Pure Spirits Oyster House & Grill

Excellent place for oysters with a large selection to choose from. Recently came here for a quick bite and ended up ordering the clam vongole, oyster Po boy and a dozen oysters. Everything was delicious. Will definitely come back for oysters in the future.

Had a mixed platter of the best looking Oysters I have had in a long time. Only $ 2.50 each. The West Coast Fanny Mae’s were huge, firm and delicious. The PEI Malpeques were fresh tasting and while smaller than I expected, it may have only been in comparison!
Good service, and cold beer made the experience even better. But it will be the Oysters that bring me back.
Suggest this as an appetiser before Mexican food across the street :)

I was looking to find a place to satisfy a small group of us away from the hustle and bustle of downtown Toronto. I wanted an excuse to visit the Distillery district as well so I picked this place. Opentable had good timings so we rolled the dice.
On site parking is close by on several lots. Once you find a spot, you make your way thru the Distillery districts brick streets and quaint shops. Once you walk in, you are greeted by a quiet, seemingly fancy place with warm colors and textures and a big bar. I’ve visited this place 3 times and each time I get a booth on the wall.
They have a gluten free menu along with an extensive wine and cocktail list. Enough to satisfy anybody.
In my multiple visits, I have tried the Salmon Mac and Cheese, the Black Truffle lobster pappardelle and the fresh salmon. Each and every time, the dishes tasted amazing. The service has been excellent as well. Very attentive.
Our final bills end up in the $ 50 range with tax and tip. I find that to be a fair price for the quality of food offered.

Came by here because a friend recommended the place and I had a wonderful experience.
The place was beautiful. The interior and atmosphere was very cozy and I loved the brick walls which was what was left over from when this place used to be a large distillery or part of one. To start off, we ordered 2 of their dozen oysters from different regions. I can’t say enough about their oysters and how fresh they tasted. It was as if they went to the ocean in their backyard and plucked them right there and then served them to you. that’s how fresh they tasted. I loved their homemade sauces as well as the staples of cocktail and horseradish sauces. I was very pleased with the oysters.
For Dinner I ordered their Yellowfin Tuna that came with black eyed peas, bell peppers, millet hash and egg sabayon. To be honest though, I thought the portion was pretty small compared to the price. The tuna itself was cooked to perfection though but I can’t say I liked the egg sabayon. Overall, I wasn’t really impressed with the dish.
Service was excellent. The server was very attentive and the manager came by and greeted us and we had small talk. Good experience but very pricey. Would come again but occasionally since it is so expensive. at least for me.

Three of us wandered in out of the cold on Tuesday afternoon, while exploring the Christmas Market. We were greeted at the door and advised that the wait time was nominal… we were seated once a booth was cleared for us (less than 5 minutes). The décor is outstanding… warm woods, exposed beams, gorgeous original hard wood floors… it is exactly what you expect a restaurant in the area to possess.
Our server was over shortly after we were seated, told us the specials (oysters were $ 1.50/each) and off she went to get us water. She returned a few minutes later to take our order. She was spectacular… clearly explained the condiments for the oysters (when she brought them out) and was warm and friendly.
So far, so good.
I ordered the Buffallo chicken Mac and Cheese. It was described as smothered in a cheese sauce… what I got certainly didn’t live up to the menu’s description… it was fairly dry pasta (from sitting under a heat lamp too long) with very LITTLE cheese. If it weren’t for the Buffallo sauce from the chicken, it would have been flavourless and awful. The Buffallo chicken tossed in was ok… but they tasted like frozen chicken fingers, diced up, tossed in Buffallo sauce. Totally disappointing… would not recommend… esp. at a $ 23 price point.
Person 2 ordered the catfish sandwich. Came with coleslaw (on top of the catfish) with a side salad and fries. He said it was amazing, flavourful and moist. The fries were fantastic (I stole a few) …he thoroughly enjoyed it… although the bun was way too big for the size of fish he got (he ended up leaving a good portion of the bun on his plate as it was a lot of bread).
The third person ordered oysters (started with 6 and then ordered 6 more). They came with a spicy mango sauce, a cucumber relish and cocktail sauce with horseradish. She loved them. LOVED THEM. She also ordered some sort of fish ball (I think the menu referred to them as poppers) which were composed of various types of seafood (crab, etc) rolled into bite sized balls, breaded and fried. She raved about them… but her hilight were the oysters.
So, although I’d classify my meal as «dreadful», my dining companions enjoyed theirs immensely.
Ambiance is amongst the best.
Dinner, as described above with a glass of advertised wine ($ 15 for 8oz), a beer and a Diet Coke came to around $ 110.

