Bâton Rouge Steakhouse & Bar

Bâton Rouge is an upscale casual chain in the GTA known for their steaks & ribs. This location is actually relatively close so I’ve been here many times for family dinners. They have some of the best ribs I’ve had, very tender and they fall off the bone very easily. They’re fresh & taste pretty great. The atmosphere is a bit dated with wooden décor but very clean overall. As another reviewer noted, lot of kids which is surprising as I never thought of Bâton Rouge as a family restaurant necessarily.
Overall it’s a decent restaurant that’s a step up from similar chains like Joey’s Moxie’s.

My friend came back to Toronto from Hong Kong and was craving English food.
We started off with a bottle of wine and the seafood platter (fried calamari, grilled calamari, scallop and shrimp) which I didn’t think was worth the price (seasonal item). We ordered a Top Sirloin 8oz, BBQ Pork Back Ribs, and a Chipotle Jack Chicken. The food wasn’t bad but it wasn’t good either — it was seriously whatever. We got another bottle of Inniskillin Pinot Noir during our meal.
The server (forgot his name) didn’t seem to happy with his job. Everything was rushed/​cut off/didn’t gaf. If I had a choice, I wouldn’t have picked this place.

The old Bâton Rouge, one of the restaurants that’s been around for a good amount of time in the Richmond Hill/​Markham area. I remember when it first opened and we’d gone for a huge family occasion dinner — it was someone’s birthday probably? At the time the place was more upscale — typical of a steakhouse — and it was dimmer lit like The Keg. Now — the 6:00pm dinner wave is almost all families and casual groups, with the more well-​dressed individuals making an appearance for 8:00pm. The prices were out of my reach back in the day and steaks were too heavy a meal for many in the family, but in the last month or so I’ve frequented twice on different family occasions — our tastes have changed!
The first things I noticed were the kids — since when did this become a family restaurant? Babies, toddlers, children, teenagers, bring them all because they’ll all be welcome at 6:00pm. I wasn’t annoyed per se, mostly surprised and a tiny bit nervous about noise levels. Turns out what really brought the noise was just the restaurant layout — round group tables with booths all along the side, and dumbbell-​shaped setups for larger groups. People yapped away loudly to one another and the music was playing all at the same time, and from 6:30pm until 9:00pm when I finally left the place was packed.
The menu was as expected — a focus on steaks with a smaller selection of pastas, poultry, and seafood for other appetites. A prix fixe menu is now available starting at $ 40, including a starter soup or salad, a choice of mains (with two sides) from catch of the day to surf and turf, and chef’s choice dessert (mini slice of cheesecake — flavour predetermined for the day). A really good deal for the price, providing enough variety and volume for most patrons.
Shortly after being seated we got a round of water from the server — she spilt some on my menu and soaked the napkin she’d placed, but quickly moved on to another table to take an order without coming back to clean up. Disappointing — I can only think to say water is clear and maybe she thought it was a small splash, but that still makes her quite unobservant since the napkin was drenched. Subsequent to this we were server-​less for quite some time. Nobody to check if we had questions with the menu, nobody introduced themselves to be taking care of us for the rest of the night, nothing. As the rest of my party of 13 showed up it took some time to get even water. One of the chairs was rickety and coming loose so we needed a replacement — the same water-​spilling server had finally reappeared but the attitude she used to ask a fellow server for assistance with the chair was rude. I wouldn’t want to be helping her at all — and shockingly (or rightfully…) the fellow server gave back equal amounts attitude. Not what I picture from a good restaurant service team.
I went with a medium rare top sirloin, 8 oz, with added blue cheese on top. My sides were steamed veggies and hot cinnamon apple slices. Quite promising upon arrival, but cutting in my steak was a bit overcooked — it was more medium to medium-​well. I could send it back… but I’m not a fan of waiting for remakes. Aside the doneness the steak had decent flavour — my decision to add blue cheese was great. The sides were as expected — my apple slices were a bit cold and my steamed veggies a bit too raw for my liking. It was okay, I’d say, given I was with a large party of 13. On any other occasion I’d be disappointed.
In my visit in the distant past, I remembered a rich baked cheesecake selection available at Bâton Rouge. I wasn’t disappointed the last two times I’ve visited — interesting classic flavours available, and a gluten-​free peanut butter brownie cheesecake for those with diet restrictions. The cheesecakes are rich and creamy, and quite firm. None of that gelatin-​induced mousse-​like texture, these are baked cheesecakes that weigh their worth. There was caramel drizzle on the New York style mini-​slice that came with my prix fixe meal, which wasn’t too sweet or too plain. The mini slice size is good for a small dessert — nothing to share, not too much to handle, no feeling of guilty afterwards.
I also ordered a classic crème brûlée to share, it was a decent size and looked pretty good. Mine wasn’t as brûlée as others that arrived at the table so I was disappointed, and rightfully so upon tasting as mine was quite cold. The poor torch job meant my caramelized sugar wasn’t crunchy enough to break into small pieces under the attack of my fork — more effort required and large chunks stuck to my teeth unnecessarily. Fortunately I’m not a crème brûlée fan, meaning I won’t be considering the item for my next visit — no points lost with me as a returning patron.
Cheesecake for dessert rounded out the meal for me positively and helped Bâton Rouge retain their star rating for now. But for the cheesecake — two stars flat based on poor price-​quality ratio.

