Jacobs & Co. Steakhouse — Restaurant in Toronto

To begin with, I can't count how many local steakhouses I've eaten at but the short list is Barberian, Hy's, Octagon, Bardi's, Ruths Chris, STK, Harbour Sixty and Harry's, just to name a few, but Jacobs and Co. has been on my "must do" list for a long time. I was already quite familiar with their menu and I went tonight with my family of four. All of us our steak lovers and normally buy all of our meat from a local butcher, and we are accustomed to eating USDA Dry Aged Prime or Australian Wagyu typically. We started with some cocktails and they are all done reasonably well. No standouts and no disasters. Prices for drinks are silly but that is not a Jacobs exclusive, all of the high end places charge a ridiculous amount for drinks so no marks off for drink prices. Next we moved to appetizers and we decided to try the table side Caesar salad and one of our family members decided on the bone marrow (not listed as an appetizer but as an add-on). The reason we chose these two items is because they are some of our favourites at other places. So, for us, the Octagon sets the standard for a table side Caesar salad and Harry's sets the standard for bone marrow. The marrow was excellent and on par or better than Harry's. The salad, was nowhere close to what you'd get at the Octagon for a lot less money as well ($11 less at the Octagon per salad). The dressing at the Octagon is far richer and creamier and probably a bit saltier (maybe they use more anchioves), but it isn't really close. The Jacobs salad was more of a vinegar base and I tasted too much tabasco. The Jacobs and Co. steak menu has something for everyone. Whether it is A5 Wagyu from Japan, USDA Prime from the USA, Australian Wagyu, they have it all. You can choose from grass fed/grain finished, to grass fed, grass finished cattle. We had an array of Canadian, American and Australian choices for our group. In short, they were all pretty disappointing. I thought they came to the table luke warm and all slightly over cooked. I thought the flavour of all of the steaks were just mid and the USDA dry aged Ribeye's were actually quite tough and surprisingly so. There was just no "wow factor" in any of the cuts we ordered. The flavours, the tenderness, the doneness, the temperature... everything was just a bit off. Nothing made me say, "wow, that's an amazing steak". It just wasn't and not a single person at our table that the steaks were standouts or near their favourites. For sides, we did the Wagyu fried rice and the duck fat fries and both were very average. For dessert we ordered the monkey bread (the highlight of the entire meal, it was excellent) and the cheesecake, also very good. In terms of service... again, sort of disappointing. In terms of service, to me Harbour Sixty sets the standard and Jacobs falls abysmally short of that standard. We never met a sommelier at any point and our server was not all that knowledgeable on their fairly extensive wine list. At Harbour Sixty, you can get a virtual course in wine tasting by their master sommelier's and every time I go to HS, the wine pairings with my meal are part of the lure. At HS, the second you leave your table, your napkin is almost instantly folded nicely at your table. Your water glass in barely empty for more than a few seconds and the attention to detail is just second to none. For the price, Jacobs is nowhere near that level of service. Even though they have literally hundreds of people working, their attention to detail falls way short of the expected standard for a restaurant of this purported caliber. Simply put, for all of it's hype, Jacobs and Co. fell well short of what we expected. Our dinner for four cost $1,150.00 (with tip) and I truly do not believe we had a better dinner than what I could have gotten at Bardis for about $400.00. To me, Jacobs does not even broach my top 5 steakhouses in Toronto. Harbour Sixty, Barberian and Harry's are miles ahead. I am still very glad we went so I could see what all the hype was about, but unfortunately, we...

We walked in after attending an event nearby without a reservation. It was my first time however, the second time for my friend. Compared to their previous location, it's a lovely upgrade. It was comfortable, classy, cozy. Perfect for all kinds of occasions.

We were greeted by the door and promptly serviced to our tables as it was a quieter Friday night due to the important world series Jays game that night. People were enjoying the game on the tv by the bar while we decided to opt for the dining area.

Our servers handed our menus and came back at a reasonable time to guide us and ask questions. We ordered a few mins after with the dishes coming out at a steady pace, checking in on us silently to clean our table and dishes once finished.

The welcoming bread is absolutely delicious. Crispy, toasted, warm and fluffy served with garlic pesto butter. Although this is a steakhouse, this was probably the most memorable dish. You can easily judge a restaurant's service by their welcoming dish.

They had a nice selection of East coast oysters vs West coast. Preference for East coast so this did not bother me. Served and prepared quickly, cleanly shucked and well kept. Oyster season is upon us.

Nevertheless, the 12oz Canadian dry aged striploin was delicious, perfectly seasoned with a good crust on the outside. Aced the medium rare. Our preference was that it was good on its own, or sprinkled with their charcoal salt. The ponzu and esp. the chimichurri dulled the natural flavour of the beef.

The beef tartare was a surprise on the portion size and a well welcomed surprise. It was also delicious but, slightly heavy on the mustard. May have just been our dish. It went well with the toasted baguette to cut the acidity vs the baby gem lettuce that was also served.

My least favourite was the maitake mushrooms. Although well seasoned on top, the stems lacked flavour. Again, adding a bit of flaky salt added the flavour it needed.

I really must commend on the service. Treated and served like a Michelin star restaurant. I've only been to a few but, Jacob's sits at the top along with some others.

We were not interested in the desserts so we grabbed the bill and left. Even while leaving we were thanked by multiple servers.

It may not be often but, I would keep Jacob's in mind and...

High end Steakhouse in Toronto. Among the finest the city has to offer and possibly even the world.

Order: I've eaten almost everything on the menu. Their steaks do change so will never be able to say I've eaten everything there. The pictures was A5 Waygu Kobe steak, a bone in grass fed striploin, and an aged rib eye. Potatoes au gratin, roasted cabbage.

I've been here so many times, I don't take pictures everytime I go. I don't even live in Toronto full time.

Location: 4/5 Tucked away on Brant street which is a very small street, it could be missed if not familiar with Toronto but when the outside is parked with high end cars like lambos and mclarens you can't miss.

Service: 5/5 consistently outstanding. Every time I come here, the service is impeccable. I use this restaurant as a standard for service at a steakhouse. The staff are friendly and knowledgeable.

Value: 4/5 - not cheap. They have different steaks offered each week or so, you will never get the same meal twice. Sure they have some regular items but variety is the spice of life. Seafood options are available.

Taste 5/5. Consistently excellent. I think this is one of the best steakhouses I have been to. Steak ratings are always above 8.5 /10. Wagyu A5 everytime is over 9.2. Worth travelling for. Duck fat fries are possibly one of their best sides and the pop overs they give as bread service are addictive. I love how they present you with different salts and side sauces for flavoring your steak if you need it. Even the fish is amazing.

Overall 5/5 - I am trying to be really unbiased here but this is my favorite restaurant in Toronto. I started coming here after a classmate of mine introduced me to this place for a double date dinner. Created memories because I had both my girlfriend at the time and an ex girlfriend eat at the same table civilly. Brought my mom here. My sister. My wife. My best friends. My assistants and staff. Girlfriends, mistresses, Everyone. I tell everyone about this place. Hell, I'd even come here alone. I don't know why it took me forever to write a review for this place but here it is.

I dont even live in Toronto full time, else I would be here once a week or at least couple times a month and my personal trainer and fitness coach would...