Johnny Bistro

I have never written a review before; however, as this was such a terrible experience, I felt it had to be mentioned. I will start at the beginning. I have attended Johnny Bistro on one prior occasion with my daughter, as I had heard great things and always want to support a local business. The food and service was mediocre, but the patio and ambiance was lovely. Always thought I would give it another try. We continued to hear great feedback about Johnny Bistro from good friends, who are also local Markham residents and have been loyal Johnny Bistro customers for many years. We finally attended the establishment for dinner with our friends and have regretted this experience ever since. The restaurant wasn’t overly busy and most of our party was seated on the patio without delay at 6:30 on a Friday evening. Our party included 3 kids and 4 adults. When ready to order, we were warned that the kitchen was backed up and the food could take about 30 – 40 minutes. Agreed to wait but requested that the kid’s meals be brought out as soon as possible. My husband ordered an appetizer of bruschetta, which arrived over a half hour later, burnt. He ate it anyway, as he was hungry and not that picky. After approximately 40 minutes, we queried as to our order status. The server initially did apologize and explained that there was a large table inside who had placed their order just before we placed ours and one cook didn’t show up this evening, hence the delay, but our order should be out shortly. This is around 7:30. Understandable, so we continued to wait. After an hour of waiting and obvious displeasure of our experience (long wait, hungry children and adults) we were offered bread. We had to ask our server several times about our order status, as we continued to ask, our server became more and more angry and simply quite irritated that we were irritated. Somehow, we turned into the annoying customers. Finally, after 8 pm, the food arrived and was below par. The kid’s pasta was SWIMMING in sauce, and the chicken souvlaki dinner was tasteless. The chicken souvlaki itself was tasty; however, the tzatziki was tasteless, and the potatoes were undercooked. The Greek salad was also swimming in dressing with a few pieces of tomato, cucumber and peppers, topped with a few shreds of feta cheese. Nonetheless, we all consumed our below par meals, as we were all starving and really, where could we get another meal served quickly after 8 pm? We were surprised when the bill came with no discount taken considering the extremely long wait for below par food. When asked by the server how the food was, we answered honestly and explained that the bruschetta was burnt, the souvlaki dinner was below par and the pasta was swimming in sauce. We showed her the examples. However, we were quite haughtily told by the server that perhaps we shouldn’t come back. At this point, we all just wanted to leave. Yet, we thought that perhaps a conversation with Johnny himself would be useful and might smooth out the wrinkles of this experience. However, when I walked into the dining area, with the 3 children, I was welcomed by Johnny yelling at our party telling us he doesn’t need our money, he works hard in his kitchen, we are rude, and to «get out.» I guess a two-​way conversation was obviously out of the question. This situation could have been handled very differently. All Johnny had to do was when the order took well over an hour to be served, come out and explain, or ensure his server did so without attitude, send a basket of bread or a complimentary appetizer to assure business and the long wait was appreciated. I guess when asked a question, Johnny Bistro does not value or truly want to hear an honest response from their customers. I also gather that Johnny Bistro expects customers to be content with waiting well over an hour for food, below par service and food, pay full price, and not complain! We have all experienced below par service or food at various establishments, but I have never experienced such disrespectful treatment in any restaurant establishment. Needless-​to-​say, we will not be returning to Johnny Bistro and am extremely disappointed with how we were treated.

I have only had take out from this restaurant but highly recommend the chicken souvlaki wrap, very fresh ingredients and quality chicken.

A normal Canadian food restaurant. The décor is old school but had a rather cozy feel. You will see the open kitchen and you’ll soon find the restaurant filled with the the oily fume. Perhaps the ventilation needs a little bit of work and your clothes might catch the smell afterward. The staffs are friendly and you can feel that the place is family run since it gives off that vibe. The menu items has names attached to the item. It seemed like its a tribute to the family member who developed the fish.
The food wasn’t too memorable though. I had a salmon and my girlfriend had a linguini. Nothing special and I found my salmon tasteless and a dry. The salad was alright. Mine came with «grilled vegetable» which was essentially a few vegetable items on a stick overlooked and shrunken to a pitiful state. You feel sad looking at the miserable thing. The dining experience was flat throughout the whole meal. The price seems reasonable. Your typical price range at a restaurant like this. Perhaps this is a place I would choose if I had a choice between the big chain restaurants and this.

I live nearby, and was always intrigued by this area given the number of restaurants in the area that are locally owned and operated. I didn’t know the area so I went to tripadvisor to try and find some good reviews of places I might want to try. The review right beside me in the window says «Best Markham Bistro» talking about great food and great service so I was excited. Tuesday date night at this restaurant.
Well…I can’t say I was lucky enough to have the same experience. In short, the food was terribly mediocre at best, and the atmosphere was a little dated, and meh. Not much traffic for a Tuesday night, which I can’t hold completely against the restaurant. The exterior did look really good though.
Ordered a Seafood Medley as an app. It was $ 15. It literally was the following, 5 small calamari rings, 3 mini squids, 3 medium sized shrimp pieces, 4 bay scallops a handful of field greens and a terribly sweet dressing which were all «cooked» on a flattop apparently. Nothing special, and definitely not worth the $ 15 asking price.
Had a Steak Jonathan which according to the menu was a 10oz strip steak apparently seasoned and finished with a «splash of red wine.» This was supposed to come with a «Roast vegetable kebob» and delicately roasted potatoes. What I got was actually, a decent cut of steak, fatty, bleh seasoning, no wine sauce. A single kebob with tiny single pieces of the following «vegetables»: cherry tomato, half a white mushroom, a slice of red bell pepper, a thin slice of red onion. The «roasted potato» was literally a whole white potato that was baked in the oven then sliced into 8 pieces. That whole meal was $ 22. Both too good to be true and way too much for what it was.
Silver lining is that my Wife had a peppercorn burger and sweet potato fries. Not actually that bad. The sweet potato fries tasted great, specifically like McDonalds Chicken Nuggets which is probably what the fries were fried in.
Summary: Went in there looking for the place the positive reviews talked about, left paying way too much for food that was just mediocre at its very best.

