Island Mix Restaurant & Lounge

Probably the best restaurant in Pickering. Been going there for years and have never been disappointed, if you love hakka this is the place to go. My recommendations: the shrimp wonton soup, crispy shrimp wonton, chili chicken, and the low mein.

Food is always consistently good — we get a combination of Hakka and West Indian food.
Appetizers here are amazing like the peppered shrimp is unreal — must try!
We also had chicken wonton, sesame chicken and a rice dish — fresh ingredients and good size portion for take out.
Good to call ahead as they can get backed up in the kitchen at times.

The Chinese food there is amazing! Had the house special fried rice and island mix mixed vegetables… Yum! It’s what keeps me going back!
The décor could use some work… Really crappy, hence the 3 star rating
Good service though!

Decided to bring my family to this «establishment» .they travelled all the way from NY for a family reunion, as this place came highly recommended. We were a large group of 16 and decided to call ahead to ensure they could accommodate our number. They said «sure come on in!“From the moment we got there, we were met with a waitress who was not only cold as ice, but had zero customer service skills! The food which included 2 appetizers were served over the course of 40 minutes, with most of our table watching the others eat and finish their meals while the food was continuously being brought out as slow as humanly possible! Two of our guests never received their meals and when the sever was approached she stated that they were busy and that their order machine was broken. at no time was an apology given!!! When asked to speak with the manager we were told he was busy! To make matters worse the waitress had SO much attitude… I started to feel bad that I had interrupted her from doing her job and for the owner deciding to only put TWO servers to work the long weekend! To add fuel to the fire the bill came with additional items that were never ordered. Can’t knock the food… but the service was a great disappointment!

Came to island mix tonight (wend) to go eat, they have apps on promo tonight and we come every wend. Generally it’s good just grab a bit with the guys and head out. Today tho, we showed up at mix and they have 3 bouncers outside and said we have to pay $ 5 cover to get in… At 10:10pm! What restaurant charges cover to come eat. We had called before and they said kitchen open till 11, didn’t mention about a cover. When we got there the bouncers wouldn’t let us in and said $ 5 each to get in. Not impressed. They said even to eat we have to pay cause they have an event tonight. I wouldn’t understand if they charge after kitchen closed but not when there are people coming to eat and then charge them to come in. Not cool island mix, get it together. You are Turing away customers that are there to spend money there but instead turning them away cause of a cover charge to eat.

I personally have lost all respect for that place. They have the worst service ever!!! Especially one of their bartenders Jolene. Is a bitch to everyone and be careful she will rob u blind. Always heck your bill! I think the food and service at the Avenue is wayyyy better! !!

Been here a couple of times. All you can is not really that good but ordering off the menu is great! Great night out here on the weekends and the music fits the island theme. I love spicy food and the hot sauce here is killer. Highly recommend!

