Smash Kitchen & Bar

I have been at their kitchen last friday noon
The place is very comfortable and nice, I felt good and relaxed as soon as i walked in their décor is nice and classy with the bar being in the middle of the restaurant, I set at the table by the window, i order a beer and my friend order wine the servies was very fast and the wiiters was very kind .
we order the mushroom fatuzini and the chicken pizza and it was actuuly delicios
Therefore, if you wanna sit on a good spot, reserve the tables before going in, this place is very nice for sunday morning

Fave dishes from Smash Kitchen (i’ve already been back more than a few times…)
Grilled Calamari
Crab Cakes
Seafood Paella
Seafood Salad
(just realizing my fishy flavoured pallet)
And to wash it all down,
BRETT’S LP — hands down one of my favourite cocktails. Ever. (created by an amazing manager there)
Love this place. Take your date!

Friday night out.
Apps we had were grilled calamari,
Deep fried Shrimps, tuna wantons and crab cakes.
Main entrees were lobster mac n cheese, seafood soup and surf n turf burger. Food was yummy.
Would come back.

We decided to come here for the 1^st time to celebrate my hubby’s birthday. It was a Friday evening so it was quite noisy there.
Our menu of the night:
1. Grilled Calamari (Appetizer)
The squid was quite tender and tasty. But one of our bread was burnt a little.
2. Seafood Cakes (Appetizer)
This is basically a crab cake but it was filled with more than 1 seafood item. Taste was quite good as well.
3. The Monster Burger
It was quite a big burger, even had a fried egg in it. But the only bummer was that the bottom of the bun was quite soggy, it broke apart when you lift to eat it. Taste was ok.
4. Grilled Salmon
The salmon was nicely cooked and quite tasty. There was also some greens, corn and orzo pasta, and they paired very well with the salmon.
5. Buttermilk Fried Chicken
The chicken had a nice crisp and taste was ok. But the biscuit was way too soggy, because it sat between the sauce at the bottom and the chicken on top.
5. Cornish Hen.
Taste was ok, didn’t get a chance to taste it myself. But that is what my father in law said: P He said he wished he had bread and salad with it.
6. Seafood Paella
Presentation was nice. But also didn’t taste it myself.
Another bummer was that my husband ordered a Caesar Salad, but it never came to the table. And also the kid’s meal didn’t mention anything in the menu, that salad and chocolate milk was an extra cost.
Overall, the food was great. We would probably come back to try other stuff.

My group of friends decided to organize our annual Christmas dinner here in 2015 for a change since it was uptown. Smash has online reservations with everything from making the reservation to confirmation from the restaurant itself entirely online, which is always a plus for me!
Since we were a group of 12, we had to book well in advance through Jason (the manager at the restaurant).
The overall experience was very enjoyable, both food and service. Although the place was packed, our server was attentive and we didn’t have a lot of issues with ordering and service throughout the night.
As a big group, we expected the 18% automatic gratuity to be added to our bills but I liked that Smash didn’t charge a cake cutting fee per person. We were able to bring our own cake for a friends birthday and have them store and cut the cake after the surprise at dinner.
Overall, this is a nice place to gather in Markham and the price/​portion of food is reasonable.

I have been to Smash a few times for dinner and it does the trick to satisfy any cravings for Canadian/​American food.
Staff: They are always great and friendly. My most recent visit we found ourselves seated at the bar and it was quite amazing at watching him multitask. The food came very quick for us, in fact I thought they made a mistake when they brought it out so fast! I don’t think it took any more than 6 minutes for it to come and the place was packed (hence why we were at the bar).
Ambience: It was a nicely lit and had an intimate feel. The game was playing on screens all over. It definitely had a casual pub-​like vibe going, but also felt very classy as well.
Food: I had the Surf and Turf Burger with Sweet Potato Fries. To put it bluntly, it was huge. It was two patties, with an additional seafood cake, a few slices of tomato, lettuce, aioli and cheese. There’s a reason why they serve it with a knife! It was so good, I loved the seafood cake, it was basically a crab cake but it probably wasn’t 100% crab, so kudos to them for the honesty. The Sweet Potato Fries lacked seasoning for me though. In the end, I hadn’t been that full from just an entrée in so long.
A nice restaurant in a sea of Asian cuisine in the area. Definitely will return!

