Fishman Lobster Clubhouse Restaurant

Based on many recommendation from my friends, we went there to get a real taste.
To start, it’s difficult to get in without reservation. And they only offer 2 seatings for reservation: 6:00 or 8:00 PM.
The four of us took the 8:00 seating. The menu is quite limited, as this place specialize Alaska crabs and Rock lobsters. Since it is famous for its lobster, we narrow down the selection to lobsters.
There are choices of 4, 6 or 10 pounders, depends on your party. The four of us (one was a vegitatian) first picked a 6 pounder, then we were told there is no 6 pounder, and we need to go up to an 8 pounder. The price is weight plus, meaning they guaranty the weight of your choice, PLUS the extra weight of the beast. So we declined and changed to a 4 pounder. The size was 4.7 pounds and we agreed to pay the extra 0.7 pound. The other dish we ordered was a steamed fish, which came «over-​sized» as well, and we had to pay extra.
This restaurant is extremely noisy, in both sound and light. In no time, we had headache due to the noise and bright light (Lot of bright chandellier). Then the seating was extremely tight, and to get in or out was a chore.
We didn’t go for the famous stacked sky-​high deep fried lobster style. We had traditional ginger and onion stir-​fried. The taste was quite good. The steam fish was also delicious, except they used the Japanese styled fish soy sauce, loaded with MSG.
The disappointing part was that, for our vegitarian memeber, there was basically no dish they could offer, except two greens which were not filling at all. (Perhaps vegitarian shouldn’t be there at all.)
Dinner for 3 +1 came to $ 200, tax and tip included, no drinks. Automatic 18% tip was added.
Caution: get smaller lobster/​crab/​fish or prepare to pay.

Chinese friends in the office have raved about this place so I decided to give it a shot since I had a big group. We went for one of the pre-​set menus with the chopped up monster-​sized lobsters. Everyone was amused when they first brought the uncooked crustaceans to your table for inspection and wowed at the post-​cooking presentation of lobsters piled super high like a tower!
The food itself was good, reasonably priced for the quantity, and well presented. The service was below par but was to be expected for a Chinese restaurant — you aggressively need to speak up when you want something! And of course you don’t know what you don’t know as they forgot to offer us plastic gloves.
The food itself was solid but not top tier. When you have lobsters this big, they are not going to be as flavorful as the smaller ones so it becomes all about the added flavours. We did scallion & onion for one and garlic for the other. Both were very good but I still have a hard time calling them great as I’ve had better tasting lobster. Although this place is tucked away in the Chinatown burbs (Markham/​Scarborough), I could come back here again if I had a big group with many first-​timers who had never tried Chinese lobsters. They would get a kick out of the dramatic presentation, which was the most fun part of this experience.

Came out here for my sisters birthday. My family loved it! Once they came in it was jaw dropping to the floor as it was tanks filled with lobsters, crabs, fish and eels.
Got one of their set menus. Food was great. How can you not enjoy a mountain of fried lobster and fried king crab! Should probably try to mix it up with getting one of the items steamed next time as everything ends up tasting the same.
Service was great, and accommodating to helping us put a birthday cake in their fridge and bringing it out when asked upon.
Highly recommend if you are a seafood lover!

