Darby C.

Are you looking for a nice casual restaurant serving up some elevated comfort food? Smash Kitchen & Bar has two locations: Whitby and Markham. I visited the Whitby location after walking the mall. From 2pm-5pm and 9pm to close, they have a Smash Happy Hour menu. The Happy Hour menu consists of $10 appetizers and $6.75 bar selection. We ordered the calamari, Baja fish tacos, and bbq beef croquettes. We also got a 16ox Muskoka cream ale pint, which is on special for all of July. The calamari was crispy and had a nice mix of tentacles and rings. I would have liked some fried jalapenos and bell peppers mixed with calamari. The portion was very good. The calamari was only warm, which made me think the order was sitting in the kitchen for someone to pick up. I didn't want to complain because the calamari was still good, just not hot. There's a garlic aioli sauce to dip. The bbq beef croquettes were addictive. Bbq beef brisket stuffed with cheese, peas, and potato. There's a horseradish sauce to dip. The sauce was not too overpowering, which I liked. The beef brisket was juicy and seasoned well. The fish tacos were the star of the show. Loaded with fresh toppings like cabbage, pico de gallo, guacamole, pickled red onions, and chipotle aioli. The haddock fish was fresh and flaky. Perfect taco for summer. The main menu is pretty extensive, with lots of comfort food options and dietary preferences. Entrées menu focused on Southern comfort food and some fancy pasta and bbq food. I will definitely come back and try the entrées for dinner. Today was more of a late afternoon snack. The server was nice and polite. It's a Great looking restaurant kind of dark inside, but the dining area is very cozy and comfortable. Great place for date night and hanging out with friends and family.

Souk S.

When you walk in- it feels like a trendy restaurant. Servers are casual and allowed to express themselves (a lot of tattoos and piercings) which is super cool. Our server (Erin) was super attentive and nice...eating with 2 young kids she understood we are on a tight timeline before they get bored. Cocktails were very good. I had the maple old fashion and the fact they have a proper cherry in the drink was a plus. First up - cornbread! Amazing and light but the brown butter served on the side was killer. Kids Mac and Cheese was small but so rich that they couldn't finish it. I had the fried chicken, that was very good. The dark meat was well seasoned and moist but the gravy was rosemary heavy, which wasn't good. It also came with mac and cheese ..which equated to tons of food to bring home. Wife had the bowl and enjoyed it. Good food, great service and great value.

Natacia G.

One of my favourite places to dine in Whitby! The value you get for your food is unbeatable. We came here during their happy hour around 2-5PM and they had a lot of food options for $10 and drinks for $6! And they don't change the portion size either. The food came out quickly and was really good! The mac and cheese was really delicious. The portion of the fish and chips was quite large. I don't think there was any food left on our plates after only 10 minutes. We had a really great server and a few times around the owner would come by to our table and joke around a bit which was nice. The brunch menu looked delicious so i'll be coming back to try that!

JoAnne S.

Restaurant is nice inside. Servers were attentive and nice. My husband really enjoyed the miso salmon but it was a bit sweet for my taste. I had the Tuscan grilled chicken. The server suggested if I was unsure on the pickled eggplant to put it on the dude which I appreciated. However I thought the eggplant was delicious when I tasted it. The grilled chicken was too grilled for me and had that charcoal taste. I also had to Ask for extra sauces as I found it didn't have a lot of taste. With some siracchia and malt aeloi it was much better. Price wise it's a bit on the expensive side but if you are for a nice dinner then it's about normal pricing. I had the cucumber Gin too which was delicious. Overall it was good and You can see I landed on the generous side and went with 4 stars

Jake L.

