Atmosphere: I made reservations for a Friday night and when we arrived at 7:30pm the restaurant was already in the full swing of dinner service. We were seated in a cozy table at the back of the restaurant. Each wall was filled with oyster themed art, old photographs and maps. The decor and light wood furniture reminded me of a boat cabin, a very fitting feeling. I’d recommend the restaurant for a comfortable date night or casual group dinner; Oyster Boy really is a fit for any occasion that calls for great food.

Service: After battling Toronto traffic we parked and made it to the restaurant 5 mins past our reservation time. We were seated right away with menus. Our server came by to take our drink orders and listed off the daily specials. We had a hard time deciding on which of the baked oysters to go with and she gave us more detailed tasting notes on each of the four choices that helped a lot. Our raw oysters came right away but there was a bit of a lag before the hot entrees arrived. Our server came to check on us before we even noticed the wait, which was great.

Food: To start we ordered a half dozen Pemaquid oysters from New England. I liked that the menu included the size of the oyster, which helped us decide which one to try. After indulging all of my oyster cravings the BF is now more open to eating them and becoming proficient in shucking. He does prefer the sweeter, smaller, not so meaty varieties and the Pemaquid were perfect. Following this, we ordered two each of the Bellwoods, Rustico and Royal baked oysters. These little shells were hot, covered in melted cheese and full of broth. My favourite was the Royal because I liked how the sherry balanced the seafood flavour of the oyster. The Rustico tasted like a pizza and the Bellwoods had a nice spicy kick.

For entrees, the BF ordered the daily special of fish tacos, I had the Dungeness Crab and Bay Scallop pappardelle and we split a plate of Oyster Boy Fries with chipotle mayo. The tacos were really large potions, using at least 6′ flour tortillas (maybe even 8’?). Wedges of lime were served alongside but they weren’t necessary. The sauce on the taco itself had plenty of acidity already. The dish was ok, solid but it was hard to compare to the amazing-ness that was the pappardelle. The pasta was loaded with tender seafood and the lemon butter sauce was rich and savoury in flavour while being light and smooth in consistency. Each strand of pappardelle was thin and served al dente. This was the kind of dish that makes me want to re-visit a restaurant the next day. As a side, the fries were ok and I liked the use of an oyster shell to house the chipotle mayonnaise. I’ve heard great things about Oyster Boy’s onion rings and will have to try that next time.

Near the end of our meal, our server asked my Twitter handle and it turned out she runs the @OysterBoyTO account. She asked if I was interested in an Oyster Boy T-shirt and I got to take home this sweet T-shirt, the icing on the cake of a great dinner.

The organizers of Winterlicious are brilliant to hold the event in February. After a long winter in Toronto and a month after the holidays it’s easy to hibernate. 2014 especially has started with cold winter weather and personally I’m starting to count down to spring. So having a reason to get dressed up, leave the house and eat an amazing meal is a welcome light in the midst of dreary weather. I started this year’s Winterlicious adventures with a return visit to Starfish being enticed by their 3 course $35 oyster dinner.

Atmosphere: Large booths occupy one side of the restaurant across from the oyster bar and smaller tables for two fill the area between. I love the plentiful seating at the bar to watch the live shucking action. For a Monday night, I was surprised at how busy the restaurant was, even during Winterlicious. The noise level was lively but not loud and there wasn’t any background music to compete with. With the intimate lighting, I would highly recommend Starfish for a romantic date out.

Service: Walking into Starfish, I was greeted and brought to my table. The host offered to take my jacket but I was carrying too many things (lunch bag, purse, gloves, hat, etc) and flustered from running to the restaurant (because I’m always running “just 5 minutes” late) to get all my things in order to hand off. Once my friend arrived, water and bread was served while we looked over the menu. It was a busy night and after placing our order I was warned of a wait for the oyster meal, and it was quite the wait. My seafood platter didn’t arrive until my friend was basically done her entree. All three “courses” were shucked and arrived at once. I would’ve preferred if the appetizer oysters came out first but it was easier to dress all the oysters at once.

Food: I was there for the oysters but I was happy to share and I’m lucky all my friends have gotten used to sharing their meals as well. My friend ordered the haddock fish cakes, rainbow trout and sticky toffee pudding. While I waited for my meal, I snuck bites from her plates. I loved every component of the fish cake dish as evidenced by our very clean plate afterwards. The haddock was flakey, the roasted beets sweet, the sweet onion jam tangy and the perfect pickled green bean. I tasted a bite of the rainbow trout and almost wished I’d ordered that instead. The flesh was pink, moist and the skin was a beautiful crisp.

When the server arrived with our oysters, I was eager to dig in. I always taste one oyster undressed before adding lemon juice, seafood sauce and horseradish. Between the three types of oysters, my favourite were the Sawmill Bays. They were sweet, not too fleshy and were easily slurped in one try. Next, I enjoyed the Kumamotos followed by the Green Gables. The Kumamotos were the “dessert” oysters and I was expecting a sweeter taste, but they were actually very mild, needed a few bites and had a rich almost creamy flavour. The Green Gables were classic PEI flavour, salty and fresh. This was my first time trying out raw clams and they had the strongest seafood flavour of the night. They were much chewier than the oysters and musclely.

Our meal ended with a slice of The Sticky Toffee Pudding and oh my, it was a good piece of pudding. The cake itself was moist, warm and not overly sweet, perfect for soaking up the generous spread of toffee. I’m glad I don’t have access to this dessert on a daily basis because my dress pants are still snug from the holidays.

The BF has been working Boston over the past year but hasn’t really had a chance to explore the city. I flew down with him for a quick weekend trip of eating between tourist stops.

These were my top 5 eats from this trip:

1. Lobster Roll @ Neptune Oyster: 63 Salem St
   • The hot butter lobster roll was out of this world, we ate a lot of lobster that weekend and I still have dreams about this
   • No reservations, there will be a line, there will be a wait, there is only 37 seats inside
   • Show up before they open (11am) and walk around the nearby Quincy market after leaving your name and number
2. Lobster Roe Noodles @ Island Creek Oyster Bar: 500 Commonwealth Ave
   • Amazing, creamy, flavourful sauce with house-made pasta
   • The lobster roe is in the pasta itself and then topped with braised short ribs and more lobster
3. Fresh Oysters @ Island Creek Oyster Bar: 500 Commonwealth Ave
   • Great selection of Massachusetts and Maine oysters
   • Try the Gypsy Juice!
4. Fire Grilled Lobster @ Barking Crab: 88 Sleeper St
   • Well themed, on the wharf, great view
   • First time having lobster cooked this way and loved the smokey flavour
   • Great daily specials (we ate 4lbs of crab legs in addition to this lobster…)
5. Chocolate Cannoli @ Maria’s Pastry Shop: 48 Cross St
   • Each cannoli is filled on order, choice of chocolate, vanilla or sweetened ricotta cheese
   • Flaky, crunchy, rich and just the right amount of sweetness