My family and I came here back in December, and boy it was one of the most epic meals I’ve ever had in my life. Lots of big seafood here, giant lobsters and crabs everywhere.
When my family and I first came here, we were told we had to wait for over an hour for our table since we didn’t make reservations (NTS: if you can, make reservations in advance if you don’t wanna wait forever for your table to get ready). I get it, there’s a bunch of other people who were also waiting on a cold Saturday night and it was pretty busy for the waiters running around the whole restaurant.
An hour later, we were finally seated and we were choosing which set dinners we should get for a party of three. FYI the majority of the menu is based on set dinners on the number of people at your table. You do have an option of choosing whether you want lobster or crab, and how big you want your lobster/​crab to be (based on the weight). The best part of these set dinners is that they take the large crab/​lobster you’ve chosen and make a few dishes out of it. We ended up going for the lobster for a four person set dinner (I know but hey, lots of leftovers to take home after! Who doesn’t love to take home leftovers anyway?), but regardless of whichever size of lobster/​crab you’ve chosen the waiters will bring your chosen fresh seafood to your table to take a look at it and even a chance to take a picture or two with it (I didn’t).
After some waiting, the dishes have finally arrived one by one. The fist dish was this today’s special soup (some black chicken soup, great for cold winter nights) and it was satisfying to my stomach. The next dish was a plate of freshly steamed pieces of lobster with this garlic butter dipping sauce and lemon wedges, and it was delicious! After that comes a similar lobster appetizer, only except it was fried, chewier, and a bit sweeter (unfortunately I don’t remember what it’s called and I can’t really read Chinese). So good, but the main event of the dinner was the fried lobster tower. Compared to the our first visit here from Mother’s Day last year our fried lobster tower was not as high from last time (we didn’t really ordered a big set dinner last time so I guess that’s why our lobster tower was much larger). The fried lobster is so delicious with the little fried batter bits and small fishes, don’t waste on the good stuff! Our set dinner also comes with a plate of cooked Chinese leafy greens (choy) with some goji berries (it’s very good for your eyesight!), a plate of fried fish with some sauce in a wine class (very classy), and a big plate of fried rice made with the remaining lobster pieces. It was quite a lot of food for three people but we were all satisfied at our table with our epic feast.
The last course was the daily dessert with a sweet Chinese soup made from grounded cashews, it was heavenly! Overall our order came to around $ 250+ with a lot of leftovers (lobsters and fried rice for days!) and we would say that it was worth every little penny. Cash or debit only. Definitely not a place to go to on the regular (it’s quite expensive anyway) but it’s okay once in a while for special occasions or for those days when you’re feeling baller (with your friends/​family). The interior of the restaurant is pretty nice, the noise level can be slightly loud, service is okay. 4.5 Stars overall, I’ll definitely will be back in the future for another epic seafood dinner!

***** BUYER BEWARE *****
I went there for lunch on Jan 10, 2016, ordered a lobster lunch special, was shown and charged for a 6.83 lb lobster (weight label shown), but WHAT I SAW WAS NOT WHAT I GOT. The dish I got looked substantially smaller, more like a 4 – 5 pounder.
I had been there once before for a 5+ lb lobster. I expected the 6.83 lb dish to be visibly bigger than the 5+ lb one, but it actually looked smaller. After getting home, I carefully examined the photos I took and figured out why — the body section of the lobster with the small legs was removed from the dish, whether deliberately or by mistake I don’t know. Maybe it was kept for the restaurant’s staff lunch.
I posted a message on the restaurant’s Facebook about this and included a photo of the dish. Instead of replying to my concern, they promptly deleted my message. This is no way to treat an unsatisfied customer. I do not enjoy being SHORTCHANGED for $ 30.00 (about 2 lbs) and would like to warn any potential customers to be beware of this bait-​and-​switch tactic.

the pictures to this place speak for itself
I believe they close at 10:30pm, when I left just before 10 people were still being seated

Came here for a friend’s birthday and this place is perfect for large group considering how big most of their seafood dishes are. First let’s talk about the food. This place is known for their seafood, you can do anything from crab, lobsters, fish and anything you can think of that is edible from the sea. Also, there are many flavours you can choose from on how you want your food to be cooked in. With a group of 12+, we had lobsters, king crab legs, rice, fish and a veggie dish which were all included in a meal combo we ordered. Overall the seafood are pretty fresh and they are well-​made. They also give you plastic gloves, so you can eat everything with your hand and it makes digging meat out from shells that much easier.
Only thing I do not like about this place is all servers will try to upsell you to go with the more expensive «combo» no matter how many people you have. I am guessing servers get commission on up-​selling? This way of doing business really irritates me.
Price wise, this place is on the high end, but considering how good the food and how fresh the seafood were, I thought the price justifies itself.
In conclusion, this place is good to come with a large group of seafood lover, also do not be persuaded by the up-​selling tactics from the servers and you should be able to enjoy a good meal

