Flash back to 1964. That’s when Justin Doria’s grandfather, Frank, made the move from employee at a popular hot dog chain to restaurant owner. “My grandfather, my father and my uncle decided to go into the restaurant business,” Justin explains. “This place came up for sale, there was an opportunity, and 52 years later, here we are at Yonge and Doncaster!”
In those days, Golden Star was a four-table diner. “They used to call it a drive-in because you would literally drive in, order your food and go eat in the car,” says Justin. “That’s why it’s called Golden Star Drive-In. I guess in the sixties that was pretty popular.”
The restaurant’s dining hall was built in 1979, but aside from that, a quick look around reveals that not much has changed since the early days. And that’s the way this burger joint’s customers like it. “As far as our decor, a lot of our regulars don’t want us to renovate; they want to keep that old nostalgic feel and look to it,” Justin says. “It’s a fun place. There aren’t too many of these places left.”
The Home burger is the best burger in entire Toronto area. Rich, Thick and simply the best. Fries are golden and home made. If you want a to grab a bite to eat on the run, The Star can't be beat.
Every time I've visited Golden Star I've had a great reception from the staff that are basically all from the same family for over 40 years.The food is always fabulous and I've been going there for many years.Many people don't know it but they also cater to many parties and do barbeques for the politicians and for the Thornhill Festival every fall.As far as I can see people keep coming back,so they must be doing something right.
I was certain I was going to be delighted by this...
I was certain I was going to be delighted by this Golden Star, but I was wrong. I really wanted to love this place, but I don’t.
Golden Star, located just a few blocks north across the Toronto city line on Yonge St., on the Markham side of Thornhill, ON.
Upon walking in, I immediately noticed how dirty everything looked. For example: the greasy finger and hand print smeared front door, and the rough-looking staff standing up front wearing stained, overly-worn aprons that were in desperate need of laundering. And the trays; there were stacks of dirty plastic cafeteria-type trays everywhere. Since the place is not that large, I don't' know …it holds 50 people, -perhaps? Anyhow, the place was not crowded at a quarter to 8pm on a Friday night (for a supposedly well loved burger place, that in itself sticks out like that proverbial sore thumb), so I have no idea why there were what appeared to be hundreds and hundreds of trays up front. The exact count does not matter; seriously, more than a few dirty, smelling of ancient ketchup, trays piled high near the front entrance is way more than enough.
If the front of the house if filthy, the back of the house if far worse. It's an old adage with a true message.
If what they feel comfortable letting you see is filthy, by an objective measure, then you can imagine what the back of the house, the PART they don't want you to see, looks like. Have any of you ever seen that Gordon Ramsey show where he tries to help struggling restaurants? Well, the coolers in those places look like unregulated chemical labs tying to hide safety violations...
Ever heard of E. coli? And, now that I think of it, I wonder just how often the Golden Star's staff wash their hands? I mean, I would not like to be introduced to Swine Flu, ..would you?
Anyhow, I had difficulty seeing the menu board, since you must stand right against the counter and vulnerably bare your neck to look up to view it. Anyhow, when I innocuously approached the ordering counter, to view the menu on high, my movement triggered a worker to demand my order.
I hesitated about "5" seconds, before answering the fellow with my declaration of being a first time guest to Golden Star. My hesitation caused his face to contort with anger. As if ..who were I to waste his time? But yes, anger and contemp in his face; his response: "No, …rEALly!" -written that way to emphasize the sarcastic way I was addressed. The fact that he also rolled his eyes at me only made him look immature and ridiculous.
Afer, I quietly said: "young man, a bit of courtesy would cost you nothing," he began mocking me.
Don't get me wrong, I really wanted love this place and I even wanted to like the guy when I saw him, and when he also sort of looked and sounded like a much younger Comedy Central's "the daily show's" Jon Stewart … who by the way, I am a huge fan..., I was certain I would like him.
But, of course, my assumption was flawed; his impudence made all of that impossible.
If this was my first visit and this is how I was treated after I committed the crime of making it clear that I needed help in deciding what to order, then I find it impossible to believe anyone else would have been treated differently. Therefore, I find it equally unbelievable that any of the positive posts, listed here, and elsewhere on the net, were written by anyone other than the owners of this backwater dive.
This incident can't be an aberration; it just can't. Other posters, telling of real experiences, have written about similar issues. so, there you go...
And, if this fellow is somehow counted amongst the owners of this establishment, then that, itself, speaks even more about how badly Golden Star is run.
If you are a football player and you don't want to play football on game day, then you are in the wrong business. If Peter Mansbridge is having a bad day, I never hear it mentioned during "The National" broadcast; if he did, he'd be in the wrong business, wouldn't he?
Yes, certainly restaurant work is hard, and yes the profits are low..., but, almost all of us have done it while in school. It is hard work, but as it's part of the "service" industry, if you don’t like being a servant (legally, that’s what hospitality workers remain ..Whereas, the owner is still referred to as the master) then you are in the wrong business.
And, if you do work in the hospitality business, you've got to keep the teenage "tude" to yourself. If you believe yourself "too cool for school," then you should find another line of work. You never have to mean what you say or how you act toward guests, but being in the hospitality industry means conformity to the standards of politeness, respect, common decency, and the use of the polite language; for example: what "would" you like, or "would" you like..." --use of the subjunctive case...
Ask yourself this: why should a customer want to feel badly because s/he wants to spend money in your business?
Even for a family owned burger place, impropriety toward customers is an obvious symptom of hating the customer.
And, especially in a food service establishment, if the customer is, therefore, seen as the enemy, then you likely don't care if he or she comes back.
And if this is the case, and you think your customers are pigs or fools, then you, perhaps, also don't mind serving meat that really should have been thrown out -yesterday. "Screw the customers; they'll never know it's not best quality if I put extra seasoning in the meat…, besides, they are fools…they deserve crap;-- throw some more slop in the pig trough, more customers have just come in…”
Dirty front of the house, filthy back of the house…
Being a fat person who loves a good burger and who is new to the area, I was thrilled at the idea of having Golden Star just a 7 minute walk from my new home, but it seems I must find someplace else to go because Thornhill's Golden Star doesn't need my 10 bucks. Oh wait, they were nearly empty on a primetime for burgers Friday night, weren't they?
Well, at least I now have some idea why they weren't so busy, and I hope I've helped you to know something about Golden Star in Thornihill, too.
Again, I can’t understand how so many people claim this is a great place. Again, I suspect the owner ( OR ) his family are creating the faux positive postings.
Thornhill’s Goldener Star gets and deserves one HUGE thumbs down from this portly burger-place connoisseur.
We all love a great, fit-to-eat burger, -- it’s a real pity you can’t get one at Golden Star.
Nothing beats a homemade golden star burger they...
Nothing beats a homemade golden star burger they are to die for. Best old fashion hamburger joint in Toronto. I love it mostly because it's family run atmosphere and just have a good thing going. started more than 40 years ago must be doing some right.
For the best burger joint North of Toronto, head to Golden Star. This old-school family-owned restaurant has been around since 1964 and gets returning customers who first stopped by in the ’70s. The patties are charbroiled to juicy perfection and they make rich milkshakes that come in the standard chocolate, strawberry and vanilla flavours, but also interesting options like cotton candy and piña colada, to name a few. Note: they’re a cash-only joint.
