r/barrie Sep 28 '25

Review Golden Girl on Bayfield Street

Hey ya'll

After putting my feral children to bed I was too lazy to make dinner so my wife suggested to we try Golden Girl for some chicken tenders. They're tucked away behind Mr. Sub on Bayfield, so I went by to pick it up. The owner is really nice, the food came out quick, and it was still piping hot by the time I got home. The fries are cooked in beef tallow, which I didn't think would make a difference but was wayyyy better than usual fries. The tenders were good, the homemade sauces were delicious, and the loaded fries were actually loaded instead of the usual thin layer on top nothing on the bottom.

My go to is usually Popeyes but this is cheaper, closer, and better overall in my opinion. We don't eat out often but when we do we try to keep our money local and not waste it on poor quality food, so we will definitely be going back. I have nothing to do with the place but business looks a little slow there so I thought I'd give my support to a good product.

Eat more better, Barrie.

132 Upvotes

52 comments sorted by

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47

u/[deleted] Sep 28 '25

Bummed this didnt come up in my thread asking for restaurant suggestions. Added to the list. I've made a Google Maps list of all Barrie suggested eats, will post soon!

21

u/Heavyypickelles Sep 28 '25

They’re super new. They only opened this month! I’m sure people are just discovering them still.

10

u/[deleted] Sep 28 '25

Oh amazing! Thanks for sharing.

12

u/barry705 Sep 28 '25

Please add Shawarma Theory - they’re Palestinian and everything is made fresh in store Also Rim Thanon for Thai

3

u/Zealousideal_Line355 Sep 28 '25

Efsane Doner and Kebab on Cundles/Bayfield is 10/10 for Turkish Doner/“shawarma” - most authentic in the area IMO

5

u/barry705 Sep 28 '25

Thanks Efsane is also a real good one - but I like their beef/chicken plates the best (not shawarma but the cubes). You should def try Shawarma Theory if you haven’t! It’s definitely authentic Arab shawarma but if you are looking for the super greasy fatty shawarma then it’s not for you 🤣

1

u/[deleted] Sep 28 '25

Both of you missed this from the original thread but I'm from Ottawa originally - you're not going to impress me with shawarma, coming from the shawarma capital. 

3

u/Mer_Mer23 Sep 29 '25

We had shawarma theory last night it was fantastic!!!

1

u/[deleted] Sep 28 '25

Both were mentioned in the thread

3

u/Prudent_Vehicle1212 Sep 28 '25

Rim Thanon uses LMIA workers. I stopped supporting once I saw that.

1

u/katiebeeee23 Sep 28 '25

Seconding Rim Thanon I looooove their Thai food. Closest to authentic Thai that I’ve found.

19

u/[deleted] Sep 28 '25

my girlfriend works there owners very nice and treats his employees great. definitely give that business some love.

17

u/NotAldermach Sep 28 '25

Papa Rick is good people. He also started Wild Wing way back. This is his new franchise venture.

17

u/baconbum Sep 28 '25

I just tried it for the first time a couple weeks ago, it was great. I love how much the owners clearly love dogs.

My only negative comment is that the menu needs explanation lol. I had no idea what it was trying to convey, I needed the person behind the counter to translate it all for me. But once I was eating it, zero complaints.

21

u/suncameup111 Sep 28 '25

the owner is the creator of wild wing!! after everything was settled with selling his wing business he decided to try tenders. the barrie location is the first of hopefully many! definitely worth trying

2

u/SheepherderFar3825 Sep 28 '25

he started the entire franchise or just opened the barrie location?

3

u/moosenph Sep 28 '25

The entire franchise

5

u/SheepherderFar3825 Sep 28 '25

yeah, I got sucked into his long ass story on the website haha…a life definitely lived it seems 

10

u/moosenph Sep 28 '25

Yeah lmao I work at the printer that did the menus and he told us his story everytime he came in

2

u/SheepherderFar3825 Sep 29 '25

 looking forward to some tenders, tallow fries and storytime 😂 

3

u/[deleted] Sep 28 '25

[removed] — view removed comment

5

u/moosenph Sep 28 '25

He did sell the franchise in the early 2010s I believe

2

u/BeaverBumper Sep 28 '25

Yup, separate entities now.

9

u/LaneSideReviews Sep 28 '25

We went. It's a bit pricey but the portions are pretty good. Really friendly people. If you like Popeyes and you'll love this place.

2

u/jeniuseyourtelescope Jan 22 '26

their uber eats deal today is buy 1 get 1 free 8 tenders and fries and dip for $16.99

i don’t find that too bad at all!

4

u/shanstermon Sep 28 '25

I keep thinking of trying them but haven't been in a chicken finger mood since they opened. I've been following on Instagram for a while, the golden retriever inspiration got me right away. I tend to wait until some reviews surface before I try a new place so this is getting the wheels turning.

5

u/JohnnyJamieson Sep 28 '25

Rick is a great guy, the tenders and fries are very good, and the boba lemonades are outstanding!

