I expected more from this restaurant due to the reviews I had read online. For the high prices I expected more. It wasn't terrible but definitely didn't exceed my expectations! I will say, one of the best homemade focaccia breads! Aside from that I found the food subpar and lacking hotness! The service was very decent and outdoor ambience comfortable. The lobster tagliatelle was okay but lobster didn't taste fresh and lacked flavour. I wouldn't order a main here again but would definitely come to try some appetizers within a group setting! read more

The summerlicious lunch was exceptional! The cuisine is distinctly Canadian, but with international influences. Beautiful presentation, but the food was amazing. Poke, a traditional Hawaiian staple was reinvented with a modern twist with the fried rice cake. The seared ahi tuna was coated in a thin layer of cracked black pepper, its delicacy accentuated by the sweet spring peas. One of the best restaurants in the financial district. read more

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went here for 2014 summerlicious. Ordered the following: calamari and chorizo sausage; pan seared halibut; baked alaska. The portion size is decent but the presentation is not elegant. The halibut was overcooked, not enough sauce. I couldn't finish the dish. Also, extremely salty. The dessert was ok. The cake was dry but ice cream was smooth and silky. The service was ok. I wouldn't go back here again. The quality of the food certainly not worth 45$ read more

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Went for Winterlicious 2018 for a somewhat interesting menu. For apps, I got the Hamachj Sashimi compressed pineapple with passion fruit purée, dehydrated smoked chilli and horseradish, and my friends both got the Pork Belly & Shrimp with grits, tomato, hickory sticks and scallions. The hamachi was nicely sliced, good portions (5 pieces) and tasted fresh. I like sashimi with wasabi and soy sauce but with these extra toppings, I didn't really "get" how the flavours go together because I didn't enough of it. Too much fish to the toppings, which isn't such a bad thing! I couldn't taste the pineapple with passion fruit, but each component tasted good individually. I didn't get the smoked chilli or horseradish. Might as well been just the hamachi! Could've used salt and acid if I didn't get any wasabi or soy sauce. I tasted some of the pork belly, way too fatty. And the grits were bad, like too mealy. Not even seasoned. For mains, we each got different things. I got the grilled Ahi tuna with orzo, sundried tomato, olives, roasted red onions, basil and olive tapenade. My friends got the Roasted Duck Breast (duck confit), squash risotto and braised apple and the venison loin & croquette with roasted carrots, king mushrooms, and Saskatoon berry compote. The tuna was nicely seared and still raw in the middle but it looked like it was sweating when I got it, meaning it must've sat for a bit. Slightly overlooked. The orzo was a bit chewy but well seasoned. The olives and olive tapenade was good by itself but made everything way too salty. The tuna was salty too. Kind of disappointed because I love tuna! The duck confit was alright, not the best I've had but cooked decent. Well seasoned. The venison and croquette was probably the best of the 3 dishes. Venison was cooked nicely and seasoned well. Surprisingly not too gamey as it sometimes tastes. Went well with the berry compote, it cut a lot the gaminess. The croquette was pretty good too, it tasted like venison but ground up and mixed with breadcrumbs and seasoned well too! Finally for dessert, we got the Egg nog creme brûlée with spiced shortbread cookies and apple cider donuts with chantilly cream and honeycomb. The creme brûlée was very "egg nogey", had that nice sugar crystallization layer you break with your spoon. The creme was tasted and was spiced as well. The shortbread was dry and I didn't taste any spice. Was it bought at a store? The donuts were small like timbits and so dry, not good. Tim Horton's timbits are better! Overall, the food was just average. For the price $53 for a 3-course meal, not bad considering it's Mark McEwan's restaurant and the location. The presentation for each dish was top notch though. The menu sounded interesting but was not very executed well. The service was slow too. I felt like the time between each dish was like 20 min. That's way too long. And there were not even free bread to start! Other fine dining restaurants at least have free bread. Come on Mark! Don't be a cheap ass! My friend also got the mixed fruit cocktail. It looked like it was juiced to order because it had the foam that comes with after juiced. She said it was sour. That info probably should've been on the menu or provided by the waitress. The decor was nice. Each table was nicely spaced out so you can't even hear your neighbour's conversation. Lighted dark so it's romantic. They validate your parking so that's a bonus. read more

