HY’s Steakhouse & Cocktail Bar

I recommend other places if you’re looking for service and good steak. Last night I took my girlfriend there for her birthday, and we were unimpressed — especially for a $ 300+ dinner for two. We went for the chateaubriand and by comparison, we think the same steak is far better at Barberians Steakhouse (we went there recently for a similar dinner). The steak at Barberians was more tender and not sinewy. What’s worse was the service this evening at Hy’s. While the restaurant wasn’t super busy, we sat around waiting for service — dragging our dinner from 8:30 to almost 11. It was good to start, then the table staff service went downhill after the main course. If anything, I believe you’re paying more for the setting. Go for that if that’s your thing.

Fantastic steaks cooked to perfection. Top notch service and atmosphere. Highly recommend.

Fantastic steak, great wine selection, and amazing service.
Beautiful restaurant.

2* isn’t an entirely fair representation of the food but it was for the experience. We were here for New Years Eve. There was an $ 80 prix fixe menu that had great selection — I had french onion soup to start, the filet mignon (medium-​rare) for my main, and a crème brûlée for dessert. The food was very good, and the bread was phenomenal. However this was NYE and they really missed the mark on making it a special occasion. I’ve been to other nice steakhouses for NYE before and we got the tiaras and noise makers, and the restaurant did a countdown at midnight with a glass of champagne. We had none of that here — a few noisemakers came out when we made the request. The staff made it clear that they didn’t want to be there, it wasn’t exactly the special evening we were expecting.
I also think, with the price point, you’re just as well off going to the Keg for your steak dinner.

Décor, Ambiance, Service and the Food, everything just absolutely just right.
From cocktails at the bar to the key lime pie.
Wasn’t cheap of course but way worth it!

Beautiful interior, fine food.
We always get treated here once a year. I can’t comment on the price as I wasn’t treating. But the food was delicious.

It sure is a high-​end steakhouse but the food didn’t blow our mind. Great appetizer, the size of the steak was good as well as the seasoning, yummy desserts, and a nice wine. The server Andrew was impeccable. But for the price you pay (especially the steak), you can easily have the same meal at another place for a decent price.
Not worth the money and not coming back.

This was my second visit to Hy’s in as many years. On this occasion, as on the first, my impression was… meh. The restaurant itself is quite nice, what you would expect from a traditional, high end, steak house.
I had the New York, rare. It came rare, which is great. It also came with the fat cap completely untouched. I mean, not even an attempt at a sear; not the way to cook a New York in my opinion. The waiter suggested this was how they were always cooked. I’ve cooked (and eaten) my fair share of New Yorks — I’m not sure I recall ever getting a New York with the fat cap completely untouched.
The waiter also served us a bottle of wine a vintage year off of what we ordered and said absolutely nothing about it (he also dripped wine on the table on every pour he made).

Interesting interior, very cozy and warm. I’ve visited this place together with my wife for our anniversary. The steak was really good, the wine selection impressive, and the salad was made right in front of our table. Little bit too pricey, but it’s definitely worth it for special days. Service was wonderful, waiter had no problem at all with explaining everything we wanted to know, and was checking us couple of times to see if we are satisfied. Will go back for sure.

Best steak I’ve ever had. Had the 16oz bone-​in rib steak, would recommend this cut for sure. Good amount of fat (my favourite part!) and it was perfectly salted. Waiter was also very friendly. It’s dimly lit, might be a bit too dark for some folks, but I loved the ambiance.

Steak was excellent as usual! But I give it 4 stars instead of 5 because I was quite unimpressed with the desserts. I swear I’ve had the bananas foster before, but I’m not sure in which city… I thought I had it at the Toronto location. But when I had it recently, it was nothing like I had remembered. Yes it was flambéed, but it was swimming in an orange citrus sauce that was much too strong in flavor taking the emphasis away from the banana. Then the scoop of ice cream was placed in said sauce, melting very quickly then topped with an orange zest that had been soaking in a stronger version of this citrus sauce. What I thought it had been was a dish with flambéed bananas, caramelized to a correct sweetness, no sauce, sitting on a dry plate with a scoop of vanilla ice cream on the side to compliment. I was looking forward to the bananas foster from my memories, but alas, maybe I am thinking of the wrong restaurant :(The cheesecake was okay, and the key lime pie was okay as well. Nothing that blew me away, or maybe I was too sad over the bananas foster that my taste buds were affected. But like I said, steak was excellent, my next visit will be more meat and no dessert.

