East Side Mario's

It was my first time to an East side Marios and it wasn't very good. It took a long time to get my order and then they made an error so I had to wait longer. The food was very basic. The veal parmigiano and chicken was overcooked and too hard to eat and salty. The pasta and salad was boring and pretty tasteless. The plastic table cloths, thin cutlery, and plastic glasses all add to the cheap, fast food feel that this place has. They were generous with parmigiano cheese and the fancy drinks good

Not a family restaurant

I personally know of 4 single mothers who have been fired for no particular reason at all. The new owners now buy most of the food frozen and microwave it. Sound yummy

Happy they care

Went there with 2 friends, the host at the front door was great, smile held the door, sat us withen 4 min there was a small wait but it was dinner time. Some big over weight lady was kinda rude to the server tho, people that are in a bad mood should stay home, stop trying to dump on others. Go on a diet. Eastsides you guys rock!! you care and it shows.

Slow service, apathetic staff

Normally I'm a fan of East Side Mario's, but the experience at the Peterborough location was enough to motivate me to open an account with Restaurantica to comment. We went on a Thursday evening and were virtually ignored by our wait staff. Several times we had to give him "the eye" just to have him check in with us. It was likely 15 minutes before he even asked what we wanted to drink. Then he either forgot to file our order with the kitchen or someone was sleeping on the job, because it was about 35 minutes before any food came out besides the usual salad and bread. Good food was overshadowed by feeling forgotten and unwelcome. Bad, bad service.

HUGE Improvement! Very Good!

I had a craving for chicken tetrazini and even after hearing bad reviews I went anyway. Once there I learned that there was new management. From the moment we walked in the door we were well taken care of. It was so busy we had to wait 15 mins for a table but they took our name, cleared a table and led us in as soon as they could. We had a wonderful waitress (Kate I believe) who was very friendly and upbeat. We had drinks, bread and salad within 5 minutes of sitting down. (We love their unlimited Salad and Bread deal. Soooo good) Our waitress was very child friendly and the kids menu was great (has pictures so kids can feel more grown up and order themselves) I got my chicken tetrazini and it was delicious! The mushrooms were fantastic! My son got his pizza steaming hot with tons of toppings and my husband loved his chicken, veggies and fries. My son had a smoothie with two cherries, tons of whip cream and a fun swirly straw. There were probably three birthdays that night and staff made their way over to sing cheerfully to each person. :) There was so much food we had to take some home. At one point the manager came over and apologized for our initial wait and just made sure we were enjoying ourselves. The waitress checked on us frequently. We were well taken care of and best of all, when the bill came we didnt have to pay for our drinks or my sons smoothie as thanks for being patient for a table. The whole meal (and we were stuffed!) came to only $40.20. I will definetly go back again. :) Its worth a second chance if your first experience with the old management was bad. They have really turned this place around

New Ownership really shows!

I had heard East Side Mario's Peterborough had new owners and I hadn't been in awhile and WOW! From the hostess opening the door for us to the Owners Matt and Dianne Kraft introducing themselves, a great start. The kids menu is all pictures making it easy for the kids to point out. The kids drinks are really cool lookin, my sons shirley temple came with three cherries and cotton candy! Their Ceaser al Diavolo is one of the best ceasers around, I love that peperocini pepper. We love the all-u-can eat fresh salad and garlic bread, we had several refills. For dinner we had Veal Parmasean and Scallop Carbonara, kids cappeletti and kids spaghetti. Delicous tasting, great presentation and to top it all off it was my daughters birthday and all the servers, managers, owners in attendance all sang a very unique high energy birthday song that had us all smiling. This place is great for kids. The server then brought over a treasure chest for the kids to grab a toy, the cherry on top of the cake. Overall Great service awesome atmosphere. This is a place to go if you want fun,value and service. Thumbs up! We'll be back soon...

We were sat a a little table for two by little I mean the thing was a size of a postage stamp which is hard to get comfortable on. They also have the little tables right by the front door so you get the nice winter breeze and get everyone waiting for a table looking at you. At one point a waitress was leaning on a divider right behind my wifes chair. That's comfortable. The table had a nice wobble on it. I will give the waitress credit for getting on the floor and fixing it with coasters but it's a nice start. The all you can bread was nice. The first loaf they brought? I could have knocked somebody out with it if I hit them over the head. It had to be sitting there for a day at least. They replaced it. Then came the salad bowl so we took out our forks. My wifes fork was totally filthy and had a piece of food stuck in the middle of it. I guess nobody checks them when putting the place settings together. I couldn't wait to get out of there and won't be back.

So sad I grew up going to this place used to love...