Had a craving for steak so we decided to go to baton rouge. Hostess was ok, could have been more welcoming. Our server was good. Came to check up on us promptly. We ordered the sirloin and lobster and the strip loin. Both were amazing. Really satisfied or cravings! I still wish that this location cloud be more friendly and welcoming. Overall, food was great, service was good, atmosphere could be better.

$ 39 steak was amazing. Absolutely the best streak I’ve ever eaten. Fries were great with it.
The peppercorn sauce with the steak should be a beverage. The steak plus the peppercorn sauce was an absolute masterpiece.

I had reservations at Baton Rouge for V-​Day at 6:30 PM, I received a call late afternoon to let us know that our reservation would be 10 – 15 minutes delayed as they just need to clean the table from the reservation before us, and we need to be out of there by 8 PM. Essentially giving us not even an hour to enjoy dinner, order in peace, etc. When I asked what would happen if we were not done the hostess told me «we were being warned ahead of time so we would need to leave». I was so angry with the service, that is SO unprofessional, I don’t care how busy you are, don’t cram your reservations then. Will never be going to this restaurant again. Needless to say, we didn’t show up for our reservation.

Beautiful establishment. Great amazing service and most of all such great food. From out of town and I’ll be in the area for two months. This first visit will DEFINITELY not my last. Yummy!!! Visit if you can for sure.

The best steaks ever ! Service is awesome, I come here most Thursday nights and you can’t go wrong with the filet mignon and lobster tail on the side … Soups are always great and the desserts perfect with a double espresso … The lobster menu is nice when it’s around and the ribs are a must … Say hi to Joe the owner he is an exceptionally talented owner always makes you feel great like your his best customer and is very sincere … Michelle is an excellent bartender and makes the perfect martinis !!

Great food and service. Came here with my parents and ended up doing a family style meal sharing a large house salad and the seafood platter. My dad also had the trio dessert. It was more than enough food for the three of us and was delicious!

Came here for a friend’s birthday dinner. But I’ve never really been a fan of Baton Rouge since my first visit a few years ago left a horrible taste in my mouth. Back then, I waited over 45 mins for a damn burger (table for two only). Never again I vowed… until last Saturday.
I ordered a veggie sandwich as I’m not a big meat eater. It was quite good with goat cheese, avocado and many of my favourite toppings. I also got sweet potato fries. Though the wait was also long, it was more understandable due to the large party size. It felt as though they were understaffed.
I would only come back here if nothing else is available.

Service: 3 for the server
Food: 4
Front door waitress: 1
Baton Rouge is usually my go to steak place. I’ve always enjoyed going to the STC location but I’m not quite sure about this one.
We were hungry and wanted steak so we decided to try this location. It was a busy Saturday evening and we were told it’s about ½ hour wait. So we waited and waited and there were many ppl arriving with and without reservation. About 45 mins later, we started to notice those who came in later than us got their tables before us.
We went to talk to the girl and she told us well they usually give 2 hrs seating time for big parties so our wait would have to extend to an hour. I was pretty frustrated at that time especially since we had a child with us and she didn’t even bother to come tell us about the extension.
After we complained, she decided to give us a table that was left empty for 20 mins. Our server forgot to give us bread but that was fine since we were so hungry we got my entrees pretty quickly.
Talk about good customer service! We’re never coming back to this location.

