Smoked & Cracked

Lobster bisque was extremely disappointing very bland. Any lobster bisque that I’ve had before including from a can tasted better.
Their coleslaw that the waitress said was excellent was bland as well. It’s very unfortunate that they don’t have a salt shaker at the table to make up for the bland food. Extremely high priced which is fine if the food is good but it was below average. Hard to believe they charge $ 30 for a lobster roll in a place where none of the chairs are comfortable or even match.

Food was decent, quite overpriced in the end though. The experience started going bad when the waiter visibly scratched his junk as he was confused by our questions on the menu. He was wearing an arsenal jersey, in case the owner is wondering who i’m talking about. The kicker is that we are pretty sure we were ripped off. What we were charged was not what was on the menu, and when we asked why we were given some convoluted reasons that made no sense: «oh that price is if you combine it with another dish». I assume this place is going down so they are resorting to ripping off their customers, we didnt argue and wont go back.

i am not familiar w/​Toronto. we were early for an appointment, so we decided to pull over to see if we could find a spot for a quick lunch. turns out i parked right in front of Smoked & Cracked. fortuitous!
we walked in @ 3:20pm, not knowing they had closed at 3. there were still 2 tables finishing lunch. the waitress apologized for being closed, but the owner told her she should seat us. we’re very glad he did.
i had the lobster mac ‘n’ cheese, my wife had the fishcake sandwich. we were shooting for quick meals, since they were so kind to serve us. my dish was quite good, but we were both blown away by the fishcake. nice smoke, nice overall flavor, just outstanding.
the homemade lemonade had vanilla added, which was curious but worked well with the meals.
we left for our appointment just short of 4pm, and we weren’t even the last table. a hearty thank you to the owner and staff for accommodating us, and we’ll definitely be back to try more of the menu.

My wife is somewhat of a lobster connoisseur. She says its up there with the best she’s ever had… that’s saying something. I had oysters, mussels and collard greens. All were excellent. Anna was our server and she made the evening most enjoyable. The restaurant is very small with few tables so don’t show up without a reservation on Saturday night.

Seafood… a genre of food that, if not executed perfectly, will run a poor review as well as a night with your porcelain friend. So why would anyone want to dabble with seafood when it has such a small room for error? I’ll tell you why, because if you can perfect it, everyone will be ranting about it for years to come. Smoked & Cracked is where they’ve perfected their execution. Be warned, this is not fine dining, but its fine comfort dining at its very best!
I’ve been to many seafood places where they add a lot to the dish hoping to trick you into believing that you’re getting more. Often times, you spend half your evening looking for that 1 lobster claw they promised. At Smoked & Cracked, there is no filler. They give you that entire lobster when you order the entire lobster. Even if you don’t order the entire lobster, they put as much lobster or seafood as humanly possibly in every dish and this is why people come back.
Lets start with the fact that you’re not walking into a grand ballroom or banquet hall, so reservations are highly recommended (even on a Tuesday). The owner greets you every time and is already on high energy to accommodate and make your dinner as pleasant as possible. Once seated, you’ll see a wall full of wine and drink choices as well as one for food. My recommendation for drinks, would be their LOBSTER CAESAR! I know you can go and get a bottle of Clamato Caesar mix, but this place does it right. Everything from scratch and the flavours are incredible. PLUS… they throw in an entire lobster claw as a topper. That’s enough for me!
Now onto the food: this flattened lobster roll breadstick they bring to the table is already buttered and just melts. I think I tried sneaking some out in my pockets. The SMOKED BOARD is a must and a great way to share at the table. Amazing flavours from the duck to the salmon and the sturgeon! The board comes with a small dish of DRUNKEN MUSSELS that makes you want to order the DRUNKEN MUSSELS as well. Now onto the main event: LOBSTER ROLL. wow! talk about packing as much lobster into a funny cut piece of bread. The butter oozing from all directions of the roll and sliding down your hands as you try to wrestle with this enormous lobster thing. (SIDE NOTE: their caesar salad is incredible! I don’t know what it is, but it blows my mind away). The MAC & CHEESE we ordered thinking we didn’t have enough food, but were mistaken. We had enough food, but we still managed to devour this cheesy, buttery mound of indulgence that I think I wept a little as I was stuffing my face.
SMOKED & CRACKED… seafood perfection!

Hearing someone quoting Nietzsche outside philosophy class is BIG RED FLAG for FatCat. FatCat not like to be around self involved hipsters who take themselves too seriously.
FatCat get similar feeling when seeing waitress lady at S&C bringing FatCat’s beer in mason Jar. BIG FAT HIPSTER ALERT. FatCat’s expectations of S&C dropping faster than his chip count at last poker game — VERY FAST!
But FatCat’s memory bubble remind him of last time he was in situation like this (Grand Electric swarming with Hipsters and out-​of-​work american apparel models, but food end up being really delicious). So FatCat cross paws and decide to endure the stay at S&C, and hope for best. FatCat Glad he did. Because food at S&C delicious!
Things FatCat Like
— Gooood Foooood! (price not cheap, but worth splurge for FatCat)
— Walking distance to FatCats castle and kitty litter (meow!)
Things FatCat not Like
— Not think of anything. FatCat walk away from S&C satisfied with his decision.
MESSAGE TO SELF INVOLVED HIPSTERS: FatCat enjoy philosophical conversations as much as the next cat. But only under following conditions (1). FatCat have opportunity to learn from someone smarter than FatCat. (2) FatCat have opportunity to teach someone interested in knowing what FatCat know.
FatCat get queezy when talking with pseudo-​intellectual hipsters who have little life experience, but still trying to pass off their book learning + left over teenage angst as mature wisdom.

