moxie's grill & bar

it's always night coming for a meal at moxies. their drinks are tasty and well priced. the foodmenuprovides many different options, different types of food and they are all fairly priced for the most part. i've never been disappointed with a meal from here. it always has came out fresh and delicious! service is hit and miss but usually it's okay. overall it's great restaurant for a chain restaurant.

nice atmoshpehere. i always want to like this restaurant but it never fails to disappoint. the decor is very attractive but i have been there several times and have yet to find anything on themenuthat is particularly good. the food is average and is slightly overpriced for the quality. you can do better elsewhere.

somewhat similar to earl's, slightly more chain-y, but with a larger menu. service was very friendly and i can't complain about that. themenutouches on a few different things, but at its most adventurous it's americanized versions of ethnic dishes which is probably to be expected considering the market they're trying to sell to. 

i had the steak sandwich and was pleased that they decided to do something a little different with it, opting for a slightly spicy, tangy sauce on the bread and decent vegetables instead of falling back to the garlic-based classical version. made it interesting, worked well, and distracted me (for a while) from the average quality steak itself. i was disappointed at the serving size though, with only a smallish side of fries, i wasn't exactly full by the end of my meal. the prices themselves aren't awfully high, they have a lot of dishes in the mid-price range of $14-19 that seems to be the market price in saskatoon, but the serving size was definitely smaller than competitors selling at similar prices. without a second side on these dishes (ala original joe's) they are on the lower end of the value spectrum.

ambience is a pretty subjective thing but i'm going to rate it anyway since it affected my experience. the place is so damn loud inside, at least where we sat. they have very nice 18-ish foot ceilings, but no sound dampening, so the cacophony of voices and crying babies are bouncing off the walls and carrying further than they should. i felt like we both had to yell to sustain a conversation. the decor and style of the place tries a bit too hard to be trendy but is too spartan to be genuine, so i think that's where people get the 'pretentious' label from. i think that's just part of the moxie's brand, i remember it being the same way when i last ate here as a child.

anyway, not for everyone, but a solid choice if upper-end american chain cuisine is in your wheelhouse. seems like the creativity put into the dishes is above average so we'll probably be back to take another swing at that.

had lunch at moxies today, first time i've been there in a while. overall i enjoyed the food but i found the service,menuand atmosphere to be a bit too pretentious. that might be on purpose as i recognize they are trying to appeal to a different demographic than what i am - i prefer substance over style, not everyone makes that distinction.

one of the best desserts ever!. me and my boyfriend frequent moxies, because i love their raspberry kiwi crush margarita. it is to die for. i have loved all their food and appetizers that we have received. the service is always quick and helpful and so is the food delivery time, they are very quick and it is always good. if you are thinking about dessert, which i suggest you do. get the white chocolate brownie, it is amazing. we get it every single time to share between us! i love how they have drink specials and always change up the specialmenuand point it out. have tried a few different things and always loved it. will definitely keep going back over and over.

i have a very serious, yet rare, food allergy and have a hard time eating out because of it. moxies is one of the very few, and my favourite, places i feel comfortable dining out at. each time i inform my server about my allergy, a manager promotly comes by the table and lets me know that every ingredient has been checked and lets me know of any concerns. i came in tonight and the manager, ian, really provided me the best dining out experience i've had.. probably ever. he was definitely was very thorough, super nice, and will be letting me know about othermenuitems.. because i most certainly will be back! thank you to the moxies team members who are consistently providing excellent service and for taking allergies seriously


-----25 aug, 2013-----

i've always loved the strawberry, almond and goat cheese spinach salad but the last time i was at moxies it was no longer on the menu.. i was disappointed to see it removed, especially when the salad that took its place is no where as tasty. moxies bring it back please!!

expensive and mediocre food.menuis pricy and the portions are not great. the restaurant is dim and . the only reason i keep going to moxies is for their white chocolate brownie.

this is one of my favorite places to eat, and normally i love the food here and have had the best service experiences here. i just want to make a note though about this month's (march) features - they were very disappointing and deceiving from how they are described on the feature menu. i ordered the gnocchi and there was nothing "creamy" about the tomato sauce that came on it. it was a paste and i didn't enjoy the flavor of the paste on it at all. the gnocchi had a decent texture and taste so i just tried to pick everything off of it and eat it plain. my friend ordered the lamb and it was also a huge disappointment and was served much different then themenuled you to believe.

