Biff’s Bistro

Pretty much like all other O&B restaurants, Biff’s is upscale with a classy vibe. Central location right across from Union Station. Dim lighting sets a romantic ambiance but it didn’t feel intimate since the tables are so close together (at least the ones along the far left wall were).
We swung by after work for some dollar oysters (which starts after 5pm Tuesdays & Saturdays) and frankly, I was a little disappointed. They’re tiny and some of them weren’t even full oysters. I’ve definitely had better (i.e.: Nome Izakaya, Wilcox Gastropub to name a few).
Our server was friendly but maybe checked up on us one too many times.
I’ll probably give this place another go in the future but until then, my impression of Biff’s remains as overhyped.

Very romantic ambiance and food is very veryyyy rich. I ordered the mushroom soup, beef ribs and le tigre. Mushroom soup was very creamy. Delicious. The beef rib was great but the couscous was drowning in the olive oil — which i didnt care for. But the beef was cooked to perfection.
As for desert, the portion was right on. Le tigre was amazingly fresh and had hard choco bits inside. The chocolate sauce on top was amazing but the raspberry sauce on top was too citrusy for my liking.
I got a little sick in the middle of the night but i am guessing it was the mushroom soup because I was the only one who ordered it from my table. Over all ⁴⁄₅!!! Amazing.

I should start off by saying that in general, I am not a fan of O&B restaurants — I find them to be overhyped, and often overpriced for what they are.
I did however, receive a gift card to the O&B empire and decided on Biffs as I had never been there before. I will just talk about food and service (ambience, décor etc were all fine).
Food
We took advantage of the buck a shuck oysters — fresh, shucked perfectly — no complaints. Great price without it being bargain oysters
The crispy pig ears were out but our server suggested the chicken liver parfait. It was delicious and they gave you a very generous portion of pâté — lets just say we had over half remaining! Very smooth, delicate flavour
My boyfriend got the prix fixe — mushroom soup and braised ribs, whereas I just got the steak frites. The mushroom soup was delicious, light, full of flavour.
The braised ribs were good but nothing spectacular. I make similar ones and I thought they were similar tasting (and I am not a great cook by any stretch of the imagination). My steak was overcooked and just meh — honestly the keg does a better steak.
Service
Our server was excellent. He was busy so forgot to come back to check if I wanted wine (in all fairness I was waffling) but there were plenty of other people checking in on us. The people who served us the food didn’t explain it (say that the pâté comes with house made mustard!) but it didn’t dampen our experience.
Overall; its fine, not great. For the price (around $ 150) I would prefer other places in the city with more spectacular food. I’d come back for the oysters but would have dinner elsewhere.

One of the upscale French restaurants under the O&B arm. I’ve been here twice for the past 2 years, due to the restaurant’s central location.
Pros:
— Great steak tartare as well as some other signature French dishes. If you’re craving some good French food, this is a place to check out.
— Buck-​a-​shuck $ 1 Oysters on Tuesday nights — one of the many places in the Downtown core that has good oyster deals on Tuesdays.
— Lovely patio. I love this part of Front street as it is more quaint and calm compared to other parts of the Downtown core.
Cons:
— In my opinion, many of the dishes are overpriced. Most entrees are well above the $ 25-​$ 30 price range. The last time I came for buck-​a-​shuck oysters and a few sides including a small Chacuterie board and the goat cheese tart to share with my friend, we both ended up paying around $ 30 without any drinks or feeling full.
— Service was mediocre on my last visit. The table beside us was receiving many bread refills, while we received none. When the waiter served our Chacuterie board, some of the items fell off the plate but were not replaced. I also noticed some of my dishes were dirty on the patio. Overall, the service does not match the price charged on the menu.

They used to have $ 1 for everyday, but now it’s only Tuesday and Saturday.

We were here for Summerlicious. I will say that O&B restaurants never disappoint. The food was delectable. I had the pork belly, and cake. The staff is friendly and knowledgeable. They have a strong wine list and drink menu. The patio was lovely. They did everything right. We enjoyed our meal and had a great girls’ night out. I totally recommend coming here.