A slightly eccentric place, with the owners on site, which always ensures higher degree of quality and service.
Lobster roll; rich, fresh meat and of high quality, and price.
Smoked platter; varied. Somewhat dubious Mussels and Scallops, but fantastic Trout and Halibut.
A decent French Champagne at $ 100 per btle.
One of their main offerings is to provide packages to take off-​site, (to the cottage, for example,) This would probably be very worthwhile.
This is a foodie place rather than fine ambience dinning.

We went here a few times when it first opened and tried several things. The lobster mac n cheese was very sub par. It wasn’t bad but it was bland for my tastes. I am from NC so it could be that we just know how to make better mac n cheese here! I’ve had much better Lobster mac n cheese at the Capital Grill. My canadian boyfriend loved it though. We tried the new england lobster chowder which was very unimpressive as well. For $ 13 a bowl, I expected more flavor. We tried the lobster bisque once and that was better than the chowder but still nothing I would be dying to go back for.
The one thing I did really enjoy was the lobster roll (warm). I believe it was somewhere around $ 18 the first time we went. Then the next time we went the following month it was up to around $ 28. Now I’ve seen it at $ 34. Listen, I get it– it’s good quality food. But the atmosphere isn’t upscale enough to be charging that much for food. We see Smoked and Cracked as a cute drop in, have a quick lunch, and be on our way. And for lunch, we’d rather not drop $ 80. If we’re going to spend that much, we’d rather be in a cozy candle lit booth enjoying a romantic dinner. I have had lobster rolls that I would say I enjoyed slightly better in Chicago that were only $ 14, and you could double your meat for only $ 5 more (Da Lobsta). $ 20 is reasonable for a good portion of lobster. But above that, with that atmosphere, it’s a little much. Same thing in Maine – they all average around $ 20 per roll.
I really wish it was cheaper, because we love lobster and live right around the corner. But we’re not spending that kind of money on lunch.
Unfortunately because of the pricing, we haven’t been back since our 2^nd visit.
Staff was wonderful though. Very nice people. We did go right when they opened, so maybe one of these days we’ll give it another try.

Out first day in Toronto and we had to come here per the previous reviews. Definitely make a reservation…
The service and the people. Spectacular. Even when the place is full you feel like you’re the only table. They are very attentive, knowledgeable and friendly
The food. To echo the others… Amazing. We tried the smoke board. It was so good. The lobster roll was the best. It was somewhat pricey, but the food was lovingly prepared and fresh. Worth every penny.
I would definitely recommend this place for anyone who likes good quality food in a laid back atmosphere.

I will never have enough of this restaurant. The ambiance is casual and easy. The food is prepared with love. One special to keep your eye out for is the curry seafood soup, incredible.

Love this place!
Definitely worth the price. The food was some of the best I’ve ever had. I came with 3 other people and we shared everything.
The smoked platter is great as an app for 4. We had Mac and cheese lobster, lobster roll, Panko breaded cod and stuffed salmon. It was perfect and delicious.
They have a sparkling wine called HI from Italy that was a great compliment to the meal.
The staff are very pleasant and make you feel like you’ve known them forever, the service was great and the staff were very informative and helpful.
I look forward to going back.

I regularly dream about the lobster bisque here. I think I’m drooling just thinking about it. You can get a 1L take out for $ 25 (around 2.5 bowls or so)!
Their lobster rolls are also really good, but the price increased to $ 29 or so from under $ 20, so sadly I won’t be having many of them in the future.

Its true, the lobster roll is probably the largest you’ve ever had… fresh east coast lobster with butter or dressing on a bun, however its probably also the most expensive you’ve ever had! At $ 29 (think they raised their prices recently) i could buy 2 (1.5lb) lobsters (canadian ones) at the chinese grocery store, boil them and make 3 – 4 of these for the same price. The seasoning was nothing special either, they need to improve their recipes i think… but i doubt they went to culinary school. Since its not hard to boil a lobster i would say this is not the best value in town…
I recommend doing that and saving your $ 60 to go to a fancy restaurant in the city where theres no way in hell you can drum up one of their fancy dishes at home (unless youre a master chef). The $ 9 cup of lobster chowder was more like vegetable soup with chunks of lobster… not a professional dish for sure.
So in summary, boil a lobster at home and eat out at 5 star restaurants… unless you’re flippin rich and single… then call me if you need a dinner companion… Funny, the lady serving us (owner?) talked like a schoolteacher (though staff were all very pleasant) and we felt we were back in 5^th grade… the huge chalkboard on the wall with menu items didn’t help the cause either…

I came for lunch last week and really enjoyed the fish fry. It was a bit oily but tasted delish along side the slaw and greens. Small local place and friendly staff. Apparently they fly in the lobster daily. I Am planning on coming again to try other dishes. Lobster rolls seem to be a popular choice.