I had an underwhelming dinner here last Saturday.
I selected Hy’s because I haven’t had steak in a while and I’d never been to this Toronto classic. I don’t think I’ll be back.
The space is very nice, though the lighting is almost too dim. The service was excellent. The food was just ok.
We had:
Caesar salad — ³⁄₅ this is prepared table side, and is not as tasty as I would have liked. This is not a creamy caesar, but a caesar vinaigrette made with a base of anchovy paste, some tobasco and Worcester, an egg and some red wine vinegar. The server who prepared it was lovely, the salad was a bit on the fishy side for my taste.
Filet mignon for 2 with vegetables (prepared table side) — ³⁄₅. I felt the steak was bland. I liked the vegetables. But if you’re not into eating healthy, you won’t. I think they were steamed.
Creamed spinach — ⁵⁄₅ this was perfection!
We didn’t have desert.
I had a drink in the lounge and it was lovely. Large comfortable chairs, great lounge singer.
All in all I had a very nice time at Hy’s, but when i factor in the food and the prices, I can not give this more than 3 stars.

This is a three star review but there is potential on my next visit to upgrade it to a four or five star review. Curious? Keep reading…
I love steaks. Living in Canada, there are a lot of choices for great steaks so I don’t want this review to be about how the steaks at Hy’s are any better than anywhere else on a flavour basis. It is AS good, which is a compliment to Canada’s while steakhouse industry. For me, it’s «table steaks» to not-​so-​cleverly make a pun out of an old saying. Having said that, there are things that I do judge a steakhouse on: atmosphere, appetizers, and service. So let’s get started.
For atmosphere I was impressed right from the get-​go. The massive doors remind me inevitably of the black doors of Mordor in the lord of the rings, and walking inside it has the look and feel of an upscale dining experience. Warm lighting, scores of books on shelves, live acoustic guitar music. Our table was in a book upstairs that felt like being in a private room.
For apps, I had the French onion soup. Rich broth, about as thick as French onion soup can get, lots of cheese (especially Parmesan). Delicious. A friend at the table ordered the Caesar salad. The server brought out a kiosk and made it at the table. I love when they do that.
The steak was of course very good. I subbed potatoes with vegetables, which included broccoli Brussels sprouts carrots and green beans. All fresh and well coloured (I don’t know why I care so much about the brightness of my vegetables but dammit I do!)
For the most part the service was good. Friendly staff who knew the menu and could make recommendations.
So why only 3 stars and not 4 (or even 5)? Well, it comes down to what may seem like a small thing but for me is not. The first thing on the menu is a cheese bread item that is their speciality shareable, and when we asked about it the server also really did a great job of selling us on it so we ordered it. But then it didn’t come. When the steaks came out we inquired and was told it would be right out but instead we just got the regular garlic bread. I know it seems very small (and they didn’t put it on the bill by accident, which was the right call) but for a steakhouse of such repute, and specifically because the restaurant promotes this one item so well, I just thought it was a bit odd, even if it might have been a rare miss for them (judging from everything else I suspect it was).
I almost never write a review anticipating that I will come back and update but in this case I almost certainly will.

The idea of having an expensive, once in a while dinner far outweighed the actual experience.
We both had the table side Caesars to start (which were very good), however we just couldn’t get over how dark the booths were: almost to the point of squinting to ready our menus. A table would have been better in hind sight.
Our night continued and with our mains in front of us we cut into the meat (lamb for the lady and rib eye for me). Although it was too dark to get a good look at my steak it felt medium-​rare and it was very enjoyable, the baked potato was also good. Across the table however, it was a different story. My girlfriend ordered her lamb cooked medium which is standard, but it was difficult to cut through because it was raw in the centre. Almost cold to touch. Even in the dark it was noticeably a deep purple colour. We had our waiter take it back to get cooked longer, and he offered to take my meal back so we could eat together. Gladly I said no to this as it took 13 minutes (we waited and counted) to come back. What would have happened to my steak in that time I wonder?
Now this happens occasionally, and we were upset, but had it not been for the way they reacted afterwards it would have been forgiven without issue, but we had our waiter, apologise halfheartedly, Jimmy who made our Caesar salads apologise, and someone who we assumed was the manager halfheartedly apologise. They all then returned to make sure it was cooked to how it was supposed to be. It was in such a way that made us feel wrong for saying something.
We have had this happen in the past at places such as the Keg, and Wildfire, and both times felt a sincere apology, even a complimentary desert. At Hy’s it was swept under the rug. Poorly handled, and we will never return.
The Keg is ¹⁄₃ the cost and we enjoy ourselves.