Came here for lunch with a friend for Summerlicious on a Thursday. The 3 course meal of appetizer, entrée and dessert together came to $ 25.99 before tips. What a good deal considering their entrees are usually $ 20 each.
I ordered the Herb Goat Cheese Soufflé as appetizer. It came with a a dandelion salad with crumbled olives, carrot purée and small dollop of cheese on top. The soufflé is small but really tasty. Crunchy crust, cheesy top and soft and eggy in the middle. The dressing is nice; can’t quite describe it, but it’s refreshing! The menu said it includes peas and asparagus which I didn’t see on my plate… i’m guessing they were among the salad leaves?
As my main, I got the crêpe gourmande. I was debating against the provencal, but changed my mind. The crêpe was rolled burrito style with chicken, spinach, apple and brie with a sunny side up egg on top. I thought it was going to be presented flat instead, so maybe I could’ve got something else. My friend’s ploughman’s platter looked fun to eat! The salad had nothing special, just simple lettuce and olive oil dressing; I preferred the salad dressing from my appetizer.
I chose the biscuit de savoie for dessert. It was a spongecake with a bit of a crusty edge sitting on some cherry syrup and cherries. Didn’t love the cherry flavour but the cream was interesting, even though it only had like 4 or 5 tiny speckles of lavender on it.
Service was on top. We sat in the patio because of the nice weather, and the waiter was always present and asking how our meal is. I’m not sure if I would come back because it’s more on the high end of my budget, but this was a nice experience! I rate it a 3.7 and I’d say the appetizer was my favourite part of the meal :)

I’ve been to biff’s couple times, and I feel like it has changed. It’s not the same bistro that I enjoyed couple years ago anymore!
Too bad to see some amazing dishes disappear from the menu, and I feel like the overall quality of the food has dropped a bit. Not bad or anything, but nothing extraordinary either.
The atmosphere is still very nice, but just sad to see that it has changed for the worse, basically.

Nice restaurant, servers that are helpful and willing to explain parts of the menu. I had Braise Beef Cheek & Bone Marrow, and Beef Bourghuignon. The plate presentation were nice, only overdone by the excellent taste and tenderness of the beef. My bride had Asparagus Soup, Sockeye Salmon. Both were flavorful. First time her but it will not be the last. We enjoyed the food very much. Server was good. Thank you for the meal.

I’ve been back to Biff’s numerous times since my initial review and every time it was great. That’s why I suggested to a friend that we meet up there for drinks, oysters and catch up. Little did we know that we had walked in on launch party night for a new Dirty Bits bar menu and oyster party.
We were seated in the last available table in the bar area when we ran into fellow Unilocaler, Karen L. Not really a big coincidence since we’re both oyster fans (I got to witness the new parasite friend in her oyster).
We placed our order for two dozen oysters and 2 Pimm’s Cup ($ 13). Our drinks were long devoured while the wait was on for our oysters. Notably the place was a lot busier than any time I’ve ever been there but knowing that the event might attract customers, Biff’s should have been better prepared.
About an hour after ordering, our server turned up with a plate of oysters on a melted bed of ice. Some of the oysters had fallen into the watery puddle and it did not look appetizing at all.
We ate one and we knew something was off… they were warm and the taste was not particularly appetizing. We mentioned this to our server and his first suggestion was to offer us a few more free (possibly bad tasting warm) oysters.
We declined and he took the plate off our table. As we were discussing going some where else, he reappeared with 2 separate plates of oysters. These ones were on actual beds of ice. Not sure if he just took the oysters from the original plate and replaced them on ice. We tried these ones and they were better, at the very least cold.
We finished up and quickly asked for the bill. Another server came by and asked if we needed anything else and we expressed our disappointment with both the service and quality of oysters.
We did get to sample a few items from the new bar menu including fondue balls, smelts, duck confit poutine, and tuna on radish and one small drink — jalapeño margarita. I think the wait for our oysters overshadowed any of the samples.
I think O&B could have had an event with better service to showcase their new menu and get people excited. Too bad because they usually do things up nice and classy.