Been here couple times previously as the restaurant in close to where I live. Came here again for my birthday with two other friends on a Sunday night.
My friends and I decide to share a appetizer and two entrées as we were not extremely hungry at the time. We ordered the burnt ends (recommended by the server), Smash lovers pizza and the Seafood paella. the burnt ends is smoked brisket, assorted pickles and bib lettuce that you make a wrap with. It was only OK for me as the brisket was a bit on the drier side for me. The pizza and the seafood paella were really good. The seafood paella was loaded with generous amount of mussels, clams and giant shrimps (my fav)!
Service was a bit rushed. Perhaps its Sunday night, our server had to get off at 9pm. She kept asking if we’re done with our entrees and ready for desserts (at least 3 times). This was actually pretty bothersome as we were still working on our food. At 9pm, another server served us as our server had to leave (this explains why she was rushing us).
I would come back again on a better day of the week. Of course any day but Sundays.

Came back to try the chicken waffle! Had a friend dislike the spicy citrus maple syrup, tried it, thought it wasn’t bad. A suggestion would be to maybe add a bit of coleslaw to the dish? Chicken was good and waffle was soft and lightly crispy. I would say I’ve had better but overall, it was alright.
If you’re looking for a healthy brunch option, cobb salad would be the way to go. Loaded with lots of vegetables and chicken but the chicken was a little dry for my liking. Other than that, pretty good!
New York cheesecake and chocolate mousse were delicious. Nothing out of the ordinary but no complaints either :)

I smashed at their kitchen last saturday, a fine sunny morning.
The environment is very comfortable and cozy, I felt good and relaxed as soon as i walked in. The sunlight was coming in, their décor is nice and classy with the bar being in the middle of the restaurant, it just looks like a lot of thought went into placing everything. I was eyeing a table by the window, it looked so good with the sun coming in, but couldn’t get it because it was reserved :-S so we were seated on the white bar table which is seperate from the alcohol bar itself.
Therefore, if you wanna sit on a good spot, reserve the tables before going in, this place is very popular on weekend mornings.
Service was nice, the server explained the deal to us ($ 20 for a three course brunch) and the food came pretty quickly as well.
Food, I got chicken and waffle (I just can’t get past it if i see it on the menu), my SO ordered the smash burger (I told her its famous on Unilocal lol). The chciken and Waffle was the best i have had after White brick, which is quite a compliment. The waffle was freshly baked, so it was warm and soft, the chicken was fried perfectly and it came with a citrus sauce which went well with the food. The burger was pretty decent, considering it is not a burger joint, but since i have had sooo many great burgers, i can’t say i would try the burger again.
TL;DR — Great environment, busy on weekend mornings and good food. Reserve your spot before going.

When you walk into the restaurant, it looked like a big bar. But then I saw the seats. Apparently, there is an outdoor patio — which is awesome because it’s situated behind the restaurant and not in front of the parking lot.
My friends and I ordered the Smash Burger, Meat Loaf skillet, Eggs benedict, Omelette, Fruit with whipped cream, NY cheesecake. I got the Smash Burger, and it was quite good. I believe we all got the sets, so mines also came with dessert — which I ordered Fruit with Whipped Cream. I tried some of my friends cheesecake and it taste like any other cheesecake. My own dessert was also an expected taste — but I was going to travel in the afternoon. So, I didn’t want to be too full.
The service was wonderful though. Our waittress was really quick to respond to our needs. The food came out a little slow, but we weren’t rushing. Overall, I’d definitely come back to try some of their other foods.

I’ve been to Smash twice now — seated once on the patio in the back last summer and once in the dining room.
I’d say it’s a fairly classy establishment — similar in trendiness to Moxies/Joey’s/Alice Fazooli’s — where you can go for a classy dinner or just grab some brews and watch the game with your buddies.
Thus far, I’ve had the Lobster Mac and Cheese and the Mushroom Gnocchi. I recommend getting the Lobster Mac and Cheese — it’s one of the more unique dishes on the menu and delivers. The Mushroom Gnocchi was good too, but nothing special. Look out for the specials too! My friend got a pizza lunch special for $ 10.00 — originally $ 17.00, I believe.
Smash is good, but not exceptional; pretty standard across the board. It deserves 3.5 stars.