cookie cutter. go to moxies, go to jack astors, go to the keg, and what you see are hostesses and waitresses wearing short black dresses, and guys drinking beer at the bar at noon on a tuesday afternoon, leering at them. if you happen to be going there to eat, prepare to eat mediocre food at moxies. they just try too hard. themenuitems are totally uninspired, and sometimes you just have to stick to basics. i usually avoid this place unless i must go with a client who wants to leer at the waitresses. however, i would never spend my own money eating here. the food just isnt that good, overall. i keep giving it a try, to see if gets better, but its the same old, same old.


-----20 nov, 2010-----

its never been good!. moxies is probably one of the most overpriced and terrible places to eat. i am not sure what the heck the issue is, but i don't understand the business model at all.

lets see if we can pull this apart:

dress up some cute girls. ok, get it.
make the place look hip and cool. get that.
put things on themenulike pesto chicken burgers. don't get that.
charging 14$ for it, well that's just too much to swallow.
i come from toronto- and its the same there.
if i want to look at girls and eat terrible food, i can go to filmores or brass rail strip club on yonge street. at least you know what you are getting up front...if you know what i mean.

an udder that dispenses $20s. this place is about making money. it is not about good food. themenuis completely uninspired and uninteresting. the food is absolutely not exceptional and operating at a very low level of sophistication. it's basically institutional/commercial diner or bar food with a little "what would white women like?" thrown in to give it some faux zest. big decor and glitzy machinations like earl's. expect to be pushed drinks and upsold. expect mediocre food at best. i recently was coerced into eating here and was completely shamefully disappointed by the food level, and completely regret the whole experience. will not return of my own volition anytime soon. anybody expecting any kind of sophisticated or interesting level of food will be completely disappointed by this place. those looking simply for a venue in which to drink, socialize, and/or court a mate will find it no different from its many clones about town.

even though it's a chain.... love half priced wine nights on tuesday! purple cowboy is good.
i really like the featuremenuthey put out, i'm always pleasantly surprised with the food i order from it. white chocolate brownie is a must and a staple of that place. avocado spring rolls are good, so is the med bread and the spin dip.
i really hate going during the dinner rush because service can suck, but apps and drinks in the lounge are always a good time.

ok, but incredibly salty and inconsistent. i've been to moxie's many times over many years they have been open. not because i like the place, but because friends and family like going. we were just there the other day and we had a voucher (for terrible food during our prior visit) for money off the meal. we ordered the dry ribs to start and they were raw inside when we got them. we ordered the burger for our main. it tasted ok but the fries and patty was overwhelmingly salty. we ordered a white chocolate brownie for desert and it was disappointing. it is not the same product as it was when we visited many times before. usually this brownie is the best thing on themenubut it is not anymore. it's like they have changed the recipe or whom ever is making them is messing up. service was good and the managers did try hard to make sure everything was made right after the appetizer issue.

hit and miss. mostly miss.. this moxie's is very hit and miss. i usually get the same meal here when i am asked to go (because i never suggest it myself) which is the coconut curry rice bowl. the first time i have ever had it, it was fantastic. every time after, not so much. i find that my pawns are often chewy and very fishy smelling. the rice is either mush or way too crunchy. and it can do without the apples, the apples really bring nothing to the table in that dish.

also i find the waitstaff rude. once my fiance and i called in advance (because he has food allergies) to see if there was anything they could do to accommodate him. they said for sure just come on in. so we came in after the dinner rush and were seated with the rudest waiter i have ever had. he first said that mostly everything on theirmenucame pre-buttered including the rice. yeah, things you find out when someone has food allergies. eeew.

that it was such a hardship to him and the kitchen to deal with my fiance's food allergies. this whole act just embarrassed my fiance. honestly, had they told us over the phone they couldn't accommodate we wouldn't of gone.

then he was snarky and sarcastic to us the whole time. when our food came he made a comment on my friend's weight and said that she shouldn't finish her meal. yeah....

i think he was trying to be funny but he really wasn't.

