Queens Harbour — Restaurant in Toronto

Me and my boyfriend came here for our anniversary dinner and we had a good time overall. I want to start off the postitives, the great service that Queens Harbour has.

We had a reservation for 545 and were seated right away, and then were greeted by our server, Adam. He was nice, personable and very helpful. We ordered our drinks first and then our appetizers and then 10 mins later, as per Adam's reccomendation, we ordered our mains which was their steak and sushi and miso black cod.

We wanted to start with the wagyu gyoza and the Black Truffle Arancini, but unfortunately after waiting around 30-35 minutes, there was a mix up and we ended up getting our main dishes first.

Adam saw this and went to the kitchen to figure out what happend. He then came back about 5-10 minutes later with the manager and they brought out our appetizers and apologized for the mix up.

We were of course a little confused but understood the mix up as anything can happen and it was a busy night, But they were very apologetic and offered to take the appetizers off of our bill.

The food itself was great! The miso black cod (thanks to adams reccomendation) was by far the star of the show for me. It was rich, smooth and buttery, accompanied by a spiced rice, oyster mushrooms and bok choi. My boyfriends steak was perfectly seasoned and served in a umami rich wafu sauce. The sushi was a shrimp tempura roll served along side the steak and you could tell it was freshly made. There was an interesting addition of whole green onion into the roll that I think worked very well.

The black truffle arancini were on the small side but, they were very crisp, and filling, and the truffle was not overpowering at all (which is a good thing in my eyes)

The wagyu gyoza was good, but pretty similar to any other gyoza you would eat elsewhere, It wasnt anything special.

Once we had dinner we ordered the matcha creme brulee and strawberry chocolate bomb for dessert. The matcha creame brulee had a perfectly caramelized crust on top, and once you cracked into it, you were met with a smooth custard and earthy flavour from the matcha, they complimented eachother quite well. The strawberry chocolate bomb was a small hot chocolate lava cake filled with a strawberry and chocolate cream, and served with a side of vanilla gelato. The cake was decident and very heavy but paired so perfectly with the gelato. The hot cake and cold gelato was such a great way to end off the night.

Now, here are my not-so-positives.

The service here was amazing but trying to email or call or come in contact with anyone to help you with questions was a quite difficult process. They have an automated machine that picks up the phone and won't let you speak to someone, and, after trying to email them asking questions regarding reservations, i never received any response. We also made sure to call and email way in advance, and made sure to do it during their hours of operation. I emailed the restaurant about a week and a few days prior to the actual date of our reservation.

The main dining area is quite beautiful, but it is an open-concept space with little to no separations. The tables are packed quite tightly and your neighbour is probably 5 inches away from you. If youre looking for an intimate and relaxing setting, I cant reccomend here.

The music is also quite loud in the restaurant, so you'll have to yell just to be able to talk to the person across from you. We knew that there was Djs on the weekend starting at 7, so we decided we'd book an earlier time that way we could beat the super loud music. But I guess thats just the standard volume at all times? The atmosphere at 6 was closer to a 10 pm night club, incredibly loud and too much going on. I understand that restaurants dont have to cater to you personally, but i think it would be way better to just lower the music a tad in there.

Overall we enjoyed our time here, but if we ever return, it will probably be for a casual lunch, preferably seated outside where were able to talk...

Queens? Not quite majestic…

Been a minute since I last came to Toronto and its downtown core area.

My friends and I decided on checking out this new place since I got inside news that a lot of money has been invested into renovating and building up this place.

We managed to find parking in a nearby parkade since parking on the street was almost impossible. The restaurant is located right on the side of the harbour. inside is well lit and freshly renovated with a modern layout.