Wow, I can’t believe how this place has changed, and not for the better!
I called last week to get some more details about the launch of their new «Dirty Bits» menu along with the farewell of their daily one dollar oyster specials. (They now have daily specials but buck a shuck oysters on Tuesdays and Saturdays).
So it was advertised as an Oyster Shuck-​Off, with different chefs doing the shucking at different oyster stations. On the phone, I was told there would be four stations with four types of oysters, from both east and west coasts. It sounded like a casual event where you would pay at the stations, get your oysters, have a few drinks and sample some of the new «bits». It sounded like a fun launch!
This was not the case, by any means.
1. There was only one type of oyster (Cascumpec Bay, P.E.I.). That in itself was a disappointment.
2. We sampled some extremely watered down cocktails and some really strong ones too. The inconsistency was terrible. Some would say I can’t complain about complimentary drinks, but if that’s any indication of what you’ll be serving me when I pay, then I thank you.
3. I asked a server what was in a particular drink and she had no idea. She said she would find out but she didn’t. This is a so-​called «launch». Shouldn’t all the servers know the menu inside and out?
4. We sampled a few food items but it seemed as though the food would go one way and the drinks the other. There was no balance. Some patrons would get all the food, we happened to get most of the drinks. This made no sense at all.
Again, if you’re showcasing a new menu, it would be to your benefit to put your best foot forward. Instead, it was an unimpressive kick-​off to a boring «new» menu.
Oh right, to top it all off, I found a really cool looking organism living in my oyster. I wish I took a video but it was replaced before I had a chance. Good thing I showed it off to several people. It was ALIVE and swimming in the seawater. I guess that’s as fresh as it gets?

Came here on a Saturday night with my bf and his family to use an O+B gift card. It was pretty decently busy when we got there and we ordered the oysters right away since there’s a 40 min wait time and the max order is 24 at a time. Did I mention it’s a buck a shuck? Oh, the 50 reviews before me probably did. The only downside was there were some shell bits in the oysters but for $ 1 I couldn’t complain.
I won’t get into everyone else’s orders since there were 5 of us. This review is based solely on what I ate. I ordered off the prix fixe menu since I wanted to try the beef bourguignon anyways from someone else’s Unilocal review. For $ 9 more I got chicken liver pâté and ice cream and sorbet for dessert too!
The chicken pâté was a big portion that I wasn’t expecting. It came with pickled beets (I think) and the house mustard which brought the pâté to another level. It was a great combination and I would definitely get it again.
The beef bourguignon was absolutely delicious. The beef was so tender and flavourful with a good amount of fat in it. The gnocchi, root vegetables and mushrooms were the perfect side dishes for the beef and I couldn’t eat enough of it. I didn’t want it to end. I’m definitely going back just for this dish.
The ice cream and sorbet was pretty good too. The flavours I got were mango sorbet and milk chocolate ice cream. I REALLY liked the milk chocolate ice cream and I would probably buy a tub if they sold it!
Overall:
Service was excellent — waiter came around filling water and checking up on us frequently.
Food was awesome — the whole meal was only $ 34.95 plus tax (not including the oysters which were only $ 1 each anyways).
Décor and ambiance is nice — comfortable chairs and a nice patio.
Will definitely be back!

Can’t go wrong with their $ 1 oysters except for the fact that me and my girlfriend had stomach cramps after which I question if they properly washed the oysters, but none the less it was good, but be aware we waited 30 minutes for 2 dozen oysters to be shucked and we were their first customers to order them… drinks are quite pricy here, draft beer was like $ 8 and my girlfriends sangria was $ 11, so here’s the thing our waiter said they didn’t have sangria on the menu but they could make it for us and we asked if they had fresh fruits and he was like ‘of course, no problem’…LIES, the only fresh fruit we got was a slice of apple as decoration on the tip of the glass with no fruits in the sangria at all, it tasted like sprinkling white wine… so u’ve been warned
Other than that I don’t think I would ever come back to this place except for their $ 1

I am officially a Fan of O&B chains.
I never liked corporate big restaurants such SirCorp (Jack Astors, Alice Fazoolis) or Cara (Milestone, Swiss Chalet). Working in one I know it’s all uneducated cooks in the back that never took a single course in culinary before.
Biff’s would be the second 3^rd O&B restaurant experience and I was completely blown away. The décor is upscale and cozy, but casual enough so you don’t have to be rdiculously over dressed for dinner.
After 5pm they offer buck a shuck. That’s right. $ 1 oysters. You won’t get an extended list to choose from but offering that in the middle of the financial district is a steal!
Aside from the buck-​a-​suck. They also offer 3 courses for 33 $. Their single course entrée is already 25 $, so for just over 5 $, you get a soup, salad, or foie gras, and a dessert of your choice.
From my experience what the most memorable part of my meal was the mushroom soup. A definite must try!