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This is a very sophisticated restaurant from the ambiance to service to food. They are all good and I would recommend on special occasions and business meals. read more

My boyfriend took me to bymark for my birthday, I had been hearing good things and so had been looking forward to a Mark McEwan staple. I had tried North 44 with a groupon a few years ago, the octopus was delicious but everything else was good, but not spectacular. On this experience, we sat on the patio on a warm June evening, in the financial district, surrounded by suits and reality show looking wives. We mulled over the menu, and decided, for appetizers, would order the Lobster Poutine with béarnaise sauce, and the shaved foie gras on brioche. For dinner, my BF ordered the ricotta ravioli and I ordered the duck with potato Mille feuille. The Butter Braised Lobster Poutine - at $28 was delicious, as it should be in theory, cus how can you go wrong with buttery lobster over fried frites, smothered with a classic buttery sauce. The lobster was tender and portions of the crustacean was pretty adequate. The Shaved Foie Gras Torchon - at $28, to us, was a disappointment. We prefer our foie seared, the bouncy flavorful morsel melting in my mouth. But, we can't say no to foie, so we ordered it, not really know what to expect. I'm not sure how much foie you actual get at its a light, airy mound, it was tasty, but I'm not sure if I actually consumed it, or perhaps the wind just blew it away. My boyfriend, who hates mushrooms, ordered the: Truffle and spinach ricotta tortellini with tomato sauce and more mushrooms at $29. He's Italian and he loves ravioli, and by the time I looked up he was done his entire bowl, so I'm sure he liked them. And I had the: Lightly smoked Duck Breast on top a butter potato Mille feuille, and turnips, carrots, fava beans. The duck was cooked perfectly, everything was flavorful and delicious. Overall, I had a good experience. The food was good, there's nothing bad I can say about it. Was it mind blowing and inventive, no, not really, but it was a good. It's reliable and well executed. Maybe when you already have a name established you can just coast on the fame, and be safe, but reliable. I would ideally rate it 3.75 stars, because as it was very good, the price point is high, I feel I have better and/or comparable meals in Montreal and New York for less. But still, a nice experience! read more

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Today my coworker and I wanted to celebrate a milestone for the company we started and decided to head to Bymark. The main seating area was booked solid and we were told to head upstairs to the bar, which was largely empty. We were looking for a comfortable area to situate ourselves and noticed empty seating in the corner and my business partner started heading over in that direction, when he was rudely interrupted by a blonde bartender who scowled, "where do you think you're going!?". She then proceeded to harshly tell us that the space was reserved for six people (an obvious lie since there are no reservations in this area and another server had told us that a lot of people weren't coming in today because of the weather) It was such an incredibly rude and off-putting gesture that we both decided to leave immediately, in complete disgust. We were looking to treat ourselves to the first of hopefully many celebratory meals, and will now never return to Bymark because of this horrible experience. read more

I've been here a couple of times. To be honest, there's nothing fantastic about it but it's great for business meetings and what not. The food is okay. (It's not bad neither is it fantastic) The ambience is nice and the service is good. There's also a bar upstairs, nothing out of the ordinary. Although they do have a wide selection of drinks. I'm not sure if they offer finger foods there cause I've never ordered one. It's an okay place but nothing fantastic read more

Must try the shrimp taco appetizer. Simply the best single bite of food I have had all year so far. Been to ByMark a few times for lunch. Always excellent food and great service to match. My lunch mate found his $38 burger under cooked but the servers handled it professionally and brought out extra hot fries for him to munch on while he waited. A nice place for a business lunch and a special occasion dinner. Prices are high but the value is there. read more

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Bymark is pretty swanky. It's part of that whole business district group of resto-bars that get all the action. There's Kei which is the new kid on the block, old standard, Canoe and Bymark. I imagine the power-lunches at this joint can be pretty intense, but I've always liked it at night for cocktails before hitting a dance floor. One, because that's the quietest time, and two, because the service is excellent. It's a good place for a date and if you like to eat at the bar and have good conversation with the bartender. But, my top pick of when to bring someone here, would be to impress a potential boss, or mentor. It's more ego than sex for sure. read more

