Divisive Toronto restaurant from celebrity chef closes after under a year

A Toronto restaurant from celebrity chef Matty Matheson that made a huge splash upon opening in late 2024 appears to have already closed.

Being a big name on the Toronto restaurant scene is about as sure a golden ticket to city-wide notoriety as any, but, as Matty Matheson's ill-fated Bar Clams is seemingly proving this week, it's not a promise of longevity.

It was ambitious to open an East Coast-style diner with a menu that featured items like gravy-smothered open-faced turkey sandwiches, donair and all manner of sea creatures battered and deep-fried, sure, but Matheson has never been the type to blend in.

And, ostensibly, he was on to something. Folks flocked to the restaurant the moment it officially opened for business in December 2024, perfectly willing to drop $20 on a relatively meagre serving of fish and chips or a duo of taco-sized donairs (the real Nova Scotian deal comes in the size of your head for under $10). 

The more folks who visited the restaurant, though, the more mixed the reviews became. 

While some praised Matheson's innate ability to elevate the classic offerings from the maritime greasy spoons of his youth, others criticized the steep prices stamped across dishes that are, by nature, cost-effective.

Others, still, labelled the restaurant with the dreaded "just okay." If you haven't guessed, I fell into the last category, though, to give credit where credit is due, memories of their molasses bread continue to visit my dreams to this very day.

Wherever you stand on the great Bar Clams debate of 2025, it's time to lay any hopes of resolution to bed, as the restaurant appears to have closed down for good.

As of Nov. 10, 2025, the restaurant has been marked "Permanently Closed" on Google, and, though the restaurant's OpenTable page remains open, all reservations appear to be closed.

At the time of publication, Bar Clams has not responded to blogTO's request for comment on the closure or whether the restaurant will be making a comeback in the future.

If there's anything Toronto knows to expect from the chef-turned-actor-turned-heavy-metal-vocalist, it's the unexpected, so I, for one, won't be surprised if a new venture is on its way for the space.

Bar Clams was located at 802 Dundas St. W.