Showing posts with label Seafood. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Seafood. Show all posts

Pink Sky (Toronto)

Posted on Saturday, June 22, 2024 by

With a name like Pink Sky, I’m expecting a café, bubble tea shop, or maybe even a candy emporium. What I’m not expecting is a seafood restaurant. Hence, I’ve walked by the storefront on many occasions but never seriously planned a visit. I chalked it up to a place to be “seen” and party, but not for real meal.

Remnants of the former Weslodge are still apparent: the expansive bar and (on occasions) the unobtrusive DJ spinning beats on the second floor. Yet, Pink Sky has a coziness to it that feels different. The ease of making reservations, not being rushed with seating limits, and sit-a-while comfortable chairs – there’s even an element of hospitality that the former restaurant was missing that exists now.

If you’re in the mood for some light bites, their menu includes a selection of hot and cold appetizers that are great for sharing. For a simple crispy calamari ($24) the appetizer was tasty, the light breading incorporating salt, pepper, and sumac adding flavour so the spicy mayo wasn’t even required. And if you’re feeling adventurous, take a bite of the deep-fried lemon slices, my friends found this surprisingly tasty.

The beef tartare ($22) needs more than four pieces of too oily toasted sourdough to go through meat mixture. Yet, it had a lovely freshness from the bits of apple and tarragon incorporated into the recipe. Still, it’s not overly heavy in comparison to the predominantly seafood focused menu.

I preferred the beef to the tuna tartare ($26), which contained so much puffed rice that I half expected the dish to go snap, crackle, and pop. What little fish remained was completely drowned out by the watermelon and other ingredients.

Pink Sky offers a host of fish on their menu. The whole branzino ($85) was disappointingly small for the price and contained too many stray bones. And while I enjoyed the crispy skin, it might have sat under the broiler for too long as it was slightly overcooked.

Personally, I’d skip the branzino and go for the grilled salmon ($32), which also had a lovely crackling skin but was still flaky and moist. Served as a nice thick slice, the main was surprisingly filling despite it being sparsely served with sautéed spinach and grilled fennel. The dish was a little salty, especially with the lemon butter sauce. Be careful to dip and not pour.

Without any grains, you could augment the fish with a side of frites ($9) to share. They’re hot, thin, and crispy… my kind of fries.

Indeed, the best bang for your buck would be the fish and chips ($32) that arrives as a ginormous piece of beer battered haddock. While the breading was too thick for my tastes, you certainly won’t leave hungry since it also arrives with a generous portion of thick cut chips.

In fact, pair the fish and chips with a wedge salad ($21) and you’ll have enough food for two. The starter uses almost an entire head of iceberg lettuce slathered in a rich and tangy buttermilk ranch dressing, topped with cherry tomatoes, grilled corn, fried onion, and huge chunks of bacon that should be called pork belly pieces. The salad normally also contains blue cheese, but we had it removed and the salad was still hearty and flavourful.

Another sharable dish is the truffle lobster mac and cheese ($46) that has a cheese pull that’d make any dairy lover swoon. Big tubes of rigatoni were tossed in a spicy pickled jalapeño cheese sauce and topped with bread crumb and chives. It’s an interesting decision to include the jalapeno, I found it balanced out the truffle oil, which can sometimes be overwhelming. If anything, it just needed more lobster as there wasn’t much to go around.

Pink Sky’s seafood risotto ($34) has a spicy tomato sauce base, so the dish ends up tasting like a cioppino risotto. It’s a twist that I don’t mind given I love the hearty seafood stew but could be disappointing if you’re expecting a more traditional saffron taste. All in all, it incorporated a passable portion of seafood (mussels, shrimp, and whitefish) although the mussels could have been fresher.

Located in the bustling area of King West, Pink Sky is an ideal pre-clubbing dinner destination. Their varied menu means you can choose a lighter dish to avoid sporting a food belly or go big with the fish and chips to soak up the liberations to come. One thing is for sure, it isn’t a frilly café, you’re coming for the food.  