Bymark - Canadian (New) Near Me - Toronto, Ontario

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Favorite spot for fancy dinner. I love their wine collection. It's amazing. I came here for winterlicious ( 1st time ever). This place meets my high expectation. I got duck breast as main dish. Medium rare, soft amd clean smell mix with beet sauce. The dish is combination or savoury and little bit of sweet touch. I recommend the apple crepe. Thin layer wrap around sour apple, top by sweet apple sauce and apple pie crumble! I'm a huge fan of dessert. I also recommend lobster poutine. Fresh lobster with lime-ish lobster sauce. They have coat check, another nice touch to fancy up the place. read more

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I came here on my birthday last year with my boyfriend. Instead of it being a great experience as we expected, it was indeed a disappointing surprise. I didn't want to say much at the moment as it is my birthday & I know how much effort he put into finding a good place for us to spend some time trying fine dining with a great ambience. Unfortunately, that wasn't the case with this restaurant. The food was disgusting, and the steak was one of the worst steaks I've ever had in Toronto besides KOST, which is also an awful place. I do not recommend going there. The only reason why people give these types of businesses five stars is because of the setting/ambience. People eat bland food regularly, especially in Toronto; that's why the food seems okay compared to other yelp reviewers. Also, the look of this restaurant you would expect it to be a good one. Unfortunately, the only good thing about this restaurant is the ambience. The waiter was amiable and accommodating, but the chef in the kitchen wasn't even when my boyfriend mentioned that he is a chef, so he had high expectations for this place. The drinks were good, though, but then again, how could somebody mess up on that. The dessert was horrid, I love cheesecake and creme brulee, but it seriously tasted so off. The reason why we didn't say anything at the moment was that it was my special day and we went there with empty stomachs, how could we complain at the moment when we were eating the food. Still, even with an empty stomach, usually, anything tastes good when you're hungry. This wasn't my case, though, and I do not recommend ByMark to anyone; it's way too overpriced for food that is on a taste scale of 2.5/10. read more

I am quite the foodie, and since I moved to Toronto from Vancouver 4 months ago, it's been my mission to try all the highly recommended restaurants. Well, after trying over 30 of em, Bymark is definitely in the top 3. The service was excellent, our waiter was friendly, helpful, and present whenever we needed him. The ambiance is lovely, we had a cozy banquette, and the lighting is warm. The best part was the food. We ordered the Shrimp Tacos which were scrumptiously flavorful and the Gravlax was a tantalizing mixture of textures. My main course was the Yellowfin Tuna. I tend to order Tuna a lot... and often, well good tuna, is good tuna. But this tuna, was outstanding. Every bite melted in my mouth- I was stuffed but I couldn't stop eating it! Oh and the Truffle Mash is ++yummy! Coming from a very selective eater, this places Rocks. read more

I remember my first time at Bymark - I was fresh out of business school, got the requisite job in downtown working at a bank and going out to eat, high-roller style. With my first few pay-cheques, I decided to take my parents and a good friend to Bymark - show what their progeny was made of. Intro. It's hard to find any crummily designed restaurant right in the downtown core. Add in the McEwan touch and you have a restaurant swathed in beige's and greys with lounge-y Buddha Bar type of music. We went on a Friday night and the place was getting busy...and noisy. I had asked for a booth as it is spacious and roomy. As a tip, if you can ask for a booth, do. The tables inside the main room I find are just too close together and it gets loud...really loud. Food. For appetizers, I had the foie gras and the combination of sweet and salty was amazing. Then, oysters served on a tiered platter - very fresh. For my main, I had the Bymark Burger which thankfully, can now be purchased at McEwan's. The portion is just right and not dry. I don't think the food at any McEwan establishment can be disappointing, and Bymark certainly does not. Ambiance. Befitting a business crowd. A place to let loose after work. I don't think anyone would be disappointed in Bymark - it's got all the check-marks of a good restaurant: good location, posh-y atmosphere and food that will satisfy a hungry stomach at the end of a long day of hard work. read more

