HY'S STEAKHOUSE AND COCKTAIL BAR: A RARE AND WELL-DONE SUCCESS STORY

With its new location on Bay Street, Hy’s continues its 50-year Toronto tradition as the classic Canadian steakhouse

- Rick Muller

According to the City of Toronto, there are approximately 7,500 restaurants, bars and lounges in North America’s fourth-largest metropolitan area, but very few entities have lasted 50 years. Even fewer can claim the moniker “institution,” like Hy’s Steakhouse and Cocktail Bar, which recently reopened at its newest location at the corner of Bay Street and Richmond Street West in the heart of the city’s financial district.

“I am comfortable with that ‘institution’ word,” says Neil Aisenstat, son of Hy’s founder, Hy Aisenstat. “It means we’ve been around a long time and we’ve stayed relevant as a standard-bearer of the steakhouse category. It also means we are trusted and respected, so I find that somewhat flattering.”

The Hy’s story began in 1955, when Neil’s father opened the first Hy’s Steakhouse over a clothing store in Calgary. He then moved to Toronto and opened on Richmond Street West, from 1970 to 1998. Hy’s on Adelaide Street followed, from 1999 until December 2018, setting the stage for the opening of its new location at 365 Bay St., just blocks away from where it all began in Toronto, one of five locations it now has in Canada.