John & Sons Oyster House

Location: 1 Balmoral Avenue, Toronto, ON M4V 1J5 (Yonge & St. Clair W)
Price: $$$
Service: Awesome
This is such an amazing place to have seafood!!! Love love love. I went to John & Sons Oyster House for summerlicious and I was in food heaven! To be honest a lot of the summerlicious restaurant are overrated and overly priced. But I have nothing bad to say about this place. I usually take pictures of the food, but I was too distracted by the amazing food. This is the first summerlicious restaurant that I loved from A to Z. I shall share why…
Everything from the appetizer to dessert was on point. I had the oysters along with three of their choice of sauce. The main course was the salmon and it was to die for!!! It was cooked right; buttery, crispy, tender, and flavourful. The dessert was good as well.
If you go during a time where the patio is open take the advantage and sit out there. The setting of the restaurant makes it feel as if you’re near a body of water and it makes the whole experience so much better. The patio area is super cute and there’s so many pillows! It was comfortable and I definitely went into a food coma after I was done.
The best thing about the restaurant are the people. The servers were super friendly, quirky, and lively. I am definitely coming back for more food.
Verdict: in LOVE

Went with girlfriend for summerlicious lunch.
The patio seats are comfortable.
The waiters are super nice with awesome personalities. I asked one of the guys to present the gift I brought to my girlfriend, he’s totally a great performer and I was impressed.
The fishpie and fish and chips we ordered are great, oysters are fresh, totally a must visit midtown restaurant.

Went there for 2015 summerlicious dinner ($ 35 meal)
Location/​environment:
Midtown area — a little difficult to find parking (so do please carpool). The restaurant has 2 entrance cause they took over two units. Very relaxing modern interior. There were a lot of people coming in for summerlicious (do book in advance) — but they require the entire party to show up first before getting a table (a little frustrating, especially when you might be late due to traffic/​parking)
Service:
Waitress was very nice and also friendly staff. Since it was for summerlicious, they weren’t willing to add a little flexibility in the menu. One of my friend wanted to switch fries for a salad, but they couldn’t let her.
Food:
Appetizers were oysters (3 in total), which was based on what’s available for the day. I had kusshi, which was never a disappointment — very fresh and they provided a wide selection of sauces to fit each person’s needs.
Main dish was fish and chips. The batter was well made and not too oily. The meat inside was also soft — particularly not dry (cause I hate it being dry). I really liked their fries and the tartar sauce.
Dessert was a lemon semi-​fredo. It was very sour — good for cleaning down the fatty food I had. Also it had a blueberry sauce and poppy seeds, which can divert the sourness away.
Overall not bad for a first try, would consider coming again to try more of their oysters and other dishes.

