Review: John and Sons, a new people-watching pub and oyster bar in Rosedale

Rosedale’s new oyster bar is all sideways glances, double kisses and how-do-you-know-so-and-so’s. The seafood-centred pub standards are almost as good as the people watching. A black-edged slab of toast supports steamed mussels sprinkled with finely diced sweet tomatoes, chorizo and chilies. It’s a satisfying start, followed by seared scallops perched on buttery brussels sprouts and a rich squash purée, with a dollop of bacon jam to tie the whole thing together. The menu’s only blunder is a salt-deprived black cod fillet in a bland bonito broth. As the room reaches a Friday night fever pitch, the service cracks: dirty dishes are ignored, riesling is served at room temperature, and every baked oyster in this oyster house is sold out—the consequence of being the neighbourhood’s latest hot spot.
Much of me wanted to try this because of my undying love for Rodney’s specifically. Everything seemed more pretentious and way overpriced. I did, however, enjoy the atmosphere – they did a great job decorating!
I absolutely love this restaurant so much so that I went there two fridays in a row!! The oysters were amazing and the mussels in the light thai curry sauce was phenomenal!!! FIsh and chips were fantastic! Can’t wait to go again!!