Canadian celebrity chef Matty Matheson’s larger-than-life attitude is infectious. While watching his cooking program, It’s Suppertime!, I can sense his love and respect for food and developed a belief that I could create his comforting spreads at home. Of course, like many viewers, laziness settled in and that’s when I decided to eat at his restaurant instead.

His latest venture is Prime Seafood Palace, a restaurant that’s unlike his other establishments such as Parts and Labour or Makers Pizza. Firstly, no expense was spared to create a beautiful Zen-like dining room that’s completely encapsulated in blond wood. I almost expected someone to roll out yoga mats if it weren’t for the vintage rock playing in the background. Both elements are bold and unexpected for a steak and seafood restaurant, sort of fitting for a chef who doesn’t blend in with the rest.

Thick pieces of blue fin tuna, kampachi, and king salmon are showcased in the Sicilian crudo ($45 for a small), cut to a sashimi-like thickness. There is no shortage of olive oil used in the crudo, the fish swimming in a plate of it. Yet, despite all the herbs, dish lacked flavour; if only they reduced the oil and added a sprinkle of salt instead.

Cheese and seafood aren’t a popular combination. Despite that, the delicate thinly sliced grilled Humboldt squid ($34) went remarkably well with creamy Stracciatella cheese. Maitake mushrooms, being a lighter fungus, didn’t detract from the squid and dairy’s natural flavours, the combination so tasty heaped onto a piece of well-toasted sourdough. Of all the starters, this was my favourite.

The Palace bacon ($18 for 3 pieces, extra $6 to add the fourth) was also delightful, a char sui flavoured pork belly that’s sticky and sweet. The fat was well-rendered, so the pork belly simply melted in my mouth. Delicious on its own (not overly salty), it could be equally tasty sandwiched in in a soft bao bun.

In hindsight, I should have put a piece of bacon into the molasses bread. For $21, the bread service was rather disappointing. Sure, the molasses bread was fragrant and unique - it was like having gingerbread in a bun form - but the accompaniments were lacklustre… the butter needed salt, the mustard pickles run-of-the-mill, and the kippered mussels weren’t the freshest tasting. If it weren’t for our waitress’ long story about how this was Matheson’s grandmother’s recipe and filled with East Coast charm, we would have skipped the bread service all together.

Perhaps I should have relied on my own instincts as I found her recommendations to be a let down. While the cote de boeuf ($275) was a beautiful cut of beef and cooked well, it was just so bland. Strangely, some Google reviews claim dishes are too salty, I wonder if the kitchen is overcompensating and has simply started under seasoning everything.

At least our waitress warned us that the cote de boeuf was neutral and suggested an order of sauce. The grilled onion chimichurri ($8) seemed like a logical choice but was too fussy - the mustard or wasabi added gave it a bitter after taste and detracted from the beef. Give me a simple chimichurri any day; or better yet, just some salt and pepper on the steak.

At least their sides were good. The Palace potatoes ($21) a potato gratin cut into cubes and deep-fried creating the most awesome hash brown. The carrot tart ($21) was also great and could even work as a starter. Layered on a crispy buttery crust was Grey Owl cheese (think a much creamier and richer goat cheese) and perfectly roasted carrots that were soft but still incorporate a bit of texture. If Prime Seafood Place ever opens for lunch, pairing the carrot tart with a salad would make a great lunch main.

The Yorkshire pudding ($13) comes as a solo pudding that’s the size of a bread plate. Oh, so fluffy and light, I wish we had some gravy to pour onto it as the cote de boeuf’s juices couldn’t do the pastry justice.

Prime Seafood Palace’s dessert menu is a short affair – chocolate cake, key lime pie, or ice cream. Having only tried key lime pie ($14) on a handful of occasions and never being impressed, Prime’s version was fantastic with a crispy buttery crust, creamy custardy key lime filling, and covered with meringue that’s toasted just prior to serving so there’s a warmth to the fluffy sweet topping. If key lime pie was always this good, I’d order it more often.

