Joey Yorkdale

Joey is probably my favourite restaurant chain in Canada, so I was delighted to learn that the newest location opened as part of Yorkdale Mall's expansion. Naturally, when I stopped by the mall to check out the new expansion, I had to have dinner here!

We arrived at 6 pm (on a Friday), thinking that there wouldn't be a wait at that time. Wrong! The restaurant was already packed with people, but luckily the wait wasn't painful at all, as the mall was conveniently located a few steps away. We waited for around 25 minutes before we were seated.

If you choose to remain in the waiting area, there are constantly food and wine samples offered. On this particular day, I sampled the Ahi tuna sashimi with watermelon and chili chicken. Honestly, I can just sit there and get full from eating samples! Even as I was heading out after dinner, they were still offering me samples.

Lobster grilled cheese ($16) is an old favourite that I've had many times. Who can resist buttery, cheesy goodness with lobster?

I substituted the default fries to a market salad (+$2) with shaved vegetables, feta, whole almonds, wild rice, chickpea and fresh herb vinaigrette. This was the first time I've had this salad and it was surprisingly delicious! I loved all the textural components, especially the crunch from the almonds and chickpeas. The dressing was light, tangy and awakened my palate. One small complaint was that the greens might have been just a tinge over-dressed. 

I was so excited to see the backyard barbeque ribs ($20 for half rack, $26 for full rack) on this menu! I absolutely loved the ribs from the other Joey locations until they took it off the menu (please bring it back!) The smokey, tangy BBQ sauce was finger-licking good and the pork ribs were beautifully caramelized. Believe me, I was gnawing on the bones like a cave woman. Even my mom, who generally does not enjoy ribs, liked this version very much. (Side note: the only other ribs that she has ever liked was from The Stockyards). I definitely regretted getting a half rack, as a full rack was only $6 more! Best of all, this version is served with crispy yam fries (awesome!) and dill coleslaw. I will be definitely coming back for this again!   

For desserts, we shared an individually baked apple pie ($8) with toasted almonds, hand-folded puff pastry, caramel sauce with maple ice cream. After all these years eating at Joey, I can't believe I've never tried this dessert! It was - in one word - divine! 

The pastry was lusciously buttery with a delightfully crispy edge, and the toasted almonds added the perfect amount of crunch! On a side note, I couldn't really taste the maple ice cream, as the other flavours were much bolder. Nevertheless, this was certainly a delicious, indulgent treat to end off the meal! Next time I shop at Yorkdale, I'll be sure to stop by for dinner!