Joso’s

Seafood and sex: a natural pairing.
Yes the breast-​filled décor is kitsch as most people know, but the fresh seafood will win you over and the knickknacks and oddities create a fun atmosphere.
Love the spaghettini Leonardo (al dente pasta tossed with diced octopus and shrimp with parsley, lemon, garlic, capers and white wine) and the insalate di mare (oil-​poached monkfish, grilled octopus and sweet shrimp tossed in oil and lemon, brightened with rosemary, bay leaves, red wine vinegar and capers).
I found the risotto to be a bit too heavy for me.
The top-​quality fish on the platter (selected from around the world) looks and smells as good as everyone says.
I think they have the best grilled calamari and octopus that I’ve tasted in the city.

This is one of the best restaurants in Toronto, I have been going there for a long time.
The food is excellent and the staff go out of their way to make sure that your experience is above average.
If you have never been to Joso’s you must add it to your list, you won’t regret it

Have always loved Josos. Great ambiance, service and food.
I’ve tried almost everything on their menu and it’s great. Fresh fish, seafood pasta, squid pasta, oysters, etc. You can’t go wrong.
Service — 5
Food — 5
Ambiance –5
Price to value –4.5
Definitely recommend. Two thumbs up!

After reading many good reviews, my bf and i have decided to give it a try. And I have to say, I was a little disappointed. The services was good but the food… I expected a little more. Especially their «secret ingredient» squid ink pasta, I found it was overrated. We also ordered the grilled octopus which is literally 3 grilled tentacles that were over cook and the grilled octopus costed us $ 39. I think I can find better seafood restaurants with a more reasonable price.

This place can be quite a visual shock at first. From the tremendous clutter of all the weird décor to some odd items like a statue of a topless women? You won’t be forgetting this place any time soon. This place was recommended to me by a good friend who had raved about their seafood. While I do agree that the food does taste good for the most part, I just can’t agree to the prices.
I am a big seafood lover. Having sample some of the finest abroad and overseas in Asia and Europe, I find it very difficulty to find anything comparable here well except for lobster, crabs and mussels. Fresh seafood needs no fancy preparation as it already tastes great even with just a bit of butter, salt, pepper and a good squeeze of lemon.
We ordered their specialties of course; risotto from scratch and grilled whole fish. The risotto tasted great and you can tell it’s made from scratch. I can’t say it’s the best I have ever had but it’s difficult to criticize risotto from scratch. On the other hand, I can confidently say the grill fish is delicious! The fish was fall off the bone tender, juicy and wasn’t too fishy. Only criticism is perhaps that you couldn’t really tell it was grilled. We also had a seafood soup but that was a bit underwhelming. It was unseasoned and lacked flavour.
All in all a pretty good meal but with ridiculous prices. And the décor is one of those things where you either hate it or loved it and it this case… I am no fan of it.

Favourite seafood joint in Toronto. Admittedly, quite expensive but great quality. Fun decoration (warning: nuditity!!!).
Black ink squid pasta is my fav.

Always come here for my birthday or anniversary Love this place .
It’s very expensive, but great quality food.
The grilled octopus is my fave. The ambience is out of this world.

I don’t understand why people like this place. I tried quite a few things on the menu and felt pastas are boring and the seafood is way over priced. The ink squid pasta we didn’t enjoy at all and you would think after telling the waitress she would charge us for it especially since we sent it back during our meal.

I was underwhelmed given the reviews both online and word of mouth for this place. We ordered calamari, and two fresh fish dishes. Loved the presentation and that you can see and pick your fish, but very bland and over priced. The restaurant itself is cluttered and seating was very tight. Service was decent, but nothing to write home about. If I go back I’ll make sure to try the squid ink pasta as this is what people seem to be raving about

Truly the best Fish Restaurant in Toronto! The Risotto is amazing and the Fish is Fabulous! The atmosphere is cozy and warm. Just an amazing place to eat!

One word expensive, two words too expensive!
But it’s really really delicious! Especially the BBQ red fish, I recommend. The most fantastic south Italy food in Toronto. Next time I shall invite my parents to have a try.

The best italian food I have had. The squid ink risotto was one of a kind. It was my friend’s bday and I asked for a pastry. They gave a small surprise by singing a song and making the bday special. Everything we ordered from the fired calamari to grilled octopus was toothsome. However, i gave them four stars as they asked us to pay for the bday pastry which is a shame in regard to such a classic restaurant. No complaints with the service or food though :) would definitely reccomend it to anyone.

As soon as I walked in I knew my experience at Joso’s would be like no other. The unique décor had us looking around and getting lost in the artwork on the way to getting our seats.
The servers come to every table and show you what fish is available on that day. All the staff is very knowledgable about what the restaurant has to offer.
The taste of the fish was absolutely amazing. The best fish I have ever had so far. Very classic fish with simple sides — potato salad, Swiss chard.
There is not one bad thing I can say about Joso’s. Would recommend to anyone.

