Tom's Top 10 - Dining and Entertainment Listing - Restaurant / Night Clubs Guide to Newmarket / Aurora


Twenty years ago, as Entertainment Editor in Newmarket at Cover Story Newspaper York Region, I wrote a Tom's Top Ten List of Eateries / Dining Out guide section and listed my fave restaurants, often writing about the places listed through my food review-like diners column "Local Flavour" and about entertainment in "At The Clubs" including the York Region and Newmarket area nightclub listings.
Tom's Top 10
Here is a list of Tom's Top 10 hospitality establishments that combine entertainment and dining out within 10k radius of Newmarket.

Tom's Top 10 considers reputation, menu diversity, value, hospitality, quality and dancing / entertainment. They are in no particular order. 
Ole!
1 - Made In Mexico Restaurant & Cantina Tequila 185
Restaurant and Cantina,Tequila185, 185 Main St South 905-235-7722
#Tom Bits : Yeepa! Features home made food - even the tortilla's - that's the difference. Restaurant is upstairs, downstairs is the Night Club, Tequila 185. Fri, Sat features various from DJ to bands to comedy. 


2- The Sociable Pub   
The Sociable Pub
905-235-7782 17380 Yonge St Newmarket, Authentic Maritime Pub, Stick to your bones ribs...Live Entertainment weekends as well as Open Mic last Tuesday of every month. Friendly. Couple owned.

3- Villa Risi Ristorante
16995 Yonge St - 905-836-8062
Casual Italian fine dining with piano bar. Live Rythym &Blues weekends. Valentines & Special Menu Days.


Casual



4- Big Daddy's Rock & Roll Emporium,
446 Davis Dr 905-898-0001 Tom Bits : Former long time steak house location. Built-in stage, fair size. Theme nights, old time rock & roll with dancing venue. Reputable chicken wings.  Live Bands or DJ entertainment weekends.Definitely not upscale.


Tom's Top 10 Dining

5- Fionn MacCool'17315 Leslie St 
905-898-7899
Restaurant  / Pub
Live Entertainment Thurs, Fri, Sat
Thursday $5 Craft Beer Night.
Home style pub food mm-made in-house!


Best Karaoke

6- Cynthia's Chinese Restaurant 
16715 Yonge St. 905-836-8113
Tom Bits: Newmarket's original karaoke restaurant & Tom's Top 10 list member. Now 3 restaurants and wear traditional imperial Chinese robes but not much else has changed, except their wine list has grown to exceptional! Still good food and service, but have added more entertainment to the slate Now Featuring Can G accompanying keyboards with Classic Rock, Rythm n Blues, Oldies, Latin and Soft Jazz Music.

More Great Karaoke!
7 - Friday nights Wild Wings 340 Eagle St  905-836-5454


Special Events / Halls -   

Stellar Hall 1220 Stellar Dr unit 205 905-830-9441



Special events, dinner theatre, full hall rental and staffing with on site catering availability. Tom Bits :Events hall, Renovated, gorgeous, reputable #Great Food. 20 years experienced hospitality. Dj DancesLive Entertainment,  Dinner Theatre, Mother's Day Brunch, New Year'Eve Dinner & Party - 2015 / 16 - $75, includes Open Bar.


Edge of Town Live Weekend Entertainment 
8- King Richards Pub - 15570 Yonge St Aurora - 905-727-2337 - Live Entertainment Thursday, Friday, Saturday. Daily Specials.

Sat Nights Only now for Dancing here
9- Aurora - Dancing
The Graystones Restaurant & Lounge
14889 Yonge St 905-727-9561
New sign, but nothing much else has changed. Graystones Aurora is actually only open Saturday nights for 30+ Dancing w DJ, except on the rare occasion, although the restaurant part is open all week long. Odd quirk. Been that way for years. Popular Sat singles haunt.  Small town service. I remember reviewing the wiener schnitzel  for " Local Flavour"."T'was supoib" then. $5 Cover - $10 after midnight.
MorAurora!
10- Aw Shucks Steak Oyster Bar & Bistro
15230 Yonge St Aurora 905-727-5100
Tom Bits : 3rd year in roomy, beautiful  completely renovated, historic location. Hardwood Floors, outdoor upper level, heated patio. Seafood and steaks the house specialty.   

Live Entertainment weekends No Cover. Friday's are A.S.'s best night.
Boonie Pick, King City

Hogan's Inn 12998 Keele St, 905-833-5311
Tom Bits : A regular on Tom's original Top Ten eatery picks for CoverStory York Region 20 years ago. Longtime, infamous cuisine. Upscale dining. Beautiful, historic cobblestone house and setting. Features fine dining upstairs and the Hunt Pub downstairs with Live Entertainment such as Rhythm & Blues sensations Bad Dog

Taxi Service in York Region call 310 - 310 - 3
Toms Top TO Pick
#PartyAdviserGuru Val  of Parties Without Borders and Toot's Capital fame tells me.