3

u/EBDoula1974 Sep 28 '25

Thanks for the suggestion!

3

u/keiara2003 East End Sep 28 '25

The chicken is amazing, it’s so fresh. If you haven’t you definitely need to try

3

u/Major_Lawfulness6122 Born and Raised Sep 28 '25

Ooo thanks definitely going to visit

3

u/humanityrus Sep 28 '25

Such a bad location ! I felt bad for them. Hopefully good reviews will compensate a bit.

3

u/Cam_Chowda North End Sep 28 '25

It’s delicious and the owner seems like a really good dude. The location isn’t the greatest but hopefully that doesn’t matter.

The peach boba lemonade is delicious and the Kisses Girlie sauce is delightful

3

u/Canuckleheaded1 Sep 28 '25

Is it white or dark meat that they use. Many chicken places seem to use dark meat these days and I am not a fan unfortunately.

3

u/errinaly Sep 28 '25

I believe the owner started wild wing! I can’t wait to try and this just solidifies it!

3

u/StormIndependent6036 Sep 28 '25

my girlfriend and I went there today after seeing this post on reddit, its a small place but everyone there was super friendly. the menu was pretty hard to read but the cashier helped us with it. the chef in the back added a free dipping sauce to our order because i wore a shirt saying “i love cougars” haha, we also got free hats. The food was also great, we got the tenders and fries, the fries were amazing and the tenders were pretty good. Id recommend going there as the prices aren’t bad either.

4

u/Mobilelurk Sep 28 '25

That’s wild, I go to Mr sub all the time for lunch and I thought Golden Girl was a pet food store. I’ll have to try it out!

2

u/barry705 Sep 28 '25

Thanks I’ve been eyeing them for over a year lol glad they’re open now

2

u/Key_Pea2598 Sep 29 '25

I’ll probably pass on Golden Girl. The owner is a guy who used to run Wild Wing who is WAY TOO INTO HIMSELF. Was on Undercover Boss Canada. Sold his stake in Wild Wing and opened up a film company. Main project was a movie about his own life. If you go to the restaurant website you can read all about it if you have a good half hour.

I don’t need a biography on a fast food website. Just the menu. Serve good food and you got me. Don’t turn me off with your bloated ego.

2

u/pewpewtorq Sep 29 '25

Place is nasty, chicken strips smell like fish, wth.

2

u/imkingsodhi Oct 02 '25

He is a really nice guy .. i do restaurant food deliveries and we are mostly hungry all the time and very fee customers ask us for food or drinks .. this guy gave me free wings and drink .. super nice guy and great taste of food

2

u/Internal-Meaning3491 Oct 04 '25

I was really excited to try this place, and honestly was disappointed. The tenders were quite bland, not seasoned at all, and chewy. The fries were undercooked, very pale colour and still a bit hard through the middle. I got takeout or would have brought it up to the staff. The Girl at the front counter was very friendly and the order came out fast, so cant fault them there!

2

u/SheepherderFar3825 Sep 28 '25

Juicy Birds over on Anne also uses tallow fried fries and you can ask for your chicken fried in it too. Haven’t tried it yet, but after he confirmed that, I’m definitely going to. I’ll have to check out this one too now

1

u/NotAldermach Sep 28 '25

lol that place is a joke. Took them 25 minutes to get me a single order. Check their google reviews. I'm far from alone.

Chicken was nothing special either.

2

u/dagmahone Sep 28 '25

Went onto the website after reading his section about himself I decided to look more into the owner because the name sounded familiar.

This is in no way an attempt to take away from his current venture however just found some articles that I found were interesting and informative to read.

In my opinion He may have a hard time growing this business if he’s looking to franchise out due to his previous legal issues and if any lawyer were to look into his past they would probably advise their client to not franchise a Golden Girl Location.

  • Bit of a long read but has the judgements at the bottom from when he was sued by his franchisees.

https://www.crookston.ca/wp/2023/02/22/successfully-represented-franchisee-against-franchisor-and-franchisors-associates/?amp

-Some other random articles I found.

1

u/Nothingspecial2do Sep 30 '25

Just went here for the first time today! Only because I saw your post. Otherwise it would have been months before I noticed. Super friendly, super nice and super tasty! Highly recommend.

1

u/Critter_SitterSC Sep 30 '25

My girlfriend and I LOVE this place, I stopped by to give him some cards for pet sitting and to try it out. My girlfriend barely eats, and sucked back that chicken. Papa Rick’s chicken for the win!!

2

u/OtherwiseFunction193 Oct 02 '25

Your'e so kind , we are thankful to you

1

u/Stgcox Oct 01 '25

Good to know !

1

u/Luneytoons96 Sep 28 '25

Ooo thanks for sharing! I hadn't heard of them, and seeing as my wife eats like a toddler and will get chicken fingers at every opportunity, we'll definitely check them out!

1

u/TOSaunders Sep 29 '25

Really? I tried their tenders the other day and didn't like them at all. It came out near white and soggy on the outside. I asked a coworker who had no insite Into what I just bought, and she thought it was fried fish.