Can’t believe it took me this long to try this place but I’m happy to say it lived up to my expectations.
We ordered the $ 88 dinner set for 2 which comes with a black chicken soup, 5lbs of steamed lobster, snow pea tips with goji berries, lobster roe fried rice, and black sesame dessert. We «upgraded» the steamed lobster to HK style which I believe is an extra $ 15 or so but that’s their signature so if you don’t come here for that, you’re missing out on the best part. Shortly after you order, they will bring out a fresh lobster/​crab for you to see/​take a picture with and inform you about the weight. It’s usually slightly more and you’d pay the difference but ours was pretty close (5.26lbs).
Everything was great. The lobster tower never fails to turn heads and it tastes as good as it looks. Perfectly fried and the generous amount of mini anchovies on the plate are so addicting. They really taste good with just about anything. The other dishes were well-​made, further enhancing the meal. No complaints at all. I was so full by the time dessert came but I’m glad I tried it anyway because the black sesame was delicious! Not too sweet and just right. Can’t wait to try the crab next time.
We also ordered fried oysters on the side and they were AMAZING. Good size and the honey & black pepper sauce is like no other. Have it with the lobster roe fried rice and you’re golden!
Portions are huge and even though the combos/​sets claim to feed a certain number of people, you’ll have a TON of leftovers to take back in which a server will pack up nicely for you.
The restaurant is outlined by large fish tanks full of lobsters and crabs which is nice to look at as you eat. However, one thing that really stood out to me about Fishman was the service. I never have high expectations when it comes to Chinese establishments but I was surprised how efficient, attentive and KIND everyone was. Tip is automatically included in your bill (10%) so it wasn’t like they were being friendly in hopes of getting tipped. Seemed more like a standard that they’ve set for themselves considering they’re one of the most popular and high end Chinese restaurants around. Highly impressed.
All in all, great experience. The place is catered more towards families and big groups so it’s perfect for a celebration!

For our end of the year get together dinner, a group of us (10) made a reservation for Dec 30^th for 8:30 p.m. When we arrived the restaurant was full and we were promptly seated near the back surrounded by large tanks full of crabs, lobsters and eels.
One person from our group was a «regular» here so he ordered for the table and the food started rolling out pretty promptly.
The silky chicken soup was flavourful start to our meal but I’d say it was not the best I’ve had. Snow peas with gojiberries follwed and the gojiberries were a little too sweet for my liking as well. I’ve cooked with gojiberries before and I must say this was the first time I’ve tasted rehydrated gojiberries that tasted this sweet.
The deep fried oysters in dark/​sticky soy was yummy and we were properly primed for our main feast of king crab and lobster. We opted for a 10 lbs lobster and a 8 lb king crab for 10 of us and I think the guys in our group could have probably gobbled another 5 lbs of either king crab or lobster no problem.
The king crab leg towers and the lobster towers were formidable mountains of fried seafood goodness. Both the crab and the lobsters were fried juicy and seasoned simply with spiced salt and pepper. We enjoyed the generous topping of fried garlic slivers and tiny fish that topped the seafood towers that provided extra crunch. The plastic gloves that are stored in a container for the feat was a nice touch but I found that my fingers still got greasy anyways.
The steamed green bass was possibly the highlight of my meal. The nicely butterflied fish was firm and topped simply with green onion and cilantro. The say for the fish arrived in a separate wine glass and was poured at the table. The flavour was mild, fish was firm and a simple dressing with green onion and cilantro really brought out the fish’s delicate flavours. Superb.
There was a fried rice dish that I did not partake in because I was too busy enjoying the food.
It was a nice novelty meal to be had with a good group of friends and the almond milk/​porridge they served to end the meal was a perfectly silk sweet ending to the meal.
I can already think of several family members who would be really excited about seeing a huge tower of seafood so I guess I’ll be paying them several more visits in the future.