My second visit was a much better experience than the first one. Service was friendly and attentive unlike the first visit we had. I would give it 3.5 stars.
This place has specials Mon to Thu.
1) Monday: $ 10 pizza, any pizza on the menu. This is a steal. They have coal fired oven; pizzas are quite delish. Four of us ordered 5 pizzas to try as we couldn’t decide what to get.
My order of preference, from the best to not so best:
Chorizo, Neptune, Nova Scotia, Smash, and Bacon & Eggs.
Chorizo was the best one, I would get this again and again.
I didn’t expect to like the Neptune (shrimps and smoked salmon seem odd on pizza) but it was surprisingly delish.
2) Tuesday: $ 10 burger with a side (salad, fries, or soup). Burger patties were juicy; fried onion chips were a nice touch to the burger.
3) Wednesday: AYCE ribs for $ 27. I have yet to tried so I can’t comment on this but I heard they have good ribs and chicken.
4) Thursday: half off wine.
Other items we have tried:
— Ahi Tuna Wontons: 3 for $ 14. Nice apps, I would say its worth the money. Wonton shells are nice and crispy.
— Duck tacos ($ 5 each) were flavourful, satisfied.
One of my friend bad the buttermilk fried chicken. He enjoyed it.
Overall, it was a nice place for us to hang out with friends, grab a bite and have some drinks. I do enjoy the food here. Service seems to be hit and miss though. First visit was quite bad customer service and second visit was a better experience.

This place is great for large gatherings. Not only is it great for large gatherings, but even just a small get together or date night.
Last I went, there was somebody celebrating their 100^th birthday (or so it seemed because of the balloon with the number «100» on it), the birth of a boy, and of course the party I was in for a friend’s birthday with roughly around 18 people. Luckily, my friend made reservations which you should do especially if you’re hosting a large group. They’ll ask for credit card info when booking in case of last minute cancellation, and they would have to charge you, which of course did not happen.
I ordered the Nova Scotian Pizza. I found the portion pretty big even if the pizza was just thin crust. I couldn’t really taste anything on the pizza other than the cheese. They claimed there was lobster but barely tasted it, however all the other food looked delicious (some of them really cheesy) but at the same time really filling!
Will probably order something different or perhaps the specials next time though.

Came here for our anniversary dinner on a Tuesday night and was surprised as the place was busy! I recognized Bonnie from Unilocal too as she greeted us and took us to our table :)
Tip: make sure to make a reservation for dinner.
First impression: Amazing service! Very cozy!
So we ordered the garlic cheese bread as appetizer and got it in like 5 minutes. Wow that was fast. The garlic cheese bread could use more cheese, really. But over all not bad.
So we placed our ‘mains’ order and was again surprised as the food came in like 5 minutes! Definitely not what I expected! So that was great, as I was really hungry at the time.
I got the buttermilk fried chicken with bread and corn and was impressed by the serving size, but not too impressed by the taste. I find the corn to be really spicy, and definitely not what I expected. But over-​all not bad. I regret not getting the LA Mac and Cheese but I will definitely get that next time I come here.
My BF got Chicken and Ribs and he was also surprised at the serving size he can’t even finish the meal! But he enjoyed it still and found the food really tasty.
Over all I would go back for sure to try other dishes. And I am coming back because I was pleased with the service as well.

If you decide not to read this review, just remember you get 10% off your bill checking-​in on the Unilocal app. :)
Our group came here for dinner and I was really satisfied with the food and service. The restaurant was really spacious and it was good for large groups or private functions.
Food and drinks:
I took advantage of the Wednesday $ 5 pints specials. They had Side Launch beer under their craft beer selections. I thought it would be Side Launch Wheat but they only had Dark. It was still a very good beer.
For appetizers we ordered:
Grilled Calamari ($ 13) — It was very tender. The pico de gallo were fresh and went well with the calamari. It came with two huge slices of foccacia tho
Ahi Tuna Wontons ($ 14) — Wonton shells were crispy and the ahi tuna was well seasoned with a hint of horseradish. Very yummy.
Seafood Cakes ($ 15) — They are two big crab cakes with blue crab and black tiger shrimp. They don’t use a lot of fillers and I like that I could really taste the seafood.
For mains:
Lobster Mac & Cheese ($ 22) — Oh I love the crust on this Mac & Cheese. The iron-​cast plate was super hot. Definitely very cheesy, gooey and heavy main. Not a lot of lobster to be honest but what a good mac & cheese!
AYCE ribs ($ 30) — The regular baby back ribs were $ 28. To be honest we hardly finished the half rack but if you love ribs, come on Wednesday for AYCE ribs.
Angry Lobster Linguini ($ 24) — Unfortunately it was inconsistent. Our group ordered 2 linguini and one came mild and the second pasta came extremely spicy. Even our server admitted the pasta could be really «angry» depending on the chef. I think the kitchen had to work on their seasoning because if they were ordered at the same time, they should taste the same. They were nice enough to take back the extremely spicy Angry Lobster Linguini and swapped it for the lobster mac & cheese.
Too bad we didn’t get to order the pizza and hopefully next time we would!

