I had a party of three and we were greeted as soon as we entered. Our drink and food orders were taken right away but it did take a little longer than expected for our food to arrive. We ordered the all you can eat soup, salad and bread, a Ceasars wrap, and sausage penne. We chose the potato and bacon soup. It took a while for our food to come out. The hostess had to come over to our table to ask what we ordered so she could assist our waiter. Once the food arrived, it was hot and delicious. The environment was welcoming, nothing too crazy. The experience was a normal restaurant experience Nothing worth raving about but nothing negative either. read more

Visited this restaurant tonight for the second and last time. We should have known when we were seated that this was not going to be great. The hostess that seated us was unfriendly and treated us like we were imposing on her by entering the restaurant. Just our luck that she was our server as well, We asked her a question about the salad and her response was short and snippy. We started with the salad, which was old and wilted, and then had the fettuccine that was served barely warm. And it was so cold in the restaurant that both of us had to keep our jackets on. Horrible experience. The management here really needs to observe how their customers are treated. Unbelievable read more

I loved the food; it was some of the best food I've ever had. The service was amazing, all of the food and drinks came fast, and there was a host whose name is Bo, and he was so nice and so caring. It was a cool place, and I loved the art on the walls. I'm definitely coming back, and I hope to see Bo. read more

came in as two adults and a kid ordered an all you can eat for one person and the other two got pastas when the one who got the all you can eat asked for more we where asked to pay for each piece of bread. apparently it's not all you can eat, hoped they could say that on the menu. also there was multiple bugs in are drinks and hair on a pasta. server Was no help either and made the situation are fault. overall bad experience and very disappointing experience. (as a ex worker in another location I'm very upset in how its ran) read more

Sara was an absolute amazing server from start to finish. she was so kind on top of everything (asking if we'd like more to drink, sides, how everything was overall great experience.) thank you Sara for being you and such a great server. read more

The food was lack lustre overall! - For one of our all you can eat we got bacon crème potato soup and I tell you not we got a bowl full of watered down cream even the waitress was put back when we told them. When we got the next couple of bowls it was better, the last one being the best as it came out with lots of filling and steaming for once. ( One out of three steaming... two out of three cold) - Next was all of our plater meals, all of the chicken was overcooked and the bottom side was chard(garbage at this point). - The pasta came out cold to the touch, barely any sauce or flavour besides cold undercooked pasta (yum). - Now the lasagna... flavour was there but somehow came out cold as well. We even put out fingers into it and the centre was even colder then the outside. Somehow saved by the microwave at home. (Maybe they need to invest into one if they want their cold food to taste good). - We all came to agreement that the bread was the best part of our meals (wow bread) followed by our drinks when they eventually did arrive... even when we ordered them when we were seated. - Overall sad to see the food go down hill like this. Definitely suggest staying away from the plater meals. -1/10 read more

East Side Mario's - Cold pasta and overcooked chicken - Italian Near Me - Brantford, Ontario

I don't know why this place has such bad reviews because it is a great restaurant I would eat there again I do recommend it and the people there are so nice and it's a great restaurant. read more

Had a great server who kept pace with our busy family. Annora was helpful, friendly and the food was yummy.

I really like this restaurant. Brought my granddaughters who loved the robot delivering their food. The child's menu is great! One entree is fine for two kids. I find the salad here exceptional especially with hot peppers and the bread is very good served warm and crunchy, Refills arrived in a timely manner. When we get a pizza, we always take some home with the leftover salad and bread. With the great parking, especially for those with mobility issues, I have absolutely nothing bad to say about this place. read more

I went out last night and the female server was incredibly rude to me, she gave me dirty looks and handed me my drink across the table. We thought she forgot my drink so my friend politely asked her and she told us she still had drinks to go out, no big deal. Everyone at the table aside from me eventually received their drinks. The server came back and gave the two boys in front of me refills knowing I didn't have my drink yet. I waited patiently and after about 30 minutes of being seated I finally got my fountain pop. The server needs lessons on manners. Overall the food was good and the ambiance was comforting. read more