In a nutshell... 
  • Must order: grilled salmon, wedge salad
  • Just skip: branzino, tuna tartare

Overall mark - 7 out of 10


How To Find Them
 Location: Toronto, Canada
 Address: 480 King Street West 


 Follow me on twitter to chat, be notified about new posts and more - https://twitter.com/GastroWorldBlog
____________________________
Gastro World's Grading System
  • Anything under 5 - I really disliked and will never go back
  • 6 - decent restaurant but I likely won't return
  • 7 - decent restaurant and I will likely return
  • 8 - great restaurant that I'd be happy to recommend
  • 9 - fantastic restaurant that I would love to visit regularly and highly recommend
  • 10 - absolute perfection!

Is That It? I Want More!

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Finn's Seafood, Chops & Cocktails (Victoria)

Posted on Saturday, August 20, 2022 by

To go to B.C. and not have fresh seafood should be considered a sin. Without a doubt, I indulged in seafood daily during my trip, but it mostly consisted of fish and shrimp. It wasn’t until I went to Finn's Seafood, Chops & Cocktails that a crab made its way across the table.

I couldn’t go to the B.C. and not sample their local Dungeness crab ($78; seasonal price). Yet, when they are prepared fresh and whole, a feeling of dread flows over me as I can’t stomach the thought of an animal being cooked alive. Hence, when placing my order, I asked our server whether the chef could do anything to kill the crab prior to putting it into the steam oven. Imagine my delight when she noted that Finn’s always humanely kills their seafood prior to its preparation.

A note for diners: what this means is the gooey yellow stuff (I recently learnt is called hepatopancreas) and any roe (if the crab is female) will not be found under the shell. Personally, I’m fine with this as the hepatopancreas is slimy, doesn’t taste the greatest, and is really an organ that filters impurities for the crab and not the healthiest to eat in the first place – you can learn more about it from Crabbing Hub. 


The sizeable crab arrived in its full glory, covering a couple of boiled baby potatoes and rapini, served with melted butter for dipping into. A shell cracker in hand, I went to town on the thing and was greeted with sweet succulent meat bursting through the shells – not like the poor starving crabs we find in Ontario. What a treat to have it fresh and locally caught. 

Even though the crab (and my friend’s lobster) were fairly large, you’ll likely still want something to nibble on while the seafood is prepared as it can take a while. We shared the house smoked rockfish croquettes ($15) and they were a great starter to munch on while looking into the ocean – crispy nuggets of mashed potatoes mixed with smoked fish and a lovely citrusy tartar sauce for an extra punch of flavour.


Finn’s little touches were great as well – such as providing small ice buckets for individual pours of wine to ensure they are kept cool as well. 


Narrowing down where I wanted to have crab took a bit of research given B.C. is a known producer of the crustacean. Ultimately, I landed on Finn’s due to their amazing location and views of the Victoria Harbour and the restaurant’s comfortable environment - eating crab is a messy affair, something I wouldn’t want to do on a picnic table with seagulls above me and flimsy paper towels threatening to blow into the wind. But what really sealed the deal was that Finn’s is a partner of the Ocean Wise program, which means their seafood is caught with sustainability in mind. 

Thank you Finn’s for building in humane and sustainable practices into your operations. Guilt free dining is definitely the way to go. 

Overall mark - 8 out of 10


How To Find Them
 Location: Victoria, Canada
 Address: 1208 Wharf Street


 Follow me on twitter to chat, be notified about new posts and more - https://twitter.com/GastroWorldBlog
____________________________
Gastro World's Grading System
  • Anything under 5 - I really disliked and will never go back
  • 6 - decent restaurant but I likely won't return
  • 7 - decent restaurant and I will likely return
  • 8 - great restaurant that I'd be happy to recommend
  • 9 - fantastic restaurant that I would love to visit regularly and highly recommend
  • 10 - absolute perfection!

Is That It? I Want More!

Other Gastro World posts similar to this:

Pluvio (Ucluelet)

Posted on Saturday, July 16, 2022 by

Pluvio is in Ucluelet, an eerily calm town about a 20-minute drive from Tofino, and had we not used GPS to find the restaurant, we might have driven by the quiet street the inn and restaurant was located on. In fact, we were able to park right out front despite securing a prime dinner reservation. A win for Ukee!