Smash kitchen and bar is a fantastic contemporary restaurant for classic comfort food! I highly recommend going!
This was my second visit. The first time I ordered the lobster mac n cheese which I wasn’t too fond of due to the heaviness of the dish. I liked the concept of the restaurant too much to not give it a second shot and I’m glad as I had a much better experience this time around. I would definitely visit again!
I ordered the buttermilk fried chicken as it was highly recommend by our waitress. I was a bit hesitant as I thought it would be too heavy but it wasn’t! The fried chicken was nice and crisp, and was well contrasted with the sweetness of the corn and biscuit. It was also boneless which was awesome, hands free fried chicken! The sausage gravy was creamy and brought everything together. Typically, I must absolutely have ketchup with my fried chicken but didn’t need to this time around. It was that good.
My friend ordered the pride of Nova Scotia pizza and it was delicious. I love thin crust coal fired pizza and this was just as good as the authentic Italian pizzas. There was a perfect amount of cheese and the pizza was neither dry nor gooey. However, it was slightly on the salty side and could do with some more lobster. Do expect to share this unless you’re super hungry! Tip: Try asking your waitress for chili flakes and a drizzle of olive oil!
The ambience of the restaurant was nice and cozy albeit a tad too dark and noisy, but that is expected from bar types of restaurants.
The service was great as our waitress was attentive and gave us great recommendations. We were well taken of! I liked the fact that they provided us a bottle of water so we didn’t need to flag down someone for a refill. In addition, checking into Unilocal gives you 10% off the bill, just how awesome is that?!
Make sure to reserve well in advance; I called to reserve a table for a table of two at 6:30 and the earliest time available was at 8:40.

Been here twice, mostly recently last Saturday night. There’s still a few items on the menu I reaallly want to try (including the enticing brunch menu), but I’ve been pretty impressed so far.
ATMOSPHERE:
Place was completely packed on a Saturday night — I imagine this place fills quickly, but they really do a good job of structuring seating in a way that maximizes capacity while also allowing a comfortable distance between tables. There’s also more private dining rooms/​areas for larger parties. Seems like a great place to dine or just grab drinks with friends.
SERVICE:
Despite being as busy as they were, our server was surprisingly quick with the food, and prompt in responding to any requests we had. He took the time to answer our questions, and offer us input.
FOOD:
Went with the the lobster roll, and the «Smash Burger.» Was surprised to see the lobster roll come in mini-​slider style. I prefer a buttered bun, for taste, and also it makes it easier to hold in the goods on the inside. The lobster meat and sauce though was still good — could perhaps use a bit more seasoning to spice it up a little. Unsurprisingly, the restaurant’s namesake burger was pretty damn good — it reminded me a lot of a higher quality and larger Big Mack, with the cheese, onion rings, and «special sauce.» Obviously the patty was much thicker, juicer, and more savoury. Only downside, again with the bun, is that it got soggy pretty fast.
VERDICT:
Will definitely be back to try the brunch, and a few other items I missed!

I came here on a Tuesday for lunch with my parents.
We started off with the firecracker shrimp ($ 14). The shrimps were quite big and they were nicely fried. I thought that the sauce was the right amount of spiciness and sweetness. I did wish they included more garnish because I thought the fresh vegetables went well with the crispiness of the won ton wrapper.
I convinced my dad to get the buttermilk fried chicken ($ 19). My dad thought that the chicken was fried to the point where it’s almost burnt and I have to agree with him. Otherwise, I quite like his entrée because the chicken was quite moist.
My mom got the special which was a pulled pork sandwich ($ 15). When it first came out, I thought the presentation was gorgeous. The pulled pork had a lot of flavour and the fries were perfectly crispy.
I got the surf and turf burger ($ 19). I feel like I made a bad choice because I didn’t really enjoy my burger. There was some lobster in the burger but don’t expect whole pieces. The patty was not dry and the onion ring was delicious (I ate it on its own instead of with the burger). I wouldn’t recommend getting this burger because there’s nothing special about it. It did come with a chicken, carrot and potato soup. It’s quite a hearty soup.
Of course, I cannot complete a meal without ordering desserts. We got a lavender crème brûlée and carrot cake to share between the 3 of us. I could actually taste the lavender in the crème brûlée and it was my favourite out of the two. The carrot cake was just too dry. My mom said it tasted like a McDonald’s muffin that they just cut into squares.
I would definitely come back to this restaurant to try some of their other offerings.