This was my first visit to Bymark, by way of Winterlicious 2013. The cost was $45 for a prix-fixe dinner menu. The food was great, overall. For appetizers, we had the lamb sausage and cured gravlax. The sausage was excellent, but I was disappointed in the small portion (3 smallish bites). I wasn't a fan of the gravlax, but it's rare that I enjoy fish. My girlfriend likes fish, but she thought it was excessively salty. Everything else on these plates was delicious. My Chicken Demi-Deuil was very good, although perhaps slightly dry on the outside. The cobia filet was quite tasty, even for me. The desserts were a let-down, however. The pear panna cotta was rather bland and uninteresting. The pumpkin spice cake was fine, but it seemed like standard grocery-store fare. Service was outstanding. My biggest problem with Bymark is simply the price. Our cocktails jacked up the bill substantially at $15 a piece. To be fair, they were both excellent. Adding coffee and cappucino, the bill came to nearly $150 with tax, before gratuity. I knew going in that my wallet was going to take a good beating, but I don't feel that the prices are justified. Pet peeve: the restaurant doesn't accept payment by debit card. Why the hell is that? It's not the end of the world, but I should be able to pay however I prefer. 3 1/2 out of 5. read more

Food was mediocre, portions were tiny. As expected, I had the most expensive entree on the menu at the time, some kind of boar bacon situation. The meat was extremely tough and stringy and so salty that I was basically eating a salt block. The potatoes and veggies on the side were a purée and a total joke, looked and tasted like a Gerber baby food horror. My two companions each had burgers, they were decent $35 burgers in that they didn't get food poisoning from them but really nothing to write home about. Ambiance was ok only because it was deserted and thus patrons were able to converse comfortably and privately. We dined wine cellar level which only had two other tables occupied. Dinner service was simply ok, stiff and utterly humorless as can be expected from this type of joint. However the guy serving our bread was superb. The guy settling our bill at the end was extremely rude and belittling. He refused to split the bill for the three of us, said we should have specified at the beginning of the meal. Ok a little oversight on our part but this has never been a problem at any other restaurant. I mean your restaurant is empty right now, we turned a not paltry bill for you, could you please not yell at us in front of the rest of your staff and the dining room. Unprofessional does not even begin to describe his deportment. What gross behavior for an establishment that pretends to be upscale. Thoroughly disturbing experience. I recommend you go literally anywhere else if you must eat in the financial district. Even if you are expensing your meal, just remember you'll still have to sit through food that has little to no culinary merit. Bymark embodies amateur hour at its finest. read more

Went to Bymark for a nice lunch and was highly impressed. The decor is beautiful. The service was excellent and the food was incredible. Even though our meals were good portions, we couldn't turn down the dessert. They offered us a plateful of small portions of various types of desserts. Perfect for sharing! Bymark is definitely pricey so I would only recommend it for a special occasion or if you're trying to impress someone. read more

Almost missed the place when I was walking... I came here with my friend for Winterlicious (obviously). This place was recommended to us so I kind of did have high expectations. The entrance was a bit dim (like the rest of the restaurant and most "fancier" restaurants) and narrow. We got lost (plus a man we briefly befriended) finding the restaurant part as we first ended up upstairs, which seemed like a private event space. Once we found the front desk, we were asked if we wanted to do coat check. It was a nice gesture but we both kindly declined - unsure whether there is a fee to it but I'm pretty confident that there would be one. It was trippy (haha) walking in as restaurant had a wall of mirrors that made the place seem indefinitely bigger. The room had a nice mix of backgrounds and occupations but taking into consideration how this was near/within the financial district, it was predominantly business persons. My friend and I ordered the steak tartare and cod cakes as appetizers, braised rabbit tagliatelle and the duck breast as mains, and chocolate eclairs and apple crepes as desserts. The waitress informed us that the tagliatelle was a pasta dish. Looking back, I'm not sure if I would take it as a situation of being a good server or as me looking like an uneducated guest. Could go both ways. Portions were small but it was also Winterlicious. The cod cakes tasted like fish sticks and I was having a hard time distinguishing it from the ones my mom used to make for me after school when I was younger. The mains were flavourful and contained what I would call more distinct sources of protein (rabbit and duck). Then dessert came and thats when I was like "I have to write a review." When I saw the dishes, my friend and I both thought of the post ridiculing "fancy foods" (i.e. http://www.funnymeme.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/funny-memes-fancy-restaurants-be-like.jpg). Refer to the pictures and you'll know why. In the end, it was good because dessert is always good. Would I come again? Probably not unless I was working in the area or if there was Winterlicious/Summerlicious again. read more

