Channelling East Coast rustic just west of the city’s core, Rodney’s has been a fixture of Toronto’s dining scene for more than two decades. And with good reason. Ultra-fresh fish and live-and-kicking seafood attract locals and tourists to this bare-bones-casual subterranean restaurant where the best options are the daily specials. The oyster list might include the petite, creamy Kumamoto, the briny Lameque Cocktail, and the sweet and delicate Totten Virginica. Live sea scallops, complete with coral-coloured roe, come lightly grilled and bursting with ocean flavour under a fresh-tasting tomato-corn salsa. Soft-shell crab brings a pair of cornmeal-dusted crustaceans, their crisp exteriors yielding rich meat, although the garlic is missing in the accompanying lime-spiked aïoli. Wild halibut teams a moist fillet with a hearty bacon-and-cheese-stuffed baked potato. The inspired wine list is heavy on fish-friendly whites. Genial servers are oyster experts. Mains $12–$32.