Amazing food with fantastic service and great ambiance. If you've never tried Portuguese cuisine this is a great place to check out. Portuguese fine dining at its best. read more

Strip loin should not be tough as shoe leather, & when a server is told so it should either be replaced or comped. Neither happened. Rather, a suggestion to take it home was given. Mushroom truffle soup should not feature garlic as the overwhelming flavour. Creme Brulee... don't bother. Risotto shouldn't be crunchy. This restaurant's chef should find another career, and the wait staff are more suited to a greasy spoon than an alleged "fine dining" establishment. Don't waste your money torturing your palet. read more

"I'll have a negroni" "We don't have negronis" At 5:30pm: "Our specials include x, y, and z along with a 13 Oz ribeye". "Oh, nice! I'll have the ribeye." "Sorry we're sold out". It's 5:30pm? I wanted to like this place, but from the moment we walked in to seating, it was pretty unprofessional. The menu is really confusing: bolognese with blue cheese? Striploin served with a salad on top of it? Goat/feta cheese in most choices? What's going on here? Service felt like they didn't want to help us along in this adventure. All all of this, with a $$$$ price point. As I normally try to do, here's some constructive feedback: - As a default predisposition, servers need to be kind and helpful - Menu needs light options and things that aren't completely polarizing - Add a few high-margin items on the menu to help you coast through executing the high-cost items (high-margin items like fish tacos, fancy dips, light salads - so many options) Literally just go to an earls, joey, or cactus club, and do what they do. Whoever first does this in Barrie will own the market. read more

The food quality at the North Restaurant is the type to return to in your mind over and over again. The service was superb and the flavors mixed with utter creativity and excitement. For a special occasion, the low lighting, and intimate setting is the perfect spot! read more

As a guy that is more comfortable at Moose Winooskis than fine dining perhaps I was out of my element. My table for two that I reserved weeks ahead was right beside the noisy kitchen that had no door It was a little on the noisy side My order took 90 minutes to arrive and wasn't very warm. But it was still delicious The bill was $100 with no booze Now it was Valentine's Day so I was not surprised about the crowded restaurant. I'll stick to the moose where I belong read more

A disappointing meal. Appetizer needed to be sent back as it was well past it's freshness (oysters). Not an item you take chances with. Followed up with an order of scallops at $36 an order. I don't recommend you order this if you are hungry, it came with three medium sized scallops only. There is better value at nearby restaurants read more

Profoundly dissatisfied, over priced and lacking any enthusiasm from the wait staff. Food, at best, was mediocre, heavily salted and overcooked. Definitely do not recommend. read more

Last night we ate at the North. We would highly recommend this restaurant if you want a intimate setting, comfortable atmosphere and eloquent food. Unlike many fine dining restaurants, the North gives large portions of food. We started prosciutto wrapped goat cheese; filling yet balanced well with the greens on the plate. My hubby had the rib eye and myself the stuffed chicken, both excellent. Tender and juicy. Rib eye was the size of my face. Creme brûlée for dessert was great. We will return. read more

I was very pleased that we went to The North Restaurant! Let me just say that we agreed unanimously that this fine dining restaurant is the best we have been to in Barrie. The service is friendly and attentive and our reservation was honoured without any wait for a table. The atmosphere is calm and classy with a lit candle on each table and the chandeliers casting ambient warm light. I only wish that the air conditioner was turned up a wee bit. Now for the main event...The food was exceptional! I want to Thank Chef Marco for the outstanding taste, presentation and timely service of our 3 course plates. We will definitely return to The North Restaurant in the future! read more

Great atmosphere, inside and out. Everything felt comfortable and was accompanied by lovely service. The food was fresh and interesting, possibly too busy but otherwise delicious! I had the calamari to start, the flavours were definitely unexpected but quite enjoyable and tangy. I had a strip loin for the main course. It was perfectly cooked and accompanied by a arugula, apple and blue cheese salad and places on top of thin flavour packed fries. Absolutely one to recommend read more

This restaurant amazed me again, I had the venison chop and it was sublime. The oysters were on point. The service,is wonderful, exactly what you want in a high end restaurant. They are there but not there. It's jus beautiful. Great drinks, wine, you feel like a friend. read more

Extremely pricy, horrible food, the sushi felt like leftovers. Horrible experience overall! read more

The North Restaurant - a wooden table with glasses and napkins on it - Italian Near Me - Barrie, Ontario

Have always been a huge fan of The North. They have now moved to their new location on Mary Street. We went to the New location when it first opened and it is beautiful and very comfortable. We could have stayed in those chairs ALL night. When they first opened, I think that they were experiencing growing pains. We waited over an hour for our entrees and that's just not okay. I have said and heard many times that you just can't get a bad meal at The North. For the first time ever we got 'okay' meals. Not up to the standards we had learned to expect. ***** Last night we went back and the service was right back up to their former standards however the food was still just 'okay'. In my opinion they need to update their menu. I feel like I've eaten the same items there for the past couple of years. I really hope The North can go back to being our favourite restaurant. read more

