Holy Cow Japanese Steakhouse — Restaurant in Toronto

First time visiting Holy Cow Steakhouse and I am already looking forward to visiting again.

Ambience/Seating: Dined on the patio (the fact that they have a patio is great). At the time, it was only my table (2 people) and another table (2 people). If there were more than 6-8 people on the patio with tables it could get tight so you may feel more comfortable sitting inside (with air conditioning).

Service: Prompt, friendly, and they check on you regularly. I really appreciated that they give you a pitcher of water so you don’t always have to ask – especially during a heat wave. This should be a standard at restaurants but I appreciate logistics/keeping pitchers clean may be an issue.

Food: AMAZING. As I arrived, I noticed a couple was leaving. I asked about their experience and they said it was incredible. I asked what they had and had the “Assorted Dice Cut Steak”. As it was my first time, I ordered it as well.

Main Course: Assorted Dice Cut Steak. I love a good steak and they know what they are doing. It was a selection of their steaks which allows you sample different cuts of steak. I had it medium rare and the quality, flavour and tenderness was noteworthy. Because of the high quality of their steaks, I want to try their steaks rare next time. My friend ordered it medium well (he’s not used to rarer steaks), but he said it was still tender and juicy which is hard to maintain when you cook steaks longer.

Salad: Green Salad. Dressing was perfectly zesty and tasty.

Appetizer: Grilled Shrimp. Really enjoyed it.

Location: Corner of Queen Street West and John Street (5 minute walk from Osgood Station) and close to everything.

Parking: I drove so parking is always a challenge in Toronto. I ended up finding street parking on John Street, in between Queen St. West and Stephanie Street. Parking after 9PM is free in the area so depending on when you are dining, it may be a better/closer option than the Green P or Grange Park Promenade.

Halal: For those that observe halal, the menu states that they serve Halal Certified AAA Canadian beef. Some of the appetizers are not halal but the menu states which ones are not halal. I appreciate the transparency.

Support local....

My friend and I enjoyed a weekend dinner at HCJS. There was a small wait of 8 to 10 persons in the lobby, but we fortunately made reservations so we were seated within a few minutes.

We started with a cold pink sake (sorry, forgot the name) that was an excellent pairing for our occasion thanks to one of the waitresses recommendation.

Both of us ordered the same item, a 10oz rib eye steak with all the sides shown in the picture + lightly caramelized onions. The potatoes were divine.

Both steaks were cooked to our doneness preference and is served on a sizzling plate with a (recommended) topping of some sort of sweet soy sauce. Midway through the meal, we decided to share a bowl of rice, which paired perfectly with our platter.

The service is 5 * ; in comical fashion, we were asked 3 separate times by 3 different waiters/ waitresses if we had been helped yet or were ready to order. While some may find this annoying, my friend and I enjoyed the eagerness of all of the staff to ensure we were tended to.

The restaurant is extremely busy, but we were never forgotten.

For a comparison, this rib eye steak wasn't as marbled as the one I enjoy at The Keg. But it's still a good steak. My tastes for more fattiness would likely steer me in the direction of the latter if I were to look for a good rib eye steak.

The next time I am here, I will definitely try the mango custard dessert and the wagyu steak. Or some of the other many items offered on the menu!

On that closing note, the menus are a little confusing and almost overwhelming. The in person paper menus are cute and interactive and inviting, but it gets a little confusing with slightly different worded options on the available QR Code. Nonetheless, I appreciate the effort of the establishment in providing both digital options and physical menu options to select from for those that lean towards the old school way of ordering or who do not have phones.

I'll definitely be returning in the...

I am writing this review to help the owner and manager to improve, because I believe they can easily fix some issues. The food is really good, and especially we appreciate that you provide Halal Japanese steak 🥩. The issue is that the waiters / waitresses aren’t trained properly. They are hard-working and brought us whatever we needed quickly; but they made us confused on multiple occasions. At first when we arrived, they didn’t explain us what items are available and what is sold-out. Also they didn’t explain the details of the menu specials and offers. So when we made our choices, we were then told that they were either sold-out, or not included in the offer. Then we had to spend more time to make new choices. Then for this inconvenience, they promised us another offer and discount, but later they said that they can’t provide that discount! At the end, they said that they only accept cash to be eligible for the offer, which made it even more inconvenient. I calmly told them that it would be nice if they could explain all these details at the beginning, because they are written in the fine print on the bottom of the special menu, which is not something you typically read when you just want to figure out what to order. Unfortunately, the waitress replied with an attitude that she had already told us, which she hadn’t. Also the bill wasn’t reflecting the offer properly, and a mandatory gratitude was added, for which we had to negotiate to make it right. And all these conversations were happening in an attitude that was below what we expected from a Japanese restaurant, and from the Japanese culture. Anyways I think it would be nice if you could train your staff to be a little more clear upfront, and a little more respectful towards your customers. 🙏🏻 We were thinking about coming to your restaurant...