With a choice of a five-course chef’s menu and three-course prix fixe, we opted for the select your own three-course option ($88) because sometimes it’s nice to have a bit of choice. The meal started with three crispy one bite wonders: a puffed cracker with a smoked fish (?) creamy topping, a delicate lattice leaf chip and refreshing chive dip, and little nests filled with a delicious meaty filling that had me wondering if anyone would notice if I swiped another one from the open kitchen near us. 


After being talked down by my friends, I focused instead of the wine and conversation and soon the first course arrived. Before getting into the dishes, we noticed that food tends to be overly seasoned in BC. Perhaps it’s due to their proximity to salt water, but we found that 80% of the things served were a little saltier than we’d like. And this was true for Pluvio’s dishes, so if you prefer things a little less seasoned, I’d suggest letting them know while ordering.

The cubes of torched sablefish were wonderfully prepared but overpowered by the strong pickled radish and poached apples that surrounded the black cod. Still, the colours did make for an artistic creation adorned with crispy butterflies and translucent fruit flowers. It’s a dish that is best eaten with the eyes. 


If the sablefish was a dish signifying spring, the polenta would pay homage to the cooler months. A surf and turf moat made from side stripe shrimp and lamb sausage surrounded the creamy luscious polenta. The strips of sausage being removed from the casing, flattened, and grilled almost had a steak-like quality to it and made for an interesting protein. Everything worked well together, especially when combined with the dollop of mint purée. 


Smartly, Pluvio serves their bread after the first course to discourage guests from filling up before the mains. Perhaps they should sandwich the bread before dessert as I still couldn’t contain my excitement and dug into the fresh crusty country bread and corn bread. Why oh why is it so difficult to keep away from the carbs?! 


Luckily, I still had room for the hefty piece of confit halibut swimming in a creamy corn and toasted yeast beurre blanc that provided a light but decadent sauce against the meaty fish. The sauce was also great for dipping the crispy chips, which shielded the skinless poached cherry tomatoes. With the halibut, I added three grilled scallops ($12) because as the menu describes, everything is better with scallops, especially when they are cooked wonderfully. 


Pluvio’s desserts are described as “forest”, “field”, and “sea”.  Neither were spectacular and if I could choose, I would have simply wanted the green spruce sponge cake from the forest served with a side of the cold lemon semifreddo of the field. 


In general, I’d stick with the land desserts as the “sea” was way too citrusy from the sea buckthorn caramel and the hard pieces of sponge too sweet when paired with the chocolate crémeux. In fact, if I could have a do over, I’d stick with the cheese plate as you can’t really go wrong with cheese (except if you’re lactose intolerant, I guess). 


Pluvio presents a “search” for your own chocolate truffle box to end, which may stump a baby but made us feel like geniuses. It was a sweet gesture, but after the filling meal the large truffles were too rich. 


Maybe a search for a fruit jelly would work better? Or they could have hidden another one of those meaty nests that were found in the earlier snacks … for me, that would have been such an amazing surprise to find.  

Overall mark - 7 out of 10


How To Find Them
 Location: Ucluelet, Canada
 Address: 1714 Peninsula Road


 Follow me on twitter to chat, be notified about new posts and more - https://twitter.com/GastroWorldBlog
____________________________
Gastro World's Grading System
  • Anything under 5 - I really disliked and will never go back
  • 6 - decent restaurant but I likely won't return
  • 7 - decent restaurant and I will likely return
  • 8 - great restaurant that I'd be happy to recommend
  • 9 - fantastic restaurant that I would love to visit regularly and highly recommend
  • 10 - absolute perfection!

Is That It? I Want More!

Other Gastro World posts similar to this:

Great Room @ The Long Beach Lodge Resort (Tofino)

Posted on Saturday, July 09, 2022 by

My expectation for hotel restaurants is guarded – they’re generally adequate but rarely outstanding and tend to be overpriced. Still, after a long drive into Tofino from Victoria, all we wanted to do was take in the beach, eat, and go back to our lovely quaint cottage at the Long Beach Resort. Food wasn’t a top priority; we took what we could get in terms of a last-minute reservation at the Great Room restaurant situated in the resort.