I gave this place ⁵⁄₅ because I want to be consistent with my other Unilocal ratings. This is relative to other places I’ve rated. If i were to be hard on every restaurant, most places would get twos and threes. That aside, this was an amazing restaurant.
I thought everything was delicious… the seafood was tender yet flavourful. To be honest, this is as good as it gets with restaurants. Personally, I like to cook my own food but this is one of the best places I’ve eaten at. Even though I have a heavier tastebud (I like spicy food), their food did not lack any flavour and it had great great texture. Service was good and the inside looked great. We came here because of the Summerlicious event and we chose this place among the other places.
I will describe the dishes in detail. Note: I ate mostly my food but I tried a little bit of my friends’ food so I’ll only describe what i ate in detail
Three Shucker’s Choice Oysters– raw oysters served with lemon and radish/​diakon shreds. The oysters were placed on top of a plate of ice so it is kept cold. The oysters felt fresh and soft. According to a guy, it is locally caught or something… I am not a huge fan of oysters but this was more than tolerable for me. The texture was good but there is still that unpleasant fishy taste. I squeezed a lot of lemon juice to offset this natural oyster taste. The waitress also gave us some tabasco sauce and other stuff… they were all bottled sauces you can find at the grocery store that i didn’t use. I’m not a fan of tabasco…
Grilled Ocean-​Wise Atlantic Salmon — The salmon strip had no bones in it (so it was a plus) but a crispy layer of skin that was perfectly grilled. The inside of the salmon was very soft and velvety and it melted in my mouth. Near the exterior, the salmon was not hard but firm and cooked… not dry at all. There is a creamy sauce that drizzled on the salmon and around it as well… it was nice and slightly thick and perfect for dipping the salmon in. It was not a greasy or heavy sauce but the perfect viscosity. There was also a little bit of aioli drizzled more on the vegetables than on the salmon… it had a slight horseradish taste (it reminds me of a lighter, creamier wasabi). There wasn’t a lot aioli added so i couldn’t get a full taste of everything they used to make it… The creamy sauce and the aioli complimented one another very well because the aioli added a bit of a kick of it. There was a little bit of vegetables as well… there was asparagus, leafy green, peas, baby potatoes and fresh cherry tomatoes. I want to emphasize how fresh the vegetables were and how perfectly cooked the greens were. They were cooked just right and they were crispy and had a nice bite to it. The potato was cooked thoroughly and the inside was soft and smooth.
Pecan Chocolate Brownie, Cherry Compote– The brownie was soft and it crumbled around the edges. There were large pecans inside which was nice because it gave a nice contrast of textures with the brownie being soft and the pecan being hard. There was a bit of plain yogurt around the brownie which added a bit of creaminess and acidity to it. I’m happy that they did not over add sugar to this dish because a lot of places add sugar with more sugar and it is disgusting. This one was perfect and there were fresh cherries used as garnish… which i appreciated because I enjoyed the freshness it added to the dish. Lastly, it was nicely presented with a mint leaf and a light dust of icing sugar.
I don’t think I should review what my friends had because I don’t think my reviews would be thorough enough but the other dishes they got were decent/​good that includes: the Barcelona style shellfish stew, the smoked paprika grilled chicken scallopini, ontario farmed strawberries and the lemon semi-​fredo.
The interior was beautiful and everything. You can check out the pictures i took and the ones other people took to decide for yourself. I personally think flavor and cleanliness of a restaurant is the most important thing. Everything looked clean and nice and the dishes were all perfectly washed. I am slightly obsessed with sanitation so i am pointing this out so that people like me can feel at ease.

I was very excited that this restaurant was on the summerlicious roster and it didn’t disappoint. I loved the atmosphere, the service was friendly and great, the food was really good. I had the oysters as the appetizer… you’re crazy not to at an oyster place and they didn’t disappoint. I’m in love with the fix’ins that they bring, primarily the scotch bonnet sauce. My friend had the fish and chips which looked yummy and I had the seafood stew. The stew was excellent though not very filling. My friend had the brownie for dessert and I had the lemon and blueberry dessert. Both were great.
I’m definitely coming back for their oyster happy hour after summerlicious is over and I can’t wait to try their downtown location. I see this as the start of a beautiful friendship :)

Came in for the Summerlicious menu… and it was fantastic! This location is great, at the corner of Yonge and Balmoral. We asked the hostess if we could sit on the patio even though it was packed, and she got us out there. Patio is recommended, it is covered, with high walls… so, it is almost like you are inside… but with massive airy windows. you can see in the picture below, the patio is right under the sign.
I opted for the Clam Chowder which was superb… and was told that I should get the fish and chips since they are best in the city. I wasn’t sure if I wanted to do that since I had come down from Aurora specifically for some finer dining… but those be some amazing fish and chips… maybe the best I had ever had. Service was good… food was great, patio was awesome.
OH. and we did sample some oysters, which were yummy. Recommended!

John needs to have more of his sons working for him on a Saturday night, because they certainly seemed understaffed. Service was slow & disorganized from the get go and that theme continued throughout the meal. No complaints about the food though, which was very good — particularly the Lobster Poutine as other’s have said as well.

Visited this Yonge & St. Claire spot mid week for lunch. Service was good, food was pretty average. A decent spot for lunch if you’re in to seafood.

My husband and I came here for lunch. We were greeted by a smiling and friendly hostess. We had the Oysters and clam chowder to start. Oysters were delicious, clam chowder was average. For our mains, I had haddock fish and chips and my husband had moules & frites. Both were delicious! Frites were really good. We finished off our meals with pecan pie with maple ice cream. A little sweet for my liking but my husband really enjoyed it.
Although my main course got mixed up (I think the waitress misheard my order) the service was prompt and the staff were quick to apologize.
Will definitely be coming back here again. Thanks for a great beginning to the weekend!

Great spot mid town for oysters and all things seafood related. The staff is friendly and awesome and great at hospitality. Great selection of local oysters and tasty desserts too which catch you by surprise.
My only wish would be that they had some more local wine to match the local oysters. Other than that I’m a big fan and love meeting people here in this weird midtown zone where there aren’t many good restaurants. This is definitely one of them though!

