dreaming of the coast :: Joso's Restaurant

Hi everybody,

After having coffee at Dark Horse, we made our way over to Joso’s Restaurant, a seafood restaurant in The Annex. We just want to say that this restaurant is very different from the types of restaurant we are use to, so we just want to give you a head’s up that they are quite eccentric with the decorations. The food does not reflect the interior whatsoever, so if you are not really comfortable with the art, we recommend sitting out on the patio!

Started off with a grilled calamari. One word: fresh!

Alla Siciliana: The sole reason why we decided to come here was because of their squid ink spaghetti. It’s one of those entrées we see on the menu and have to order it right away. At majority of the restaurants we’ve been to, the squid ink is prepared in the making of the spaghetti, which makes the pasta already black. However, at Joso’s, they do things differently. They prepare a unique sauce with squid ink mixed with olive oil and garlic! After finishing it (with constant compliments in between each bite), we think we know why other restaurants choose to prepare the squid ink in the spaghetti rather having it as a sauce. At the end, our mouths were covered with the black sauce. Attractive isn’t it? But so worth it! =)

One thing we were surprised to find out was that they cook really good fish. We weren’t actually going to order fish for lunch, but when the waitress offered to show us their seafood platter, we couldn’t refuse! Presented on this silver platter was their daily fresh Mediterranean fish. Oh my goodness was it a big platter! They had so many types of fish ranging from local Canadian fish to fish from the Mediterranean Sea as well as octopus, mussels, clams, and squids.

Since our waitress recommended it, we decided to go with their Spigola, a European sea bass, coming all the way from Croatia. It was amazing! Their secret to cooking it is that they grill it over coal and finish it off with lemon, parsley, olive oil, and a bit of salt. I know I have already said oh my goodness…but oh my goodness was it delicious! We loved how they didn’t prepare it with some sauce that would take over the fresh sea taste of the fish.

We were so glad we agreed to see the dessert menu. We ordered their tiramisu because how can you leave an Italian restaurant without trying their tiramisu? The coffee and the liquor were perfectly balanced, so the one didn’t overpower the other. The cream was light and it paired so nicely with the raspberries. Such a sweet ending!

Joso’s is located on a quiet street full of art galleries, so sitting out on the patio is really nice on a summer day, but you must check out the inside of the restaurant! I highly recommend this place because it’s unique and the food will not disappoint. If you are on a tight budget, I suggest you to go during lunch because the portion is smaller and the prices are lower. However, the fish platter is another story. I would double check with the prices before ordering because the prices of their fresh fish are not on the menu and can be quite expensive. Overall, we honestly enjoyed our experience here. It’s as if we were transported to the Mediterranean, having lunch by the sea. We hope you would give it a try and enjoy it as much as we did!

Thanks for reading!

Till next time,

Joso’s Restaurant

202 Davenport Road

Toronto, ON

M5R 1J2

t: 416.925.1903

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