disrespectful for smoking on the upstairs empty patio, even tho we had permission. She said they could of received a fine, so yes I get it, but all she had to do was tell us that at the time and nobody would have gone out there to smoke. I told her that we are regulars, and she knows that, and I told her we brought 4 new people to your restaurant, and after being closed off and on for the past couple of years it was no way to treat new customers and I doubt they will ever come back now, with that the original guy that was rude to us said 'good don't come back.' So with that I left and I most likely will never go back again unless I get some kind of apology from the manager real manager or not! After spending that amount of money and to be treated like that at the end of the evening left a very sour taste in all of our mouths. I also have to mention that we frequent the Aurora location a lot as well, mostly in the winter months, and they are far more professional and elegant there. The waiters are more mature and friendly, I just wish they had a patio in the summer months, but we will continue to go to the Aurora location for sure. read more

Underwhelming is how I would describe our experience. Big expectations w very impressive curb appeal. Went on a Saturday evening early as according to online they don't take reservations, which they now do. We were sat by the cozy fireplace, misleading bcs it was actually the host stand, oh and they then promptly turned off the fireplace, citing "it overheats the wall". Limited wine by the glass. Meals arrived very quickly. Ceaser salad and grilled calimari, and a couple pizzas. Pizza was bland, dry flour crust, reminiscent of matza cracker. Server was very friendly and polite. Again, underwhelming and won't rush back. read more

The newmarket location is a very nice casual dining place. veranda/patio is very nice. the food is just average. I wish I could say it was better but the items I had were about the same level as most franchise places I have been to. There was nothing wrong with it - tasted good. but it wasn't special in any way. I got arancini (which were good). spaghetti bolognese. and tiramisu. presentation was good on all items. pasta was noticeably NOT al dente (there was also no cream in the bolognese - but this isn't always the case with bolognese - just adding it here in case someone reads this and is planning on ordering it). the party of 8 I was there with enjoyed our dinner and company - and everyone remarked on the very nice settings. prices are good (arancini was 11, bolognese 15 or so, tiramisu 8). read more