Press

C100B knows that great meals and dining experiences come in many delightful shapes and sizes — and that not all of them fit under the banner of fine dining. So, we have added a new list. The restaurants are unranked, just listed — each of them highly and equally recommended for a great casual meal out. We derived this inaugural selection from responses to a new question on our judges’ annual ballot. In the voting for our top 100, our judges are asked to vote with a fine-dining checklist in mind. For this compilation, we instead invited them to nominate restaurants that possessed an irresistible je ne sais quoi.

In a post-pandemic world, the traditional restaurant model is being reimagined — not out of desperation, but from a deep desire to build something more human, more sustainable, and more personal.

The sort-of secret: The new lunch menu at Affinity Fish, a Little Portugal fishmonger that sells mostly Great Lakes catches from Indigenous fisheries You may have heard of it if: You’ve popped in to buy some lake trout or spotted their sandwich board outside But you probably haven’t tried it because: It’s a 16-seat counter and they advertise only on Instagram.

It’s not every day we get to talk to people so devoted to a craft, let alone one that’s specific in the betterment not just of the end product but the process as a whole. As part of our features for local businesses doing something special, we spoke with Matt and Jon about how they want to transform how people see freshwater fish, their preparation, quality, and overall dining experience.

How can eating locally sourced fish contribute to the health of humans, local fish populations, and the Great Lakes ecosystem, and help mitigate the impact of climate change? How can one eat sustainably while on a budget? And how can one tell if the fish they buy is from Ontario?

Affinity Fish co-owners Jon Klip and Matt Taylor grew up in the High Park neighbourhood in Toronto, minutes from Lake Ontario, one of the five Great Lakes in North America. 10 years ago, they met while working part-time in a local Japanese kitchen knife shop, taking a break from their day jobs as chefs. They never imagined becoming business partners selling humanely-sourced fish from another of the Great Lakes, offering special omakase meals in their very own shop.

Disappointed with the irresponsible commodification of seafood, Affinity Fish’s co-founders set out to disrupt the system, shorten the chain and change the way people think about local fish.

Photographer Andrew Budziak goes home in this sixth and final installment of the Edge of Frame series to tell six special stories about some of his favourite parts of his hometown city. It’s the Toronto episode, and it wouldn’t be complete without Andrew attempting to capture the quintessential urban wildlife photo: a raccoon set against the cityscape backdrop of the 6ix.

Today we are visiting our buds at Affinity Fish , our partners in local and sustainable fish, and picking up some Coho salmon and trying out a dish for our new menu.

Affinity Fish is a Dundas West fishmonger specializing in sustainable Canadian freshwater fish that also operates as a private event and ticketed omakase experience on the weekends.

This Brockton Village shop specializes in freshwater fish from the Great Lakes including those sourced from Indigenous fisheries.

The fishmonger is known for hawking fish that has been harvested using ikejime (which stresses fish the least) but has become a sought-after table for its limited available ticketed omakase dinner experience.

Even in the realm of sustainability-focused fishmongers, Affinity Fish stands alone. This is the only shop in the city to focus exclusively on Great Lakes fish—a near-revolutionary concept given that a ton of Toronto’s high-end seafood is flown in from Japan or New Zealand (or, at the closest, Canada’s east coast).

We head up to the Beaver Valley with Matt and Jon from Affinity Fish to scout a locaiton for our “Shore Lunch” video series. Join Yilma and the gang as they look for the perfect spot to film, fish a bit, and enjoy some great food in the beaver valley.

Jon and Matt from Affinity Fish prepare a delicious shore lunch on the banks of the Beaver River. The dishes include fish from the Great Lakes – beautiful, delicious Ontario lake trout and white perch.

How two chefs turned fishmongers are trying to rejig supply chains around local catch

STORY BY LINDSAY CAMPBELL
PHOTOS BY RYAN CARTER

The So Fly Crew sit together IN PERSON on location in the Beaver Valley. This episode was recorded out of a beautiful home (thanks Tom and Lisa) near the Beaver River. The crew talks with Matt and Jon at Affinity Fish, Toronto’s newest and only fish shop specializing in putting delicious local fish onto Ontario tables. They discuss a weekend fishing, the idea behind Affinity Fish, and more.

Another fish market slated for a spring opening on Dundas West is the retail location for Affinity Fish, a local fish supplier for the city’s restaurants started by two professional cooks during the pandemic.

At The Pass is a weekly series showcasing Toronto’s best chefs. You won’t find any celebrity chefs featured here. Perhaps you already know these fine cooks, but maybe not. They’re not famous – yet. But it’s time these talented, passionate, hard-working chefs got a bit of the spotlight.

At The Pass is a weekly series showcasing Toronto’s best chefs. You won’t find any celebrity chefs featured here. Perhaps you already know these fine cooks, but maybe not. They’re not famous – yet. But it’s time these talented, passionate, hard-working chefs got a bit of the spotlight.