Food: ⁷⁄₁₀ — Value: 6.5÷10 — Service: ⁸⁄₁₀ — Ambiance/​Décor: ⁹⁄₁₀
The value is the biggest downfall here relative to any restaurant you could visit in Markham for dinner. Compared to other western-​style food restaurants, it’s on par.
APPETIZER/​SNACK: Ahi Tuna Wontons ($ 14)
— — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —
This is the kind of thing that I don’t find good value but that’s commonplace in western restaurants. You get three wontons (not sure if I’d call them wontons, but they’re open upward-​facing chip bowls almost). They were tasty none the less. The most prominent flavour was the peanut dressing and everything else takes a backseat. I love everything peanuts, so I enjoyed it. I’d still like to know what part of this dish was worth $ 14 though.
MAIN: Grilled Salmon Nicoise Salad ($ 17)
— — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —
I didn’t think this looked very good, but I googled «nicoise salad» and they all kind of look like that. I just realized the salmon that we were told would be cooked medium rare was pretty much cooked all the way through. It’s a salad. I don’t have much to say about it other than that it was fine.
MAIN: Chorizo Pizza ($ 14)
— — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —
Basil pesto, mozzarella, rapini, caramelized onions, goat cheese, pico de gallo. This was good, my favourite parts being the goat cheese and rapini. To be quite honest, I haven’t really had bad pizza before. I feel like one of the fundamental components of pizza is being amazing.
DESSERT: Banana Chocolate Toffee Cake ($ 7)
— — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —
I wish the slice had been bigger, but it was delicious!
I’ve heard a few people say Smash is overrated. I can see why they’d say that. It’s pretty ordinary western food with a self-​ascribed «upscale» label. If you check-​in on Unilocal,I think you get 10% off and I was lucky enough for my friend’s office to have a 15% off employee perk. With the discounts, I was satisfied with the amount we paid at $ 50 for an appetizer, two mains, and a dessert.
The restaurant is nice though. We were seated right by the fake (?) fireplace and the vibe of the restaurant was really lax and comfortable. I can imagine the booths being nice.
We went on a Friday night without a reservation at 7:00pm and didn’t have to wait for a table for two.
In general, this is a pretty nice place. It’s not cheap, but it’s acceptable for a change of pace once in a while or a nicer place to catch up with friends. Without the discount? Hmm…

Great sophisticated place for comfort food and good service!
TIP: Call ahead to make a reservation!
Hours of Operation:
* Mon 11:30 am — 9:00 pm
* Tue 11:30 am — 9:00 pm
* Wed 11:30 am — 9:00 pm
* Thu 11:30 am — 10:00 pm
* Fri 11:30 am — 11:00 pm
* Sat 9:00 am — 11:00 pm
* Sun 9:00 am — 9:00 pm
This hidden little treasure island is inside at the back of the plaza where Yang’s kitchen is (on hwy 7 between Kennedy and McCowan, across from the Infiniti dealer). Spot that big yellow circle sign that says SMASH.
Their menu has a wide variety of unique creations and which all will make you come back for more. They have things like ahi tuna wontons for appetizers, tomato corn cream soup, Smash Burgers, Lobster mac and cheese, in-​house made pizzas, and much more!
On weekends they also do brunch (prix fix menu at $ 20) going from 9am to 2pm.
The service is wonderful, lovely servers and greeters who take very good care of you and are very accommodating.
The restaurant is very clean, and spacious with a modern but unique taste in design. They have two private rooms which you can book for private events as well as a semi-​private area. Do call in to discuss and make reservations ahead of time.
Weekly Deals (do take advantage!):
* Monday $ 1 corkage fee & $ 10 pizza
* Tuesday $ 5 Molson pints & $ 10 Smash Burgers
* Wednesday $ 30 AYCE Ribs & $ 5 pints
* Thursday ½ price wine bottles
* Sunday $ 5 sangria & caesars
Current Deal: Savour York Region October 15^th — November 1^st 2015 with lunch prix fix menus at $ 20 and dinner at $ 35. Their portions don’t even shrink!
(it’s like Summerlicious but for York Region)
For more information on their menu or private bookings, visit their website at
or give them a call at 905−940−2000.
Disclosure: I work here part-​time but I am not bias! Try it yourself and you’ll see!