Matty Matheson’s Bar Clams has permanently closed
The upscale Dundas West diner was open for less than a year
When Matty Matheson’s East Coast–inspired Bar Clams opened on Dundas West last year, the Parkdale prince turned celebrity restaurateur turned big-shot actor and television producer told us the restaurant was an ode to his family. “I want to share my love for my grandparents and the food I grew up eating in the Maritimes,” he said. A photo of his mother and grandfather hung on a cozy wood-panelled wall.
Despite the warm intentions, many were quick to point out the restaurant’s high prices, which included a $25 rum and coke and a $35 fish and chips.
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This week, as originally noticed by a sleuth in a Toronto dining Reddit group, Bar Clams appeared to have shuttered, at least according to Google, where it was listed as permanently closed.
A supplier contacted by Toronto Today told the publication that Bar Clams was completing its final inventory this week. Though the careers page of Our House Hospitality Company’s website lists three open positions at Bar Clams, a representative confirmed to the Toronto Star this afternoon that the upscale diner had indeed shut down, as of two days ago.
“We extend our sincere thanks to every guest who chose to dine with us, and to the dedicated staff whose passion and hard work brought the restaurant to life,” said Keegan Ferguson, director of operations at Our House, which oversees Matheson’s restaurants.
So long to Bar Clams, and thanks for all the fish.
Related: Matty Matheson is opening a 9,500-square-foot restaurant in Hamilton
Carly Lewis is a journalist whose work has appeared in the New York Times and the New York Times Magazine, Vanity Fair, Wired, Interview Magazine, Pitchfork, Elle, and Maclean’s, where she is a contributing editor. Her work has been recognized by the National Magazine Awards and the Digital Publishing Awards. She reports on city life, culture—including what people do online—politics, art and crime. She received the Dave Greber Freelance Writers Award for “The Murder of Ashley Wadsworth,” an investigative feature about a Canadian teenager who was killed by a man she met on social media, published by Maclean’s.
