Tony’s Steak & Seafood Restaurant: A Mixed Review

After Swashbucklers cancelled on my girlfriend and I on Saturday evening, we found ourselves at Tony’s Steak and Seafood on Wellesley street.

I had never been before and Tony’s 2,500+ Google reviews with an average 4.5 rating had me very intrigued. I’m not sure I’ve ever seen a restaurant with that many reviews (let alone that many good ones).

My girlfriend and I started with the seafood chowder and eye fillet “beef and béarnaise” skewers. The chowder was amazing. It was really thick but the level of creaminess was just right so that you couldn’t get sick of it. In fact, I couldn’t get enough of it.

The amount of seafood in the chowder was the best thing about it though. Every spoonful was full of mussels, prawns and squid that you could almost chew it. Overall, a very wholesome and delicious dish with great value for money; you could eat it as a main meal.

The eye fillet skewers were good but nothing special. Eye fillet is expensive, but I still think they could have been a bit bigger. For the same price as the chowder ($17 I think), they had a lot less to offer. The meat was quite tender (not melt in your mouth level), and they had a decent sauce on them. Overall, solid but not extraordinary.

Then we ordered the seafood platter. I absolutely love seafood and will eat it at any chance I can get, so I was really looking forward to it.

To be blunt, it was a bit disappointing. There was a decent array of seafood; however, the entire thing was just… decent. The plate had a pool of—what I assume to be—mussell water which made everything a bit soggy and kind of took away from the presentation and distinction between each section. There were two or three small bits of salmon sashimi surrounded by some normal smoked salmon which disappointed me a bit. The battered fish wasn’t particularly fresh.

Overall, the platter wasn’t bad, but I wouldn’t get it again. I would prefer to spend the same amount of money for a smaller amount of seafood that tastes better.

I suppose this restaurant’s main offering is steak, so I won’t blanket the whole restaurant as decent. Still, “seafood” is in the name, and given my experience, I do find the amount of five star reviews surprising. I would definitely recommend trying the chowder though.

I’m keen to hear your opinions!