“Have a Noank oyster” says Mark Moore, the oysterman at Fishbar, which has just opened on Ossington and Dundas.  Amazing.When I lived a couple of harbours from Noank, a village on the Southeastern Connecticut shore, oysters were banned because of pollution. But don’t underrate the appetite of  oyster-lovers. A major cleanup has created new beds. So now  add one more flavour to the most joyously idiosyncractic filter feeder whose taste is shaped by the diverse waters in which it is raised.  I bite into the black-fringed mollusk, a spurt of salt hits the tastebuds, and I am once again sailing out to the Atlantic with Ireland in my sights, “Whither O splendid ship, thy white sails crowding/leaning across the bosom of the urgent West.”

Back at the Fishbar dock,  I gulp down a piquant Raspberry Point from PEI and a creamy Marina’s Top Drawer from BC, 5 bucks apiece, and that’s just the start of a fish feast.

Fishbar is the quintessential small downtown resto where the character of eating out in Toronto is being evolved. The plant is basic. A storefront morphed into a long wind tunnel. Open the door with the wind behind you and you may be swept all the way back to the kitchen. Or by the kitchen, because configuring this awkward narrow space calls for extreme ingenuity. To pack in thirty-plus  diners  Fishbar’s walls are stripped to the original brick, the main decor comprise  Thomas Edison’s original soft tawny lightbulbs.  Every other cent goes into the novel ingredients for which diners’ appetites are insatiable. Don’t bother to compare Toronto to those megaplaces, Paris, NYC, Chicago or for that matter the city’s own middle-of-the-road restos designed hopefully  to please almost everyone. The newbies are intense, personal, pushing the boundaries.

The menu is recyclable paper.  Shared plates are the norm. Yes yes we agree with Mark, an eight year veteran of Rodney’s,  fresh white anchovies $7 are tempting, but we can’t wait for the Brandade, creamy salt cod and crostini $6, perfect match for crisp “Groovy” as the winebrats call the Gruner Veltliner, $10 a glass.  Oh and bring on the Fishbar Ceviche $12. Tonight it’s fresh wild Halibut crowned with a tangle of bronze sweet potato matchsticks.  Hmmm. The brandade should be saltier and the Halibut’s subtle flavour has been neutralized by the citric cure. The matchsticks go better with Grilled Albacore Tuna, fat little slices laid out  alongside big cranberry beans salad $13. Thank goodness for the red pepper salsa, the Tuna needs it. Is it lese-majeste to accuse the sacred Tuna of having no flavour cojones?  My companion, who’s studying the flesh characteristics of fish, compares tuna to tofu, both prized for their texture but which absorb flavours with the ease of a cottonwool ball.

Nothing neutral about the mighty wild Copper River Salmon now running strong in Alaska. Chef David Friedman,  who is William Tavares’ partner in Fishbar, is a Vancouverite with stints here at Table 17 and Kaiseki Sakura. He has  fashioned a superb Tartare,  $15, from this firm-fleshed beauty with pine-nut tones and  the colour of scarlet poppies. This isn’t a blast-off like Steak Tartare. It’s subtle, mixed with  teensy chips of green apple and a powdered seaweed mixture. Goes great with a Pinot Noir 10, Humberto Canale Estate,  $10, from Patagonia!   How can a wine made on subarctic windwhipped plains taste so soft and friendly?  I’ve never sampled  Patagonian wine before but then I’ve never tried wine from Puglia, Italy’s Cinderella region, but here we have  three choices. The newbies ‘ wine lists  are as adventurous as the choice of ingredients, the owners ordering direct from source and not through the LCBO, which looks increasingly staid.

After a time-out,  we order BC  Grilled Sardine with Salsa Verde, bitter Arugula $8. Whoa!  This Sardine is  a good l0 inches – way over the 6-inch Sardine rule.  A  Sardine isn’t a species.  It’s named for Sardinia after fleets of tiny shiny fish were found swarming the island (they swarm all over). Grown, they assume an identity, usually Herring or Pilchard.    Oh well,what’s in a name? This  California Pilchard,for that’s what it is,   is fine brain food, not quite  as intense as the  Sardine, or as aggressive as the brutish Mackerel…

Desserts haven’t yet jelled at Fishbar, the ice cream $8 doesn’t meet seaside standards, but almost everything else does.  Oh, and Tired Ears- go early.

Fishbar 217 Ossington 647-340-0227 No Wheelchair Access. Dinner, 7 plates plus tax, $88.
***Yums for bucks 2 1/2 * Food,Service. ** Ambience

1-4 stars awarded for food, service, ambience.