Had an amazing special anniversary dinner here with m honey ! portions are large, as is sot be expected… prices are large of course. But with such amazing steaks and service, it’s a very special treat you gotta try!
DRINKS:
we shared a bottle of wine. extensive wine list so pretty easy to find something you would enjoy– at the bar we had a cocktail afterward which was delicious– though I forget which one !
FOOD:
I recommend tableside caesar salad. Was so much fun to watch our server do everything from scratch right beside us, and so quickly ! He was no novice. cool to see! and delicious … from someone who tends not to eat caesar salad. Dressing was nice and not super creamy, which I much prefer!
Ahi tuna starter was delish as well– comes with tarot root chips which were great to scoop the tuna– nice and healthy and light which I love
Steak of course is the highlight — my medium rare sirloin was outstanding ! perfectly cooked… took some home because 8 oz is too much for me still
The server was nice to bring me half order of some bernaise sauce on the side because he could tell I really wanted to try it !
the baked potato accompaniment was yummy too and we also shared a half portion side order of brussels sprouts and mixed veggies
My BF had steak with some crab meat and a yummy sauce… so rich but so good !
we opted to not have dessert, but the cheesecake was calling me !
ATMOSPHERE: LOVE the gorgeous high ceilings, dark intimate atmosphere and very large tables… cozy booths… so warm and inviting!
We stayed in the lounge area after for some live music which was lovely and nice and relaxed too
SERVICE: We had a great server. very experienced… they are a little «Stiff» here so to speak but with a very wealthy customer base I am sure they have to be pretty proper and on their game. overall was great service though! No complaints
Overall a great night, lovely experience and amazing food !

Located in a heart of Toronto’s Financial District, hands-​down the classiest steak I have had in a while. Among assortment of suits and furs, great food with much more than «whole nine yards» list of cocktails to complement your night out.
Pricey — yes, worth it? — absolutely.
The atmosphere of both dining room and the bar is relaxing, complete with good service and friendly guests. Have dined there a few times and will be back there again and again.

Fantastic steak, cooked to perfection. Veggies were beautiful and tasty. The Caesar salad is amazing! Great ambiance, comfy chairs and great service.

First of all, did you know that you can buy Hy’s giftcards at Costco? $ 150 worth for $ 120! A few of us went in on this deal, and it worked out splendidly.
Hy’s is a classic dimly lit, high-​ceilinged, manly decorated steakhouse. Sure, it’s in the base of steel and glass office tower, but you’d never know once you’re inside. It’s in the financial district, so there is the usual assortment of suits. but don’t let this deter you — it’s one of the best steakhouses in the city.
For steak, I would recommend the bone-​in rib steak. It’s pricey, but it’s a great cut and a good size. For starches, I love the garlic mash. And don’t forget the sides! The onion rings, grilled asparagus and the brussels sprouts (with parm and bacon!) were all delicious.
For drinks, they make great Manhattans, but they are a bit pricey. The beer list was ok, but nothing spectacular.
The service is friendly and attentive.

Change has come. Everything seems like Hy’s is trying to cut corners. First, their onion rings are a different recipe and no longer the size of space shuttle o-​rings as I suggested a year ago. Second, no more bread basket. Seriously, you can order a $ 40 steak and not even get a basket of bread. Finally, their wonderful bathroom towels have been replaced by bog standard brown paper towels. Service is still good. But they’re really trying to cheap out these days. I won’t be back.

Made reservations here on a Saturday night for 7pm? Greeted immediately. I would guess the place was 30% full. A rainy night may have had something to do with that. Long, narrow, dark, cozy, elegant atmosphere. We had a semi-​private booth… one of many along a full side wall.
Good service. Attentive and friendly enough where I never questioned it.
Filled up on the free mixed bread basket with oil & vinegrette.
Very good Caesar salad, standard style. Portion would be enough for a lunch. Just right for a dinner appetizer. It was prepared a distance away from our table by a fireplace.
According to the other in my party, it was a very good New York striploin, medium well. Came with very good garlic mashed potatoes & roasted veggies side.
Good almondine chicken for myself. The breast itself was very filling and just juicy enough, with the same garlic mashed and veggies on the side.
I don’t see their drink menu online but I ordered a bottle of white wine in the $ 40-​ish range which was decent.
We were much too full for dessert unfortunately.
Would I go back? I have since then become vegetarian, so if they offer an option, definitely I would.