At the Plate: Skip eating in and take-out at Eastown
Eastown Pizza and Bistro
Now that many of you have overloaded on ordinary pizza over the Super Bowl weekend, maybe it's time to graduate your taste buds to gourmet pizza. One such London landmark is Eastown Pizza and Bistro located at 681 Highbury Avenue North, just past Dundas Street.
I've long been an admirer of Eastown's pizza, and with a special occasion to attend, a group of eight of us including kids, we figured Eastown would hit the spot nicely, especially since it had been quite sometime since I've dined-in, rather than doing the traditional takeout.
The early evening dinner plans didn't get off to a good start when we arrived a few minutes after 4 p.m. on a Saturday. Much to our chagrin we stood in the entranceway for several minutes without any acknowledgement, despite someone standing at the register ringing in some transactions. While it may have been difficult for this employee to juggle two things at once some sort of acknowledgement would have been nice. We certainly understood he was busy, but I'm sure it wouldn't have upset the person he was ringing out if he had politely said to us, “I'll be with you in a moment.” Instead it took a lady from the bar area of the restaurant to stampede her way across and bark at one of the servers to get us seated.
With that bit of unpleasantness done we sat down to hopefully enjoy a good meal. But before I could scan the menu I thought I'd better grab the kids some crayons and their own colourable menu, as it didn't appear the waitress was coming back anytime soon.
Now to the menu, which for what many consider a pizza place, is quite extensive. With a variety of appetizers, salads and entrees that includes a number of pasta dishes, chicken, fish and steak, in addition to the panzerottis and what looked to be 20 different pizzas.
The waitress finally arrived to take a drink order when one of the parents asked to order for one of the children to have his meal come out a little early, requesting a couple of extra chicken fingers to boot. Unfortunately the waitress didn't place the child's order in ahead of ours, she also failed to mention that the kitchen couldn't do a couple of extra chicken fingers until it was too late. The intention was to pay for the extras, but failing that they would have ordered a second dish to satisfy the kid's hunger.
When it came time to order, a couple of appetizers, garlic bread and grilled calamari were put on the list, to go along with a build your own panzerotti and a deluxe panzerotti, a Salmon salad and a large Milan 2000 pizza. The other child with us ordered penne pasta tossed in butter.
The appetizers were shared amongst us and no one seemed to have any problems with the garlic bread. The grilled calamari was also tasty, especially since it wasn't deep fried and crisp beyond belief.
When dinner arrived I remarked on the size of the panzerottis and wondered what size had been ordered, since I had noticed four different sizes on the menu, although according to the waitress they only came in one size. Needless to say there was plenty to go home afterwards, but I'm sure it made for some fine leftovers the next day. Both panzerotti eaters were quite happy with their meals and there seemed to be no scrimping on the ingredients, as both were stuffed nicely.
Our resident salad eater wasn't overly impressed with her order, as she said there was too much lettuce and not enough other greens and vegetables. The salad was topped off with warmed salmon, about four or five cherry tomatoes and a few small balls of what appeared to be goat cheese. This diner was kicking herself for not ordering the salad with the portabello mushroom.
I on the other hand shared the Milan 2000 pizza and it was everything I knew it was. This pie is topped with plum style tomato sauce, goat cheese, prosciutto, hot Italian sausage, caramelized onion, roasted red pepper, oven roasted garlic, asparagus and portabello mushroom. I know what you're thinking, asparagus. I hate asparagus too, but on this pizza it's just heavenly. There were no complaints about this pizza as it disappeared rather quickly. And as I mentioned earlier, I've been a frequent purchaser of Eastown Pizza when the urge hits, and no matter what pizza you order, the toppings are always fresh and plentiful. I happen to like the Pacino pizza as well, but you can never go wrong ordering any of the pizzas here.
The child that ordered the penne pasta gobbled up his meal fairly quickly, but as one observer noted, you could count the penne noodles in his dish. Needless to say his portion wasn't very overwhelming, which should be taken into account if children are dining with you.
Despite the food being about what we expected for the most part, I was left scratching my head in regards to the service. As I mentioned earlier I had been a frequent customer and had always enjoyed good service, and despite not dining in the restaurant area in sometime, my expectations were high. Maybe my expectations are a reflection of the high standards set by former owner Dino Ciccone before he reportedly sold Eastown Pizza in 2005, but ownership should take note so those standards don't erode any further.
Our waitress also had to be asked a couple of times for coffee refills and my water glass remained empty after drinking it down. In most establishments I've dined a server will check back to make sure everything is ok, unfortunately our waitress didn't, although she could be seen chatting away in the kitchen.
Another poor decision by staff was to fold laundry, towels and aprons in plain site. I would think there would be a more appropriate area to do such tasks. As you know a good waiter/waitress can make a one-spoon restaurant a five-spooner, and vice versa. Hopefully the poor service was an anomaly, but it's going to be a long while before I find out again. I'll stick to ordering my pizza out when the urge hits for home consumption and avoid the hassle of dining in.
For students who may be facing a limited budget Eastown Pizza isn't exactly pocketbook friendly. Most entrees run $12 and up, but if you're out with a group and you can agree on ordering a pizza Eastown is worth a shot. I suggest ordering the party-sized pizza, as that should knock the hunger-off of four guys for about $30.
While I love the pizza I still can't get past the poor quality of service.