Went for Barrielicous on Saturday night. Had the 6 course sampler menu. Great service. Excellent food. Always a positive experience. Thanks. read more

Smoke strip loin was cooked perfectly and the banana cream pie was fine. Sweet poatoe hash was alright. read more

The North Restaurant - Food looks beautiful. Great presentation. Smoke strip loin with sweet potatoes hash pictured.The steak was perfect. - Italian Near Me - Barrie, Ontario

We were disappointed when we visited the north restaurant. It was a busy night when we went. My food, strip-loin, was over done. The entire dish was extremely salty, I mean crunchy with salt!? My wife had the chicken. She felt the dish was bland and her potatoes were raw and crunchy. The service was a little slow but friendly. We will likely try another place in the area before coming back here for dinner the next time we are back in town. read more

The Meal was excellent! I had the Arctic Char and my wife had the Maple Orange Duck. The presentation of the meal and the taste was very good. However, the tiny tables are pushed together in small rooms ( about the size of a bedroom ) the slopped floors and crowded area I could see past. But the slow service was terrible and the drink sizes were very small for the price? We waited over 40 mins without seeing our waitress? Our waitress was very polite and friendly but very slow. Maybe she had too many tables to deal with? Great food, slightly over priced but poor service. Management needs to make some improvements to the speed of service before I'll go back. read more

CAUTION!!! HIDDEN CHARGE ADDED TO BILL!!! Have a close look at the out-of-date menu posted on the website. The Half "Dozer Oyster's" and Smoked "Beed" Tenderloin should have been a hint at the experience awaiting us. This restaurant is not as fine or fancy as its high prices suggest. I will say the proteins we ordered (grilled calamari, duck breast, rack of lamb) were very well cooked, and the complimentary curried zucchini spread was very nice (though the bread was stale with the texture of drywall). But the vegetables were over done, the rice was undercooked, and everything was absolutely drowning in excessively salty sauce - I needed a spoon just to find the rack of lamb hiding at the bottom of my dish and my wife's duck was completely submerged. I'll give credit to the creativity and the attempt at presentation but the resulting meal was a disappointing failure. I could further comment on the unbalanced table, the flaking paint on the wall, the tacky pillows, the floor lamp in the corner that leans at an awkward angle, the bent and twisted Venetian blinds, the food-stained and crumpled paper menus, the out-of-place 90s soft rock playlist, or the tank-topped "bros" (not patrons) with beer bottles in hand passing through the dining area on their way in and out of the restaurant's back door, but none of that distracts from just how disappointing the food experience was. This restaurant should close immediately and the owner/chef should be ashamed! read more

I had another bad experience at this over rated and over expensive restaurant. We were there to celebrate a milestone birthday of a family member. Reservations for were made, however we were shuttled upstairs to a dark, dingy room. Lights on the walls were not working, no music was playing(and we had to ask about music numerous times)....to drown out the noise from downstairs. The atmosphere to celebrate a birthday was a negative ten. There was a private party that took up the entire restaurant on the main floor. If we were informed of this, we may have simply changed to another date. On top of this, it was the worst service, by an under trained waitress. It appeared that it was a hassle for her to attend to us upstairs, as we rarely saw her. Water glasses weren't filled, empty plates were not removed from the table, food from the kitchen was very, very late in delivery. And when it arrived, my scallops were barely warm. And there were only Two! You had to search for them. We brought our own birthday cake, and when they took it away to cut it for us, it did not appear until 10+ minutes later. We ordered several bottles of good wine, and although I did not see the bill, I know this was an expensive evening. I was embarrassed for the birthday member. Not worth it at all. I will not willingly ever return. Over rated and over expensive. They need to clean up their restaurant, train their staff, and offer clients a better experience. read more

Great restaurant. Service and food were both good. The cappuccino was perfect. My two concerns: 1) overpriced 2) washrooms weren't clean read more

Went to The North on a Friday night, 7pm reservation for 4 people. Our server was Ivona. We were greeted at the door by our server and she pointed us to our table. Nice atmosphere, very nicely decorated and good music. As the night went on it got pretty busy. We saw our server a total of 3 times at our table throughout the night, otherwise we had to flag down any passing servers to get additional drinks. This was cheesy, made us feel an inconvenience and was not an expectation of an upscale restaurant. Food was alright. We started with chicken stuffed with chipotle cream cheese and it was excellent. For dinner one person in our party ordered the shrimp & scallops and said it was excellent. Two people ordered the $44 beef wellington and both were over cooked (we did not request well done), were tough and certainly not $44 meals. One person had the grilled striploin and said it was average. The time between finishing our dinner and being asked if we would like anything else was 45 minutes, ordered dessert, 50 minutes later our bill was brought to the table - we weren't offered the option of anything further, though we would have stayed for specialty coffees or more drinks. We left the restaurant at 10:15pm. We will not be returning any time soon. read more