I came here for my birthday and was really happy I did! The atmosphere was great as soon as I walked in. Our server was very helpful with us as we had a lot of questions regarding oysters (it was our first time!). Lobster poutine was great and I felt adventurous getting the Tuna BLT which was amazing! Light but not too filling. I would love to come back some day.

Went here on a random friday night. Overall experience was good. Our server was great even though the hostess was not. Prices does tend to run a bit high compared to other «Oyster Bars» in the city but their variety and freshness is solid.
The notables of the night —
Fish and Chips, probably one of the better ones of the city on par with the legendary Old Yorke Fish and Chips.
Steak Frites, I would not recommend this. The steak was quite small at probably around 4−5oz and it was a bit tough. The compound butter on top added nothing and had an odd mix of spice in it. The chipotle aioli for the fries was too strong. I guess this is why you dont order steak at a seafood place.
Crab Poppers, basically this was a jalapeño pepper stuffed to the max with crab meat. The crust on this was very hard which i actually prefer over the usual soggy pepper.
We also had oysters (very fresh!) and drinks but they were your usual fare. One of the selections of the night for oysters was called «Four Inches of Pleasures». So obviously the waiter and us made quite a few jokes throughout regarding it.
Next time I think I would just stop by next door at their fish/​chips location for a bite and come here for a drink and oysters.

The spirit of maritime life is brought to Toronto through the décor and design of the restaurant. Wood or boards or vinyl were the main material used to give a homey simple sensation. Meanwhile, a lot of lighthouse figurines and buoys or boat equipment were used as décor, possibly to recognize the life of a fisherman. I liked how the restaurant appeared down to earth.
Ceviche ($ 16) was made with market fish and seasoned with thai spices. The fish was poached, preserving the natural moisture and texture of the fish. TINY PORTIONS! Felt like there was only 1 tablespoon of fish. Also, there was not much surprise to the appetizer. Flavour was bland and i think the lettuce washed out some of the spices too. The only thing I enjoyed was the thinly sliced lotus root chips.
Trio of Tuna Tartare ($ 18) Jalapeño and ginger (bottom), shitake mushroom (middle) and spicy red chili (top), all paired with a miso vinaigrette. The spicy red chili tasted somewhat like salsa, a sweet and tangy flavour. The shitake mushroom was starting to taste a little bit more saltier. While, jalapeño and ginger was spicy, it was our favourite of the three choices because it was a good mixture of the past two. This appetizer had a lot of depth, in terms of flavour and different levels of enjoyment to it. My complaint is there is really too little tuna that I can justify the mixture of sauces with it or how the sauces can compliment the tuna.
Raw Oysters ($ 2 — $ 4 each, depends on harvest location), plate of 12, 6 different types of oysters. These oysters were amazingly fresh. I would love to have more! It is amusing how different regions or locations produce different flavours, sizes and appearance of oysters. The ocean water allowed the oysters to have a natural salty taste. Different environments allowed some oysters to have more meat and larger size, along with a sweet and creamy taste to it.
Yellow Thai Curry Mussels ($ 16) steamed in a Thai curry and topped with onion frites. This is by far my favourite dish of the evening. Not only was there a lot of mussels served, it was extremely fresh. The mussels were juicy and with the Thai curry sauce, it brought out the fresh sweet taste of the mussels. They were simmered to perfect texture.
We do not have to go to the Maritimes or the West coast to have fresh oysters or seafood. It can be experienced in Toronto too! Ofcourse, the selection is not as wide in Central Canada, but it definately was worthit.

Went here for summerlicious lunch.
Ordered: apps: 3 oysters and clam chowder.
Oysters were okay the waitress never explained to me which ones they were. Clam chowder was the best I’ve had in toronto.
Mains: fish and chips and shrimp tacos. Fish was rly well battered but fries were not great. Tartar sauce is rly yummy. The shrimp tacos had too much sauce in them so it all dripped out onto the other waiting tacos and it just got so messy. There was no spicy to them.
Dessert: donuts and brownie. Donuts were too dense and doughy. Not enough sweetness, was just very lackluster. The brownie wasn’t anything special as well. A mini ice cream scoop would’ve perked it up nicely.