When we walked in, the first thing we liked was the atmosphere. It is very warm and classy, without much restaurant noise. We ordered the seafood platter and lobster & ribs. The food is pretty decent, gave more mashed potatoes than we can eat so we wasted most of it. Had the trio crème brûlée for dessert which was delicious.
The only downside is that the service is very slow.
The restaurant is almost empty, yet our server doesn’t check upon us. I was thirsty during half of the dinner experience. Paying the bill took long too, server took a long time to bring the debit machine.

I love baton rouge and if I’m ever craving a slightly fancier form of dining that’s not Asian cuisine in Markham, this is my go to place. Staff is always friendly and attentive and food has never failed. Portions are very good. One of my friends commented that he didn’t know potatoes grew so big (baked potatoes)! I’ve been to another location before and was very disappointed. I ordered a salad and it was the size of a side salad. I ordered the same salad several times at this location and it’s huge to the point where I’ve packed it home a couple of times (and the prices are the same!). I will never go to a different location with the fear that I will not be getting the same service or food.

I’ve always loved the food here. I went to a Baton Rouge years ago (different location) and I’ve always remembered how good their apps and mains were so I decided to try this location and it was just as good as I remembered it!
We had the coconut shrimp and crab cakes as appetizers. DEFINITELY GET THE CRAB CAKES. Seriously, best crab cakes I’ve ever had.
For mains, we got the BBQ pork back ribs with chicken tenders and the lobster sandwich. I recommend the pork back ribs; I found the chicken tenders and lobster sandwich to be just mediocre.
Most importantly, the service was great. There were a lot of people in the restaurant because it was Sunday night but our waiter was still very upbeat and prompt and managed to handle many tables without a problem. When we left, I accidentally left my sunglasses there and one of the waitresses ran out to give it back to me.
Overall, loved the place and I would definitely go back. Baton Rouge remains one of my favourite restaurants.

Came here because I wanted to get down on some Ribs!!! I had been to this location several years ago, and had avoided coming back because the steak was so underwhelming for the price I paid.
But, time heals all wounds… and cravings.
Came on a Saturday night with no reservation in place, so found that there was a 20-​minute wait time for a table for two. No big deal.
Ordered the Cheddar Dip and the Poutine for starters and they were good. Poutine could’ve had a bit more flavour but the fries were pretty damn good. The dip was what it was, just cheese and chips, no problem.
As for the Ribs? Quite tasty! They had a bit of a bite to them and were not «fall of the bone» which I actually expect from great Ribs, so thank you for that. I got a baked potato in the side, could used a bit more sour cream and some butter.
As you can see, my only qualms were minor adjustments that could be objective to others, so certainly not a knock on the place.
Thanks to this experience, my perception has definitely changed and I’d definitely visit again!

Investigated the menu online and found some items that caught my interest.
Started off with the lobster spring rolls as appetizer for $ 12. Comes with a side arugula salad. Didn’t like how the lobster was ground down to a paste and stuffed in the spring roll. Could hardly taste any lobster. The salad had this weird dressing which was not to my liking and the arugula leaves were a bit wilted and not very fresh.
Not a very good start to the meal. First strike.
Prime rib sandwich $ 18 — One look at the sandwich and I was not impressed. The prime rib is not prime rib in my books. More like fried beef slices to me which was plain in taste. The aju didn’t make the sandwich taste any better. The dish comes with more fries than one can eat. The fries were sliced very thin and didn’t have much crunch to them. I wouldn’t be surprised if they were frozen fries.
Two strikes so far.
My guest had the lobster sandwich for $ 17 — Once again it came with a pile of fries which could feed two people. The lobster was cut to very small chunks and I would say there was a very small amount of lobster. For $ 17 I would expect a little better quality than this.
Three strikes and we were out.
Maybe we just ordered the wrong stuff on the menu but for the money you pay here you expect more. I’m sure if I tried the ribs which they are more famous for, I would have enjoyed my meal more. This time around though I can only justify a 2 star. Service was good at least.