Bymark - I tried so hard to take a nice picture of this. It was a 8/10 though. - Canadian (New) Near Me - Toronto, Ontario

This is another place to go when you have an expense account.... Not to say that their food is not good, but definitely pricey!! The menu has a nice selection of local ingredients which is pretty cool!! The choices of bread are pretty good, but it's kinda annoying you have to wait for the bread guy to come around every time you want a refill. A little disappointed at the services. It is just borderline ordinary at the caliber it claims to be at. The waiters and waitresses were just standing on the side. I see the manager at work more than them.... Who's in charge, here?!?! read more

I love the duck liver! Two of us ate 3 mains that day. All of them were perfect. But not a fan of the dessert. read more

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I also came here for the Summerlicious price fixe lunch with my family. We'd heard really good things about this restaurant and I was also excited to eat at one of Mark McEwan's restaurants! The service was pretty nice - our water was refilled several times during our stay and the lady serving us was really accommodating when I asked if I could switch the lemon cake I'd previously ordered for dessert with the ice-cream sandwich! The person serving the bread was very slow though (he came around almost right before we tucked into our mains) and the dish of butter he gave us only had three balls of butter even though our table clearly was for four (and strangely enough, it looked like one ball of butter had been removed?). I ordered the beef carpaccio and it was alright. The beef had a sufficient amount of fat to have some flavour, but were not strong enough to stand up to the intense flavour of the pickled vegetables. The parmesan was incredibly stinky (in a good way!) but the dish as a whole was not spectacular. My mom had the tuna tartare and for some reason, I couldn't taste much tuna in it....none of the flavours really popped out at me. The main course was really disappointing. We had the halibut cooked in the banana leaf and we were really excited when the servers arrived at the table to open up the packages for us. However, when they did, we were greeted with an unappealing grey mess that tasted far from spectacular. The flavour of the smoked banana leaf and the ginger used in the recipe were overpowering and the flakiness of the fish was due to the fact that it was overcooked. The root vegetables were a pleasure to eat though, perfected cooked and sweet in the way that they get after their starches have turned to sugar. Although my dad and my sister's ice-cream sandwiches came out perfectly, my ice-cream had started melting. I think I would have enjoyed it more if I had a bit more time to enjoy it (it was really tasty ice-cream!), BUT it was the best thing I'd eaten all day. The chocolate cookies it was sandwiched between were perfectly fudgy and a delight to eat. I was expecting not to like the banana lollipop as it was covered in white chocolate (most white chocolate available at supermarkets are over-sweetened and artificial-tasting, not creamy at all), but I was glad to be proven wrong! Overall, I had an enjoyable dining experience but I expected more from the Head Judge of Top Chef Canada :( read more

Our Table of 2 celebrated a special Birthday on a Friday evening. We were seated outside on the patio, which is lovely for a warm evening. We ordered wine and started with the Ontario Burrata ($19) and the Shrimp Tacos ($22). Both dishes were excellent in flavour. The tacos had varying hints of citrus and tasted very fresh. For our mains, we had the 8oz filet ($40) and the Miso Black Cod ($42). Our sides consisted of green & yellow zucchni ($12) and Lobster Poutine ($14). The best dish was the cod - it was delicious! The remaining 3 dishes were not particularly special. Filet was cooked well; however, nothing really stand-out. The zucchini pieces were cooked inconsistently - some soft, some crunchy. Finally, the lobster poutine....we were not a fan. We realized that poutine is a dish that should not be altered. The béarnaise sauce was clumpy and cold by the time it arrived. Perhaps our disappointment was in the service. We overheard our server discuss and recommend the specials to the table next to us. However, they were not presented to us. We were content with the meal but didn't think there was anything outstanding to allow us to return. Perhaps, would try a lunch time meal. read more

Lobster Poutine! We have been to dinner here a few times and the Lobster Poutine is so good, we don't share it. If you are reading this and shaking your head about the decadence.. its worthy of your cholesterol going up a few points. This restaurant is located inside a business mall, so for dinner, its not too busy. The bread delivery person was a little stingy with the bread but they do bring you more when you ask for it. We also ordered the hamburger, which is done to perfection! The Fish dish, which we devoured in minutes, it was really good. Not cheap but worth the time. read more