Then a plate of beef tartare ($21) was presented and one bite in I knew the Great Room would impress. The steak was cut into perfectly sized pieces that were small enough to let the condiments permeate the meat but not become a minced meat texture. The seasonings, despite the variety of herbs, sauces, and shavings worked together and didn’t detract from the vibrant high quality olive oil. The dish was great, but their service could rise a notch if someone warned the kitchen we were a four-top, so that they could adjust the appetizer to include eight crostini to make it easier to share. 


Our dinner at Long Beach kicked off consecutive days of eating halibut and their halibut for two ($89) was one of the better versions we sampled. The fish was cooked until flaky and properly seasoned, not an easy feat for such a large thick piece of meat. The platter could have fed three people with all the sides that was included: smoked kelp butter roasted potatoes (tasty but could be cooked longer to create a crispy crust) and kelp and cabbage coleslaw (the kelp creates a unique twist and was cleaned well so that it was refreshing against the meaty halibut). 


I was thoroughly impressed with the well caramelized crust on the scallops ($43), which didn’t leave the shellfish overcooked. You won’t leave the Great Room hungry as the dish included a hefty portion of the charred corn risotto and six sizeable scallops. For the risotto, the kitchen uses corn in lieu of butter and cheese so while the grains seem decadent it wasn’t heavy. My friend and I agreed that while we love corn, it did start to overpower the dish so a bit more rice wouldn’t hurt. 


We ended up having such a great meal that we stayed longer at the Great Room, transitioning to the couches by the fireplace to converse rather than going back to our cottage. A wonderful way to start the Tofino trip and to allow us to take in the beach from a comfortable and dry space. 

Overall mark - 8 out of 10


How To Find Them
 Location: Tofino, Canada
 Address: 1441 Pacific Rim Hwy


 Follow me on twitter to chat, be notified about new posts and more - https://twitter.com/GastroWorldBlog
____________________________
Gastro World's Grading System
  • Anything under 5 - I really disliked and will never go back
  • 6 - decent restaurant but I likely won't return
  • 7 - decent restaurant and I will likely return
  • 8 - great restaurant that I'd be happy to recommend
  • 9 - fantastic restaurant that I would love to visit regularly and highly recommend
  • 10 - absolute perfection!

Is That It? I Want More!

Other Gastro World posts similar to this:

Wolf in the Fog (Tofino)

Posted on Saturday, July 02, 2022 by

When you visit Wolf in the Fog’s ‘About’ section on their website, the first write-up focuses on Tofino rather than on the chef or the restaurant. The “Who” comes afterwards, briefly speaking to the pack that leads the restaurant’s kitchen, front of the house, and bar. They don’t brag about being named Canada’s best restaurant by Enroute in 2014 or its current seat on Canada’s 100 Best (#48). Their laid-back attitude is likely a microcosm of being in Tofino, where everyone I met is so friendly and seemed to genuinely just love life.

It's hard to miss Wolf in the Fog’s two-floor building with its prominent location in the middle of downtown Tofino. The restaurant creates a great atmosphere, especially if you’re seated on the second floor, near the window and can also take in the view of Tofino’s harbour.

One glimpse of the glistening bar and I knew it would be a cocktail night for me. And with their ever-changing bar menu, it’s certainly an area they are focused on. The cockatiel ($16) sported a whimsical crest of citrus feathers and was refreshingly light compared to the stronger cedar sours that my friends ordered.

Thanks to a suggestion from our waiter, two of the sides acted as a great starter: spot prawns and garlic bread. The prawns ($18) swam in a garlicky butter and with the delicate shrimp deshelled, they were ready to snack on like a fancy popcorn shrimp. Its suggested pairing with garlic bread ($8) was unnecessary as between the bread and butter became too garlicky overtaking the sweetness of the prawn. Instead, I opted to have the shrimp first and saved the bread for dipping into the sauce. Trust me, you’ll still want a serving of the carbs, which was like a fluffy focaccia with crispy edges and plenty of shaved Parmesan on top.

