Hooked

This place needs more great reviews! I’m from NYC and it was my first time walking around Kensington market. Something about this little store made me want to stop in and buy some clams. I was pleasantly surprised to see young folks working here. In NYC, we have old, fat, smelly guys who has been in this business most of their life time. Lol. Very friendly service and I was very pleased with my linguini and clams! Only 2 didn’t open but that’s normal with any seafood purchase. Hopefully I can return to buy their tuna to make tuna crudo!

I spent some time researching different fish places in the city and I settled on hooked. I’m glad I did. The fish is amazing and the staff are super helpful and friendly.

This place is a bit pricier than the other seafood shops in Kensington, but with the quality they stock it’s definitely worth the price!

I come here at least once or twice a week for my fish. This is the only place in the city that I trust to get fresh, sustainable products. Their fish never has that «fishy» smell that I find when I get it from the grocery store. Love this place! Only wish they open a little later so I can make it there after I finish work (I’m done at 7 too :’(.)

Hooked has become the only place in the city we now buy our fish. Ethically sourced fish and incredibly knowledgeable staff make this a positive and healthy experience. Since staff are all chefs they help us with great ideas for preparing our fish! Have taken two of their classes and it has been a fabulous experience! I cannot recommend Hooked highly enough!
Lynn Wilson

Went in to this establishment last weekend. My boyfriend and I wanted to make a special dinner. We got fresh bread and sausages for the meal. Hooked caught our eye because of the very friendly oyster shuckers outside. We bought two pounds of mussels but to our surprise the mussels were bad and extremely fishy when cooked. What a waste. Very nice staff but not fresh shellfish.

Wonderful people; amazing fish! It’s a little more expensive than some other places, but as soon as you take a bite, you’ll understand why.
Plus, I love the transparency of from sea to serving dish– I know who caught my fish, when and where. Hooked is fresh, ethical, and delicious.

Helpful staff. Great selection. Everything is fresh. They even took time on a busy day to teach me how to shuck an oyster.
Couldn’t ask for anything better. We’ll be going back again and again and again.

These people know and absolutely love seafood. I usually walk in the store after experiencing a strong craving for something from the water, but without a specific dish or type of fish in mind. My lack of inspiration is never a problem, since the amazing staff here always has a suggestion or three to make my lunchtime or dinner cravings a success.
Their fish is fresh, sustainable and always tastes amazing. I’ve ordered most of what they have to offer at one time or another — both farmed (west coast) and fresh salmon, tuna, shrimp, scallops, lake trout, perch, bass, mackerel, mussels, oysters, etc. It usually stays fresh in the fridge for a few days too, which indicates that their supply is very fresh.
I’d recommend asking what is in season, or what the staff would recommend on any given day. Sometimes they will have just gotten a fresh delivery, or a new type of fish has just come into season, and they will usually be able to give you tips on how to cook it.
If you want your fish skinned or filleted, they will also do it for you.
I’ve also bought their smoked fish, and it’s delicious (although a little pricy for it to be more than an infrequent treat). I also buy my butter here, since they stock grass-​fed butter from PEI, which is usually very hard to find in Ontario.

I visited Hooked after looking for an ethical seafood shop, and after trying fish supplied by Hooked at a local resto. I walked in a bit nervous, having very little fish cooking experience. In fact, I just recently introduced fish back into my diet after going fishless for years of vegetarianism.
I was half-​expecting the staff at Hooked to treat me with a bit of snobbery for not knowing how to order fish, what to ask for, and all those details. I was pleasantly surprised. They were super helpful, super friendly, and most of all, made me feel confident in my fish-​cooking abilities as I left the shop. They explained where the fish came from, what method of catch was used, and how I should cook it up. The wonderful woman who was assisting me at the end was also so supportive of my ability to go home and cook a good meal. As I left, she told me, «you’re going to rock this meal!» — I loved it!
The sea bream filets I brought home did taste excellent. I am not yet ready for the big leagues of cooking a bream on a grill, so will next time downsize to either a pan sear or the even safer method — baking. But the quality of the fish was very tasty.
I’ll be back for another adventure under the sea soon! :)

The staff is friendly and super knowledgeable about what’s in the shop, not to mention that they can give you suggestions on how to prepare and cook the various types of fish/​seafood. I love that they support sustainable fishing and as previous reviewers have mentioned there are no «fishy» odours. Prices are a bit more than what you would pay at a grocery store but remember, you’re supporting ethical fishing practices and getting top shelf quality product.

This Hooked location is an expansion from the other store in Leslieville. Right across from Thirsty and Miserable, it is a newcomer in the market as a fish monger that caters to responsible fish harvesting in a sustainable manner. There is no fishy smell as you enter the tiny place and everything looks clean and shiny. I haven’t bought fish there yet, but it’s someplace that I would go first because it just looks appetizing. I stopped in for ‘buck-​a-​shuck’ Saturdays and had a few tasty oysters which is always welcome on a hot Saturday shopping trip to Kensington. The service was friendly and polite as the guy shucked and I ate. They don’t have a patio or a liquor license, but fresh locally-​sourced Ontario beer is a close as walking across the street so welcome to the market Hooked, you got me!

Hooked is a knowledgable, ethically-​sourced, ocean-​wise fishmonger. The quality of their fish and seafood can be sensed by the fresh, never-​fishy, ocean like smell in the store. Make sure to also take advantage of their smoked and preserved seafood, the anchovies are fantastic!
My favorite part of shopping at Hooked is not just the quality of the fish, but the quality of advice. If I’m ever feeling a lack of mealtime inspiration, the girls here give me great ideas for simple meals that always turn out fabulously. One week I got tips for perfect fish-​tacos, the next for a tuna ragu. It’s this, and the complimentary lemon or lime that really makes Hooked one of the best vendors in Kensington.

First off, according to the staff and website they only source their seafood from sustainable and clean waters, +1!
Bought some GIANT fresh scallops and were some of the best tasting scallops I’ve ever had pan-​seared at home! At 26.99/lb they were a bit pricey but at least it was all scallop and none of that water weight. (Bag of 6 scallops already hit 25 bucks, shows you how big they were!) Super fresh! They had lots of variety to choose from but the store is smaller than the one in leslieville for those that wanted to know.