where jess ate

Committed to serving sustainable and ocean-friendly seafood, Fishbar (@_fishbar) has recently celebrated its two-year anniversary. Going into the summer, this Ossington restaurant is the perfect spot for a light and refreshing meal.

I attended a media event celebrating their special occasion with the pleasure of tasting some of their new menu items, all of which are tapas-style – ideal for sharing! Now, here’s a sample of what we tried…

Anchovy Crostini – with caramelized onions and an olive and lemon gremolata on a thin crostini. The anchovy had a nice natural oiliness to it which paired wonderfully with the sweet caramelized onions and the crunch from the crostini. A great way to start off the meal!

Tuna Sashimi – with toasted almond and mango slaw, radish, sesame seeds and soy glaze. I really enjoyed this Asian-inspired dish. With each bite, I made sure to get a bit of the almond and mango slaw to get all the textures and flavours in one bite.

Ecuadorian Tilapia Ceviche – with pineapple and chili salsa and avocado oil. This light and refreshing dish just shouted “summer” to me. It all just had a nice freshness to it with a little bit of a kick to it from the chili.

Spiced Lentil Salad – with lobster, crème fraiche, micro greens and crispy papadum. I’m not usually a big fan of lentils but this turned out to be one of my favourite dishes! I loved the flavour of the lentils and the large chunks of lobster were perfectly cooked. We broke apart the papadum and topped it with the lentils like we were eating chips and salsa.

Wild Pacific Salmon Tartare – with pickled cucumbers, hot ginger, tempura Vidalia onions and sweet basil aioli. Again, another wonderfully fresh and delicious dish. The addition of the pickled cucumbers was an especially nice surprise.

Oysters Rockefeller – with smoked bacon, arugula, Pernod cream and Grana Padano. I love a good oyster Rockefeller and Fishbar’s did not disappoint! With ingredients like bacon, cream and grana padano, you can’t go wrong.

Apple and Campari Sorbet

Maple Miso Glazed Wild Pacific Salmon – with poached teardrop tomatoes, asparagus and sweet pea sauce. I usually stay away from salmon at restaurants since all too often it comes out a little overcooked. However, I’m happy to report that Fishbar’s salmon filet was perfectly cooked. It was incredibly moist and I really enjoyed the sweetness from the maple glaze and pea sauce.

Diver Caught Sea Scallops – with cumin and coriander roasted pork belly, apple chutney and sesame-soy dressing. Like everything else I had eaten, the plump scallops were perfectly cooked. The delicate scallops were complimented nicely by a meaty piece of pork belly.

Rowe Farms Grilled “Petite Tender” and Lobster – topped with truffle-scented hollandaise sauce. This dish consisted of thin slices of beef topped with delicious pieces of lobster and a buttery hollandaise. A nice take on surf and turf… definitely the best of both worlds!

Sicilian Gnocchi – with freshwater prawn, shiitake mushrooms, wilted arugula and first cold pressed olive oil. The gnocchi had a great texture and the flavours were spot-on. If I wasn’t so full, I can guarantee there wouldn’t be a lick of food left in the bowl.

The Dessert Trio. I loved how all the desserts were fun variations of very familiar desserts!

The first component on the left was the white chocolate mascarpone mousse with espresso soaked lady fingers – a delicious take on the tiramisu. My favourite component was the lemon curd with vanilla cream and shortbread crumble which was reminiscent of lemon meringue pie. Last but not least was the caramel and coffee gelato topped with cinnamon foam which tasted like an affogato.

If you’re thinking of dropping by, try taking advantage of their Happy Hour which takes place from 3:30pm to 5pm Fridays to Sundays.  Wednesdays also feature B.Y.O.W. “Whatever” Wednesdays – there’s no corkage fee if you make a minimum donation of $2 to Ocean Wise. It’s for a great cause!

I have to admit, Fishbar had been on my radar since they first opened two years ago but I had never gotten around to dropping by. But after trying a good chunk of their new menu, you can bet I’ll be back!

*This was a complimentary meal. The opinions in the post are my own.*