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Bar Clams
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Matty Matheson leaves a bit of his heart in each of his restaurants. It creates a certain level of continuity, sure. More importantly, though, it brings love, care and passion into each space, showcasing pieces of his childhood, his life, in each restaurant he opens.
It’s no different at Bar Clams, his Atlantic Canada-inspired eatery on the west side of Toronto. Odes to his upbringing on the East Coast are abundant in the menus and in the decor a nostalgic playlist, and even in the custom plateware, bringing the laid back, coastal spirit to life on Dundas Street West. Having a neighbourhood feel and a welcoming atmosphere were the top priority, serving as an ode to the East and a testament to the neighbourhood alike. The ingredients are sourced from the East Coast wherever possible, and street food-inspired dishes meet home-developed recipes from Matheson’s family and a raw bar to offer guests whatever experience they desire.
There’s bar seating skirting the walls of the space, but two U-shaped bars in the middle of the space allow servers to stand in the middle of the guests, but also encourage them to speak to one another across the table in a bid to create a sense of community - with food by culinary director Coulson Armstrong at the centre of the entire experience.
Bar Clams is home to one of the best oyster deals in the city: Toonie Tuesdays. All of the oysters, Armstrong says, are imported from both the East Coast and West Coast based on seasonal availability and flavour profiles.
“The Bluefin tuna is an East Coast nod to Prime Seafood Palace, where we have the Sicilian crudo, so it’s one of those dishes that establishes us as its little sister restaurant.” Bar Clams’ version is served on a plate drizzled with red onions, capers, grapefruit, and olive oil, topped with light sesame vinaigrette.
“The Molasses Bread is an ode to Matty’s mom, who would bake it in Allen’s tins of apple juice,” Armstrong says. “This was a bread we opened Prime Seafood Palace with, but once we knew Bar Clams was in the works, we pulled it from that menu and wanted to have that touch of East Coast here in this pull-apart bread.” It gets soft and steamy and crunchy on the outside and is served with maple butter and molten salt.
“Our fried deluxe is a mixed plate, almost like a frito misto,” Armstrong explains. “It’s a mix of squid, shrimp, Bar Clams strips and scallops, all coming from the East Coast.” The ingredients are breaded in a light corn meal and seasoned with Old Bay. The fan-favourite is served with tartar sauce, cocktail sauce, and a ton of lemon.
“The East Coast chowder is inspired by Matty’s dad,” Armstrong explains. “It’s more on the brothier side with milk, potatoes, clam, mussels and a nice chunk of butter.” It’s become one of the most popular dishes on the menu.
This dish is baked with Old Bay butter and fried saltines. “It’s a little hopper on the menu,” Armstrong says. “People really go nuts for this.”
The iceberg salad is made with dijon honey dressing and tarragon, chervil and chive. “This is just bright and crunchy, and it pairs well with any seafood dish,” Armstrong says. “This was a one-and-done. In menu development, we got it right on our very first try.”
The fish and chips, made with fried cod, go the extra mile to pay homage to the East Coast - they’re battered in Moosehead bear, which comes from Atlantic Canada. The fish is served with chunky Yukon Gold fries.
The Mimosa Springs trout is topped with pink shrimp and a fine herb butter sauce made with chervil and tarragon. “We get the trout in from Collingwood once a week and allow it to just relax,” Armstrong says. “We age it a little bit and cook it on the plancha, take the skin off and serve it.”
Baked to order, the banana chocolate chip cookie comes with hot fudge and vanilla ice cream in its own skillet. “We recommend sharing this among two people,” Armstrong laughs. “You try to solo take this down, you might feel it.”
“Any seafood, lunch or dinner, needs to be followed with a lemon meringue pie,” Armstrong says. “We try to get the meringue as high as possible, with the graham crust.”
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