We ordered two plates of chicken parm with the larger portion of chicken. Thought it would make for a leftover meal later on. One plate had clearly larger piece of chicken, the other plate a piece about half the size. Pointed this out to the server who claimed it is portioned by weight (obviously not) and walked away. At this point I have decided I'm not eating here again. After I have been eating for five minutes the manager decides to address the issue. Was I supposed to sit and wait? Because now the evidence is gone I get offered a complimentary dessert which I don't want, I decline. How should of this be handled? server should have acknowledged the problem and said " no worries, I'll get the kitchen to overcook cook a second piece of dried out chicken, it will be ready for you to take home". For $20 a plate you can eat at a real Italian place that's not managed by high school student. At least the manager could have refunded the $3 difference. I should add I still left a 15% tip Consider it a parting gift, spend it as you see fit. Get yourself some costume jewellery for prom at ardene. read more

I had Lauren as a waitress and she was so so sweet!! She suggested a great drink and I was really happy with my experience. Thanks Lauren

Worst service I've ever had!!!! My niece wanted to go to this restaurant so I decided to take her for dinner. We walked up to the restaurant and entered the building where we were stared at by the 3 employees behind the hostess desk like we were leper's (I have a small service dog) they didn't say hello or how can we help you. They just stared at us until I said this is a service dog and we would like to sit on the patio. Table for two please. So we got to our table and the waitress seemed nice. She took our drink order and I ordered an appetizer. Both came at a decent speed, this is where it gets interesting. A couple Famlies came in after us and were seated. They ordered drinks and appies and got them right away. All would have been fine if we weren't completely ignored by our waitress who served them their salad and soups and then their entrees while we sat there for 40 minutes with empty glasses, a finished appetizer plate and not even a check in by the waitress. We get our entrees after the longest wait of life, didn't get a check back, or our salad. No salt or pepper and we were given one paper napkin each. I asked for lots of napkins and she literally brought 3 napkins. I was a waitress at a very busy diner for four years and was even on an episode of " You gotta eat here" This waitress needs major training or maybe be a hostess. I left her a small tip because I'm not a total Bi@$h but I will NEVER recommend this restaurant to anyone. We were there for about two hours and yeah, never again. read more

I'm not sure why the reviews are so awful... Yes the bread seems to be shorter size wise than others and they didn't really offer to bring you refills all the time. The soup and salads are fine. The Hell's Kitchen chicken was greasier than I wanted and it was fiery hot. Portion and appearance wise it didn't look quite like the picture. Service was very friendly especially given the size of our group (5 adults 2 kids). Service is a 5 and food is a 3 which is about as good as it gets at a ESM's imho.... read more

Can't go wrong with unlimited soup, salad and delicious bread! Always my favourite spot to eat Sangria is so delicious Looove their patio especially when there's a live band read more

Mat was an amazing server. He made our visit pleasant. Very friendly and willing to offer food suggestions. And he brought me my favorite beer. read more

East Side Mario's is a decent Italian restaurant. This time, I had their prize-winning Verazza Chicken Alfredo, which was created by the chef at this location. It is excellent! Our waitress informed us that it would soon be coming off the menu, because they were going to stop getting Portobello mushrooms. Too bad. We had all you can eat salad, and they came to the table to grind the pepper & parmesan cheese, like many Italian restaurants. read more

Evening spent on the patio was most enjoyable. New Bud Light glass was very cool; Funnel cake was a delicious dessert for sharing; Server was awesome and the Live Music (Josh and Amanda Grant) was excellent. I would definitely go back again. read more

East Side Mario's - a man playing a guitar and singing into a microphone - Italian Near Me - Brantford, Ontario

I used to love ESM but now they changed their basa meal to more $$ less veggies so my hubby makes this at home tastes better actually!! Only good thing is unlimited salad!! Mmmm Cesar! read more

I purchased a wagjag for this place earlier this year. I tried DESPERATELY all day to place the order online because you received a free order of budda boomers. I even called the store and explained the issue and left (2) messages for their corporate office as well. No one called me back from corporate, and the lady at the store said I couldn't have the free order unless I placed the order online. I think it was a little ridiculous that they weren't accommodating at all to an issue with their own site. The food really was not to my taste at all and I just let my husband eat it. read more