A group of 6, including myself, dined here on New Year’s Eve and were unimpressed with Biff’s as an overall experience. Where the restaurant saves itself is in the quality of the food but we have simply come to expect a lot more from an O&B restaurant.
First, the prix fixe menu for NYE did not make any sense. It was priced at $ 75 for 3 courses plus an amuse bouche. However, none of the items on the prix fixe were not also on the a la carte menu, and no matter what combination we tried to make, nothing came out to more $ 75. The prix fixe menu seemed to be kind of a rip off, so we all ordered a la carte. I had the escargots and the Lobster Newburg, which were both tasty, no complaints about that.
The problem began already when we walked in, when the hostess noted that coat check was «full», even though we saw that people were leaving with their coats we arrived. Two members of our party were able to check in their coats, but the rest of us were inexplicably left out in the cold (or the opposite, if there’s a pun to be intended). We sat in a booth so we had to leave our pile of parkas (it was very cold that evening) next to us, which isn’t per se a problem, but in a restaurant where my entrée is almost $ 50, I would expect less dismissiveness from the hostess.
Our server, while very nice and while he profusely apologized, was also very slow. It took a good 10 – 15 minutes before we were even asked about drink orders, by which time we had already all decided on what we wanted to order for food. We also had a party of 6 but the serving manner was all over the place, with our food being passed over our heads and us expecting to basically serve the platters to ourselves.
Overall, food was very good but service was beyond subpar for a place this calibre. If I wanted to dine at Jack Astor’s, I would have chosen Jack Astor’s.

I was a bit skeptical coming here but it ended up being better than expected.
I ordered the 3 course set for $ 35, which included an appetizer, main and dessert. As an add-​on, I also ordered the fried pig ears ($ 7).
The fried pig ears were actually quite tasty. It was served with some creamy mayo-​like sauce and is definitely enough to share among 2 – 3 people.
For my 3-​course meal, I started off with the mushroom soup which was quite good. You can really taste the mushroom texture.
For the main, I had the beef bourguignon. Among the onions and gnocchi was a large juicy chunk of beef, slightly on the fatter end, but very tender. I was fan of this.
For dessert, I had the coconut angel cake with blueberry compote and lemon curd. This was probably the most disappointing part of the meal as the angel cake itself was quite hard in some places and the blueberry compote was a bit too sweet.
Overall, the meal was better than I expected.

A 3.5 star experience. My husband and I arrived at 5:45 pm Tuesday night for an early dinner before a 7:30 Raptors game. I advised the hostess when I made the reservation that we needed to leave in 75 minutes. No joke– they advised all the 3 servers who attended our table. Our main server kept an eye on all the entrees to ensure we didn’t have to wait more than a few minutes between courses, and did not forget about us when the place got busy at around 6:30.
I was disappointed about their salmon tartar served on a bed of lentils, under some beets and pickled beets. The pickled beets were too overpowering. Then came my main entrée — the sesame crusted tuna was cooked to perfection! Dessert was also great– the almond– orange cake was small in portion, but very rich, also served with a scoop of fragrant vanilla ice cream. The servers definitely made it a lovely experience!

Lovely place! I like the atmosphere and decorations — everything looks beautiful! The food is amazing, they have the best beef tartare in the city. I don’t remember the names of the dishes but everything was delicious.
The service depends on the day: one time it was very fast, even thought they were busy; next time it took half an hour or more to get the appetizers. but still, I love this place!