Our initial impression of this place was pretty good. The servers are very friendly and checked in on us often. The menu isn't huge but there is a lot of variety in the options so we had a tough time narrowing down what we wanted. We started with the Roasted Corn and Poblano Dip. It tasted great and was liked by everyone at the table. The Spanish Mussels were great too and a very good portion size. The little bits of sausage and potato were nice and differentiated it from the many other mussels we've tried. My partner ordered the Nashville Chicken Sandwich and really liked it. The fried chicken was incredibly crispy and delicious and the fries were awesome as well. I ordered the Smash Burrito Bowl and really liked it. I thought there was an excessive amount of sour cream but otherwise enjoyed all the toppings. It was a really tasty bowl and I'd probably order it again. Overall we had a great experience and would be happy to return here. It's a great place for a date or to catch up with friends.

Joseph M.

I love this location! I'm sure most locations can taste the same but the smash lager and burrito bowl here have a special place in my heart (stomach). The staff here is always friendly and very attentive, I highly recommend sitting at the bar and maybe even ordering the poblano queso dip if you're extra hungry.

Nadia A.

Beautiful decor and great staff attentive and kind. Unfortunately the food was pretty bland. I had smash Kitchen when they catered a YELP event and it was delicious so I was excited to finally get a chance to visit the restaurant. Presentation was great but taste not so much. The sweet potato fries where the best thing that we ordered very delicious and cooked. We ordered the Korean wings and opted to put the sauce on the side in case someone didn't enjoy the sauce the wings itself had no seasoning not even salt and pepper so the sauce I guess was supposed to be the seasoning. The mac and cheese had lots of cheese but didn't have any seasoning it was very bland and tasteless the portion was very large so I do have leftovers and I'm hoping that after it sits and I reheat it it might taste better ‍ but eating the mac and cheese was very boring I got the buttermilk fried chicken on top and it was tender it was juicy and had light flavor again could have used some more seasoning but it definitely had more flavor than anything else we ordered. I tried the freshly squeezed mango peach juice and it was more of a smoothie it was a really thick and it tasted like the mangoes that they use were not raped yet it wasn't sweet at all it tasted like green mangoes. I don't know if I caught them on a bad day or what but my experience with the food was not good at all and I think what I ordered was pretty basic and safe and unfortunately it still fell short.

Shay S.

I've been going to the smash kitchen location in Unionville for years and have thoroughly enjoyed the mac & cheese. I am sad to say that I was disappointed with the mac & cheese at the Whitby location, it was dry / not as juicy as it usually is and the chicken was very bland and a little bit cold. The service however was really good and I also really enjoyed their donuts.

Mary T.