The tornado rolls inspired presentation of the potato crusted oysters ($19 for 3) was unexpected, but a safe preparation for those who are squeamish of raw oysters. And since the shellfish was smoked, the dish seemed like it incorporated bacon despite not having any meat. Seriously, if I hadn’t seen the menu, I would have thought I was popping a bacon wrapped scallop tornado roll into my mouth.

We stuck with seafood even for the mains. The baked Tofino halibut ($48) was cooked well, although I could have done without the crispy breadcrumbs as it made the fish gritty. The accompanying gnocchi were a great chewy and soft consistency, smothered in a delicious zesty marinara mixed with chili and tapenade butter. While I’m not sure the gnocchi went particularly well with the halibut, each element was great on its own.

Although the pork belly in the Thai pork belly and clams ($38) could be softer, it was still tasty especially dipped in the yellow curry. As for the clams, despite being sizeable, the curry did cover its natural flavours but the shellfish itself was cooked nicely. Overall, I can’t help but think the dish is missing a fresh element. The sliver of bok choy was a start, but another herb or vegetable would have really pulled everything together.

We were blessed with a huge slice of the Basque cheesecake ($14) to finish. Given its height, I wasn’t surprised the cake’s texture was fluffy and light. Call me suspicious, but the burnt finishing seems too perfect… almost like it was blowtorched rather than baked. Previous Basque cakes I’ve had were marked by cracks and bulges, Wolf in the Fog’s cake was so nice and smooth.

Cakegate aside, I thoroughly enjoyed the dessert, but could have done without the overly tart fruit preserve and crunchy almond clusters. When the cake is good just leave it alone. When in doubt, keep things natural like Tofino. 


Overall mark - 7 out of 10


How To Find Them
 Location: Tofino, Canada
 Address: 150 Fourth Street


 Follow me on twitter to chat, be notified about new posts and more - https://twitter.com/GastroWorldBlog
____________________________
Gastro World's Grading System
  • Anything under 5 - I really disliked and will never go back
  • 6 - decent restaurant but I likely won't return
  • 7 - decent restaurant and I will likely return
  • 8 - great restaurant that I'd be happy to recommend
  • 9 - fantastic restaurant that I would love to visit regularly and highly recommend
  • 10 - absolute perfection!

Is That It? I Want More!

Other Gastro World posts similar to this:

Tide and Vine Oyster House (Niagara Falls)

Posted on Saturday, November 21, 2020 by

While 2020 is a year that needs to end, I’m grateful to Mother Nature for the amazing weather she’s blessed on southern Ontario. I’ve never sat on a patio in November before - possibly because under normal conditions restaurants would have cleared them off – so to be able to enjoy one last lunch on Tide and Vine’s outdoor space was a pleasure.

If it gets a little cool, start with Kat’s chowder ($9 for the cup pictured or $13 for a bowl), the steaming creamy seafood concoction warmed me up in no time. I would have liked the potatoes to be in smaller chunks, to better mix with the fish, clams, lobster, scallop, and shrimp, but the starter was oh so hearty that a cup went a long way. You bet that hunk of buttery grilled bread helped to wipe up every drop of the savoury soup.

Tide and Vine certainly doesn’t skimp of seafood, their lobster roll ($24) absolutely brimming with Atlantic lobster. The soft toasted buttered bun was essentially filled with the crustacean and not much else, just a few slivers of lettuce for colour and to form a slight barrier between the bread and seafood.

I would have liked a bit more seasoning in the mayonnaise dressing the lobster – there seemed to be a lot of tarragon but little caper. But the shellfish was prepared well, barely cooked through, so it remained delicate and sweet.

Perhaps the sandwich seemed bland because the accompanying German-style potato salad was so flavourful. Big chunks of potato and carrots covered in a lovely onion and mustard creamy sauce… not necessarily the most pleasant to smell behind a mask afterwards, but oh so delicious.