Wonderful local find with top notch fresh seafood and warm staff.
We ordered the seafood platter to start — pricey but the variety and freshness made it worth it. We then got a bowl of lobster chowder and the cold lobster roll (which came with salad). The chowder was ok. The standout was really the lobster roll. Huge chucks of lobster, no fillers, warm bread — pure heaven. Dessert was homemade — just ok. In terms of the staff, they are friendly, attentive and obviously love to work there. Overall a great find!

We went on a Saturday at 5:00 p.m. for an early dinner and for most of the time we were the only table in the place, although there was a very brisk take-​out business going.
My wife loved the Lobster Bisque. She thought the cup wouldn’t be enough so she had the bowl and it was so big I had to help her finish it. I had the Cesar Salad with a Lobster tail chopped up on top. It was delicious. The lobster was incredibly fresh and tasty. We should have just stopped there but also each had the cold Lobster Roll. Really big chunks of fresh lobster that overflowed from the top of the roll. My suggestion to the owners/​chefs would be to actually dig out a chunk of the bread in the roll instead of just cutting it in half so that the lobster would fill the roll for each amazing bite instead of overflowing from it.
The Cameron’s ale that we had it with (a brewery in Oakville) was very nice as well.
Smoked & Cracked try to use local ingredients and businesses whenever possible which is something I like to support.
We had a couple of small butter tarts to go and we had them on the Sunday. They were gooey, sweet and the pastry was delicious unlike the cheap flaky ones from supermarket bakeries.
The total bill including tax and tip was just over $ 100, so it was a bargain for lobster this plentiful and fresh.
Just a note, that when we were leaving around 6:00 p.m., ALL of the tables in the place were now reserved for dinner for the rest of the night.
All in all, a great experience. To say this place is now Toronto’s best lobster restaurant is an under statement.

We made a lunchtime pit stop and I had the curried seafood chowder and he had the bisque. Both terrific! The chowder was loaded with whitefish, prawns, scallops and lobster chunks — along with potatoes and veg. Chased down with a cold glass of Viognier and it was perfect. Love the atmosphere — Mike (one of the owners) is so passionate about the place! They do different dinners on a few nights — we are so going back for the «crackhouse platter» and also to try everything else!

The atmosphere was very friendly and homey. I felt like I was at the owner’s home, he even came out a few times to check on us and asked us how we liked our dishes.
My favourite dish from brunch was the cup of the lobster bisque which came with toasted slices of bread. It’s a non-​diary dish that was full of flavour and fresh chunks of lobster. For my entrée, I had the herb omelet with scallops. I could taste the fresh herbs in the dish but I wished that they either half cooked the scallops first or at least let the scallop water drain from the omelet because it was sitting in scallop water as I was eating it. My table and I shared the cold lobster roll, it was okay. There was plenty of lobster on it so I’m not complaining but I added a bit of lemon juice because I felt like it needed a bit more flavour.

VIBE
Smoked and Cracked is a welcome addition to the Mount Pleasant neighbourhood and its homey atmosphere fits right in with the other old time shops. I was surprised the owners weren’t right up and front handling everything but their waitress was fantastic. You will likely be sharing a large table with someone else.
I ATE
I had the hot lobster roll, which comes with potato chips. Note to owners: potato chips should always be an option, in my opinion. I’d rather have a pickle for free on the side opposed to potato chips. Their moshie pickle, which is shipped in from Montréal is one big ass pickle and one of the best I have ever had. Ohh yeah, pickle juice all over the lobster roll!
Speaking of the lobster roll, you get a mofo heaping of lobster (moreso on the cold roll than the hot roll, as I observed). Mine was a bit heavy on the butter so if you’re not a butter fan, maybe make the request or go for the cold roll.
Though this one is the only shop in TO that is comparable to Luke’s Lobster in NYC, it is EXPENSIVE. For a roll, lemonade and pickle + tax and tip, my bill came out to $ 23. A CUP of chowder is $ 6.95. Buster’s Sea Cove charges a similar price for their chowder but it’s a huge bowl.
Is it worth it? Once in a while.
OBLIGATORY CATCHY REMARK
Rob Ford may be lurking around because of the name (Oh SNAP) but their rolls will have you quickly addicted!

I finally was able to come here to try some of their sumptuous lobster dishes! It’s a small, locally owned restaurant in the Mount Pleasant village. It has only 3 tables! You can view their wide, open-​view kitchen from your table.
I ordered the lobster mac & cheese. It was a filling deep dish of mac & cheese pieces with generous portions of freshly cooked lobster! My friend ordered the cold lobster roll. It came with home chips, and with a mayo dressing. Her dish also contained generous lobster portions!
I am going to return for their 1.5lb lobster boil!
It is a bit pricy b/​c they charge you based on market prices. But if you love lobster, this is the place for you!