You can check out her other TO picks here!
Tom's Top 10 Video!
Watch for TPE's Tom's Top 10 Restaurants, Pizza and  Tom's Top 10 Live Entertainment
Invite TP to visit and sample your hospitality and we'll cover you in an industry blog!
Or we can feature just you! We guarantee to rank highly in Google searches by people looking for restaurants or clubs of YOUR TYPE!


Tom The Temp

Fionn Maccool's a Tom's Top 10 in Newmarket

January is the slowest time of the year in the restaurant business so it's important to stay aggressively vigilant to attract guests during those times. Creative strategies including food and drink deals can work as long as they are communicated enough, and live entertainment can sometimes drag people up off the couches or even an alluring dance floor.

Tom's Top 10 Dining and Entertainment Guide includes local locations within a 10k radius to help you achieve that, but what will keep you returning - aside from being served a good product at a good value - is being given an experience that made you feel good. Good old fashioned hospitality.





I remember writing years ago, in Local Flavour, how I felt that element was a lacking one in Newmarket. One busy establishment for example would not greet me with a "Hello',  a "How are you", or a "Hi Tom" even, as some try to do to impress...No..this complacent barkeep used to simply say to me, ' What can I get you?" followed by a smiless blank stare..then bring it and leave to chat with her better guests one would suppose...Not the hospitality I was ever taught through my years in the industry, nor would have tolerated as a manager, although, I must say, bad habits die hard when surrounded by it.

 

So it was a such pleasant contrast, when on my first visit to the Prime Pubs establishment, Fionn Maccool's, 17315 Leslie st Newmarket, the server was absolutely superb. Nothing fancy or phony - although her, er, kilt, sure got my attention - just pure enthusiasm and a zest for loving the place she worked for and her job. The pretty berny-brunette who served me, Amy, not only bubbled over with genuineness, but knew her menu as well and gushed about the care in the preparation of the food compared to places she'd worked before and the pride the kitchen took - including her chef brother who also works as a lead prep cook in the back of the house.

After choosing a fish chowder to start with on a bitterly cold day, the approving Amy suggested I try the lamb pie with its delicious home made crust which I did. The steamy chowder was fabulous, with chunks of fish and whole clams bathing in a thick gruel, stocked with potato chunks, carrots, and vegetables, served with HOT cheddar cheese scone - again made in-house!

The lamb pie, served on a bed of spinach and sauteed mushrooms, had an incredible flaky but moist crust that my fork flowed through like butter, without having to snap off that final fork-full because of over cooking or microwave use. And what a refreshing dish / menu choice! Perhaps a tad safe on the seasoning and salt side for my absolute tastes as seems the healthy trend these days, but nevertheless delectable, and stocked sparingly with bite sized tender morsels of lamb. MMM-must bring my mom! Amy came back several times to check in and continued to impress with her personality and genuine love of having pleased me...It was like a breathe of fresh air in outer space.

For only $5 more I got a home made cinnamon-infused bread pudding to end it with. Cubed and slathered in Devonshire cream with a side bowl of caramel dip to boot...drool...drip.....er..sorry.

Newmarket location 905-898-7899
What originally brought me into the Irish theme rooted Fionn Maccools, was having heard about how much they made fresh, in-house, unlike most chains who pre-make and use mostly frozen products which makes all the difference. And having experienced just that at F.M.'s , alongside seeing their imported beer selection, Thursday, Fri, Sat live entertainment, and in-house promotions such as Robbie Burns Days they are surely a Tom's Top 10 for Dining / Entertainment.

Ironically, Fionn Maccool's corporate, Prime Pubs, also owns Casey's Restaurants. Spelt backwards is Yesac (corporation) the original company that also owned the Mother's Pizza franchise and Pat & Mario's Restaurants where I was the Kitchen Manager at the first store in Toronto, and went on to assist in the openings of the new restaurants at Front & Church, Airport Road and Yonge & Eglinton. Pat & Mario's were the first chain style restaurants in Canada to offer a deejay with dance floor and dining under one roof... and always emphasized hospitality.



As I told Amy on the way out,

" You know even if the food had been lousy, I'd have come back for your hospitality alone. Not even so much the service, although it was good too, but more for transferring that genuine love of what you're doing to me, the guest. Great job." 

If it was me I'd be grooming her for management or for training the staff for new stores.
And so, as Schwarzeneger says, " I'll be back!"

Tom Pearson