Joso's — Restaurant in Toronto

We came to Joso’s for a meaningful family dinner — a formal meeting between our parents ahead of marriage. I had a reservation for 5 people at 5:00 p.m., and three of us (my mother, my partner’s mother, and myself) arrived 5-10 minutes early. A manager-like staff member came out and asked if the full party had arrived. I explained that two more were just minutes away (one parking, one in transit), and instead of a warm welcome, he immediately pointed out that a table upstairs had a 7:15 reservation and asked whether we wanted it. That already made us feel rushed before we’d even been seated.

Another group of customers had also arrived early and were waiting nearby. The manager led them inside first but didn’t clearly acknowledge or invite us to follow. I thought I heard him say “come in,” so I followed behind. Once upstairs, he seated the other group and started talking to them. When he turned around and saw me, he seemed surprised and said, “Oh, you came up too!” — which felt awkward and dismissive.

He again asked how long we thought we’d be staying — reiterating the earlier pressure around the 7:15 reservation. I replied that I didn’t want to feel rushed and would prefer the other available table instead. He said “That’s fine — you can stay here all you want and keep spending money.” That comment struck me as unnecessarily transactional and impersonal, especially for a fine dining experience.

At one point, I briefly placed a water bottle on the table, and a server came over immediately and said, “You can’t have that on the table.” I understood and didn’t mind — but again, the tone felt overly sharp.

To be honest, I couldn’t shake the feeling that our table — initially composed of three Asian women — was treated with less warmth or respect than others. Once my partner and his father (also Asian) arrived, the interaction improved slightly, but it was hard not to notice a difference in energy and attentiveness compared to nearby tables. Whether it was due to race, gender, or assumptions based on appearance, the feeling of subtle bias was hard to ignore.

For a restaurant known for its history, reputation, and premium pricing, I expected genuine hospitality - not to feel like an inconvenience on such an important night. We left feeling disappointed, not because of the food, but because of how we were...

We arrived 1 hour earlier than our reservation of 6:30pm, and Paul, the host seated us. He made every effort to know our first names and chatted with us nicely. He also wished my wife a Happy Birthday. Our waitress: Zerha was very attentive, friendly and cheerful between showing us the intro fish platter, taking our orders, and checking with us throughout to make sure we were taken care of. The bar master informed us about the Gavi wine that we ordered and came by regularly to make sure our glasses were always filled as we expected. The wait staff collectively were superb. Our Adria salad was very tasty and the dressing was perfect. Zerha was kind enough to let us alter a menu item where we added pasta to the seafood mix of clams/mussels and shrimp. This dish was by far the best that we have ever experienced in any seafood restaurant, and we do travel much of the world and have sampled many similar dishes. We especially loved the shrimp…it was very dense. The décor in the restaurant is a little “wild” with all sorts of pictures and trinkets on the walls and on shelves throughout, but kind of appropriate for Joso’s. We were pleasantly surprised by the fair prices on the menu for all items, having expected to be charged much more being that it was downtown Toronto, and on the outskirts of Yorkville. The wine bottle prices were a bit steep, assuming they were almost four times the typical price at the liquor store. All in all, we truly enjoyed our dining experience at Joso’s and we do expect to return the next time we are in the mood for some excellent seafood. Thank you to: Paul, Zerha, the Bar Master and the...

I'll summarize by saying this is a washed up restaurant for old, tacky rich people that have no taste in food (or decor). The carpets probably haven't been replaced since it opened 35 years ago, and the food was completely amateurish; stale bread, the bocconcini salad ($18) was basically one underripe hothouse tomato and one ball of bocconcini...not nearly enough basil, salt or dressing...resulting in a bland and disappointing concoction. My husband and I make a far better salad at home; it's really not that difficult. My son's grilled calamari was tough and tasteless. It reminded me of backpacking through Portugal as a teenager and buying grilled squid at fast food kiosks, only Joso's squid was far inferior. The risotto was apparently supposed to have fish in it; I couldn't detect the fish, but I could definitely taste the soup stock. We paid $52.00 for a bowl of mediocre risotto. They charge $19 dollars for a 6 oz glass of average quality cab. They couldn't even make a proper cappuccino. Moving back to the decor, there seems to be some weird fetishization of women's breasts. There were tacky drawings and carvings and sculptures of women with enormous artificial looking breasts everywhere. One other reviewer described this place as being from a time capsule. I agree. The food is poor and outdated as is the creepy and...