Ordering an appetizer of shrimp followed by a main course of branzino (which was substituted for a similar fish when they ran out) made for a happy dinner. Everything was done very simply — not overwhelmed by anything other than the very well prepared nature of the seafood itself.
That, a cold beer, and good conversation (though it was quite LOUD outside on the night we were there) made for an overall great experience.

Amazing for special occasions. Feels like you’ve just stepped into a tiny European restaurant. Loved the ambience, imitate but still had energy. Service was good, the food was really good. Drink was very good too, good selection of cocktails. Wanted to order more but didn’t want to sell my organs to afford it.

Make reservations otherwise you may not get a table. The interior was full and fun, a cool and cozy mediterranean vibe in a house. We had:
— The grilled octopus: well cooked with a charred taste.
— The grilled shrimp: perfectly cooked with garlic and herbs, butterfly style.
— Oysters (6 pieces): had two kinds, both great, one more meaty than other. Really fresh but wasn’t a fan of the tomato cilantro garnish they had. I felt like it over powered the taste of the oysters.
— Shellfish risotto: The best risotto I’ve had, some people might not agree but this one was perfectly cooked with big chunks of seafood like shrimp, squid, clams and mussels. Portion was large, enough for up to 4 people.
I feel like this place was great except the only thing is, its a bit pricey. The quality of the food is great but they should be able to do half sizes for dishes to cut costs and large quantities for people that want more variety at the table. Next time must try their flamed grilled fish from their great selection.

First time here at Joso’s. We ordered the prosciuttos with cheese as appetizer followed up with the squid ink pasta and grilled fish (I forgot the name of the fish but it’s from Portugal) for a dinner of two. Their squid ink pasta was very legit and delicious reminding me of the one I had at Venice. And the fish was grilled over the oven flame. It’s seasoned with olive oil, salt and served with pepper and a drizzle of fresh lemon juice. Very tender, juicy and delicious. We also ordered a Chianti red wine from Italy. The wine was pretty good too. Nice place! Reminded me a lot of the Italian restaurants where I went at Venice and Cinque Terre.

Came here with a party of 6. Had the grilled octopus, some butterflied shrimps, Nero, Joso’s spaghettini, steamed Swiss chard, Beets, Basmati rice, and as for fish we had two types of Sole. One from Holland and one from Portugal. The scorpion fish and one more fish I can’t remember which one. The fish was grilled over an open flame in the typical Dalmatian style. The prices range from about 40 – 200 or so. Everything was delicious! Dip the bread in the garlic and olive oil the octopus came in. Soo good. The bill with wine came to about 800. I would return, but I’m not a big fan of fish. Although the scorpion fish was my favourite out of the 4 ordered.

«Eating like I’m seated at Swish, Sotto and Joso’s» — 5am in Toronto
I’m not ashamed to say that this place was a recommendation from a Drake song (the guy has good taste in food). In addition to the name drop, Unilocal had great things to say about this place so it seemed like a no brainer.
One of the most unique restaurants I’ve been to from a décor standpoint. The walls are lined with artwork displaying naked women and statues. Certainly makes for great conversation amongst the guest.
Food wise, I had an order of the seafood risotto. Truly a delicious dish, but I can honestly say that I’ve had better. I can’t put my finger on exactly could have been better, but it was the difference between perfect and delicious. That being said, this dish was cooked very well and had all the staples of a good seafood risotto dish.
The crowd is trendy and well dressed. Definitely a great place for a date or a group dinner. One of the most fascinated parts of the dining experience is the fish presentation made by the waitress. They bring out all the fish on a platter and explain the taste and texture of each one in great detail. After your mouth is done watering, you’ll undoubtedly order one of them. Side Note: Highly recommend dining outside if it’s nice out.
Overall great experience here. Thanks Drake!

I don’t frequent Joso’s often, but when I went there this past Saturday, I told myself it should be a regular haunt for me. The thing is, the seating is just so darned tight. I hate the downstairs level, and the second floor is marginally better, but I guess all in the name of atmosphere.
The food is, spectacular. No doubt about it. It’s a great place to go with a group of people so you can order everything and share. Yes, the Risotto Nero is a must order. It’s dark richness, with the rice being the perfect gooe-​y consistency is heavenly.
I was there celebrating, and we started with Champagne and Oysters. Then, we actually changed things around by having our main course (fish first) than the Risotto as the dish takes some time to come out. We all had fish: Scorpio, Sea Bass, Sea Breem (sp?), Octopus, and Dover Sole. Each fish was cooked to perfection.
Than the Risotto — omg.
For dessert, we still had enough room for Tiramisu and this Crêpe dish (actual name eludes me) but it was okay. Very sweet apricot jam inside cold crepes. I could have passed on that one.
Our wine choice was a lovely and sweet Pinot Noir which complemented the entire meal just perfect.
Joso’s is definitely a special occasion place. Reservations are a definite must. Our table, when making reservations, was told we had to be out by 9:30 (to account for their two time seating). So, with a reservation at 6:30, is that enough time? We left just at 9:27pm which included lengthy conversation. So, it is not a rush.
Joso’s is a great place to take out of town guests — the décor inside the building, as everyone mentions, is certainly unique.