Being the huge seafood fanatic that I am, you can only imagine the excitement I had when the Do The Daniel Toronto team was invited into lbs. Toronto for a luncheon to try some of the new changes that have been made to the menu! We also got to learn about some of the eco-friendly changes and initiatives that they have been making to shrink their environmental footprint.
Now for those of you who haven’t had the chance to experience lbs. for yourselves (and trust me it’s nothing to be ashamed of… I hadn’t before this lunch either), they are a unique seafood restaurant in the heart of Toronto’s Financial District that brings together traditional and modern innovative techniques to deliver a seafood experience unlike any other in the city.
As I may have already mentioned, I am seafood fanatic through and through. That love comes from growing up in a middle eastern household that loved to enjoy seafood just as much as they enjoyed any other kind of meat. And especially with my father being the type that always expanded our palettes at the dinner table when it came to trying new kinds of fish and seafood, I’ve grown to not only love it but have a deep deep affection towards beautifully prepared fish and seafood. That, and my grandfather who lives in Turkey, to this day wakes up at the crack of dawn and goes fishing as part of his regular schedule. So it’s safe to say that seafood has been a part of my life since I could eat solid food. So you can only imagine the excitement I have when I get to enjoy it from a restaurant that I have never had the chance to dine at before.
For our first course, we got to experience both the raw and beautifully cooked side of the appetizer menu at lbs. with a selection of both East Coast and West Coast oysters (prior to this, I never had the chance to really enjoy a West Coast oyster and Daniel definitely had me hooked after trying the meatier cousin to the best coast oyster). Followed with an incredibly flavoured tun tartar (which was completely out of this world), a beautiful prepared white fish with lemon and peas as well as house made biscuits – which is my personal favourite part of any great seafood meal.
“Chef Jonathan Williams, utilizes his Michelin-background to source the best ingredients, and combine them with innovative techniques to create refined yet approachable dishes with balanced flavours. Our dry aging process allows us to offer seafood unlike anything else in the city, whether it’s whole fish or on our chef’s tasting menu.”
For our mains, we got to enjoy both a a white sauce prepared linguini with lobster and red sauce prepared pasta loaded with seafood, a beautifully prepared whole fish which was cooked using a dry-aging method, bacon and Sriracha brussel sprouts, which quickly took first place in my Toronto Brussel sprout book, and lightly flavoured string beans to accompany the full flavours of this delicious main. The best part about all of these dishes is the sustainability. They ensure that they don’t use any seafood that has not met environmental standards, meaning that they’ve even reduced their lobster-based items in order to advocate for this further. This makes room for more sustainable fish options, which are well-researched by the whole team.
“We are proud to say that we are a partner of the Ocean Wise Seafood Program. Through our commitment to protecting our oceans and supporting ethical fishing, we select our different seafood options carefully. We are glad to say that most of our seafood options are certified by Ocean Wise, which allows us to provide you with several sustainable seafood choices.”
On top of all these amazing new additions to the lbs. menu, the restaurant as I mentioned above, is also making some great initiatives around the day-to-day restaurant activities in order to shrink their environmental footprint. They’re doing this by doing things like removing all plastics from their take-out packaging, including plastic bags, to even replacing all plastic straws with paper straws.
Our last course didn’t involve seafood, but it was still insanely delicious. Why not round off a beautiful meal with some chocolate, fresh fruits, homemade ice cream, and meringue! Their selection of drinks, alcoholic and non- are also worth a try, to pair with each beautiful course. To say the least, our lunch with lbs. was one that I am still salivating over and if you’re as much of a seafood lover as I am, you definitely have to check out their new and improved menu right away, Toronto!
While we’re at it, why not sign the pledge to be #PlasticWise?
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