Although I’ve been here a few times, it was really because 1) I didn’t pick the place and 2) I didn’t pick the place. I’ve also had this as take-​out but just like #‘s 1 & 2, I didn’t pick the place. As you have noticed, this wouldn’t be my first pick if I were craving some «island» food. But the music they play, now that deserves 5 stars.
Service is courteous… when you finally get it. Parking here is nearly impossible on the weekends so if you can, carpool.
[Appetizers]
Doubles — Not too shabby, though I’ve had better. The dough seems like it has too much of something because it was just a little bit too much on the chewy side. So chewy it’s almost rubbery. It’s sort of like reheating bread in the microwave. ²⁄₅.
Polourie — Read above. Also ²⁄₅.
Crispy Crab & Cheese Wontons — This may very well be the best thing on their menu or at least what I’ve had. If for some reason I end up here again, I need to remember to just stick with what hasn’t disappointed me. ⁵⁄₅.
Crispy Chicken Wontons — Ground chicken was used which is nice to have as an alternative especially for those who don’t eat red meat or pork. Just wish they would add a little more flavour to it, though. Plus, because they’re deep fried, the filling tends to be overcooked. ³⁄₅.
Crispy Shrimp Wontons — Definitely better than the chicken version but could still be better. My favourite place to have Crispy Shrimp Wontons is at Tangerine Asian Cuisine and they still take the cake on this one. 3.5÷5.
Chicken Balls — Surprisingly not too bad and I love me some chicken balls. The chicken to dough ratio is actually not bad and their sweet and sour sauce is also not bad. I give it a ⁴⁄₅ stars only because the dough is, like the doubles and polourie, a little on the chewy side.
[Soups]
Corn Soup — I honestly felt like I was in the army when eating this soup. They literally cut up whatever vegetable they had laying around including the cobs of corn and threw it in the pot. Never have I ever had cut up corn on a cob in corn soup. That just spells out laziness to me. I’ve also never had big chunks of potato in corn soup. ¹⁄₅.
Shrimp Wonton Soup — Another disappointment in the soup kitchen. The Soup Nazi would have their ass fired. NO SOUP FOR YOU! ¹⁄₅.
[Chicken Wings]
Chicken wings is my thing. Chicken wings to me is like the cover to an unread book that I will use to judge a restaurant. Not because I’m a jerk but because these are chicken wings we’re talking about. You cut up the wings from a chicken, season it up and fry it up. Simple as that. But there is still an art form when it comes to chicken wings and it’s how well it’s fried and how the sauces taste.
First time I had their wings was when my cousin ordered it for take-​out. Thought it wasn’t very good but given that it wasn’t freshly made, it wasn’t as good as I was expecting. Plus it was just a plain old mild/​hot flavour. It could also be the sauce they used. Second time I had it, I had Honey Garlic. You can’t go wrong with honey garlic, really… until you have it here. Normally when you’re hungry, anything you eat will taste good. Not this time. I thought maybe they had an «off night» with their wings so whatever. But then I gave it another try. This time it was their new Teriyaki flavoured wings. I’ve accepted the fact that their thang ain’t chicken wangs. I took a bite out of their BBQ and also their Honey Mustard and still it was horrible. It honestly tasted as though they’ve used recycled frying oil to deep fry their wings. I shudder as I even think back to this. It’s like mopping your clean floor with the same dirty water that’s been sitting out for weeks. Worst chicken wings EVER. ⁰⁄₅.
[Other entrees]
Their fried rice and chow mien were pretty decent. But this still would be the last place where I’d order these items. As delicious as they look, they both very much lack flavour. ³⁄₅ for both.
Spicy Garlic Shrimp — This, next to their Crispy Shrimp & Cheese Wonton, is the best thing on their menu. It’s no Tangerine Garlic Shrimp but they finally got a recipe right. 4.5÷5.
If you’re just really looking for a place to have some drinks and enjoy some good music, then this place is great. Otherwise, find another place to grub.

Island mix probably the top when it comes to West Indian food in the East of the GTA so far.
They do a lot of their food right, The price points on certain items accompanied with the bad service that I seem to be getting on a repetitive basis is there greatest pain point.
I find that island mix is missing the basic restaurant philosophy. The customer is always right (within reason)
We went out one night my friend found a hair in his food but he eaten maybe 20% of the dish. Our server replied by telling us if there was a hair then why did you keep eating it in a very rude tone (he just found it)
My personal favorite was when I got a dirty plate. Looks to be there was some general Taos chicken on the rim of my plate, no problem my waitress came by and scratch it off with her nail.
God guys pull up your socks. You have all the things you need in order. You’re lacking the fundamentals that your staff could learn at McDonald’s

I don’t have anything negative to say. My family and I had a great experience and the food was great.

Going to have to update this review based on moving to Durham.
Toronto has excellent fusions of food, and tasting different cultural foods is a key to Toronto experience.
What you have here is a Fusion of Carribean and Chinese foods here. With a wheel of pepper sauces you can try
A few ways to enjoy this place: A date for cultural experience, a good lunch all you can eat, take out, and a party night out based on their schedule.
The place doesn’t get any too lively on any night until after 10pm, and only on a Thursday. There is a night out to be had here if you like the music here, and know people.
My personal favorites for food:
I start off with poulorie, you can get doubles if you wish
Caribbean infused drink menu for the ladies, I am told the mixes are pretty good
Special Fried Chicken (with fried rice, or that lowmien noodle mmmmmmmm)
Jerk Chicken rice peas done pretty nicely
All in all. You usually walk out with much better food, better mixed drinks, and a lower bill than you would say at Jack Astors. Which is why I quietly have dipped in and out of here for about 10 years.
Enjoy your meal here. Note to staff, try and get management to allow you to play music you like here. Lots of personality, no need to play that same damn cd everytime :) Lol

Food is good, but quantity is small and price high.