It’s almost like a fusion of a restaurant, lounge and club. After greeted by the friendly hostesses and seated, here were the food I ordered;

Dozen of PEI Malpeque oysters. Pretty fresh and cleanly shucked. Kalamari. A little bit dry and its more of a pub style than restaurant style. I personally prefer the chunky and juicier version more. Beef carpaccio. The beef was very tender and flavourful, all the ingredients were quite well balanced. Scorpion wings (chilli lime). The wings were meaty and juicy with a nice little kick of the chilli lime flavour. Wagyu sliders. Although I am always weary in ordering sliders but these little guys were pretty good. Greek village salad. I am so so on this one, a thin brick of feta but didn’t quite do the job for me. Sashimi platter. The sashimi were fresh but somehow I still find the sashimi here in Vancouver better. Papi shrimp tempura roll (got some random roll instead). It’s okay, quite refreshing although it’s not the papi roll. 7 seas rainbow roll. Pretty much a rainbow roll, I find it quite expensive for what it is.

This place is renovated with a beautiful simple yet elegant modern interior and layout. The front offers a spacious relaxing dining area while the back is hosted with a more upbeat disco like dining atmosphere and DJ.

As for the service; the hostesses were friendly and professional…. And it just all literally ended right there at the door. The rest that followed was a freaking joke. I honestly had better services at the Tim Hortons drive thru with someone who can barely speak English; food were missing and came at random time, had 2 set of cutleries and settings for a group of 6 during the duration of our stay even though I continuously asked for them but fell on death ears (was I supposed to feed all my friends or use our fingers?!?), dirty plates were never clear and piling up like the Eiffel Tower (it’s worse then a $5 buffet) until I paid the bill (the bill was never shown to me, I was just shown the amount and the suggested HIGH tip amount, whatever, I just paid it). This was absolutely a failure on the management part, millions were poured into this place and the training of the servers were worse than taking a new group off the next boat.

The food overall was decent although there is always room for improvement. I can safely say if it wasn’t for the chefs doing a decent job on the food from the sushi bar to the kitchen, this place wouldn’t even be in my after thoughts for a repeat

Overall, with all being said, it’s definitely not a 4 or 5 stars like any of the reviews said. A honest 2 stars is beyond generous and would be more realistic for missing that...

I recently visited Queen’s Harbour, a new restaurant that just opened along Toronto’s scenic waterfront. On a beautiful summer afternoon, my partner and I decided to give it a try after hearing some buzz and making a reservation in advance.

Upon arrival, we were directed to the "Queen’s Garden" area in the back. Despite having a reservation, we were asked to wait in line for a table—though the wait was not too long, it felt a bit disorganized. The first thing I noticed as we walked in was the volume of the music—it was overwhelmingly loud. We were initially seated at a small table right next to a beam and directly beside a speaker. The music was blasting to the point that I couldn’t hear my partner speak, and the table was also wobbly, which made for an uncomfortable start. I requested a different table further back, which the staff accommodated, but unfortunately, the music volume remained a major issue throughout our meal.

On the positive side, the interior design is modern and elegant—definitely one of the restaurant’s highlights. It has a sophisticated ambiance that could easily suit both casual and more upscale outings if managed properly.

We started with the beef carpaccio, which was decent but missed the mark—primarily due to the thicker cut, which made it feel more like sliced roast beef than traditional carpaccio. For mains, I ordered the Chimichurri Sea Bass and my partner had the Steak & Sushi. While her dish was generous in portion and prepared to her liking (medium rare), my sea bass felt underwhelming. The fish lacked seasoning and the accompanying salad was dominated by lettuce, with barely any presence of grilled vegetables. For the price point, the dish felt uninspired and bland.

On the upside, our server Josh was attentive, polite, and efficient—service was quick and professional throughout the evening.

Unfortunately, the overall experience left much to be desired. A waterfront restaurant should be a place where guests can enjoy both the food and the company they’re with, but the excessive music volume made conversation difficult and ultimately led to a migraine by the time I got home. It’s hard to enjoy a meal when you have to shout to be heard.

In my view, Queen’s Harbour needs to better define its identity: is it a lively nightspot or a dining destination? There’s definitely potential here, but it’s hard to imagine returning unless the volume issue is addressed and the food is elevated to match the setting and price point.

Nice to try, but for now, not the kind of dining experience I would seek out again. I genuinely hope the management takes this feedback into consideration—it could become a fantastic venue with a few thoughtful...