Simply prepared fresh seafood is one of my favourite meals. Sadly with pollution and over harvesting, opportunities to enjoy truly sensational sustainable seafood are decreasing. Hence, when I heard about the rave reviews on Honest Weight and their co-owner John Bil’s commitment to using sustainable seafood, the restaurant made it onto my “must visit” list.
It’s
only at a reputable seafood establishment that I get raw shucked oysters ($3
each). Indeed, every table at Honest Weight seemed to have a platter of them.
Deliciously clean and salty, they were served with the customary red onion
mignonette and shaved horseradish. A bottle of hot sauce is also included for
an extra zip, but unnecessary for me.
What I
wouldn’t do for another bowl of the Honest chowder ($12) a fantastic
combination of lightly creamed broth with tons of clams, a few mussels, potato,
fennel, and a hint of white wine. The seafood is left whole and appear to be
freshly added to the soup, so they remain plump and sweet. It all comes with
warmed Forno Cultura seeded sourdough, which has a nutty curry flavour. You
must start with a bowl!
On a rainy
day, the albacore tuna tataki ($17) was a welcomed ray of sunshine… if the sun is
made from glorious pink tuna. The fish is seared on a low temperature so there’s
only a slight ring around the tuna; the border between cooked and raw barely
discernible. While the house-made ponzu could be saltier, the horseradish gives
it a lovely kick and the sesame seeds and green onion simple garnishes.
With
four options for the pick yer fish ($29), the delicate local pickerel seemed
like a great summer choice. Although the fish had a beautifully seared crust,
it was too salty and overdone – luckily, pickerel is a forgiving fish. The smashed
potatoes had such a lovely caramelized crispy crust they put hash browns
to shame. Is it wrong I enjoyed the starchy side more than the fish?
A light
meal calls for a light finish with a buttermilk panna cotta ($11), which was
nice and creamy. There was plenty of garnishes to add flavour: macerated
strawberries, candied pine nuts, basil slivers. Everything worked.
You even
get a taste of the east coast charm at Honest Weight - it’s an intimate
environment and our waiter was candid and friendly. Just make a reservation; even
on Sunday they were busy with patrons being turned away it they haven’t already
secured a table. At least there’s a fish counter attached to the restaurant,
worse comes to worse they can purchase something to go. While the dinner did
take longer than normal (our waiter advised they were slammed at lunch so didn’t
have adequate prep time for dinner), it’s such a tranquil environment that it
didn’t matter. Just enjoy the easy breezy “seaside” dinner.
How To Find Them
Location: Toronto, Canada
Address: 2766 Dundas Street West
Address: 2766 Dundas Street West
Website: http://honestweight.ca/
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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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