Fishbone Bistro - Stouffville

This small, cozy restaurant has tasteful decor and the service is usually quick. They have a good selection of Portuguese wines at reasonable prices, and offer BYO with no corkage fees on Tuesdays. While the menu changes periodically, one thing that consistently impresses us is how well they cook seafood. Nothing has ever been overcooked or rubbery. The mussels are a standout dish, so make sure to ask for extra bread to soak up the sauce. If available, try the grilled calamari stuffed with chourico for a flavorful dish. I also recommend the paella, which is loaded with shrimp, mussels, chourico, octopus, and scallops, all flavored with plenty of saffron. Overall, Fishbone offers quality dining without the need to venture downtown. Despite some negative reviews about the service, we haven't experienced any issues during our visits.

For appetizers, we enjoyed the unique and flavorful crab cakes and grilled calamari. The crab cakes had a special taste that set them apart from those at other restaurants. I opted for the Mediterranean Sea Bream as my main course, which turned out to be a whole fish! The waitress skillfully deboned it for me, but was puzzled when I asked her to leave the "debris" as I come from a culture where we eat the entire fish, from head to tail. My friend ordered the steak and scallops, both of which were delicious. Even though I was already full from the fish, I couldn't resist the Bartlett Pear dessert, which had a perfect crispy texture. A glass of Baileys coffee was the perfect end to the meal. The only downside was that we were charged for hot water, which was not filtered and had a strange taste due to the high mineral content and heavy chlorine in Stouffville water. The chairs were not very comfortable, but I loved the round table in the middle of the restaurant. The lighting was a bit too dark for my liking. The service was attentive initially, but as the restaurant got busier, some of the waitstaff seemed to lose their patience. Despite these minor issues, I plan to return to try their sardine and pork sausage dish. The presentation looked fantastic!

Oh my goodness! I just ate at this restaurant and it was incredible. It's a hidden gem with a fantastic menu and excellent service. The wine list is impressive and the seafood is incredibly fresh. The flavors are a party in your mouth. The prices are a great value and the overall experience ranks in the top 1 percentile.

Warm, Friendly Service Fantastic Food. Fishbone Restaurant has been in Stouffville for a few years now and I and my partner and friends eat there often enough that it 's starting to feel like home. Having lived in the Markham Stouffville area for most of our lives, we 're always on the lookout for good restaurants and that means excellent food, attentive (but not pretentious) service, and value for money. Fishbone has all of that and more with an owner who believes in personal service, and servers who remember your likes and dislikes. The food has a Portuguese Mediterranean flavour with an emphasis on seafood. Finally, a place I can have cataplana outside of Toronto! Even better the food is consistent and always fresh. Since we have a fussy eater in our group, chef Chris has always been happy to whip up a dish that meets her needs. The wine list is very hard to beat, with many listings from Portugal that cannot be found at the LCBO. Pedro, the owner, always goes out of his way to give us a new and wonderful wine when our only instruction is 'surprise us '.<br <br I can 't recommend Fishbone enough. The food is top quality, consistent, flavourful, the service is polite and conscientious and the value is top notch.

Great Experience : . A friend and I came to Fishbone for our first time to try their Stouffilicious promotion. We came into a restaurant and were almost immediately welcomed by the warm owners. After being seated, the server quickly introduced herself, she was truly outstanding. <br/ <br/ We ordered mussels, and steak frites. My friend claimed he hated mussels until he tried it tonight. The steak was cooked perfectly, and the fries were well above your average set up potatoes! Although this was a 40 minute drive from my Toronto home, I will be bringing more friends to their restaurant!