Everything is very well done and when I went there I was greeted by a nice waitress. The prices are very good for what you get and I would say the food is pretty good as well. The place feels very cozy and the decorations adds to that feeling. The reason this place didn’t get five stars is because they lack something really special. But other than that everything is solid.

Wonderful décor, everything just «works». Staff friendly and attentive.
The food… had the pie and have to say it is quite rare to have it STILL PIPING HOT all the way to the end. Will certainly be coming back and the prices charged are certainly fair. Not cheap but great value for what it is.

Hadn’t had the opportunity to come here for a while, but glad we got the chance to. We brought a friend along and she absolutely loved the chicken souvlaki and those amazing potatoes. My steak, as always, was cooked perfectly medium rare and was unbelievably tender. Really glad this place is in the neighbourhood. It excels in every category while the other restaurants in the area are either way overpriced, have average food, or have rude staff.

Portions are huge! Great to share with friends and their patio is nice! Their food is authentic Italian style, got some hearty panini going on and some brunch choices. They all looked fantastic! Service is good. Some dishes are better than others I must say, taste is decent, would give 3.5 stars. Price is reasonable.

I’m not sure how long this place has been open but I can’t believe this is so close to home and I am only now visiting. Came here on a Friday during lunch and there were a good number of customers already there. Beautiful setup inside with an open kitchen so that you can see the one man chef at work. There is also a nice patio area outside.
The service is excellent and very friendly. Our waitress came by to ask how we were doing and she could see that our mouths were fully of food so she just said «gimme a thumbs up if you’re okay». Near the end of our meal we told the waitress that we were running late so we needed the bill before we even finished. She once again busted out that great friendly humor by saying, «you sure I can’t twist your arm and get you a cup of coffee or something?». If I wasn’t in a rush I would have stayed for sure.
The food is just as great as the service.
Lunch special #1 $ 13.95 — steak sandwich with cheese and BBQ sauce along with a small salad and a soup. The steak was huge and was hanging over the bread. The meat was also soft and tender so I didn’t have to tear at it like a wild beast. Salad was fresh and tasty and loved the grilled mushrooms that came with the salad. The soup was tomato/​veggie based and tasted great. Served in a large mug with crackers. All this for $ 13.95 is a great deal in my books.
Large Mediterranean salad $ 10 — fresh veggies with grilled red peppers, drizzled with honey and topped with huge chucks of goat cheese. I loved everything about the salad even though I am not big on salads.

I love this place. Great cheap food and awesome service every time. It’s the perfect place when you want something easy and delicious without spending a lot.

This is a great little Italian restaurant hidden on a side street in Markham Village.
The food is consistently good, it’s usually quite busy, and the prices are pretty reliable.
In the summer, the patio is great.

A real gem of a restaurant. Their grilled anti pasta platter was really yummy and it filled me up! I couldn’t finish my main the Elena borsetti and had to pack it to go. My husband polished off his steak. We both enjoyed our dinner.

Johnny Bistro is a good neighbourhood restaurant.
It is kind of located off the main streets… so it is not a place that you would have drive by and say let’s go there. When I suggested to have dinner at Johnny, my boyfriend who lives in the area for over 15 years, never even know this place exist!
Aside from the main menu, there are also daily lunch/​dinner special menu.
Open kitchen so you can watch your food being prepared.
Caesar Salad ($ 5)
— fresh and crispy romaine a little heavy on the dressing
Little Lorenza ($ 15) — Breaded Veal with Smoked Mozzarella Cheese and Linguine with Tomato Sauce
— Breaded Veal a little on the dry side but huge portion for the price
— Linguine was cooked al dente
Peppercorn Roast Beef Panini with Pasta Vinaigrette Salad ($ 10)
— Huge portion for the price
— the sandwich just on the dry side
Johnny Bistro feels like a little neighbourhood pub. A lot of locals enjoy their meals here. You get huge portions but these are no gourmet food. Reminds me of more down to earth home cooking?!
Italian mama trying to feed me all these food… until I burst!

We don’t go here as often as we should, the food is great and it is a good value. We were there last week and really enjoyed it. We had the calamari appetizer which was fresh, I had Elena’s Borsetti filled with feta and baby spinach in a basil pesto with zucchini and cherry tomatoes and loved it. The place has character and you can feel the passion and personal touch they put into the food. My only complaint is that it isn’t opened late (closes at 9:30pm)

This a great little Italian place with an impressive and tasty menu! The sandwiches are my fave, served on grilled focaccia with roasted peppers, pesto spread and one of my all time favourite spinach salads. You can actually buy the house dressing by the bottle which is well worth it, it’s a really unique and flavourful vinaigrette. There are of course other kinds of paninis, build your own pasta, good starters, seafood, and all the other good Italian staples. The service is always great and the only thing slightly lacking is the dessert menu.
Some of my favourite things about Johnny Bistro aren’t even the food. There is fabulous art on the walls that you can buy! Sounds a little weird, but the pieces are so cool, and not too outrageous if you’re in the art market. Generally they range from $ 250-​$ 500.
Great patio in the summer time for drinking caesars and their delicious strawberry daiquiris!