Three foodies went for a Barrielicious meal on Saturday night. Greeted wonderfully by both the host and quickly by our server with a lovely smile. Wait staff really worked as a team and nothing was lacking. Starters were wonderful, except perhaps a bit too much garlic in the sweet potato and garlic soup. All entrees were amazing. Broccoli Mac and Cheese wonderful! The other two entrees were the rubbed steak au jus with caramalized onion mashed potatoes and root vegetables. Comment on those entrees - best ever in a restaurant meal. Can't get a much better compliment than that. The desserts were over the top. And yes areeing with other reviews, you could sit there all night with the wonderful atmosphere and those sink in comfortable chairs. We will drive from Bradford again to enjoy another great evening at the North. read more

Chef Marco Ormonde and his staff create a warm, comfortable setting in which to eat elaborate and delicious fine food. Chef's Table available for $60 which I was unable to finish because there was too much food (all of it scrumptious). read more

My friends and I dined at the North on a Thursday night, service was quick and delicious!I started with the French Martini, nice and light, good portion, very tasty, My "small plate" was the prociutto wrapped goat's cheese, very good, but a little salty. For my "large plate" I enjoyed the pan seared strip loin, served with perfectly steamed asparagus and a mashed potato with corn and goats cheese and they were all amazing! There were 7 of us dining and we were all very impressed with the food, and then, the dessert menu arrived, we couldn't decide which looked better, so we ordered one of each and shared around the table. What an experience! The desserts were phenomenal! My favourite was the chocolate dipped cheesecake, but the banana cream pie was a close second. The housemade ice creams and sorbets were decadent! The restaurant itself was a little tired looking, and cramped, not alot of selection if you wanted just a glass of wine, but we came for the food and were not disappointed. Definately would make another visit. read more

No other restaurant like it in Barrie and better than most in Toronto. Delicious dishes artfully prepared. Special requests? No problem. Marco and his amazing kitchen staff can work around any food issues or just customize to one's palate. Not Barrie's least expensive choice but clearly worth every penny. A devotee read more

I've only been here once so far but it was super. I am going here again in a week for my birthday. For sure some of the best food for foodies in Barrie !! read more

I have been here a number of times over the past few years. Always an excellent presentation and great food. One of the finest restaurants around! Thanks Chef Marco! read more

This is by far my go to place for fine dining in barrie. For 70$, you get a 6-7 course tasting menu, all of which are not found on the regular menu. The staff is so friendly and welcoming, the decor is awesome, and damn those chairs are the best thing since sliced bread. Ok, so first course of our seven course was lamb chops with carmelized onions on top and a lovely sesame vegetable salad. (Perfect!) second was bacon wrapped asparagus, stuffed with goat cheese and topped with red pepper and mango salsa. Next, a tomato and curry soup with a balsamic reduction. For what I thought was our main course, a seared sesame ahi tuna steak on top of a portabello ristotto and a wonderful seared halibut. This next course didnt count, since it was just courteous in betweener (we thought it was dessert!), a lovely basil sorbet inside a hollowed out strawberry. We were told this was simply to cleanse our palate. Then came our actual entree: God damn kangaroo. It tasted like bacon and lamb got drunk and had a baby, so good! And then for dessert, a trio: homemade butter tart, banana cream pie inspired cream inside phyllo dough cup, and the ever classic vanilla cream brûlé. If you have the extra cash, you absolutely have to spend it here. read more

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Went tonight for Barrielicious. We both had the 6 course meal option for $40. It's was absolutely amazing! Each dish better than the last. Can't wait to try out their regular menu. read more

Superb coffee, scallops are best in town really good everything. Nessum Dorma coffee fabulous. Best restaurant in Barrie hands down and consistent. Marco needs to keep an eye on sous chefs as they can rarely wander off point, but food sent back will be replaced with superb and reasonable fair. read more

The only restaurant we go to in Barrie. Friendly staff and yes, the food is great. The price is more than most restaurants in Barrie but compared to a similar one in Toronto, the North is a great deal. Marco the owner is great and has done so well with the North. Thank you. read more

Went for the after theatre prix fixe menu after the Barrie Film Festival. Loved the atmosphere. The waiter was rushed. Perhaps they were short staffed. It was very busy. We ordered the cornish hen and it was very dry. Everything else was delicious but I left most of the cornish hen. Coffee was terrible. Perhaps the chef was off. I have heard so many wonderful things about this restaurant, will definitely try again. read more

I took my wife to The North for our 17th Anniversary as it was highly recommended. I will have to say Chef Marco takes you on a journey your pallet will never forget. As far as Chef Marco goes, You won't find a chef this great and this humble. Don't skip by this place if your dining out in Barrie read more