Got the $ 88 5lb lobster dinner set for 2. Came with a huge «black» chicken soup, pea tips with goji berries, lobster row fried rice and black sesame dessert. All huge portions and such a good deal. The lobster we got was a little over 5lbs so the waiter informed us the extract lbs that we had to pay extra. Everything was listed and written down so definitely no price gauging here.
Definitely will be back to try the crab dinner next time.

10lb lobster towers and gigantic/​meaty crab legs is what this place is known for! This is a seafood lovers paradise — fish, oysters, sharks fin, abalone, eel, and even more exotic options.
I wouldn’t say this place is affordable, but definitely good value for the seafood you are getting. Whatever you order, they show you it alive before they cook it, make sure they get the okay from you, and that you know it’s fresh!!!
My favorite here is the lobster and crab. Usually for a large lobster, the meat tastes a bit off, but here each bite is amazing. I’m also not usually a huge fan of crab (mostly because there ain’t a lot of meat) but here there is so much tasty crabmeat in the legs, simply delicious. When you order crab, they provide you with 3 dishes, the legs, the claws, and a fried rice dish; all superb.
Highly recommend any seafood lover to check this spot out!!!

3.5
I have to admit the food were really good, but the service had lots of room for improvement, that takes 1 star away.
They really know how to cook seafood. I was especially impressed with he steamed crab legs with salted duck eggs (forgot to take photo), tasted very juicy and preserved the sweetness from the crab meat without overly heavy seasoning. The salted duck egg yolk were like icing on the cakes, made this fish my favorite from the meal. The lobster was amazing as well, almost as good as the ones from Dong Kee. I really like the soup that came with the meal, not sure what was in it other than the dau miu and goji. The meal also came with one crab sauce fried rice, crab claws, and steamed fish. Costed around $ 390 before tax, great meal tho (*cough*instagram worthy), for 8 people it was just the right amount of food.
For their service, the waiter and waitress were throwing dishes and lack of friendly attitude. When our coup came up, the waitress only poured 5 bowls of soup and walked away and never came back. I don’t expect her to serve the soup for us but it was weird to only pour 5 of them and left.
Also, be aware that tip is included in the bill, so you don’t need to leave tip. They won’t tell you if you leave extra tip, there’s one time we left around $ 90 tip without knowing tip was already included in the total, they said nothing. So make sure you check the bill!

Holy crustaceans! These guys completely caught me by surprised, and AMAZED me!
Seriously. 4 hours later, finally digested, and I wanna go back already!!!
This place is constantly raved about on Unilocal,and what more perfect occasion to try, but a birthday dinner for the family.
From beginning-​to-​end, everything was PERFECT. Johnny L. Was not kidding about making reservations. We almost didn’t call in for reservations, and what a mistake that would’ve been. On a THURSDAY, and they were absolutely SLAMMED!
We ordered the Lobster & King Crab set for four ($ 288), for a group of 5.
Our friends have advised us of order down, because of the portions and they were nottttt kidding.
This includes:
— daily soup
— 4.5lb lobster hk style
— 6lb king crab (in 3 ways)
— crab legs with deep fried garlic
— fried rice w/​crab shell
— soft boiled w/​egg
— snow peas w/​goji berries
— dessert (we had the sesame)
5 stars? Every dish was cooked perfectly. No over or under cooking. Meat everywhere, zero meatless shells, crazy amount of flavour, virtually no sign of grease, clean restaurant and service was amazing! I’m amazed by everyone who managed to take so many pictures; I couldn’t wait to eat!
As a seafood lover, I’m definitely impressed. Go! Go! Go! There needs to be a UYE meet here.
I will definitely be back. Seriously, can my family always do birthdays here?

