The School Fine Dining

My dad has always wanted to dine here so we finally got the chance for his birthday and it exceeded our expectations ! Our fine dining experience started with beef carpaccio and tuna sashimi (great flavours for both) as appetizers. We had the seafood casserole (shrimps, scallops etc.) and steak with sweet potato fries and onion rings as sides. Everything was cooked perfectly and the service was also great! It was a delightful treat and I’m looking forward to returning soon.

Another «fine dining» steakhouse that is located in some old-​architecture building with old waiters dressed in penguin suits. Can never differentiate these places amongst the David Duncans and Octagons, but my time here was great. Nothing really to complain about.
I came here with a group of 15 — family from out of town came to visit and I decided to take all of them out here to try something new. You get your steaks, fish, freshly prepared table-​side Ceasar salad. All quite delicious.
The building itself is quite interesting — as the name of the restaurant suggests, it used to be a school.
Wouldn’t come out of my way to eat here, but it is pretty neat to eat at an old school, so if you’re ever feeling like a different ambiance, I would recommend this place.

Upscale fine dining that one of a kind in Markham. The last time I came here was more than a decade ago, and much of which hasn’t really changed. Serving the finest dishes that are carefully prepared with quality with top class service The School has always preserved it’s fine dining rapport.
It’s Victorian inspired interior, dimmed lights and spacious interior gives off not only a classy, but feeling of warmth and comfort.
With its spacious dining room, this venue also has a separate bar room where you can host a small party without disrupting dining patrons.
Their prices are, to no surprise is… well. no surprise but again it’s the quality and experience that’s truly one of a kind.

Old school mansion décor type of restaurant, similar to David Duncan House. The environment was quiet and dim. I would rate this place a 2.5 if I could.
The service was pretty good here but the quality of food was lacking for a fine dining experience. I ordered the scallops which came on a bed of risotto and the risotto was hard and starchy, I didn’t send it back because I was full from the scallops and veggies but when the server asked about it, I told him straight up the risotto was terribly hard and he kind of just acknowledged it but didn’t do anything about it. There’s many restaurants in Toronto that will waive items off the bill if you were really unsatisfied. Not that I was expecting it but a small discount or something would have been a nice gesture. The hot water also came with a stained looking cup and it tasted so off that I ended up ordering a bottle of sparkling instead. There’s plenty of staff, and they were quite nice though. And the complimentary garlic bread was great. Probably won’t be returning just because there’s better restaurants for the price.

Reservations recommended for Saturday night.
Garlic bread — quite oily and inconsistently baked (some pieces were burnt). Some pieces were quite good though.
Lamb chops — tender, soft, and flavourful. It was really well prepared.
Steak — average, was quite tender but a bit plain.
Pianist playing to compliment your fine dining.

My husband made reservations for valintine’s dinner and I was feeling a little apprehensive after reading some of the reviews.
Our reservation was for 8 o’clock, when we arrived the restaurant was extremely busy but we were seated right away.
Where to start?
Due to the day there was a set menu but with a great selection, we both ordered the Caesar salad and it was thee best I have ever had (apparently they make them table side every day but holidays, I’ll be back for that lol)
Next was the surf and turf. …mouth watering, cooked to perfection! My husband ordered medium rare and I ordered pittsburgh med .
As for desert you can’t go wrong with a desert trolley lol I wanted to try them all, but ordered the cheese cake… Omg move over cheese cake factory you’ve been out done by far!
The service was warm and professional, classy but not pretentious .
Restaurants with this kind of standard just don’t exist anymore :(
Kudos to the school!!!
It’s unfortunate that this restaurant got bad reviews but sometimes you have to consider the source, clearly for the reviews there are people who have NO CLUE about fine dining! !!

Went today to the school, had the filet mignon 6oz, asked for medium, came in burnt on top and well done inside. Seems like it was made the day before. Ordered lentil soup, very tasteless and no seasoning my guess. Asked for bread when lunch was served and received none. Ordered coffee and coffee was given to me across the table? Is this fine dinning? Very disappointed and not recommended. I was looking forward to this place. Pricy but felt like 3 star hotel dinning level. If you want to pay good money and service, try somewhere else

Amazing Food. Best Ceasar Salad for two that they do right at the Table. Awesome Pepper Steak … Service is very good

We came here for our Christmas work lunch. Reservations need to be made for the Christmas season at least a month in advance, as all the tables were completely full. The décor was very lovely and classy.
We ordered a bunch of appetizers. Grilled calamari was good, but not that much quantity-​wise. Fried calamari was great, probably my favourite appetizer. The escargot was so-​so, but not really worth it, as there were only about 10 pieces and it didn’t really stand out. The crab cakes were great, even though there were only 2 crab cakes. Lobster bisque soup was good, but a little too salty and a little too thick. The smoked salmon was as you would expect it, nothing special.
I had the filet mignon and it was cooked perfectly to medium rare. I was a little disappointed at how small it was, especially when I saw that my coworkers filet mignon was noticeably bigger than mine. It came with a baked potato and a few pieces of veggies on the side. I also tried some of the yellow fin tuna, which was also delicious.
For dessert, I had a carrot cake and it was delicious but very heavy.

I went recently for a private function so my experience may be a bit different from what happens in the dining room.
The food was ok — but just nothing very special. The passed appetizers were literally M&M meats from apps — meatballs in BBQ sauce, bacon wrapped scallops, spring rolls, breaded cheese puffs. You get the idea.
The entrée I had was NY strip with a side of roasted potatoes and julienned veggies (i think carrots and peppers, it was really just salty strips of colour without much other flavour). Steak was cooked medium rare on the inside as I asked, but somehow the outside was charred black. Not really sure how they managed to do it but they did.
I feel that if I received this food at someone’s house I would think — «huh, its good, but i guess these people don’t really like to cook.» Having this food at what is considered to be a fine dinning restaurant is pretty disappointing.