This is because I can't give this place a ZERO STAR REVIEW walked in over an hour ago with 2 kids under 5, still waiting for food, manager full of excuses for the delay but none of them fly, she says busier than usual for a Sunday lunch but tables seated over 20 minutes after us have their food...and 15 minutes for the waitress to bring a straw??? Horrible place, save yourself the trouble and go somewhere else read more

East Side Mario's What we've ordered: House salad, Caesar salad, Breadsticks, Chicken Parmigiana, Mario's Nachos, and Budda Boomers. It's been a while since we last ate at East Side Mario's but for good reason. Our last visit was as a group of family and we were all very disappointed in the entire experience. I have not had such a bad time at a restaurant since Moose Winooski's. Upon arrival at the restaurant, we were told that there would be a 15 minute wait. We watched as several other clients came in and were seated immediately, but figured this had something to do with the number of people per table. While waiting to be seated, we noticed that every single picture frame and light fixture, which is numerous in this restaurant, was covered in cobwebs and dust to the point of being suspicious if anything was living in them still. After an hour of waiting we were told by the Manager that they had messed up with the seating and we would only wait another 15 minutes. If we were by ourselves, we wouldn't have waited that long but our family was anticipating eating here. In the end we had to wait for over 2 hours to be seated, which is absurd. We were finally seated in a secluded area in the back which was meant for parties or reservations but for being such a secluded area we couldn't even hear each other talk across the table. The aisles are so crowded in this place you barely have enough room to walk down, it's hard to think that this is a newly built restaurant and is a smaller area than the previous building. The Manager came to apologize for the longer than stated wait time and offered us a free appetizer. Our waitress arrived and we were all very confused by her appearance. Not just because of her uniform, which is the same for all staff and management; sloppy and disgustingly revealing. It was also because her hair was as though she had just crawled out from hibernating; she was slurring all her words and was falling all over the table like she was drunk. She gave us our menus and stumbled off and it was another 10 minutes before we saw her again. When she returned, we asked about the appetizer we were supposed to receive but the Manager hadn't told any of the Staff about it so we had to wait for that as well. The menu at East Side Mario's consists mostly of pasta or chicken entrée's and little else but the most disturbing part was the amount of mold present under the plastic of the menu itself. Most items are reasonably priced but no one would come here at all if it wasn't a deal sometimes. Once our appetizer and drinks came we got to order our meals but 10 minutes between even seeing your waitress is unacceptable. When my Hubby took a sip of his drink, he found food bits in the straw and now in his mouth and when my meal was placed in front of me, there was a large hair visibly cooked into my food. We could barely even sit at the table as a family, with our plates, drinks, appetizer and salad on the table you could maybe sit 2 people? Our "bottomless" salad was more than half empty, wasn't enough to feed all of us and was never refilled. Our free appetizer was tasty but was also a smaller portion than if we ordered and paid for it (more on that later). The "Quarter Chicken" was literally a drumstick and a wing on a scrap of skin. My pasta looked as though it had sat out for a long time because it was so dried up. The chicken in all of our meals was hot on the outside and refrigerator temperature in the middle almost as though it was cooked in a microwave. Their pasta sauce tastes like watered down ketchup and everything was bland and flavorless. The meals were sad, tiny little portions and we were all skeptical of even eating what was placed in front of us. This was an awful meal. We did not see our waitress again once our plates had arrived. We went without salad; bread sticks or drink refills for our entire meal. Another waitress came and delivered our bill, on which was a charge for the appetizer we were supposed to receive for free. We disputed the bill and the staff had to check with Manager, who had forgotten that she said when we were seated. She apologized and offered us an additional 10% off. We stood there waiting to leave while she typed out stuff on the computer. Our meal was paid for and upon reaching the parking and further examining the bill; we realized that she hadn't even given us this discount either. We were all so fed up with this place; we just wanted to go home. We have had some good times and good meals at East Side Mario's in the past, but an incident as bad as this has ruined this restaurant for us. We do not recommend this place at all and even though they offer some cheap prices it is not worth the hassle. This is among the worst places to eat in Brantford in our opinion and we will never be returning again. Price Range: $10-$25 Cleanliness: 0 Atmosphere: 2 Menu Selection: 6 Service: 1 Food Quality: 2 Overall Experience: 1 -Quick-RR read more