So sad I grew up going to this place used to love it, I loved the new york little italy feel, the large portions and the fun enthusiastic staff, but since their renovations its gone way down hill. The atmosphere doesnt fit or compliment the feel of the chain, they made the portions smaller, and the service has been mediocre at best what a let down.

I came here with a large group and we had mixed...

I came here with a large group and we had mixed reactions. Myself and a couple others had the Chicken Tetrazini and found it was bland and unpalatable. Others had Penne with Sausage and raved about it. Yet others said the food was "okay..." The food took quite ahile to arrive, but in fairness we were a large group. The server could have checked in on us a little more often considering there were more than ten of us. It was an "okay" experience, but there are so many other nicer restaurants in Peterborough that next time I will be going elsewhere.

Worst Way to Be Welcomed to Peterborough

It was my frst time in Peterborough, and seeing ESM reminded me of my great experience with the restaurant from my home city... It took 15 minutes to be seated, to just order drinks took 25 minutes, we were never asked what we would like to order until I called the waiter and placed the orders he of course did not even listen he just nodded and left, there were many available tables and ALL were waiting to give orders EVERY CUSTOMER WAS WAITING TO BE SERVED. Meanwhile, all staff were standing around doing nothing but reporting to those that asked for a bill. Jokes on them because nobody bothered give a tip that night. Eventually at the 45 minute mark before we got up to leave, we had to remind the manager of our order which came immediately and cold. The fries were over salted, both pastas were cold, the salad was limp and the garlic bread was stale. Furthermore, the drinks had a rancid taste to it. Of course when it was time for the bill, the waiter was delighted to give it as he was desperate for tips and he got none. Everyone in the restuarant exchanged looks of anger and frustration. I love ESM but the experience at the Peterborough ESM was horrible.

This place is awful. And yet the masses continue...

This place is awful. And yet the masses continue to flock to it. The food is far below average and WAY overpriced. Will not return.

Disappointed

Was my first trip to East Side's since the renovation. I took my two children (age 7 & 14) out for dinner on the eve of school starting. The restaurant was very, very busy (fine) but I was waiting with approx 8 other parties for tables and there were at least 6 empty tables. When another patron asked about it, we were told that 'they want everyone to sit down at the same time'. We waited for at least 20 minutes until we were finally seated. The table beside us at our seating time was empty as well. After our drinks arrived, servers started using the table as a 'dumping ground' for other table's dirty dishes. By the end of the meal, the entire table was stacked with dishes and cutlery! It was totally disgusting! Our food was very lackluster and had obviously been sitting under heat lamps. One of my plates had a giant chip out of it and one of the servers dropped a very heavy pepper grinder on my 7 year old daughter. The female server we had was friendly and though I recognize that it was an extremely busy night for them, there is no excuse for the poor food quality and awful presentation of a newly renovated restaurant. Never is it okay to have customers share their family dinner with everyone else's slimy plates, gross cultery and the smells that accompany it. Gross.

We had an absolutely terrible experience, between...

We had an absolutely terrible experience, between really horrible food and poor service. Contacted the restaurant the next day to speak to the manager, sent him a letter commenting on our bad experience. To this day, we haven't heard a word back. Really regret ever going there . . . spoiled our daughter's birthday dinner and would recommend that people go elsewhere!!!!

Had a great experience! The restaurant was busy...

Had a great experience! The restaurant was busy being a saturday night before St.Patty's day. We were seated immediatley. The kids were happy colouring and our salad/bread was promptly deliviered. the service was great and we enjoyed the food. The renovations look great!!!!

Great start to an evening!! Promptly seated in a...

Great start to an evening!! Promptly seated in a wonderfully comfortable new booth. Service was great, server was very knowledgable and quick. Food was, and always is, great!! Once again, a Great start to an evening

I was a little shocked when reading some of these...

I was a little shocked when reading some of these reviews, I go to East Side's on a weekly basis and have been for about 2 years now. I have yet to have a bad experience there. The service is great, the food is hot and quick, and staff are friendly.

Food was a waste of time. Salad was 99% iceberg...

Food was a waste of time. Salad was 99% iceberg lettuce. Kids who aren't normally fussy didn't bother finishing their pizza. Music very loud.

Despite the renovations to this restaurant, it...

Despite the renovations to this restaurant, it still falls short of a typical ESM establishment. Processed food in a processed environment probably great for little ones but not adults looking for a nice night out.

Really good pasta dish! Yummy little mushrooms...

Really good pasta dish! Yummy little mushrooms! The Renovations look great!!

Upon our arrival we were greeted and seated...

Upon our arrival we were greeted and seated immedialtely. The staff was polite and service was exceptioanlly prompt. Our food was hot and presented well. The price was very reasonable considering the abundance of food we received. We will definitly dine at East Side mario's again. What a great eatery!!!!!!