The seared tuna sashimi was delish! Def worth a try. But the real winner here is the lobster poutine. It's phenomenal but very heavy. Thankfully, they have a half portion available. read more

Bymark - Seared tuna sashimi with peanuts - Canadian (New) Near Me - Toronto, Ontario

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OK. Bymark has a beautiful outdoor patio bar in the center of the financial district. So, I should have know what I was getting myself into. But only come here if you can stomach the doucheberry-toting, blue-suited bankers and the generically vapid females they're trying to sc*re with. Because they ruin the ambiance of that great patio. Completely. The food is quite good, but even for what it is, it's very overpriced. My steak was tender but came out overcooked (it was ordered medium rare, which is also chef's choice). I do have to say that the service is excellent. But I could never again let a night out with my friends and a $500 meal be soiled by the creepy clientele. read more

Very good food, very cool and classy establishment. A bit pricey for lunch, even on an expense account - sandwiches AND main courses are about 25-28 dollars a piece. Low rating is for very slow service. If you have a week to eat, then it would earn five stars :) read more

Yummy yummy yummy! I loved everything. It would have been 5 stars if the waiter didn't suck. She didn't come around alot and we waited at least 15 minutes even to order our drinks. Other than that, delish!!! I had the calamari and a grilled fish that was amazing. read more

Bymark - Canadian (New) Near Me - Toronto, Ontario

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One of our clients from Vancouver came to T.O a couple of months ago. So, J and I took him out to lunch. There are so many great places in the city for business lunches, and Bymark is one of my favourites in downtown. I have been here on a few occasions for dinner, but have never had their lunch menu. I'm usually safe, and would often get the steak option. So for my main, I got the 6 oz striploin ($33) which came with king oyster mushroom and mustard creme fraiche. My steak was to my liking - medium rare and it was very good. The sauce wasn't heavy nor drenched. I also got 6 oysters which are market price (that day, it was $3.75 per oyster). Service was excellent, but to be honest that's kind of expected these days considering it's a high-end restaurant. I would have been shocked had service been horrible. read more

The restaurant is nice and the food is great but there is something a little bland about the atmosphere. The hostess wasn't very warm, I felt like she snubbed us because we were using the summerlicious menu. tuna sashimi appetizer- 5/5 beef carpaccio-5/5 BBQ duck-4/5 halibut- 4/5 double chocolate cake-4.5/5 the experience was good but it wasn't wow. repeat: probably not, too many restaurants to try read more

Wow. What an amazing experience. Went to dinner last Friday, for the BF's birthday. I couldnt be more impressed. Here is what I loved: (1) Ambiance: 10/10. Amazing lighting and decor. Although gives you the corporate feel, it doesnt intimidate and still leaves you warm. (2) Service: 10/10. I truly couldnt rave enough about our waiter. He was super friendly and helpful. When I told him I was a vegetarian, and couldnt order anything off of the Ap menue, he got the chef to make me an amazing Salad. My Thanks also goes out to the kitchen and especially the Chef, who really accomodated my dietary restrictions. (3) Food: 10/10. I got the Salad and the BF got Shrimp Tacos. My salad was beautiful, with heirloom beets, goat cheese, carmelized walnuts and flowers. My dinner date was very impressed with the Tacos. For main, I got the Scallops and my BF got the Surf adn Turf. The scallops were plenty and so rich and satesfying I couldnt finish. Same with Surf and Turf. (4) Wine: 10/10. Incredible. (5) Value: In the end we ended up spending around $300. Considering the service and the food it was amazing value, and we'll definately go back. read more

The bar in Suits! So cool. Went here for business drinks and apps. Couldn't have been nicer staff, nice seat by the window, good lamb chops and better steak tartare. Highly recommend. read more

I am part of a monthly ladies supper club. We try out new places and it's been alot of fun thus far. We decided to go to Bymark because we were all curious and with Summerlicious in full swing, we figured we could try out a few options and not break the bank. We were taken down to the lower level which was quite intimate. There was a beautiful glass wine cellar down there that I would like to one day own in my home! The summerlicious menu was pretty decent. I have nothing to complain about with the food as it was all pretty good.. nothing to rave about though either with the exception of.... The homemade which chocolate banana sucker and homemade ice cream... I definitely see myself returning just for that! It was amazing! The service was pretty poor. We kept having to flag down our server to order, to get our bill, to pay our bill.... it was a bit defeating. read more

