Diana's Oyster Bar & Grill

on
Tuesday, August 27, 2013
Edward had been wanting to get oysters for a couple weeks now, so despite the pouring rain this evening, Edward, Ronsee, and I drove into Scarborough to have dinner at Diana's Oyster Bar & Grill:

Platter of assorted oysters

Malpaque Oyster (Prince Edward Island)

Pacific Tiger Oyster (Washington State)

Kumamoto Oyster (Washington State)

Since none of us are oyster experts (nor do we pretend to be), we asked our server to give us a random selection of nine oysters, so they gave us three each of three different varieties. I thought they selected a good range of oysters for us to try, from clean and sweet (Malpaque) to meaty and earthy (Pacific Tiger) to creamy and sweet (Kumamoto). Served with lemon wedges, hand-grated horseradish, and an assortment of sauces. Super-fresh, clean, and shucked to order. They offer a ton of other oysters, too, so I think it's worth going back to try out some more. It's one of the best places to get oysters outside of the downtown core, at any rate.

Seared sea scallops with arugula and endive salad

I wasn't feeling super-hungry, so in lieu of a main dish, I ordered one of today's appetizer specials instead: jumbo sea scallops on a bed of arugula, endives, radicchio, and cherry tomatoes tossed in olive oil vinaigrette. The sea scallops were firm and perfectly seared with a tender, fleshy centre, topped with a zesty tomato sauce that complemented the seafood beautifully. The salad came in a generous portion (especially for an appetizer) and was fresh, crisp, and leafy — the tomatoes added a tart sweetness and the arugula offered a nice richness, while the radicchio contrasted with its bitter flavour and the endive rounded out the whole dish with a most satisfying crunch. Simple, but very well-executed, and pretty substantial for an appetizer, too. The restaurant is apparently newly renovated, offering a small and intimate but simultaneously sleek and streamlined dining area. Our server was nice and polite, though could have been a little more attentive especially given that she only had two other tables. Though I do think it says something about a restaurant when it has more than half of its dining room filled on a Tuesday night an hour before close when it is pouring outside. 

Who knew there was such a gem in Scarborough?


Diana's Oyster Bar & Grill
2105 Lawrence Avenue East
Scarborough, ON M1R 2Z4
(416) 288-1588
2 comments on "Diana's Oyster Bar & Grill"
  1. I don't know, woman. You keep telling me about all this good stuff in Scarborough. @___@

    Oyster tasting is super fun. I was never a fan of raw oyster but did something similar to this at http://rodneysoysterhouse.com/toronto/ (King/Spadina) and it was really good. I can't remember anything now because I didn't take notes of what was what and how they tasted... but there wasn't anything I disliked.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I think Rodney's is what started this whole oyster thing for me. I went last summer and just love oysters now. :P

      And I'm totally the same way with oysters. They all taste great and I enjoy having them, but I definitely can't tell the subtle nuances between the different types aside. In the end, I'm just like, "Damn, this shit is GOOD."

      Okay, true, there are some great places to eat in Scarborough, but you never think OYSTERS when you think Scarborough. :P

      Delete

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