After having dined at this restaurant many times over the past several years, I’ve finally decided (and found time) to write a review.
This Chinese seafood restaurant is very clean and well organized. A bit more than half of the dining room is surrounded by fish/​lobster/​crab tanks, one of which holds your meal. The tables and chairs are clean and they provide you with a box of disposable plastic gloves for your dining convenience.
Note that the meal packages that include lobsters, crabs, etc. are not fixed priced. It is almost 100% certain that you will be charged more because the one that they show you weighs more than the one included in the package. The waiter will, however, show you the price tag before they start cooking, and allow you to hold them take pictures with them. Also note that this is a cash only restaurant, but it won’t be a huge problem since there are many banks within walking distance of this place. Scotiabank is in the same parking lot, and RBC Royal Bank is in the next mall. And lastly, note that they automatically include a 10% gratuity on their bill, but the server will usually let you know of that charge when giving you the bill.
Washroom rating: ⁸⁄₁₀

I’ve been here several times for dinner and I really like this place. The lobster and crab are very well done here. Other dishes are well done too but the lobster and crab are the ones that stand out though.
I would suggest coming here with a larger group as you will be able to get the bigger set menus.
A word of warning, this place is expensive and while I do debate the value of this place, I will still come back here for the food. I have yet to find another place that does lobster/​crab chinese style this good.

This was my second time here, and the seafood was just as awesome as I remembered! We got the King Crab & Lobster Dinner package. It comes with a soup, king crab cooked in 3 different ways (steamed, friend with dry garlic, and fried rice), HK style lobster (the lobster tower you see in all the photos), snow peas, and dessert. This package is meant for 4 people, and is $ 288 pre tax and tips. However, because all their king crabs were larger than the size that comes with this package (4.5lb), we had to pay additional for the extra weight. I think the amount of food that we got could probably have fed a party of 6. I love the fried lobster and crab legs here, both are super yummy! This restaurant is definitely worth a visit for any seafood lovers!
However, the restaurant does get very busy. So make sure to call ahead and make a reservation, esp if you plan on coming during the weekends! The tables in the restaurant are packed very tightly. The round table I was at was literally touching the table beside us. So don’t come here if you are expecting a restaurant with a nice ambiance, or a place where you want to talk to your friends in private. Because the table beside you will definitely hear every word you are saying!

We ordered 6lbs lobsters, 1 crab, abalone with some vegetable and few other dishes. Overall one of the best lobster and crab dishes in town. I can understand why it’s so busy. The seafood was all very well executed the lobster and crab was perfectly cooked. We also ordered steamed fish which was slightly under done cause it was a little difficult getting some of the meat off the bone. But it was still good.
The service was awful. The servers need an attitude adjustment and it’s the John Cena type! Just poor service from beginning to end. I guess that’s why they automatically added the service charge to our bill.
⁴⁄₅ star just for the food
−5÷5 for service.

I’ve been here a few times and I feel like this place is over-​hyped. The only thing really impressive is the presentation of the fried lobster tower.
The food is just okay. You get to pick your own crab and lobster and set meal (how you would like your food prepared). I remember the first time I had lobster sashimi here it was really good, but I don’t know if this place is really worth the price after the first time.
I feel like this place is more of a novelty experience, especially if you have people visiting Toronto from other places. It’s not bad, but it’s not that great of a restaurant either.

I’ve been here 3 – 4 times and each time I am always pleased by the food. An upfront disclaimer is that you don’t come here for the service/​décor/​ambiance. You’re here for the food, so keep that in mind. Tables can be rather squishy, and make sure to ALWAYS make a reservation ahead of time. Good luck finding a table otherwise.
I’m a huge fan of the famous lobster. Few times I’ve had greater than 10lbs portion of lobster for a party of 6 – 8. Yummy food, deeply satisfying, definite visit for seafood lovers.

I don’t usually drive to the east for food but I really don’t mind driving here all the way for their unique way of cooking seafood. The two-​way fish in congee and grilled fish bone in Maggie’s sauce is both my mother’s and my favourite. No need to mention, their Hong Kong style deep-​fried mountain lobsters and king crabs set meals are always tempting and super delicious.
Dinner time is usually busier even on week nights. Reservation is a must. I enjoy coming here for lunch since there is always good deal lunch set and less people. Service will be more attentive when this place is less crowded.
They are doing a king crab lunch special (Monday to Friday) from now till October 15, 2015. I need to go back and try. I saw a lot of other tables ordering this king crab special, and oh my the presentation was already irresistible.
The restaurant will apply 10% service charge automatically on the bill.