Went here with folks from my new employer -we started in the upstairs bar area, overlooking the financial district. great martinis and people watching. Attentive and professional waitstaff. After our drinks, we moved downstairs for a table - we were early so service was extra prompt and attentive. Ended up with the rare 12 oz Canadian prime strip steak and Brussels sprouts with lardon. Both cooked to perfection, what you would expect for a place of this price point/ calibre. Probably 8 or 9 steaks landed at the table that night, raves all around. An off-menu Steak Tartar arrived, also prepared to absolute perfection. Be warned, the price will reflect the quality of the dishes ingredients. The wine list could get you into big trouble if that's your bag. All in all a very good meal with great location and atmosphere. Some of the other reviews here based on clientele and cost are misleading, or unfair in my opinion. You are eating in the middle of the banking district of a large city, at a swank upscale a la carte restaurant run by a celebrity chef, and you are upset you are surrounded by bankers and their model-esque dates? Perhaps I am the typical dumb american, but what crowd should I expect at that location? starving artists and nuns? And I saw that 35 dollar burger across from my 50 dollar steak, and it looked damn good. Give this place a try, we all enjoyed it thoroughly. read more

Bymark has a restaurant in the tunnels of Toronto as well as a bar that sort of "peeps" up to the street level. My review is for the bar portion only. There was something unidentifiably cool about this bar -- a random glass-walled enclosure sitting outside the TD building in the middle of the financial district. Leather couches, dim lights, soft background music, and an attentive & attractive staff. A weird, deserted, distant, but warm kind of place. Classy, modern, dark, high end. Something in me clicks with the atmosphere of the Toronto financial district. During the holidays, it's gorgeous with the enormous Christmas tree outside and snow all around. This bar is as close to outdoor seating that you can get in Toronto during the winter. Wish I could tell you that the drinks were amazing, but I basically just drank the peatiest scotch I could find and an unknown but decidedly not small number of manhattans. Which, yes, was amazing. But how could it not be? read more

This was my second Winterlicious of the year and I cannot rave enough about it. I'd go as far as to say it's my favourite Winterlicious/Summerlicious in the past few years.. it was just that good. Truly, I do believe you get what you pay for and Bymark overshot my expectations by miles. The inside of the resto is elegantly dim. Everything about this Mark McEwan resto says class and the dining experience is definitely enhanced by the beautiful ambiance. We started off with a glass of chardonnay and malbec. The servers were extremely friendly and attentive, offered helpful recommendations and were extremely personable. I even liked the bread that they served... I was so put off by a medicore Winterlicious lunch I had earlier in the day before I started off my meal but sitting down in the resto just dispelled all of that. FOOD Apps Crudo of Albacore Tuna -winter citrus, granny smith apple & fried sunchoke chips. Who is this culinary genius that thought of putting grapefruit and other varieties of winter citrus with tuna? This was absolutely DELICIOUS. I really expected this to be a standard tuna app, one that I'll enjoy but not think anything special of it. How wrong I was, the tuna was alright by itself - medium (though I prefer rare being a sushi fan) - but coupled with the red peppers and fruit varieties daintily placed on the plate, I was sold. The fresh seafood with a hint of spice and tangy fruitiness was perfect. Calamari & Salt Spring Mussels -warm white beans, pan stewed tomatoes & cracked olives This was alright... I suppose it's hard to make mussels and calamari taste mindblowingly good unless we're talking Spanish, but it was still not bad and tasted fairly fresh. Mains Grilled Sea Bream -side striped shrimp, mussels, beluga lentils, lime yogurt & cracked olive tapenade I had beef for lunch that day, so I decided to get seafood for my own main. When it first arrived, my first instinct was disappointment because the dish was not exactly visually appealing. The sea bream was dark and a bit charcoaled, there was what looked like white cream underneath and I thought to myself wth did I just order.. let me trade with that delicious looking striploin on the other side of me right now. .........clearly I was being an unappreciative prick because goddamn this was some good fish. a) This thing we call beluga lentils (almost bean-like) is black magic and goes well with this mystical sea bream I had to wiki after b) Lime yogurt should be eaten with every type of fish there is because the combination was incredible. I cleaned my plate except the my food enemy named olives. But the dish was so good I even considered eating those too. Duo of Beef center cut striploin, braised veal cheeks, roasted squash & Yorkshire pudding The striploin did not taste like mass-produced Winterlicious items that other restos offer. It was juicy and tender, a perfect medium rare that we asked for. ...my appetite was so good after the delicious sea bream that I could've probably finished the striploin too. The braised veal cheeks were ok; soft, flavourful, but overshadowed by the striploin. A+ beef dish compared to the Trios disaster I had earlier in the day. Dessert Fruit Crumble oat crunch, puff pastry cookie I didn't go adventurous with the dessert b/c a) no such option and b) 5 starts already earned from a fantastic app and main. The crumble was still tasty though; the oat crunch was so satisfying and helped balance out the very sweet raspberry. Not a fan of the pastry cookie because it had too much sugar coating, but pretty good dessert :) Banana Coffee Cake espresso syrup, brandy snap, chocolate ice cream & banana nut praline Loved the ice cream and the brandy snap with this banana coffee cake. Standard cake, a bit too doughy but still quite delicious! And so, I left Bymark a happier foodie. read more

