Matty Matheson just replaced one of his closed restaurants with a new one in Toronto
Published November 29, 2024 at 12:00 pm
It’s always sad to see a great restaurant close down in Toronto, but it often just means something new and different is right around the corner.
That’s certainly the case when it comes to Bar Clams, celeb chef Matty Matheson’s newest Toronto restaurant project.
The restaurant has taken over the space that was once home to Fonda Balam, replacing their menu of Mexican dishes with seafood-based offerings with a diner twist.
Fonda Balam was extremely popular while it was open, and even received recognition from the Michelin Guide.
Bar Clams serves lunch and dinner, with raw, steamed and fried seafood options. There are also seafood cocktails, and a range of sandwiches includes options like donair, a mackerel BLT, fried rutabaga, hot turkey and hot hamburger. Side dishes include East Coast options such as Newfoundland fries.
The supper menu is very similar to the lunch menu, but with some heartier dishes like a lobster supper and pork chops. Bar Clams even serves a Jiggs dinner, a traditional meal in Newfoundland also known as “boiled,” “cooked” or “Sunday” dinner that usually contains components like salt beef or corned beef along with turnip, cabbage, dumplings, potatoes and vegetables.
Aside from the seafood cocktails, Bar Clams also serves boozy cocktails like a tequila sunrise, Bloody Mary, rum whisky punch and a “Super Rum and Coke” made with a house rum blend and Mexican Coca-Cola. They also serve a short list of beers and an extensive selection of whiskies, rums and aperitifs.
Fonda Balam’s already gorgeous interior has been transformed into a totally different but equally stunning space, with a mirrored ceiling and wraparound metallic bar with diner-inspired stool seating.
Bar Clams is now open at 802 Dundas St. W.