Tide and Vine’s patio is in front of the restaurant and occupies a sizeable area; the eight tables feel far apart and safe. They smartly created a sense of separation by using low wooden walls, so you don’t feel like you’re in a parking lot, not necessarily an oasis, but a comfortable space, nonetheless. Maybe we’ll be lucky and there will be a few more sunny days before winter sets in. Let’s make the most of it and safely dine out, while we still can. 


Overall mark - 8 out of 10


How To Find Them
 Location: Niagara Falls, Canada
 Address: 3491 Portage Road


 Follow me on twitter to chat, be notified about new posts and more - https://twitter.com/GastroWorldBlog
____________________________
Gastro World's Grading System
  • Anything under 5 - I really disliked and will never go back
  • 6 - decent restaurant but I likely won't return
  • 7 - decent restaurant and I will likely return
  • 8 - great restaurant that I'd be happy to recommend
  • 9 - fantastic restaurant that I would love to visit regularly and highly recommend
  • 10 - absolute perfection!

Is That It? I Want More!

Other Gastro World posts similar to this:

Paluto Restaurant (Dubai)

Posted on Saturday, May 16, 2020 by
Thank you to Parv for all these pictures!
Who would have thought that amongst a desert there are waterfront markets? Yet, that’s exactly what you’ll find in Deira in Dubai – a sprawling multi-wing facility where you can buy seafood from one area, vegetables and spices from another, and even find restaurants to cook the seafood for you along the waterfront.

It seemed like a novel idea and had us visiting Paluto Restaurant by Chef Boy Logro (a celebrity chef from the Philippines) one afternoon. In reality, the link to a well-known chef doesn’t seem like a necessity for a place where customer purchase their own ingredients, fish mongers clean it for them, and all the chefs do is cook it (either fried, grilled, or in soup form) for AED25/kg. Aren’t we all our own chefs at this point?

Patrons then wait around for an empty table and their food to be prepared. There’s a hunting-and-gathering feel to the meal, except I guess the hunting is fairly easy when it’s all laid out on ice and in tanks amongst the stalls. It’s a part of the meal that we skipped, since we didn’t visit the Waterfront Market early enough to source our own seafood.

Truth be told, I was glad we missed that part of the experience as seeing things swim and wriggle before breaking bread is the least of my desires. Plus, going after the general rush, meant there was no queue so we could sit and enjoy drinks (the serve yourself fountain pop variety) while we waited for the food preparation.

As the mixed seafood platters arrived – one tossed in lemon herb and the other in a sweet chili (both AED149), we started salivating at the combination of blue crabs, shrimp, and mussels. This was sure going to be a messy lunch that had some reaching for the plastic gloves.



The two sauces were so different – the lemon herb a bit too mild and needed more seasoning, while the sweet chili having a fiery heat that could be too much for some. Of the two, the chili drew me in and had me spooning the thick sauce over the unlimited rice that arrives with the meal. Still, the seafood itself was mediocre; while the shrimp were nice, the crab wasn’t cleaned properly (who leaves the gills on?) so there was a musky after taste and the mussels no different from the frozen variety found in supermarkets.

Personally, I preferred the simpler varieties. The deep-fried prawns (AED49 for 12) done with and without batter were delicious. A hot sweet nugget that I could have had a dozen to myself.


Even the grilled fish (AED149 for a large size) had potential… nice and meaty, but, sadly overcooked. The chili soy sauce on the side helped flavour and hydrate the fish a bit.

Perhaps the most surprising was the vegetable Hakka noodles (AED29), long chewy egg noodles tossed with julienned vegetables and enveloped in a lovely wok hay. They were so good that we added another order.


With fresh seafood, it’s smart to remember that simple is best. Dipped into hot oil or a faster lick on the grill is all you need. When in doubt, just remember K.I.S.S. – keep it simple, stupid.

Overall mark - 7 out of 10
How To Find Them
 Location: Dubai, United Arab Emirates
 Address: In the Waterfront Market (Al Khaleej Road)

 Follow me on twitter to chat, be notified about new posts and more - https://twitter.com/GastroWorldBlog
____________________________
Gastro World's Grading System
  • Anything under 5 - I really disliked and will never go back
  • 6 - decent restaurant but I likely won't return
  • 7 - decent restaurant and I will likely return
  • 8 - great restaurant that I'd be happy to recommend
  • 9 - fantastic restaurant that I would love to visit regularly and highly recommend
  • 10 - absolute perfection!