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Going to Bymark is enjoyable and this visit was not any different. I enjoyed dining at Bymark. Bymark's atmosphere is unique, classy (normally) and romantic (usually). The food is always good and the service is polite. This visit was imperfect, but it is not because of the management or the kitchen. Firstly, the menu has hardly changed over the years, which I appreciate. The classics they serve are still good and still reliable. The high quality remains. They used to serve bread for customers, but that was absent this visit. We had gravlax salmon as appetizers, which came with guacamole and cherry tomatoes. I had the venison loin done medium and found it tasty and liked the pepper crusted edges. My friend enjoyed the fish too. As with most restaurants the Japanese influence has well crept in and Bymark now serves "hamachi" and yuzu ice cream! The only thing wrong with the creme brulee is that I wish there was more of it. Bymark offers a lounge upstairs and a dining room downstairs and we were sitting downstairs. The waitress was polite. The hostess was sweet. They had a group sitting at the far end near the entrance who had a crying baby in tow. I was just grateful I was not on an aeroplane. Moreover, Bymark had wisely placed the group as far from the rest of the diners as possible. An East Asian family, however, were seated next to us and they were hilarious. They were famished and talking it up in Chinese. It was so loud I believe the entire (normally quiet) restaurant could hear their loud chatter. They had large group bowl after bowl of food and more food and were declaring its glory to everybody. I am sure most patrons did not appreciate their enthusiasm. I assume the restaurant management enjoyed giving them the bill however. Do not be dissuaded. Bymark normally offers a classy and posh setting. For high-end Canadian food Bymark is a very good destination and a favourite. read more

I just had lunch here. I had a THIRTY EIGHT DOLLAR HAMBURGER. Was it good? Sure. But shouldn't it be? Some simple hamburger math for you. Let's say you like...I dunno... your standard greasy spoon hamburger. Let's say that it costs $2. You could have a burger a week for... um... OVER FOUR COMPLETE MONTHS for the same price. That's not to say that it's not good.... :) read more

What a disappointing evening...the food was alright but quite frankly I don't enjoy It when I'm being made to feel as if they're doing me a favour by allowing me to eat there. My order was not correct and when I pointed it out to more than one person nothing was done about it. As well, I have food allergies...had called in advance & was told that it wasn't an issue for them to accommodate me but once seated I was made to feel like an imposition. Missing Susur Lee. read more

Lobster Poutine - A++ Oyster mushrooms - A+ Risotto - A Steak - C- (order it a little under what you normally like. I ordered med-well and ended up w filet-jerky) read more

this has been my sixth visit to Bymark. I have always been a fan of Mark and his work. Before when we would visit the restaurant it had a vibe of high quality food and service. But this last time didn't have me feeling that way. drinks were mediocre at best with a high end price tag. lobster poutine- is always a must. read more