I've been to east sides from out of town and they serve good food. But this one drops the ball. I've been here now two times recently with the same results.The bread doesn't come with any garlic on it. The Caesar salad is watered down plant residue with hardly any dressing or garlic flavour in it. My friend got a pasta that said large shrimp and they were tiny. As well as the pasta having so much butter in it you could hardly eat it. With a price tag of 18.99 it's not worth it at all. Spend your money somewhere else. Portions are small with hardly any protein. Disappointed in this restaurant that I thought upheld itself. read more

I like the seafood linguine and the chicken parmesan. The bread is great and Italian wedding soup. The only issue is that there are tons of tables. Always very crowded and if u go at night or weekend, expect a long wait. This is good for the restaurant but hard on customers waiting. I have occasionally left if the wait is over half hour. But I have never had a bad food experience so don't usually mind the wait. read more

They will not take a reservation for less than 8 people. And if you want to get a table you have to call closer to the time you'd like to eat to get on a wait list. So either way unless you've got 8 people you are waiting. And no they won't take your name ahead of time for that wait list. That's a sad policy for service. read more

This restaurant waters down the sauce. Terrible meal. The franchise can't be happy about how the product compares with other locations Avoid read more

If we had never been to Brantford ESM before and judged it just by our takeout order tonight...we would never come back!!! Ever!!! The food was cold and the salad was warm. Our order did not come near enough graded cheese or salad dressing. That being said. We have dined here dozens of times and it is always awesome. Please fix your takeout...seems to be broken. read more

Franchises aren't usually places that you have to review but this East Sides is well below the average. Im from out of town and I've gone to many East Sides and this is the only one where I've experienced terrible food quality. I ordered the chicken amatriciana and it barely contained any chicken or peppers, the sauce was watered down and the meal was completely bland, the bit of chicken that was included tasted like frozen chicken. This meal is priced at $17.99 and is definitely not worth the money. My friends meals all priced at around the same point and were equally as bad quality. I recommend avoiding this particular East Sides when you're in town. read more

The first time my daughter and I went there, and the service took forever, over 45 mins before the food came to the table, the second time... It took forever to even get a menu after I had to even ask for one, I ordered the chicken parmesan, the chicken was still raw.. needless to say I will not go back to this Brantford East Side Marios read more

I had an absolutely terrible experience as this restaurant. I made a reservation exactly 6 days in advance for a party of 20 people under the name "Tyler" at 7pm. All was well. The day of the party I called 3 hours before we were supposed to show up to confirm that they still had our reservation for 20 people under this name at 7pm. The woman on the phone said yes we do! Perfect, see you then. We showed up 5 minutes before 7pm and they said just give them a minute they were still setting up our table. 20 minutes later and after everyone that arrived after us was seated before us, the supervisor came over to tell us that another group of 20 under the name "Tyler" came in before we did and took our reservation. I proceeded to say, but our reservation was for 7pm and we were here before that. She said the other party came in at 6, and said Oh sorry, we must be early. This was obviously a complete lie as there were no other tables with 20 people anywhere in the entire restaurant, nor was their enough room anywhere for a table for that many of us. (It was very busy) The supervisor proceeded to tell us it would be another minute and she offered our table of TWENTY people, two free apps for our trouble. We waited at this restaurant (Brantford East Side Mario's) for about another 10 minutes before realizing that the staff were doing absolutely nothing to fix the situation for us and there was no way they could fit a party of our size in any time soon. We made a quick call to Zanders restaurant down the road, and they fit our party in right away. When we arrived at Zanders, after giving them only 5 minutes notice, they had our table set up and ready for us when we got there. I have honestly never had such a horrible customer service experience as the one I had at the Brantford East Side Mario's. I am just thankful to Zanders for saving our night! Will not be going back to East Side's in Brantford because of this experience. read more