JOEY Markville has quickly become a hotspot for hipsters and families alike in Markham, so I definitely had to check the restaurant out for myself. In a matter of fact, if you don't show up for dinner before 6PM, expect at least a wait of 30 minutes. Fortunately, the restaurant allows you to spend your waiting time however you want - if you want to walk around the mall, or run some errands, just leave your phone number and they'll call you when your table is ready. Despite this, often during high volume wait periods, hostesses will bring out free appetizers for those who are waiting to munch on - I tried some of their Pan Fried Gyoza which was decent, but lacked the flavour and crunchy texture that I expect from gyoza.
After dining at JOEY Markville several times, I can definitely say that I have mixed opinions on both the food, and service.
I've tried several appetizers from the menu, including the Calamari ($13), and Yam Fries & Truffle Lemon Aioli ($9). The Calamari is absolutely heaven, one of the best I've ever had. I'm not a particular fan of seafood due to its strong and potent taste, and more than offsetting odour On top of that, alot of the Calamari I've tried were rubbery and hard in texture, and were difficult to chew. JOEY's Calamari had none of that, their Calamari had a crisp texture on the outside, a soft chewy centre, and it had absolutely NO offensive order - say what? Combined with their spicy aioli which really tied the dish together, this is absolutely my favourite item on the menu. The yam fries on the other hand were extremely underwhelming - they didn't taste particularly different from yam fries that I could get from A&W, and were honestly bland. Although the lemon truffle Aioli definitely made the dish more unique, and enhanced the flavour quite a bit by adding a hint of tanginess. Despite that, I would definitely pass on this dish.
Moving onto Mains - I've had experience with 4 options, and I've only really liked one.
My favourite main was the Chicken Fettuccine Alfredo ($18.50). I would definitely say there are two things that make this Alfredo stand out amongst all others that I've tried - the sauce, and the arugula. JOEY's sauce isn't thick and creamy, rather its a bit thinner and had a rough texture. It seems completely opposite of what Alfredo is known for, but the sauce carries such rich flavour, and the Grana Padano cheese really soaks into the sauce and infuses itself, which makes its extremely flavourful. Also, the arugula added an unexpected tang, bitterness, and crunchy texture to the Alfredo that really made it stand out - and they didn't wilt under the heat of the pasta sauce. Who thought of adding leafy greens to a pasta dish - not me, but it definitely works!
Unfortunately I've had less fortunate experience with other mains. This list includes, the French Dip ($17.75), Bacon Cheddar Burger ($16), and the Bombay Butter Chicken ($18). The French dip came more rare than I expected, and the au jus sauce was so unbelievably salty, I couldn't even finish half the sandwich. Thats a lot to say because I'm definitely a person who prefers a heavy hand when it comes to salt. In contrast, the Bacon Cheddar Burger had almost no flavour - the beef patty especially seemed unseasoned, and I was definitely disappointed. Finally, the Bombay Butter Chicken tasted a lot more like minestrone than curry, I'll definitely stick to my local Bombay Grill for my Indian food escapades. I would definitely pass on these items.
Finally we come to dessert - a great way to end off a meal. I've tried the Key Lime Pie ($8.50), and the Baked to Order Apple Pie ($8.50). The Key Lime pie had a wonderful tangy, yet sweet flavour that wasn't overwhelming, and a graham cracker crust that was amazingly soft, and smooth. The Apple Pie had a warm crust, that was also quite soft. The apple pie centre was baked to perfection, and crumbled under its cinnamon glaze. The accompanying vanilla ice cream tied the entire dish together!
Now that we're done with the food, the JOEY Markville's service is also a hit or miss. I've had several times where I've sat at a table with friends for over 10 minutes before a server came to take our order, or even ask for drink options, and another 30 minutes until we saw even an appetizer. They would recognize that we were there, and even that we were their table to serve, but would just not come. In addition, there have been several instances where after taking our order, we would never see our waiter again - if we wanted drinks, we'd have to flag down another waiter/waitress to help us. And another thing is that every time I've ever eaten at the Markville location, their dishes and cutlery were dirty - to a point where we'd ask 2-3 times to change them, still coming back dirty.
Overall, I would definitely say to try out JOEY Markville once. The ambience is great, and its a fun and nearby way to spend a night with friends. The food options are definitely interesting and unique, and locations are easy to access. Although, if you have the ability to, definitely go to another JOEY location like the Eaton Centre, or Shops on Don Mills locations, the service here is an absolute turn off.
All I know is that I'll be coming back for Calamari takeout, and not a sit-down dinner.