Smash Kitchen and Bar has been in Markham for over a decade, at least. I was there well before I joined Yelp and loved everything I ate. To this day, I had the best key lime pie in my life. Sadly, it's no longer offered on the dessert menu. When I found out about its second location that recently opened in Whitby, I flagged it. I find it gutsy that this location opened up during a pandemic! Full disclosure: Yelp Toronto-GTA recently offered a perk to have dinner here. I did my RSVP and was chosen to have dinner on Yelp. Yay! I frankly didn't know what the criteria were to be selected (perhaps a breathing Yelp elite who's hungry?), but I am grateful to have been selected. After shopping in Bowmanville on Saturday, I placed my order over the phone. A woman picked up. She sounded friendly, professional, and cheerful. She put me on hold for a brief period before coming back to take my order. She found my name on the Yelp list. She then asked me what I'd like. I ordered these items: - Shrimp and crab mac and cheese, which comes with garlic toast - Cathy's warm banana chocolate toffee cake, which comes with dulce de leche, vanilla ice cream, and whipped cream I specified coming over at 5 pm to pick up my order. She was good with the time. She asked whether I had any food allergies and whether I needed cutlery. So thorough! She also asked that I head over to the bar to settle the difference. I needed to tip the place anyway and I did go over the allotted perk amount. This eatery is located at Whitby Entertainment Centrum. Its setup is similar to Cineplex Courtneypark in Mississauga where you have a number of eateries, a movie theatre, and more. You park away from all these businesses and walk into a little neighbourhood. It felt nostalgic. I was last here several years ago when Wild Burger was wildly popular. Sadly, it no longer exists. Smash Kitchen and Bar has a patio. It was a cooler day. No one sat outside. I was taking a photo of a notice on the front door when a woman pushed the door wide open and walked out. Well, wasn't that nice. I headed over to the bar, which looked pretty. A woman behind the counter asked if I needed any help. Yep, I did. I stated my name and said that I was picking up an order. I liked that a couple was looking at me as if they had never seen a person in a restaurant before. You can indeed dine in here. She brought my bill with the cutest blue smiley on it. My bill came up to $7. I added a tip and paid with a credit card. All was great. I got my paper bag of goodies that was sealed with three staples at the top, thanked her, and left. When I got home, my food was pretty much intact, except for the vanilla ice cream and whipped cream. It was melting, so I ate it first. It was premium vanilla ice cream. It was rich and creamy. Dessert before the main course seems to be a thing for me these days. Smash, just like its sister restaurant, Next Door, offers unique comfort foods. I tend to be ecstatic when I see mac and cheese on a restaurant menu. The fact that Smash has three (count 'em) versions of mac and cheese is impressive. Yes, I need to return to have the other two varieties. When I saw shrimp and crab mac and cheese on the menu, I envisioned chunks of shrimp and crab meat mixed with noodles and cheese. I was completely wrong. Let's take it from the top -- the top part of the mac and cheese. It had a crouton topping mixed with cheese. I loved how crispy and cheesy it was. The noodles were cavatappi. I say corkscrew pasta because I can both pronounce and spell it without any embarrassment. The pasta was perfect. The cheese blend with rose sauce was nice. It was neither over-cheesy, nor dominated by a strong alcohol taste. Again, it was perfect. The shrimp were whole. Not chunks. Not halves. Whole. They weren't rubbery. They were flavourful and done right. The crab meat? Chunks of them in the form of mini crab cakes. What?! I thoroughly enjoyed finding and eating them. It's like an adult version of mac and cheese with a scavenger hunt built in. I didn't think that I could eat the garlic toast. Well, I did. It had the right about of garlicky buttery goodness. The bread was both chewy and crispy where you'd expect it to be. To top off my carb coma, I had Cathy's warm banana chocolate toffee cake for dessert. It had dulce de leche already on it. I took the generous slice of cake out of the box and plated it. I poured the toffee sauce on it. I love how moist and yummy the cake was. It had the moisture of a good rum cake. There were slices of ripe banana that separated the two layers of cake. The chocolate was subtle, which worked well. Run and get this cake. Delicious! I had an excellent food experience here. It doesn't surprise me, as I'm fortunate to live in Markham where the original restaurant continues to pump out yummy food. I look forward to returning to have some more good eats and hope to dine there soon. (368)

Chris C.

First of all, I have to thank Yelp for enabling this complimentary visit, which in no way affects the opinions expressed here. I've been to Smash's Markham location on several occasions for brunch, lunch, and dinner and have never been disappointed. I expect the same of this new location. The interior of this location looks elegant and sophisticated, yet comforting. The patio, enclosed in glass and wood panels, is a bit more casual. The dark coloured exterior, while not my favourite during the day, adds to the elegance once the sun goes down. The menu has some familiar looking favourites but the Home Fried Buttermilk Chicken & Dinosaur Ribs Platter caught my attention. It came with Mac & Cheese on the side. Bring it on! The generous serving of food was nicely plated. The chicken, deboned dark meat, was tender and delicious, with a nice crunchy batter. The ribs could have been a bit more tender for my liking but the meat came off the bone easily and it had good flavour. The Mac & Cheese was delicious. Did I say it was a generous serving? As good as it was, I had to take some of it home. In addition to the great food and ambiance, the service was outstanding! My server was friendly and attentive, checking on me several times. Come and experience it for yourself!

