Joey's

Price: 3/5
Taste: 3.5/5
Authenticity: 4/5
Atmosphere: 4/5
Service: 3.5/5 (during this visit)

My boyfriend and I did some shopping at Yorkdale and he decided to treat me for dinner at Joey's in order to celebrate my recent admission to professional school! The restaurant itself was nice; it was lively and had good service. 

This is what ordered: 

1) Real Peach Bellini [1¼ oz.] ($6.75)

• menu description: Appleton V/X Jamaica rum, real peach, sparkling wine, sangria 
• thoughts: Whenever I'm overwhelmed by a drink menu and can't decide what to get, I will always go with a Peach Bellini and it hasn't failed me yet! It was very fruity  and the alcohol taste was minimal. The only thing I had a problem of was the slice of peach that it came with because I swear it was just from a pack of frozen peaches. When I ate it, it was cold and icy so I was not happy :( If I'm paying $6.75 for this drink, I would like a real peach slice please....even a canned peach would be better :( OTHER THAN MY FRUIT PICKY-NESS, the drink was yummy :3 You can never go wrong ordering a Peach Bellini! 

2) Appetizer: Pesto Shrimp Flatbread ($14.50) 

• menu description: whole milk mozzarella, sundried tomatoes, chipotle aioli, fresh basil
• thoughts: Let me just start with how AMAZING the flatbread itself is. They bread was baked so well: crispy on the outside and super soft and doughy inside. The herbs on the bread was DELICIOUS and I couldn't get ENOUGH OF IT! Now, for the other components like the sauce, basil, cheese and etc, they were decent. I loved how the shrimp was NOT lost in all the flavours so you could still taste it most of the time. One thing I had a problem with is the fact that the the chipotle aioli was very strong (and somewhat spicy) so all other components like  the cheese, tomatoes and the basil were lost. We couldn't taste the basil at all! I'm not saying this dish didn't taste food but the sauce was just too powerful in my opinion. Also, the dish almost had the texture or a mini pizza or something. Overall, this dish was still really yummy; that flatbread gave me a food-gasm!  Next time, I would try the other flatbread appetizers like the Italian Flatbread or the Tandoori Chicken Flatbread. Nevertheless, you guys HAVE TO TRY the bread! 

3) Sashimi Tuna Salad ($18)

• menu description: seared rare ahi, mixed greens, mango, peanuts, avocado, crispy noodles and cilantro mint dressing 
• thoughts: A lot of my friends have gone to Joey's and have told me to go get this ahi tuna salad and thank god they did. THIS IS THE BEST SALAD EVER! The Ahi Tuna is soooo good, seared on the outside while still raw inside. The dressing in the mixed greens with the mango makes gave the salad a nice citrus taste. The only negative thing I would say about this dish is the fact that I think the server put a bit too much dressing in the mixed greens so the citrusness got to me by the end. Anyways moving on......the fact that they added avocado slices to this salad makes it even better (especially since I'm a huge fan for avocado). The mint dressing on the side was just amazing! Everyone has to try this salad! I would come back to Joey's just for this dish. Also, this isn't the only dish that offers the ahi tuna, they have Ahi Tuna Tacos as well! 

4) The Beach Salad ($17)

• menu description: strawberries, goat cheese, quinoa, candied pecans, avocado, lemon poppy dressing and grilled chicken breast 
• thoughts: This wasn't the dish I personally ordered but I did try the chicken and it was soooooo good. The chicken had an amazing char taste to it that made the chicken taste even better instead of the opposite. Other than that, I don't know much about the flavours of this salad but my boyfriend seemed to enjoy it; especially that chicken! 

Overall, Joey's serves unique and amazing dishes. They have cool dishes such as Steak and Sushi (which includes steak and Japanese surf and turf), Baja Fish Tacos, Lobster Grilled Cheese, Sushi Cone and etc. I like how these Asian fusion dishes but also the classics like Fettuccini Alfredo or steaks dishes like Filet Mignon. Also, though we only had salads, they were really filling and it satisfied our hunger :)

The restaurant has nice decor and has a classic, formal but cozy kind of feel to it. My boyfriend says that this restaurant is like Moxies but with better food (which I do agree with). It has the same environment and feel as Moxies but the dishes are more unique and better tasting and with better tasting food comes an emptier wallet. 

Conclusion: Everyone needs to check this place out if they haven't already!