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.

In a nutshell... 

• Must order: yellowfin tuna tartare
• Just skip: short rib triangoli pasta

Almost every person I spoke to about visiting Halifax said I had to eat at The Bicycle Thief. When pressed further as to why I had to go, they unanimously said that it has great food and has a great vibe. My arm was twisted.

The restaurant serves a seafood forward Italian menu. And their seared local scallops ($17; 3 to an order we added a fourth) was a favourite dish for our table. Deceptively simple looking, the crustaceans are pressed into finely crushed almonds, so the golden seared crust also has a crispiness to it. The added richness and crunchiness pairs wonderfully with the yuzu beurre blanc, which made me wish I had saved bread for dipping into the buttery sauce.

I’d recommend swapping out the sesame cucumber “spaghetti” for diced cucumber instead. The long tendrils were too messy to get onto the bread and overpowers the fish in the yellowfin tuna tartare ($16). They should also substitute the too crunchy crostini for another base, perhaps large taro chips to go along with the other Asian theme ingredients. Nevertheless, the tartare was fresh and flavourful with the pickled ginger, wasabi cream, and creamy avocado.

There was the perfect amount of heat in the linguine fra diavolo ($28), the garlicky tomato sauce covering each piece of the thick and chewy spaghetti. While the five prawns were perhaps a touch overcooked, they were still meaty and delicious.

The rack of lamb ($54) was cooked to perfection, the meat juicy and tasty on its own having been covered with rosemary and Dijon mustard. On the other hand, the side was polarizing – my friends loved the sweety and salty combination of the Amarena cherries, potato, and pancetta. Cherries with meat? Not for me, thank you.

My second favourite dish also incorporated scallops, except in the risotto con Capesante ($32) they didn’t have an almond crust. Instead, they’re served with a hefty portion and creamy risotto studded with peas and crispy prosciutto. Both the seafood and rice were cooked beautifully.

We’re told the butterscotch caramel cake ($14) is the only dessert The Bicycle Thief has kept on the menu since its inception. And after seeing slices whizzing by us to other tables, I had to try this layered cake. It’s sweet, creamy, and nutty, reminding me of the caramel crunch cake from La Rocca, except the meringue is replaced with sponge cake and crusted toasted pecans. Normally, I’m not a fan of very sugary desserts but this one was delicious.

My verdict on The Bicycle Thief? Their food is flavourful and for the most part delicious. I love the restaurant’s buzzy atmosphere and if you don’t mind loud music, you can feel free to laugh-out-loud without being side eyed. It’s central location at Halifax’s downtown harbourfront doesn’t hurt either. They make a mean cocktail and you won’t be disappointed if you visit.

With a name like Pink Sky, I’m expecting a café, bubble tea shop, or maybe even a candy emporium. What I’m not expecting is a seafood restaurant. Hence, I’ve walked by the storefront on many occasions but never seriously planned a visit. I chalked it up to a place to be “seen” and party, but not for real meal.

Remnants of the former Weslodge are still apparent: the expansive bar and (on occasions) the unobtrusive DJ spinning beats on the second floor. Yet, Pink Sky has a coziness to it that feels different. The ease of making reservations, not being rushed with seating limits, and sit-a-while comfortable chairs – there’s even an element of hospitality that the former restaurant was missing that exists now.

If you’re in the mood for some light bites, their menu includes a selection of hot and cold appetizers that are great for sharing. For a simple crispy calamari ($24) the appetizer was tasty, the light breading incorporating salt, pepper, and sumac adding flavour so the spicy mayo wasn’t even required. And if you’re feeling adventurous, take a bite of the deep-fried lemon slices, my friends found this surprisingly tasty.

The beef tartare ($22) needs more than four pieces of too oily toasted sourdough to go through meat mixture. Yet, it had a lovely freshness from the bits of apple and tarragon incorporated into the recipe. Still, it’s not overly heavy in comparison to the predominantly seafood focused menu.

I preferred the beef to the tuna tartare ($26), which contained so much puffed rice that I half expected the dish to go snap, crackle, and pop. What little fish remained was completely drowned out by the watermelon and other ingredients.

Pink Sky offers a host of fish on their menu. The whole branzino ($85) was disappointingly small for the price and contained too many stray bones. And while I enjoyed the crispy skin, it might have sat under the broiler for too long as it was slightly overcooked.

Personally, I’d skip the branzino and go for the grilled salmon ($32), which also had a lovely crackling skin but was still flaky and moist. Served as a nice thick slice, the main was surprisingly filling despite it being sparsely served with sautéed spinach and grilled fennel. The dish was a little salty, especially with the lemon butter sauce. Be careful to dip and not pour.

Without any grains, you could augment the fish with a side of frites ($9) to share. They’re hot, thin, and crispy… my kind of fries.

Indeed, the best bang for your buck would be the fish and chips ($32) that arrives as a ginormous piece of beer battered haddock. While the breading was too thick for my tastes, you certainly won’t leave hungry since it also arrives with a generous portion of thick cut chips.

In fact, pair the fish and chips with a wedge salad ($21) and you’ll have enough food for two. The starter uses almost an entire head of iceberg lettuce slathered in a rich and tangy buttermilk ranch dressing, topped with cherry tomatoes, grilled corn, fried onion, and huge chunks of bacon that should be called pork belly pieces. The salad normally also contains blue cheese, but we had it removed and the salad was still hearty and flavourful.

Another sharable dish is the truffle lobster mac and cheese ($46) that has a cheese pull that’d make any dairy lover swoon. Big tubes of rigatoni were tossed in a spicy pickled jalapeño cheese sauce and topped with bread crumb and chives. It’s an interesting decision to include the jalapeno, I found it balanced out the truffle oil, which can sometimes be overwhelming. If anything, it just needed more lobster as there wasn’t much to go around.

Pink Sky’s seafood risotto ($34) has a spicy tomato sauce base, so the dish ends up tasting like a cioppino risotto. It’s a twist that I don’t mind given I love the hearty seafood stew but could be disappointing if you’re expecting a more traditional saffron taste. All in all, it incorporated a passable portion of seafood (mussels, shrimp, and whitefish) although the mussels could have been fresher.

Located in the bustling area of King West, Pink Sky is an ideal pre-clubbing dinner destination. Their varied menu means you can choose a lighter dish to avoid sporting a food belly or go big with the fish and chips to soak up the liberations to come. One thing is for sure, it isn’t a frilly café, you’re coming for the food.