Welcome to the very first blog post from The Everyday Foodie! I wanted to start off this blog with a restaurant recommendation I have been getting from a lot of friends, but haven’t had a chance to visit yet until 2 days ago. The restaurant is called JOEY and has been all the rage in Toronto for the past few years. With its growing popularity, JOEY has opened 4 restaurants in the Toronto area, and the one that I went to was JOEY DON MILLS located at “The Shops,” Toronto’s first outdoor lifestyle shopping mall.
It is located in a very trendy area and my first impression of the restaurant was a good one. The exterior of the restaurant was very well lit at night and when you first walk through the doors, you immediately see this very large, glowing stair case that leads you to a second floor of the restaurant. It has a very elegant and modern look to the restaurant inside, but also a very casual appeal as there were numerous TVs spread out all over the restaurant for news and sport enthusiasts alike. The hostess immediately took me and my friend over to a table right next to the bar.
Our waitress was fantastic and me and my friend were just blown away by her service. When she took down our order, she explained every dish in detail on what it was and the ingredients used which gave us a sense of what the dish was like before it was even prepared for us.
We first ordered our appetizer which was the Baja Fish Tacos. Before even coming to this restaurant, I already knew this dish was a must after hearing so many glowing reviews of it. It did not disappoint, at all! I was in foodie heaven as the Baja Fish Tacos were prepared so perfectly and tasted so good! The fish was perfectly moist inside and crisp on the outside. The toppings were all very fresh and the home made sauce it comes with just puts the tacos on a whole new level adding a layer of spice that just ignites your taste buds in most amazing way possible. The order comes with three tacos.
Basa, Shrimp, Corn Tortillas, Guacamole, Lime - Cost $14
We then ordered our two main dishes. I was stuck on choosing between two pasta dishes and our waitress recommended the Kobe Style Beef Meatballs. It comes with tagliatelle pasta on a cream sauce with four Kobe beef meatballs (note: the pictures of the main dishes are just 50% of the actual plate as the waitress offered to split our dishes up in two as she knew we would be sharing the food). I have to admit that after eating those amazing fish tacos before, this pasta dish didn’t live up to its predecessor but the Kobe beef meatballs definitely held its own.
Fresh tagilatelle, truffle cream - Cost $21
The second main dish we had was Steak Frites which is their most affordable steak dish on the menu. The steak is a Certified Angus Beef sirloin, however I felt this was the weakest dish out of the three as my medium rare steak was too tough for my liking. The greens were also a little bland and soggy, but for the price point it can be forgiven.
CAB Sirloin, Parsley Butter, Rocket Greens, Fries - Cost $20
After every good meal, deserves a very good dessert. We decided to try the Molten Lava Chocolate Souffle. If you are fan of chocolate, you will love this dessert as it is just oozing with it from the inside out (literally). It also comes with a scoop of ice cream which is a nice touch as the sweetness of the chocolate is easily balanced with the vanilla bean.
Raspberry Coulis, Vanilla Bean Ice Cream - Cost $8
As a chain restaurant, JOEY DON MILLS certainly lives up to the hype of its “Premium Casual Dining” code it lives by. The cost of the dishes are reasonably priced for what they are and there is a very nice ambiance and atmosphere in the restaurant that makes going there very enjoyable. By far the best dish were the tacos and if I were to go there again, I may just get 2 orders of the fish tacos and call it a night.
15 O'Neill Rd, Toronto, ON M3C 0H2
(416) 445-6391
Hours: Sunday to Thursday (11am to 1am); Friday & Saturday (11am to 2am)
The Everyday Foodie Report Card
Atmosphere: 9/10
Service: 10/10
Food: 7.5/10
Presentation: 8.5/10
Value: 8/10
Overall: 86% Everyday Foodie Satisfaction