Very nice upscale restaurant for a client meeting or romantic dinner. The scallop rissotto was very good… had 5 large scallops. Lobster rissotto was also very good with large chunks of lobster that was cooked just right (not overcooked… meat was still juicy and flaky as you chewed into it). Had the lobster bisque to start and I wish it wasn’t so salty. The crab cakes were very good with a lot of real crab meat. The Japanese pickled ginger (the one you get at sushi places) didn’t go well with the crabcakes but was offered on the side of the plate.

This is a fine dining restaurant so don’t expect to spend anything less than $ 50 -$ 100/​person. We ordered a bottle of white wine which was $ 40, calamari and escargot to start and proceeded with entrees and dessert with coffee to finish.
The appetizers were quite good; the calimari was lightly breaded had a great cripsy texture and the squid itself was perfectly cooked. The escargot was cooked in garlic and butter; was an okay dish nothing special.
For mains my mom had the seafood platter which was $ 75 and came with a perfectly cooked lobster tail, prawns, scallops, as well as a variety of other seafood. My dad had the prime rib ($ 35) which came with veggies and baked potato as well as a bun, and horseradish.
My sister had the top sirloin and I had the seafood linguine. I thought the seafood linguine was a bit on the salty side but it came with two large scallops, prawns, squid and more.
For dessert we had the crème Brule, cheesecake and tiramisu ($ 8 – 9 each). The crème brule was delicious, by far our favourite of the three, the cheesecake was typical and the tiramisu was subpar.
Overall we had a good experience here some pros and cons. It was pricey but it made mothers day extra special. The service was top notch and our server was absolutely great.

Overall, the food is fine but the New York Steak does not taste as good as it supposed to be for the same price. The atmosphere in general is good and romantic.

The food is fantastic, albeit pricey. If you want great food (taste, portion size) and classy venue then this is the perfect choice.

Came here for lunch. Ordered the calamari to start ($ 13). The pieces were big but the batter was terrible bc I could taste the flour.
For the main I had the rare yellowfin tuna ($ 25). It was not fresh and had my stomach in knots after. :(
A few people at the other table ordered the French onion soup which looked deelish and I wish I got that instead.
I came here twice in the past and I feel like it went from an A to a B to now a C minus. It is called the school after all.

I have always heard so many great things about this place. Mostly that it is high-​end, fancy, expensive, and bring your girl there for a special occasion.
Well, they were right about one thing, IT’S EXPENSIVE. They serve higher end quality products, not a single one was cooked close to perfection. Their menu is very classic, flavours were dull and plain, textures were off, meats not aged properly, plating lacked creativity and colour, ingredient pairing for dishes were horrible. If you’re into living in the past, and have a shitload of money to spend, you may want to come check this place out. Otherwise, do yourself a favor and don’t eat here. Your taste buds will thank me, your wallet will thank me.
Service-​wise, we were served by an older gentleman who’s hands were shaky. Every time he would bring a dish over, it felt like he was about to drop it. You can tell from his attitude that he didn’t like his job at all. We never really talked to him much, seeing his negative attitude. But if your staff aren’t even proud to be working here, how can your customers trust the food coming out of the kitchen.

Wonderful service. Elegant setting. The bone in filet is second to none. This is a special spot a must try. Get the ceaser salad for two. Made fresh table side! Martin.

Team Xmas dinner
Salad appetizers pear and arugula (partner), as well as my beet, mixed greens and goat cheese were delicious.
The multiple portions of toasted garlic bread was devoured and was almost the star of the show, served along with small bowls of pickled olives, gerkhins and button mushrooms.
I had the special 12 oz bone in filet with veg and baked potato. Cooked to med rare properly. Although delicious it did not achieve the level of excellence that my wife enjoyed having ordered the rack of lamb. Cooked and spiced to perfection, plenty to eat.
Desserts delicious I had the pecan pie.
Caeser salad prepared from scratch table side, don’t see that very often.
The best part of the entire evening was the attentive service by our waiters who did not miss anything.
Would definitely recommend to those looking for that genuine steak and seafood fine dining experience.
Even the mens room was well appointed and clean.

My wife and I had a wonderful dinner with our friends recently and the food and service were impeccable. I am planning a return visit for our upcoming anniversary.

I have always heard good things about The School but I still have never tried this place (not even today lol). I was researching about wedding venues, and came across The School. There were minimal info on their website about wedding events, so we’ve decided to drop by and inquire. It is located on 14^th Avenue (Between Kennedy/​Warden) in Markham. The restaurant is like shaped like a mansion on the outside! It must look beautiful during the summer, I thought :)
We were greeted by a lady at coat check area when we walked in. She then went to get Chris, I believe would be the restaurant manager. Chris was courteous and helpful. Unfortunately, we found out that their venue can only accommodate up to max 140 people, and we were aiming for 250 – 300. I guess it would make a great place for a small engagement party or a cozy wedding reception!
Bummer. I’m always a fan of top notch food combined with old school styled service. I thought this would be the perfect wedding venue! And so, the search continues on. 3 stars for now (mid-​point). I’ll definitely be back to try this restaurant very soon. Gotta take my brother here for his bday dinner… and I will update my rating for this place!