So what exactly is Ocean Wise?

Posted on Sunday, August 04, 2019 by


The Ocean Wise seafood program started in Vancouver when a restaurateur approached a member of the education team at the Vancouver Aquarium to ask how they could ensure they were serving sustainable seafood. Good question, they thought. It’s definitely not something where information is readily available for companies, let alone consumers. With that, they developed the Ocean Wise seafood program to assess sustainable options, connect suppliers and restaurants, and allow restaurants to promote these options to diners.

As a foodie, I knew about their sustainability program. For years, I’ve seen their logo grace menus and tried to order those options to ensure my meal has less impact on the Earth. So, when they reached out to ask if I wanted to attend their first complimentary walking tour for the public, I didn’t realize I’d learn anything new about the organization.

The first being that they are so much more than the little logo that’s found on menus. Rather, they are based out of the Vancouver Aquarium and are Canada’s national sustainable seafood program, with the vision to ensure the world’s oceans are healthy and flourishing.

The Ocean Wise Seafood program is part of the Ocean Wise Conservation Association (OWCA) which focuses on: researching about the oceans to arm everyone with knowledge, educating others about what it takes to be sustainable, running the Great Canadian Shoreline which supports volunteer led clean-up projects and limiting the use of plastics, and actually saving marine life through the Marine Mammal Rescue Centre. For consumers, the Seafood Program helps diners make better choices when it comes to eating habits.

Secondly, I learnt they’re not a certification, but are rather a recommendation body that assesses fisheries and then acts as a middle person between fisheries and restaurants. For example, if you’re a chef who really wants to serve a seared tuna appetizer. They determine if there’s a sustainable tuna option and then recommends options as to where the company can purchase from.

Over 700 partners in Canada participate in the program, covering thousands of locations, and it continues to grow as establishments really want to do the right thing. Overfishing is a big issue and as the world’s population grows and more people eat seafood there’s a risk that these populations will become extinct. Already, about 90% of the world’s fish options are considered fully fished or overfished. As consumers, we need to start eating from underutilized species to ensure other generations can actually enjoy seafood in the future.

I’m a big fan of sushi and have heard about the rarity of tuna. Therefore, when Palm Lane, the first stop of the walking tour, served tuna, I was a bit intrigued. In reality, it’s the blue fin tuna that’s reaching dangerously low populations, while the Albacore tuna, especially when line caught (essentially fished one-by-one rather than using a net method that can scoop up a lot of other marine life), is a sustainable option.

Palm Lane already prides itself by having a large portion of their menu plant-based - the only protein they do serve is Albacore tuna. It’s used in the Osaka salad ($14.25; sample size shown below), which is essentially a deconstructed sushi roll. A bed of nappa cabbage and romaine is topped with a host of vegetables you’d normally find in Japanese cuisine (edamame, nori, pickled vegetables, avocado) and heartier ingredients (sushi rice, sweet potato tempura, and delicious fluffy fried tofu).  Crowning everything are slices of delicately seared tuna that’s simply seasoned and goes so well with yuzu wasabi dressing.  It’s seriously delicious.


Ocean Wise recommends sustainable species based on four criteria:
  • Is it a healthy and resilient species?
  • Is there an effective and adaptive management plan?
  • Lastly, is it harvested in a manner that limits damage to the surrounding environment?
Assessments are written to the Seafood Watch standard. The assessment will ultimately classify the species into two categories: Ocean Wise or Not Recommended. Species are regularly reclassified as new information is known and fisheries are re-assessed at least every 5 years to ensure their harvesting methods are still in line with the recommended practices.

Kasa Moto, being a Japanese restaurant, serves a lot of seafood. Therefore, they were a great stop to showcase how many dishes could be considered Ocean Wise! We started with the scallop ceviche ($18; sample portion shown below) that takes a meaty Hokkaido scallop and soaks it in a sweet, tangy, and slightly spicy passion fruit and sea buckthorn marinade. Cucumber and grapefruit slices add a bit of textual and flavour contrast against the delicate scallop without taking away its natural flavours.