Oliver & Bonacini — you’ve no doubt heard the name. They own 8 restaurants in the downtown core alone and attract the corporate crowd like moths to a flame. They’re also home to one of the hardest-​to-​get reservations (at Canoe) during Summerlicious and Winterlicious. Yeah, you just keep your finger on the redial button honey.
I was never a die-​hard fan of the O&B empire simply because I didn’t have a corporate expense account and always found the crowd to be «stuffy.» None of their restaurants were places I would go to hang out with friends. Most of my dining experience were Summer/​Winterlicious luncheons with fellow co-​workers or for special occasions.
But most recently I’ve been spending a lot of time après work at the bar of Biff’s Bistro at Yonge/​Front because of the recent launch of their Ménage à Trois, Quatre, Cinq menu where you can enjoy two Sustain wines (a red and a white) from Rosehall Run Winery from Prince Edward County and Mill Street Organic on tap for $ 3, $ 4, and $ 5 respectively from 3−5pm, along with a daily bar snack special from Monday to Fridays for the same prices. The daily snack features are as follows:
Mondays: Vegetarian
Tuesdays: Meat
Wednesdays: Pork
Thursdays: Vegetarian
Fridays: Fish
And if you just so happen to have one of those jobs that don’t allow you to clock out before 5pm, you can still take advantage of the buck-​a-​shuck from 5pm onwards. On weekdays they start the countdown with 500 oysters until they sell-​out and 700 on weekends. On the particular Sunday I went, they were serving Read (pronounced reed) Island Gems from British Columbia which were really creamy and delicious! They might just be my new go-​to West Coast shuck!
One evening I was flying solo but still had a blast. The crowd is very diverse from nearby theatre-​goers to out-​of-​towners and yes the corporate crowd undoubtedly still find their way in but the atmosphere is fun and inviting. When the weather cooperates, the patio is a great spot to get al fresco with a view of the Sony Centre of Performing Arts through colourful planters and iron gates. It’s a great spot to play «fashion police» at the expense of show go-​ers and have a good laugh. Parking is also $ 2 after 5:30p.m.
There are cocktails too of course, but I found mine too syrupy and sweet. Cocktails everywhere are always a hit and miss; but wine and beer seldom let you down.
I am quite infatuated with Amanda Ray’s menu at the moment with everything from escargots with gnocchi à la parisienne (pictured above) to crispy pig’s ears (pictured below) and a bavarois for dessert.
She’s recently done some travelling in Vietnam and on one night featured what I’d call a «fish lettuce wrap» that was inspired from ch cá lã vng, a turmeric and dill fish dish originating from Hanoi. It’s nice to see her incorporating dishes from bygone French colonies as well. My mom would’ve loved it! (Random tidbit: She was born and raised in Vietnam and so I’ve been exposed to that cuisine since a very young age).
It is also worth noting that they have their regular prix fixe menu for $ 34.95 that includes an appetizer, main and dessert. For that price — you can’t really go wrong. The selection isn’t just a sloppily thrown together menu of «cheap» offerings either. Chicken liver parfait and bœuf bourgignon are just some of the decadent offerings with a gâteau de citron that won’t make you feel too guilty to indulge in something sweet.
So allez-​y, make a reservation at Biff’s Bistro. There’s no word on how long the Ménage à Trois, Quatre, Cinq will run for — don’t catch yourself having a «zut alors!» moment for missing it ;)

I always wanted to go to Biff, and I grabbed onto the opportunity when Summerliscious rolled around. Let me start with the décor: it’s cozy but very fancy at the same time. My friends and I tried their $ 1 oysters — they are so good for the price. From the menu, I tried the Salmon Tartare (appetizer), Beef Steak Diane (entrée), Chocolate Bavarois (dessert). My friends tried the appetizers: Chilled Cucumber Soup, St-​Canut Jambon de Paris; entrée: Poached Salmon, Chicken Au Pistou; and desserts: Un Bordel de Fraises, and Biff’s Summerlicious Cheese.
I really enjoyed all the menu items. The steak was a little more cooked than I wanted for Medium Rare — but it was still delicious. One of my friends chicken was a little under cooked around the bone. For the desserts: I absolutely loved the Un Bordel de Fraises. It was sweet and sour — a wonderful combination. I didn’t get that of course, but my own Chocolate Bavarois was still good — not too sweet and texture was perfect. However, I just preferred the Bordel de Fraises more. Overall this meal was well worth the cost. My next item to try is the Steak Tartare — I’ve heard many good things from friends. So I’ll see you again, Biff!