I wish I could give this place 6 stars.
The ambience of the location was amazing. Because it was the holidays — we had to wait for 90 minutes to get a table.
The server was friendly. The food was delicious. I ordered the pure spirits papardelle — it was well cooked and tasted delicious.
I forgot my scarf there — the server chased us down in the cold maybe a block and gave me my scarf.
The customer service at this place is top notch. I will definitely go back there again.

Food was delicious. Atmosphere was amazing. Service was fantastic. I definitely would come back. Especially for the Calamari Tempura (had to be MY favourite).

Came here the other night for a birthday. It was only three of us and we made a reservation. There were no problems getting in but the service was something else. We ordered at around 7:45pm and it took about 40 minutes for our food to arrive. We ordered two steaks and the burger dinner all of which were sub par. Personally for the money we paid (bill was $ 160 +tip) I would not come back here.

Came here around 6pm (on a Tuesday) during the Christmas market and there was a lineup outside of ~6−7 people. We spoke to the hostess and she said we didn’t have to wait if we were ok with sitting at the bar. We quickly agreed to the bar seats since the line at boiler house (right across) was even longer.
Their Tuesday special was $ 1.50 for selected oysters. Excellent deal! The oysters, sauces, and freshly grated horse radish were delicious. Also ordered a main salmon dish. Forgot the full name but it was something like hot smoked Sally. This dish was VERY SMALL in portion… the whole meal was slightly bigger than a hockey puck. It was delicious but not very filling on its own. Honestly, I don’t think it was worth paying $ 27 for.
Ambiance is great and cozy. Overall, nice place for taking your special someone for a romantic date. If you’re looking for something a little more economical, walk around the distillery, there are a few restaurants not so close to the main area that has a smaller line and are more budget-​friendly.

It was like a pricier red lobster. Very large and loud. Impersonal. Service was… just fine. Brisk and didn’t check in much. Food was fine. I had the brussel sprouts side. It was very dry. The duck was very nice. Well seasoned and cooked just right. Wine list is generous and great range of prices. Dinner mates enjoyed their meals. One had the burger and shake. Shake was good. Burger was dry and over cooked. Over all… meh.

The staff is very friendly and welcoming here!
I ordered a bloody Caesar and asked if they could throw in fresh oysters in my drink and although they didn’t have that on the menu they were happy to do it for me.
*In fact if they permanently put that drink on the menu and start selling it like it’s going out of style, I would hope I get mine free when I go back ;-) Because I will be back!
The oyster bar master new in detail his product and was really good at describing the different tastes.
Oysters were perfect, cold, fresh and delicious.
The Rosemary Parmesan hand cut fries amazing too.

Food was good could of been better I found my pasta was good but stuffed in this small bowl over flowing with pasta, my partner had the surf and turf she loved it but it was salty all the elements on the dish was salty, wine was good waiter suggested a wine, 1 sip and I sent it back, we wanted the cookie sandwich with ice cram was really excited to try, only to find out they didn’t have any ice cream so fell short, could of had a wonderful review I would go back again

Maybe it was an off day, but a friend and I wandered into Pure Spirit during the annual holiday market. We decided we needed some food and drink in order to further navigate the myriad of stroller obstacle courses and rabid children running a muck.
So that I don’t blither on about our experience (which I can do) I will keep this short and sweet. Our server was OUTSTANDING! He was on the ball, very cheerful and genuinely amazing. Kubo’s brosef! You made it fun!
The drink was great, but its hard to ruin a good pint.
But the food… OOOOHHHHH the food. If I was to choose a great description I would have to ask… Have you ever arrived at a BBQ party a tad too late? You know, everyone is drunk, the food is WAAAYY over cooked and the buns are as dry as a stepford wife baby shower.
Well that pretty much sums up my «Jim Grande Burger».
The burger was half the size of the bun, the meat awful and the micro chocolate shake that came with it tasted like chocolate flavored foam insulation. But not to be a negative nelly I have to say that the fries were damn good!
Again, maybe it was an off day. And for those of you that are thinking «who goes to an oyster restaurant for a burger». DUDE… then why even have it on the menu if you can’t make something decent?
*Steps down from his soap box*

Good spot for a nice meal. Nothing totally over-​the-​top, but the food is really solid, and the drinks were good. Service is really nice, and what you’d expect for a higher-​end restaurant. Super bustling, plenty of people here during the Christmas market. Considering the rush the waitstaff had it down really good. If you’re looking for a really unique meal, I’d still pick the place across the street, but if you’re feeling like some pretty straight up seafood and other standard Canadiana choices, this is the place to go in the distillery.

