When a restaurant is recognized by several Toronto publications as one of the city's best new restaurants, it's bound to get busy. Consequently, you'll want to secure a reservation at Seahorse or risk being turned away. And with a name like Seahorse, you'd expect an abundance of seafood. Thankfully, that's exactly what you'll find, although the menu also includes a grilled steak and salads for those who prefer turf over surf.

I naturally stuck with the sea, starting with the tuna tartare ($29), which almost has the feel of a beef tartare thanks to its savoury crème fraîche dressing. Combined with the pickled accents, it almost resembles a tartar sauce. Personally, I enjoyed piling it onto the smoky toasted bread, but I could see some diners feeling the tuna gets a little lost.

So, if you're after brighter citrus flavours or that Peruvian-Japanese (Nikkei) style of tartare, this isn't it. Instead, opt for the kampachi crudo or Thai prawn ceviche, which are better suited to those cravings.

The burrata salad ($28) was a little skimpy on the cheese, consisting of only half of a very small ball. There simply wasn't enough to match the generous helping of heirloom tomatoes and plums. Still, it's a pleasant salad, and I liked the addition of a slightly tart verjus glaze that kept the fruit from becoming overly sweet.

If you're dining with three or more people, I'd recommend ordering at least two pastas ($44). Seahorse makes theirs fresh daily, so the delicate spaghettini clings to their umami-rich signature sauce, which resembles a tangy seafood bisque rather than marinara. Three nicely grilled prawns top the dish. Personally, I would have preferred the sun-dried tomatoes blended into the sauce instead of left in chunks, as I found their concentrated flavour a little overpowering, but that's entirely a matter of taste.

The fish ($46), a Caribbean red snapper, was grilled to perfection wonderfully flaky and meaty. The ramp salsa verde was such a bright burst of flavours that I’m glad they placed it on the side, so you gradually add to the fish. For those who prefer simpler flavours, the fennel gremolata on top was more than enough.

I’d recommend ordering some bread ($9) and saving it for dipping into the mains. The sauces are excellent on their own but mix the pasta sauce with a little of the salsa verde and tell me it doesn't become even better.

Having heard so much about the crêpes Suzette, I was disappointed to learn they were removed for the summer. I understand the warm dessert is probably better suited to cooler weather. Instead, we settled on the ciambellone ($16), an Italian lemon olive oil cake topped with a bright strawberry coulis for a lighter finish. The menu describes the ice cream as white chocolate, but to me it tasted more like brown butter and caramel, which nicely mellowed the acidity of the coulis.

While the food was fantastic, Seahorse's service still has room to improve. Aside from the owner stopping by once (and noticing empty water glasses) to ask how we were enjoying the meal, no one refilled our water, even though our server checked in several times. Pro tip: if you're already at the table, just grab the bottle and top up the glasses. After asking for the bill, we also waited quite a while for the payment terminal and eventually had to flag someone down again. We even tried paying through the QR code on the bill, but it unfortunately didn't work. In a busy restaurant, I would have thought they’d want to turn over tables quickly.

Seahorse has certainly earned the attention it's been getting. The kitchen is turning out thoughtful, seafood-forward dishes that make it easy to understand the accolades. A few service hiccups aside, Seahorse delivers a meal that's well worth planning ahead for.