I love this place! It’s has very decent chicken wings and the deal on Tuesday is amazing. It’s always a great time at island mix, the staff especially make you feel welcome,
Pool is always good there too, lots of friendly people.
I actually got island mix to cater my birthday party last year since the food is soooooo good.
Overall island mix is a great place to go hang out, have a couple cold ones and eat.

First time at the Island Mix at Pickering location. The food was great and the drinks were better. Although their service was poor and hostess was not friendly. Food took some time to come out and the drinks took time to be made. The waitress was nice and she had a good understanding of the menu. Over all I give this location ⁷⁄₁₀. It was the quality of food which put them into the 7 range. They should build on customer relations and hire a friendlier hostess!
Atmosphere ⁷⁄₁₀
Cleanliness ⁵⁄₁₀
Service ⁵⁄₁₀
Food ⁹⁄₁₀
Overall ⁷⁄₁₀

Been coming here since I was 18. I love love the food here. I came last night with my girlfriend and we shared a chicken wonton soup. It was a small but it was huge. It has a great spicy kick to it. Their wontons have a good amount of chicken as other West Indian places I go to really skimp on it. We had their crispy Cantonese noodles with chicken and beef, and the sizzling chicken. The noodles were good but the way the sauce was distributed had parts of it way too crispy. I also didn’t care for the chicken in it but the beef was yummy! The sizzling chicken came out steaming and was perfect. I prefer it over their Chili chicken. I’m also a huge fan of the pepper beef and crispy wontons. The service was pretty quick yesterday but a lot of times it can be really slow. On Thursday to Saturday nights make a reservation as they do get busy. Their parties are pretty good too :)

I don’t know how this place is rated so low. The half price wings are Delish. They have tons of varieties. Also in house sauces to try. Tamarind is my fav.

It seems, I ECHO what most claim about this Restaurant (Sadly):
1. VERY SLOW service
2. NO hospitality
3. Service is NOT attentive
4. LONG wait times between refills (just walk over and do it yourself at the bar)
5. WAVING down your waitress while she chats with the other staff members, Ignoring you
A big eating MAN I am looking for me food ! and sadly I was not overly impressed with the food /​service /​dark ambient here at Island Mix Restaurant.
In Durham I loved: _​_​Sunset Gardens Restaurant & Bar _​_​_​HWY#2 and Ajax — my feelings would be the food is «sweet na fcuk» or as they say delicious and well seasoned.

Food is great. Love the all you can eat lunch Buffett. Food is fresh and tasty. Price is right $ 8. Its true Service can be a little slow but I have only gone for buffet and it has never been a problem because you really barely need a server for a buffet.

The McDonalds of West Indian food. Really geared towards people have no clue what proper West Indian food is supposed to taste like. The service received from Kam the waitress was exception however.

So let me start off by saying that I have been coming to this establisment for over 5 years. Island Mixs’ saving grace is their food, because as far as Customer Service, THERE IS NONE !!!
Rather than using Unilocal as a place for my personal rant, I will just lay it out very simply.
If you go to Island Mix, You can Expect Good Food !
But You can also expect the following:
1. VERY SLOW service
2. NO hospitality
3. Service is NOT attentive
4. LONG wait times between refills (just walk over and do it yourself at the bar)
5. WAVING down your waitress while she chats with the other staff members, Ignoring you
6. REMINDING your waitress, to come back in a few mins to check and see if you need anything (this is the only practical way to get it done it seems)
* when you have to walk over to the so called waitress, and order your food/​drinks after waiting 10+ mins … I mean It says it all (esp given that there was only 2 other people there, who were ordering buffet …)
Overall a GOOD restaurant is one where you leave after having a pleasurable experience, this can not be said about Island Mix.
I mean I am paying money, to go to a place, have a nice time with whoever I am there with …
Usually whoever I am there with says the same thing, «The food is great, but Man, the service is HORRIBLE».
So go for the food, but be very patient …