It was one of those Thursday evenings where no one wanted to cook and we all had to eat. Maybe a restaurant was not in the budget with holiday shopping on the menu, but we had to eat. I don’t fancy pasta all that much, but everyone else had a craving so we headed out to East Side Mario’s on Upper James street in Hamilton. Since it was the closest location, plus we’ve been there several times before. Always had good service. Though we found that since they changed their menu the food wasn’t as good as it used to be.
Since it was a Thursday night and we went with the expectation that we’d have to wait for a table as it was also prime dinner time. I guess people were either out shopping or cutting back due to the season and recession, but we were seated immediately. Now if you’ve been to one East Side Mario’s you should know what to expect, so I won’t bore you with the fact that the inside decor tries to mimic scenes from New York or that it’s a bar / restaurant that servers up Italian food.
Service.
Our server Marina was excellent. Always on time with everything, kept asking if we needed anything else and if the food was “ok”. She seemed confident in her job and her personality showed that she genuinely cared about the people at her table. She was there, but never overbearing. Since our daughters wanted to get home on time to watch “Vampire Diaries” Marina even joked with them and got us out in time. Great job Marina.
I’ll just run through what we ordered…
We didn’t order starters as we were on a budget, was a bit pressed for time and we knew that our dishes would come with unlimited salad and that amazing garlic home loaf. Plus, we were hungry and wanted to dig into actual food.
Tehya had been out earlier with her friends for a Christmas dinner party, so she was ordering this visit and Kieana and Indy decided that since they can never finish their meals that they would just share one. BTW, there were no fees as some other restaurants charge for sharing. They order they “build your own pasta” where you could choose which type of pasta you wanted and the sauce.
Details: Build Your Own Pasta – Choose Your Pasta And Sauce Combination PASTA: Spaghetti, Penne, Farfalle, Linguine, Orecchiette, Bucatini. SAUCE: Napolitana, Arrabbiata, Alfredo or Bolognese meat sauce. $10.99
They ordered the Penne with the Arrabbiata sauce, since they’re like their “pops” and love spicy food.According to them it was a good balance of rich tomato sauce and heat. And yes, it was enough for both of them as the portion was fairly large. though it didn’t look that way, since it came in a bowl/plate type dish which was very deep.
Caron ordered what she always orders, even after knowing that since they changed their menu she no longer liked that particular sauce. She also got the build your own pasta, with the penne but with the Bolognese meat sauce. Yup, she complained just as she did the last time we were there. Quite honestly it tasted like something out of a jar or can that you’d pick up at the grocery store for under a buck. East Side Mario’s really need to go back to the old way they used to prepare this sauce as this one is a true let-down.It’s a good thing her meal came with unlimited salad.
I opted for the classic…
Spaghetti and Meatballs Bolognese – Tasty meatballs simmered with our Italian Bolognese sauce, made the authentic way with both pork and beef. $13.99
This is a true classic and must say that it was EXCELLENT, even though as mentioned I don’t like pasta all that much. I usually order my dishes extra spicy and the people in the kitchen did it perfectly. The pasta was cooked perfectly and the meatballs were full of flavour and tender. It was not that grainy sort of meat texture you sometimes get with terrible meatballs.
The salad we opted for (came with the pasta dishes and were unlimited) …
Garden Salad – A large individual portion of mixed greens, grape tomatoes, pepperoncini peppers, red onions, black olives and croutons tossed in our signature house vinaigrette.
Caesar Salad – A large individual portion of romaine lettuce, bacon pieces and seasoned croutons tossed with our creamy Caesar dressing (make sure you top with fresh grated cheese and fresh black pepper – it makes a big difference)
The tasty garlic home loaf (we had about 4)
Overall a great evening out that cost us under $80 (we didn’t order any booze), besides the crappy experience with Caron’s meal it still is a restaurant we’d go back. Great Service!
Address:
1389 Upper James St.
Hamilton, Ontario
L9K 1B2
Store # 33725
(905) 574-3890 Phone
(905) 574-6813 Fax
HOURS OF OPERATION:
Mon – Thurs 11am – Midnight
Fri – Sat 11am – 1am
Sunday 11am – 11pm
BTW, the coffee served is also excellent.