Nice staff great place for couples and friends
What a pity they don’t offer French wine per glass

Droppin a deuce star rating on this place due to my recent visit here. Baton Rouge is generally a step above places like Joeys, Moxes or Jack Astors, but over the years I would say it’s now sitting well below all three. I came here for Mothers Day, because my GF’s mom wanted some good old fashioned ribs for dinner. I like ribs too, honey garlic, bbq, buffalo, I ain’t got no type.
Fast forward to ordering, our server was rushing us on our order since we sat down. No idea why, the place was pretty empty. Perhaps he wanted to get back to the bar to watch the playoff game on TV. I got the large portion of ribs, my gf got the steak and her mother got the small portion ribs. Shortly after I asked the waiter to adjust the sides for me as I changed my mind on the sides. He looked unimpressed that he had to input another order to the computer and gave me a rather cold look. Why you mad tho?
Almost 45 minutes later, our food came out. The food was rather bland and my ribs were actually a bit cold. They were over sauced to the point where I could barely see the meat, and my large portion was the exact same size as my GF Mom’s small portion. The dip in quality was pretty evident from my first few visits here years ago.
Service was pretty weak, our drinks were never refilled, no one asked how our food was, and we had to ask several times for the bill. The bill was also wrong as we were double charged for a few items we ordered. Good thing I checked, I like what I like, but I check before I swipe! I’ll be going to the Keg next time for occasions like this fo sho.

Decided to come to Baton Rouge for the first time. My wife and I both decided on the fixed menu (salad, main course, and desert). My filet mignon was cooked perfectly as I asked for. My wife also enjoyed her steak with lobster tail. She chose a baked potato as her side. She shared it with me and it was delicious with all the toppings. For desert they gave us a chocolate fudge cake but it would have been nice to have a selection to choose from. Overall, great atmosphere and great food. A bit pricey but okay for special occasions.

Food: 3.5÷5
Service: ³⁄₅
Location: ³⁄₅
I’ve come here many times over the past couple years and I think it’s one of the better chain type restaurants out there. My favourite dish is their BBQ Pork Back Ribs served with a side of crispy sweet potato fries! And every year they do a Ribs special where a 10 oz. rack is only around $ 18 — a really great deal! Since I’m a pasta fan I’ve tried most of their variations, but they are nothing really that special. I often go to this location, but I’m sure the quality is pretty consistent across the rest of the chain.

Came here on a Sunday evening for a bday. There were 10 of us.
It was surprisingly busy, lots of large tables, lots of bday celebrations going on.
It was a neat mixed crowd, tables of families with children, tables of men doing boys night, tables of 20−30−40 something’s, seniors.
Its located in a plaza full of restaurants. Its on a side of the building with limited parking near the Dior, but don’t fret, there about 1000 spaces at the rear of the building. I, being a master at the art of parking and finding spaces, (laziness?) I managed to score a space across from the door. Already love that place. :)
I like how the outside looks, dark wood and brass.
There’s seating at the door for those who come too early and have to wait for guests
I’ve been to this restaurant before, just to pick up take out at the bar, so I’ve never seen the seating place before. Its nice, a mixture of tables and booths. Tables were big and a bit squished. Not the most comfy when you are wedged in.
Décor, more dark and brass. Its nice, feels like a high end pub.
Wait staff, nice. Very efficient. Attentive despite all the customers. Its a well piled machine. Kudos.
Food, yum. Yum yum. I got the goat cheese steak with baked potatoes and veg. It was beautifully done. Steak was evenly cooked, soft, easy to cut. Baked potato well done as well, evenly cooked, not overdone, or feeling like its been sitting in a heater for hours.
Others got ribs and chicken. They loved it. I stole a few fries, thin and crispy. Yum!
Cost, wish it was less expensive but, the good is great. Quality ingredients. Worth the price!
Would come again.

Fantastic service, after we ran around 4 restaurants on a Sat night we finally found a restaurant with no wait.
The food was good and the servers were all at tentative and friendly. I got the burger and it was cooked to a perfect medium well, the skinny fries were crispy and not oily.
We also got a bottle of merot for $ 32.
Great place for food and drinks!

Baton Rouge is one of the chained restaurants that I like. For one, they have a well-​executed theme that they may enrich from but never sway away. Second, I like the richness of its decoration and the heavy front door. Upon entry, Baton Rouge has an old school steakhouse feel, but not to the point of stuffiness. In terms of menu, they have dinner menu, lunch menu and children menu. They even give out drawing paper mats and crayons to children.
Baton Rouge is known for its ribs. The ribs are meaty and the meat is fall-​off-​the-​bone tender. They taste rich, smoky and have a hint of sweetness. For lunch menu, the portion is good for $ 19. I also tried their Atlantic Salmon for lunch ($ 22) once. It tasted decent but nothing blow me away. Last but not least, if you may, choose the cinnamon apples as a side. It is quite a delicious dessert.
Services are professional. Soda and hot tea were graciously refilled.
Overall, 4 stars for well portioned food and consistent quality.