Michelle L.

This is my first time at Smash Kitchen ever! I know they have had a Markham location for a long time - almost a decade per the hostess but this one is quite new to the scene having been opened since August of 2020. It's located in what is normally a very bumping plaza on the weekends. There's mini-golf, arcades, theaters, nearby - I'd expect that parking would get kinda hairy at those times. I went on a Wednesday for lunch and there were parking spaces for miles. The restaurant was easily visible from Consumers Road. There is signage to get around the plaza and it's located adjacent to the Putting Edge. There's a huge patio with shaded tables that is open right now. I had called in my order for the Southern Platter ahead of time. I only had a brief wait before it was ready. It doesn't exactly say on the menu how many this is supposed to feed but we managed to share between 3 people. Personally, I was stuffed! I didn't know what to expect with the BBQ beef croquettes but they were awesome. The outside was breaded and crispy with the inside being pulled beef that was intermixed with what tasted like a peppery Monterey Jack. The mac and cheese was extra creamy and cheesy with macaroni's fancier self, cavatappi. The buttermilk fried chicken came in hugeee slabs. We were all really impressed at how juicy they were after being fried. Last up were the pork back ribs. These were also really meaty and tasty. The perfect pick me up after all of the very rich comfort dishes were the pickled cucumbers and coleslaw that came with the platter. Perfection! There are some dishes that are a little pricier on the menu but from what I've had so far, well worth it!

Liz H.

This place is great! Went here before a movie and was pleasantly surprised! The food tasted fresh and was delicious- they chicken lives up to the hype - it didn't need the gravy! The fish tacos were great, LA Mac &cheese was good. Half priced wine bottles on Thursday's too! The staff were friendly, fast, and efficient, would definitely go back! The restaurant is big but still felt intimate for a nice date night - would definitely recommend!

Arlene B.

The second location of Smash Kitchen & Bar opened in the Whitby Entertainment Complex a few months ago. Having dined countless numbers of times at their original location in Markham, I knew it was someplace I would definitely have to check out. Having RSVPed and later selected as one of the Yelp Elites to receive a generous dine in or take out offer, this was my impetus to drive to Whitby to check it out sooner. Danielle, one of the friendly front of house staff from the Markham location, took my order over the phone. I ordered a two of my go-to dishes: barbecue chicken salad and beef ragout pappardelle. I also ordered the shrimp and crab cake mac and cheese, a dish we had not previously tried. She was good to ask about any allergies as well as whether cutlery would be required. After applying the voucher discount, my total came out to $41. Upon arrival I was impressed with the decor and size of the restaurant. It has a sleeker vibe than the more family style bistro feel of the Markham location. I can see this being a nice date night spot before the movies or after working up an appetite following engaging in some of the nearby activities in the area like indoor skydiving. The larger bar and wine feature wall anchor the space. They have ample seating areas for adequate physical distancing or patio seating for those who prefer an outdoor dining experience. There is a large room for private functions. Washrooms are single stalls and genderless. Our food portions were very generous. The mac and cheese container was packed to the top! Hubby and I don't normally order mac and cheese because it's not his thing but this he quite enjoyed as it was creamy and flavourful with a slight kick. The corkscrew noodles were slightly more cooked than my preferred doneness but I appreciated how there was ample amounts of sauce. I loved how they were generous with the crab cake pieces in the pasta. The barbecue chicken salad was, as always, very satisfying with chunks of avocado, sliced peppers, corn, sliced red onion, and lots of grilled chicken. The dressing has a mild heat to it and they were good to pack the dressing on the side so that we could dress the salad as we like. We had our fill of the salad and pasta, and still had enough leftovers for dinner the next day! If Smash Whitby were in my neck of the woods, I'd definitely order out or dine in (when safe to do so) more often. Thankfully I have the original Smash restaurant close by so I will continue to enjoy their delicious menu offerings. Highly recommended!