At the plate is a weekly column that features local restaurants. If you have any suggestions drop us an email.
Now that many of you have overloaded on ordinary pizza over the Super Bowl weekend, maybe it's time to graduate your taste buds to gourmet pizza. One such London landmark is Eastown Pizza and Bistro located at 681 Highbury Avenue North, just past Dundas Street.
I've long been an admirer of Eastown's pizza, and with a special occasion to attend, a group of eight of us including kids, we figured Eastown would hit the spot nicely, especially since it had been quite sometime since I've dined-in, rather than doing the traditional takeout.
The early evening dinner plans didn't get off to a good start when we arrived a few minutes after 4 p.m. on a Saturday. Much to our chagrin we stood in the entranceway for several minutes without any acknowledgement, despite someone standing at the register ringing in some transactions. While it may have been difficult for this employee to juggle two things at once some sort of acknowledgement would have been nice. We certainly understood he was busy, but I'm sure it wouldn't have upset the person he was ringing out if he had politely said to us, “I'll be with you in a moment.” Instead it took a lady from the bar area of the restaurant to stampede her way across and bark at one of the servers to get us seated.
With that bit of unpleasantness done we sat down to hopefully enjoy a good meal. But before I could scan the menu I thought I'd better grab the kids some crayons and their own colourable menu, as it didn't appear the waitress was coming back anytime soon.
Now to the menu, which for what many consider a pizza place, is quite extensive. With a variety of appetizers, salads and entrees that includes a number of pasta dishes, chicken, fish and steak, in addition to the panzerottis and what looked to be 20 different pizzas.
The waitress finally arrived to take a drink order when one of the parents asked to order for one of the children to have his meal come out a little early, requesting a couple of extra chicken fingers to boot. Unfortunately the waitress didn't place the child's order in ahead of ours, she also failed to mention that the kitchen couldn't do a couple of extra chicken fingers until it was too late. The intention was to pay for the extras, but failing that they would have ordered a second dish to satisfy the kid's hunger.
When it came time to order, a couple of appetizers, garlic bread and grilled calamari were put on the list, to go along with a build your own panzerotti and a deluxe panzerotti, a Salmon salad and a large Milan 2000 pizza. The other child with us ordered penne pasta tossed in butter.
The appetizers were shared amongst us and no one seemed to have any problems with the garlic bread. The grilled calamari was also tasty, especially since it wasn't deep fried and crisp beyond belief.
When dinner arrived I remarked on the size of the panzerottis and wondered what size had been ordered, since I had noticed four different sizes on the menu, although according to the waitress they only came in one size. Needless to say there was plenty to go home afterwards, but I'm sure it made for some fine leftovers the next day. Both panzerotti eaters were quite happy with their meals and there seemed to be no scrimping on the ingredients, as both were stuffed nicely.
Our resident salad eater wasn't overly impressed with her order, as she said there was too much lettuce and not enough other greens and vegetables. The salad was topped off with warmed salmon, about four or five cherry tomatoes and a few small balls of what appeared to be goat cheese. This diner was kicking herself for not ordering the salad with the portabello mushroom.
I on the other hand shared the Milan 2000 pizza and it was everything I knew it was. This pie is topped with plum style tomato sauce, goat cheese, prosciutto, hot Italian sausage, caramelized onion, roasted red pepper, oven roasted garlic, asparagus and portabello mushroom. I know what you're thinking, asparagus. I hate asparagus too, but on this pizza it's just heavenly. There were no complaints about this pizza as it disappeared rather quickly. And as I mentioned earlier, I've been a frequent purchaser of Eastown Pizza when the urge hits, and no matter what pizza you order, the toppings are always fresh and plentiful. I happen to like the Pacino pizza as well, but you can never go wrong ordering any of the pizzas here.
The child that ordered the penne pasta gobbled up his meal fairly quickly, but as one observer noted, you could count the penne noodles in his dish. Needless to say his portion wasn't very overwhelming, which should be taken into account if children are dining with you.
Despite the food being about what we expected for the most part, I was left scratching my head in regards to the service. As I mentioned earlier I had been a frequent customer and had always enjoyed good service, and despite not dining in the restaurant area in sometime, my expectations were high. Maybe my expectations are a reflection of the high standards set by former owner Dino Ciccone before he reportedly sold Eastown Pizza in 2005, but ownership should take note so those standards don't erode any further.
Our waitress also had to be asked a couple of times for coffee refills and my water glass remained empty after drinking it down. In most establishments I've dined a server will check back to make sure everything is ok, unfortunately our waitress didn't, although she could be seen chatting away in the kitchen.
Another poor decision by staff was to fold laundry, towels and aprons in plain site. I would think there would be a more appropriate area to do such tasks. As you know a good waiter/waitress can make a one-spoon restaurant a five-spooner, and vice versa. Hopefully the poor service was an anomaly, but it's going to be a long while before I find out again. I'll stick to ordering my pizza out when the urge hits for home consumption and avoid the hassle of dining in.
For students who may be facing a limited budget Eastown Pizza isn't exactly pocketbook friendly. Most entrees run $12 and up, but if you're out with a group and you can agree on ordering a pizza Eastown is worth a shot. I suggest ordering the party-sized pizza, as that should knock the hunger-off of four guys for about $30.
While I love the pizza I still can't get past the poor quality of service.
At the plate is a weekly column that features local restaurants. If you have any suggestions drop us an email.
