"My family has been to this location before about 6-months back and enjoyed the food, service, and atmosphere. Our recent visit was a complete 180 turn on everything and will probably be the last time we ever visit an East Side Mario’s again.We were sat at a booth with a very sticky thick plastic table cloth and smushed food sprinkled around us on ground. We didn’t mention the food as we could ignore it, but had to ask the server to wipe the table as all of our arms were sticking to the table.They brought small plates and cutlery to us and two of then plates had what I would describe as dark green/blue crayon wax caked all over it. I’m sure in their haste, a crayon made its way into the dish washer. What’s significant to me is nobody noticed it going in, and nobody looked at the plates coming out. Our cutlery was marred with hard water spots all over it. I’ve worked as a dish washer in a chain restaurant in the past, and I would have been incredibly embarrassed.The garlic bread, soup, and salad were all good and everyone enjoyed it. The mains however were a completely different story. Two of us ordered pasta, one ordered chicken with potatoes and veggies, and I ordered the chicken parmesan that had pasta on the side. Every pasta that hit the table was the same. Oily, lacked flavour, and was very overcooked almost to a mush. The meatballs on one dish tasted like cardboard and had an off texture. The chicken parm itself however was very good, and the chicken on the other plate with the veggies was good also. Not a single person could stomach to finish any of the pasta that made its way to the table.The server was polite, noticed that the plates had barely been touched, and after we declined a take-out box realized we had hated the food. She felt bad and offered to get the manager to come speak with us as she would need them to be able to approve any discounts. A few moments later, she returned and said the manager wouldn’t be coming out but offered 15% off. We felt so embarrassed and annoyed that the manager was too scared to come speak to a table that hadn’t even complained about the horrible experience. We felt the awkwardness our server felt in knowing her management was hiding scared behind the scenes. We accepted the 15% as we really just wanted to leave. We thanked the server, and she gave us some extra bread and deserts as the kitchen was closing, which was a nice gesture.I know this is long, but if even one person reads this and rethinks their decision to visit this restaurant for a simple, low-stress, reasonably priced dinner with “good enough” Italian food, then it’ll have been worth it.Be better, East Side Mario’s."