We ordered burger and linguini. Both just average
The burger was ok and the chocolate shake is just a joke… mostly foam ;) my favorite part was the bread and butter :))

I came here on a Monday evening. The distillery district was pretty busy. The patio outside was really busy and we decided to sit inside. The patio was pretty big and looked welcoming though. The waiter who served us was great super friendly kind of reminded me of Blairs step-​dad from Gossip Girl. He checked back periodically to make sure we were enjoying our meals.
I had the seafood mac and cheese and it was absolutely delicious. There was tons of seafood in the dish. Lots of salmon, shrimp and scallops. The dish was super tasty and filling. The portion was large and it was full of seafood they are definitely not skimpy on it.
Id recommend this place to anyone looking for a nice seafood downtown Toronto. Not a fan of oysters so I didnt have any but they have a big variety so Im sure if youre a fan you can find something you like.

I really wanted to like Pure Spirits Oyster House & Grill, but it fell way short of expectations. Toronto is my hometown but I have moved away for a number of years now and I never explored the Distillery District until recently.
My mother and I were exploring the area looking for a suitable dining option. Being the Unilocaler that I am, I researched the area beforehand and had my sights on Boku for sushi. Unfortunately, Boku was closed. We wanted to dine outside and Pure Spirits had the second most appealing patio (besides El Catrin), so in we went.
We ordered the Shucker’s Dozen of oysters for around $ 32. I think it changes on a daily/​weekly basis, but we were offered 3 different types: Fanny Bay from BC, Beausoleil from New Brunswick and also Pickle Point from PEI. I tend to like West Coast oysters for their sweetness, but the New Brunswick Beausoleil oysters were actually my favorite. Out of the 3 they were the most sweet and least briny.
My mom ordered the Ontario Pickerel for $ 27. I tried a few bites and it was good. Crispy skin with a moist meaty interior, the fish was perfectly cooked. The accompanying tomato-​based sauce was a bit on the bland side. It tasted clean and «healthy», but besides hints of tomato and sour from the pickled sunchoke, there was no lasting flavor. With that said, I would probably still order again.
My dish, however, was the real downfall of the dinner and the impetus for my 2-​star rating. I ordered the Blackened Yellowfin Tuna for $ 31. I find it difficult to come up with a single good thing about the dish. I guess it can be considered «healthy.» However, the tuna was over-​seasoned and too peppery, overpowering the taste of the tuna itself.
Another odd part of the dish was the accompanying egg sabayon. What a strange addition to a fish entrée. I don’t think it belongs in a fish dish. First there was way too much of it. As you can see from the photo, it occupied half the plate. Secondly, it was too sweet and tasted out of place when combined with the salt and peppery tuna. Dessert tuna… yuck.
To make things worse the «millet hash» (carbohydrate portion of the meal) was almost inedible. I’ve never had millet before, but I am almost certain it was not thoroughly cooked through. It was dry and cardboard-​like. I described it as «rabbit food» to my mom.
Looking back, I should have probably sent the dish back (especially when it’s a $ 31 dish). I tend to just hold it in and complain later. The service, ambiance and even the rest of the dishes were decent. My tuna dish was just so terrible that it totally destroyed my entire dinner experience. It was definitely one of the worst dishes I’ve ever had. I don’t think I could even go back.

One of my favourite places in the distillery district. I’ve had their seafood Mac and cheese and their oysters of course. A little pricey but it comes with the atmosphere and the food. Would go for special occasions for sure.
To Rik. O: sorry just noticed your msg! I definitely look forward to patio weather for our spirits :)

When the sun is out, it’s patio time!
I wasn’t a huge fan of the sangria. It was a tad heavy on the ice and not so much on the flavour. For $ 10 a glass, that’s the price you have to pay to sit and bask in the glorious sun.
The fries were yummy. The calamari was strange. The batter was too… White. I like a golden brown, crisp coating. This wasn’t it. The calamari itself was very tender though. Our friends ordered a plate of a dozen oysters. $ 3 each was about right. They seemed to enjoy them.
It’s tough to get a decent spot on a beautiful day. I guess this place was alright.

I came here for a birthday and expected a fair bit since I’ve heard a lot about this place from family and friends. Also it was a nice opportunity to visit the distill district and have a nice dinner with some friends.
We were greeted by a rather rude waiter who proceeded to make us wait over 15 minutes when the place seemed empty and there were plenty of tables available. He took a while to ask us for drinks and seems very reluctant to get into details about the specials and menu. We ended up just ordering what sounded good and a bunch of oysters to share. Food took a while to come out, the oysters were fresh, but no lemons were given and it took a while to get them. I ordered the rib and it was decent, but again my food came out later than all ny friends who were basically finished.
We asked if there was any kind of birthday special, which the waiter replied «no» and he also wouldn’t put a candle on a piece of cake for the birthday girl. Some kind of service for a party of 8 people! Needless to say I probably won’t be coming back, the service was horrendous.