Tout n’a pas été parfait mais je pense que c’est un jeu de circonstances car ce restaurant a un sacré potentiel!
La nourriture même si j’attendais le goût du boeuf bourguignon de ma maman (oué j’en demande beaucoup je sais) était très bon, le saumon fumé excellent, le canard confit exquis et la cerise sur le gâteau c’est bien sur le pain servi au début! Surement la 1ere fois que je mange du pain aussi bon qu’en France à Toronto! Quel plaisir!
Le service rien à redire, notre serveur était aux petits soins pour nous.
Le seul hic a été à la fin, nous avons attendu 20 min l’addition pour problème informatique, donc un soir de St Valentin c’est moyen, mais ils nous ont déduit la boisson pour s’excuser de la gèné occasionnée.
Pour le lieu c’est vraiment sympa! pas typiquement francais mais agréable quand même! Le petit plus: entendre gainsbourg chanter! ;)

Restaurant: Biff’s
Cuisine: French/​Bistro
Location: Entertainment District
Address: 4 Front St E
Price Range: $ 15 – 25
1: Poor 2: OK 3: Good 4: Very Good 5: Excellent
Food: 3
Service: 5
Ambiance: 4
Overall: 4
Extra information:
*$ 1 oysters after 5
*Patio during the Summer time
Biff’s is a beautiful French/​Bistro restaurant located on Front St E. Ever since coming to Toronto, I’ve been craving fresh oysters that’s so easy to find in BC (westcoast) for a decent price. One day I was complaining about how oysters are so expensive in Toronto, when my friends told me about the $ 1 oyster deals at Biff’s.
So after having dinner at Frog & Firkin, we decided to drop by biff’s for some oysters!
It’s dark inside the restaurant but not so dark that you need to use your iphone to read the menu. Once we stepped inside, the host guided us to the bar area when we told them we were there for oyster specials. Biff’s is def one of the fancier restaurants around the block, but it has an overall laid back atmosphere. So it wouldn’t necessarily make you feel out of place if you were dressed casually.
Our waiter was friendly and provided us with excellent service. He kindly explained some of the cocktails to us and he was very knowledgeable about their menu.
Ordered: Heart Warmer Cocktail ⁴⁄₅
*Cocktail made with pomegranate vodka and red grapefruit for $ 9.50
*Drink is sweet and perfect for girls
*Refreshing with strong grapefruit juice after-​taste
*Didn’t taste/​feel like it had much alcohol in it
Since we were there for oyster specials, we started off with ordering 20 oysters for 3 of us.
Ordered: Oysters ³⁄₅
*The oyster took a while to arrive, but I assume it’s because they shuck it when you order them so it comes fresh.
*It came with fresh horseradish, red wine vinegar and lemon.
*Oyster were quite small but they were very fresh– however, they didn’t really have much flavor
*It almost tasted like I was slurping water
*I personally prefer more sauce/​condiments that are provided at Rodney’s Oysters (Worcester and hot sauce)
*They were decent for the price but it wasn’t the best oysters I’ve had
One of the friends I went with insisted we order the frog legs at biffs. I’ve never had frog legs before nor did my other friend… but what the heck, we decided to give it a try.
Ordered: Frog’s Legs with Sauce Gribiche ²⁄₅
*I wasn’t sure what to expect but it came lightly deep fried with some type of tartar sauce.
*And yes… it sure looked like frog legs.
*You know how people say frogs taste like chicken? well, it does
*The texture was almost like soft chicken meat, which wasn’t very appetizing.
*The fact that I was eating frog legs didn’t creep me out at all, but the taste and the texture just did not appeal to me.
*To be honest, I was expecting to be more firm. My friend told me how usually they do it better and how this dish wasn’t done right…
*This did it for me, I tried frogs once and I am not really interested in trying it again.
*What can you say, first experience is really important!
Summary: Although I didn’t really enjoy the food at biffs, I really enjoyed my experience there. The restaurant has a nice, relaxing vibe and everyone who worked there was super friendly. I would like to go back and try their regular dinner items. This place would be good for girls night out or a date night.