my fiance ended up getting a salted chicken breast and fries which we paid 23 dollars for. unreal. the rest of our food on that trip was mediocre to say the least. probably the worst i have ever had from them.

my favourite part from this trip to moxie's was when i pulled out my debt card to pay for all our meal, which was for four people in total. he looked at me and said "you possibly cannot afford this!" to which i replied, "i can when i don't tip you!" unreal.

my fiance has since refused to ever step foot in that place again. i don't blame him. i have been back twice since then because a friend has had a birthday or something like that. same old same old. i loved when the female waitress was flirting with my friend's fiance while we were both sitting there. that is a great way to make tips....when their girlfriends aren't there! really, it is rude and insulting.

overall, i avoid this place like the plague. it use to be great but with the quality of food going sharply down hill and the rude waitstaff it isn't worth my time (sometimes a two hour wait, really?!) or my money. far better places in this city to go.

large, delicious salads. consistently good food with quick service, moxie's is one of the few chain restaurants that does not cut corners when preparing your meal. the service ranges from mediocre to excellent, depending on who is taking your orders.

the atmosphere is clean, fresh, and overall just a great environment to meet friends and have good conversations. if the lineups aren't too long to get in, it's fun to drop by in the evening and try their desserts.

as mentioned by many other reviewers, my favorite items on themenuare the salads. they are large, and i've never had one that tasted bad. i used to really like the banana mini-loaf that came with the sesame thai chicken salad, but with their newmenuchange, they've replaced the banana loaf with a few okay flatbread triangles. the salads are also a little more expensive than many of the burgers. nevertheless, moxie's = fantastic salads.

overall, if i'm short on places to go (which is rarely the case), or need somewhere good to take a friend, i can probably depend on moxie's to do the job.

hit and miss, but usually a hit.. i usually end up disappointed after eating at chain places like this but moxie's (unlike earls' and the consistently brutal chili's) is pretty good with a decentmenuthat isn't overwhelming (i'm not a fan of huge menus).
the salads here are delicious, although once or twice have either been drowned in dressing or disappointingly under dressed (yes i realize how anal this sounds, i just appreciate consistency that's all). the lunchmenuis really good for the most part, nice sandwich selection (i recommend the fish tacos or lobster brie grilled cheese) and the soups are excellent. the drinkmenuhas some really tasty creative drinks and the caesars are my favourite in the city.
now, as for the service...
generally in my experience it has been good; friendly and prompt. no complaints until the other day when my friend and i went in for lunch. we came around 2:30 so the lunch rush had more or less passed and we were seated right away...about 20 minutes later a server strolled over (and i do actually mean strolled). anyways, after the preliminary greetings etc he brought us some waters which didn't last through the 20 minutes or so we sat with out menus closed waiting for him to come back and take our order, we ordered an appetizer and two salads, i also ordered a caesar.our food was brought out quickly (by different servers, not that it really matters). so we ate our appetizer (med bread, very good) with empty water glasses all the while hoping that the waiter might be bringing that caesar by at some point and fill them up. no such luck. then came the salads (also brought by a different server, again not that it really matters) still no sign of the caesar, our server, or the slightest possibility of getting a refill on water (i tend to be perpetually thirsty when eating). eventually as the salads had pretty much disappeared from our plates our server decided to grace us with his presence, ask how the food was and ask me if i still wanted the caesar (i didn't). we asked for our bills and to shorten an already long story about 25 minutes later our server and his debit machine arrived at our table. while we were trying to hurry and pay because the entire experience had taken an incredibly long time and we needed to get back to work/school the waiter who had been more or less absent for the entire meal detailed out to us all the difficulties of his personal life as of late and how because of such and such situation he wasn't having a good day and asked us not to fault him for it. now, as someone who has been in the serving industry for a few years i feel like this was an unbelievably innappropriate and completely unfair situation to put paying customers in. yes i completely understand that everyone has bad days and it can take a toll on how you do your job, it happens and i fault no one for that. but that does not make it ok to lay your issues out on the table to customers, especially when they are in the process of paying and tipping is involved. i feel like this was conniving and extremely unprofessional. if he had simply said "i'm sorry for the service today i'm having a tough day" or something just plain and simple i wouldn't have even given it a second thought.
lucky for this guy the rest of the servers at moxies do such a good job.