So here’s the thing about John and Sons — Great ambiance, wonderful atmosphere… however the service left a bit to be desired along with the fact that the waiter oversold each entrée that was offered.
The portions that came out were small, similar to what you would get from Captain Highliner at the grocery store, the chips portion was almost non-existent…in fact i’m still trying to figure out exactly what was paid for…
Meal portions aside, the tatar sauce was incredible, very rich, light and creamy (always a personal preference) and paired well with the Haddock.
Overall i’ve had better for the same price elsewhere… But for Mid-​town I suppose this is what passes for ‘value’

I went to their Fish and Chip place, next door and it is mighty good. Their fries were perfectly seasoned… mmmm. My mouth waters just thinking about them. The fish was delicious, the right amount of batter & better than what I’ve had at another place in TO, which had mostly batter and oil, hardly any fish in their fish n’ chips… ugh.
The service was great. Water to start, which comes refreshingly in a glass bottle and poured into, slightly-​larger than-​shot-​, glasses. I ordered a salad, their regular fish and chips (haddock fillets) and a boylan’s root beer. Very satisfying.
It’s a small space, but it is meant to be a place you come in, eat at, and then leave, designed not to linger for too long. They have great knick-​knacks that are used as décor. Makes one feel close to the sea and that for me is not at all a bad thing.

My friend and I went for dinner one night mainly because we were in the area and craving some oysters. The oysters were beautifully shucked and the sauces (homemade) were excellent. We particularly enjoyed the secret recipe hot sauce — it had a tint of sweetness… Maybe pear? in it.
We ordered the banh-​mi chicken and lobster poutine to share for our mains. The banh-​mi chicken was amazing. My friend and I fought for the last piece (we really did haha). However, the lobster poutine was not as great… The sauce that they used was not enjoyable at all… The both of us could not eat it so we ended up picking at the lobster and leaving the rest untouched… I definitely don’t recommend getting the lobster poutine.
We were still hungry so for dessert, we ordered the donuts which were okay but a little on the doughy side. We both agreed that we’ve had better donuts for dessert.
Overall, we enjoyed the service and atmosphere — the restaurant has an east coast feel to it with lots of wood. The food was okay nothing crazy spectacular.

Lovely space for a seafood restaurant, very warm and cozy inside, dim lights, romantic atmosphere, white cupboards, tealight candles…
The food here is pretty good, fresh oysters though quite pricey, loved the kushi and the french kiss which were served with horseradish, lemon slices, on a bed of ice and four kinds of sauces ranging from mild to hot. The hot really is hot. Add with caution.
We also got the moule et frites and the scallop on risotto. My mussels came in a huge bowl, really good portion for the price, lots of flavourful broth underneath, I used all the complimentary bread to soak up the white wine infused broth. Delicious. The fries were really short which was annoying but had wonderful flavour and were crispy but not overly so. My friend had the risotto which was nice but he said the scallops were a bit over done.

Oysters were okay, though to be fair we didn’t ask them to recommend their favourites of the day… if you go, you should do that. We chose oysters based on ones we knew we liked and, as I said, they were okay. They had almost no liquid left in them, which is probably why I didn’t love them.
Wedge salad was good, ²⁄₃ of the tuna sashimi trio was good (¹⁄₃ was ugh), chowder was okay, shrimp/​corn fritters were good but heavy on the deep fry. Donuts were very tasty but cold… they didn’t blow my mind. Nothing was terribly fabulous about the meal but it’s a nice spot and I might go back one day to try the lobster poutine or the fish n chips, both of which I hear are great. Service was friendly but very unattentive… I know we were walk-​ins (no rezzies) but that’s no excuse.

Had an impromput brunch.
Caesar could be more spicy. When i did request for a bit more heat, they were very friendly receptive to that. Generous portion. I rather have a smaller one with a bit more alochol in it.
Had the lobster grilled chese. I couldnt’ finish it. I had half packed up for me and I had it for dinner at home. It was delicious. It smelled great. The cheese was just right. I wish there was a small slaw that came it with along with the two grilled /​roasted peppers.
I made room for the doughnuts. The first one had minimal filling i took a small bite and then I was disappointed seeing it was only dough. Always nice to have warm doughnuts. The filling was too sweet, it was just right, but needed more of it in there please!
At the time I arrived it was rather quiet but by the time I left they were maybe at ½ or ¾ capacity and they were already short staffed when there were queues of oysters to be shucked. I can see how they can be slow at times with service, but there were really friendly staff and try to be proactive when they can be.
Overall a good exeperience!