From New Zealand, we’re served a vibrantly red Ora King salmon. These are farmed in an enclosed bay to ensure that they don’t affect other wild life and in an area where the salmon has adequate space to swim around. Ocean Wise explains that they don’t necessarily think that only wild options are the best. In order to be sustainable, we’ll need to raise some of the seafood we eat… unfortunately, Mother Nature won’t naturally create enough marine life to support the world.

Where farming becomes dangerous is when they overcrowd the fish and add antibiotics and other chemicals into the water to ensure the fish resist diseases in the close quarters. Therefore, Ocean Wise only recommends farms that meet their criteria for sustainable aquaculture practices.

The pressed Ora King salmon sushi ($19) is prepared aburi style so the already fatty fish is topped with garlic aioli and blow torched quickly, melding all the fasts together so it starts seeping into the rice. Indeed, it makes for a rich and decadent bite as all the flavours melt onto your tongue leaving a sweet smokiness.


I’m also delighted to hear one of my favourite dishes, miso black cod ($45; sample portion shown below) is also part of the Ocean Wise Life program. This fish arrives closer to home, coming from the west coast of British Columbia. The sablefish (another name for black cod) is oven baked until flakey and paired with grated ginger and carrot, a spear of pickled asparagus, and vinaigrette to give it a refreshing finish. 


Having eaten at Kasa Moto when it first opened, I love their revamped menu. It leans more towards traditional dishes where the seafood is left relatively neutral so its natural flavours are more pronounced.

Example of the Ocean Wise symbol on Kasa Moto's menu
So, what information do we need to make sure something is sustainable? If the Ocean Wise symbol isn’t available (say you’re at a grocery store), you need three pieces of information: (1) what species the marine life is, (2) where it’s from, and (3) how it’s harvested. Then, you can go to their website and enter the information where you’ll get the same yes or no recommendation.

For our last stop, Mercatto created an Albacore tuna dish especially for the tour. The fish is one that’s used at their various Toronto restaurants, customized to local tastes. For our visit, they paired the seared tuna with a creamy fregola augmented with Ontario asparagus shavings. It’s not part of current menu, but I highly suggest serving it as a special.


It’s at Mercatto where Chef Doug Neigel really gets to the crux of why they are part of Ocean Wise. Yes, of course, they want to do what’s right and be sustainable… but, it’s also something that clients want. Like any business, restaurants are catering to their customers’ tastes. So, if you really want to see Ocean Wise recommendations on a menu, as a customer you should suggest it. In fact, this desire is what caused Mercatto to source a sustainable calamari option for all their locations.

I’m glad more restaurants and consumers are starting to think about sustainability. Hopefully, it’s not too late to turn it around for the impacts that we have already made. With that said, it’s just the start and there’s still so much to be done. I hope customers will quickly demand that the industry begins thinking about animal welfare as well. Sure, something is sustainable, but are we also harvesting marine life in a way that’s humane?

It’s a good start that we’re not overfishing Albacore tuna, but if they are taken out of the ocean and put into small packed cold holding tanks or worse yet, removed from water so they end up suffocating for hours until they actually die, is there a better way of getting that fish to plate? I’m hopeful that we’ll soon get there.

To end this on a positive note, a special thanks to zoologist Kristen Rodrigo (who was also part of the tour), for sharing a quote that should be an inspiration for everyone. It comes from Anne Marie Bonneau, a zero waste chef, “We don’t need a handful of people doing zero waste perfectly. We need millions of people doing it imperfectly.”

By no means are we perfect, but let’s do what we can. For a start, let’s go out and look for the Ocean Wise symbol below when we’re ordering from restaurants or buying seafood at stores. Then, let’s graduate for politely asking for it at places where we’re regular customers. If millions of people enact small changes, it may be all we need to make changes big enough to save the Oceans.


Disclaimer: The above food samples were from a complimentary walking tour run by Ocean Wise Life.  Rest assured, as noted in my mission statement, I will always provide an honest opinion.
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