Our dinner at Prime Seafood Palace was satisfactory, but hardly the masterpiece that some people tout. We were treated to delicious sides and a couple tasty starters, but the lacklustre main was disappointing. If anything, the food was merely decent and what enhanced the experience was the beautiful dining room, attentive service, and personable sommelier. Maybe it’s just Matheson’s reputation, you can’t help but want to love the restaurant, because you like the person.

In high school, when I used to frequent Ashridge’s Bay, no one arrived dressed-to-impress to walk along the boardwalk. That’s all seemed to have changed now that Toronto Beach Club has opened. Walk past the bouncer and you’re transported into a well-healed tropical paradise; where the volleyball courts disappear behind foliage and it seems normal, even essential, to pop some bubbly on the beach.

You can’t go wrong with one of their hot mezze that comes with a grilled pita to start. The bread arrives hot and fresh, puffed to perfection so that it’s crispy on the outside and soft on the inside, dusted with spices. They accompany the smoked eggplant ($16), a decent portion of warm soft legume that would have been amazing if the walnut and olive relish weren’t so sour that even the pomegranate molasses’ sweetness couldn’t balance it out. Maybe it’s me, but I prefer my eggplant savoury.

Their jamon iberico ($36) was sliced into respectable sized slices, the prized pig’s cured slightly sweet essence bursting on the tongue. Not quite a melt-in-your-mouth as what you’ll find in Spain, these were nonetheless tasty and worth a nibble if you appreciate a good charcuterie.

Of the three starters the sea bream crudo ($21) was my favourite. Thick meaty slices of white fish topped with citrus caviar (segments of finger lime) and chili sitting in what looks like a fiery olive oil but is rather delicate. The crudo was perfectly seasoned and wonderfully tasty, a lovely summery dish to enjoy while sitting outdoors.

Toronto Beach Club’s lamb chops ($45 for the half order shown) were cooked perfectly. So, it’s such a shame that they were too salty and requires some tableside knife skills. The seasoning needs to be toned down as the outer chops made me reach for water and since the marinated yogurt was also salted, together they were way too much. It’d be nice if the kitchen also considers the table size when finishing the dish: our four chops were only cut in half for a 3-top, which means you need to portion them yourself when they arrive. It likely helps the meat retain its heat and juices better, but it’s also a bit difficult to cut through the chops on a big platter with all the yoghurt and garnishes. The age-old joke of “how many people does it take to…?”, let me just say it is not one.

Thank you to Parv for this picture

Where they really excelled was the grilled seafood. Their fileted black sea bass ($36) had such a lovely, charbroiled exterior and was still delicately done inside. While it comes with a choice of sauce (we chose the harissa butter), it’s fantastic by itself.

Sides need to be ordered separately and are more than sufficient to share amongst three. The French fries ($12) are a safe choice – nice and crisp, dusted with oregano and salt and comes with truffle aioli for dipping. Yet, what really caught our attention was the grilled broccolini ($19): cooked until crisp and covered with pecorino-ramano, pangrattato, and calabrain chili creating such a lovely almost creamy sauce with a hit of heat to end. Do get yourself some greens.

Just make sure to save room for dessert as their baklava ($12-$15) is a must. I love that it wasn’t soaked in syrup, rather the perfect amount to add sweetness but still leave the puff pastry crispy and not oily feeling. The two pieces are sandwiched between a frozen cream layer. If this isn’t the ultimate ice cream sandwich, I don’t know what is. The strawberry crostata ($12-$15) paired nicely with it – the pastry a cross between a shortbread and cake and topped with ample sweet strawberries and a cold scoop of vanilla ice cream.

We all agreed that dinner at Toronto Beach Club is probably the most ideal time to visit. The temperature is not overly warm and it’s such a lovely experience to transition from evening into night. There was even a live Spanish band performing during our Wednesday visit, the women’s lovely vocals the perfect addition to the meal.

Thank you to Parv for this image

While the after-meal service can get a little backed up, the entertainment and atmosphere kept us happy while we waited for the verbal dessert menu to be presented. Wait aside, even with the pandemic you won’t feel rushed at the restaurant, the two-and-a-half hour seating times is sufficiently long enough to leisurely enjoy the meal. I certainly won’t be visiting Greece or the equator anytime soon. Until then, Toronto Beach Club will give me the tropical fix I need to transport myself out of Toronto.