Jacobs & Co. Steakhouse has officially opened in the CIBC Square office complex's south tower, unveiling a quietly luxurious new look, a refined menu, and a renewed zest for excellence from its tight-knit team.

Long before the city's current steakhouse boom, Jacobs & Co. was sating red meat cravings at its original Brant Street location. Opened in 2007, the steakhouse brought panache to King West, one steaming, just-baked popover at a time.

Classic in all the ways that mattered, it also led the charge in its dedication to sourcing, sustainability, customer experience and quality on the plate. In 2024 and 2025, the steakhouse was recognized as one of the World's 101 Best Steak Restaurants.

The steakhouse ended its Brant Street chapter on April 19^th, vacating the volatile King West neighbourhood and opening the doors to its new Financial District location in mid-May.   

Spread across 14,000 square feet of space, including two outdoor terraces, the restaurant reveals itself to visitors in stages.

First, they enter the piano lounge, where an extended marble bar and pecan-shaded club chairs make a fantastic case for arriving before one's set reservation time.

It's the ideal place to linger over seasonal cocktails, like the Cloak of Invisibility ($26), a light, herbaceous, tequila-based take on a negroni made with Spirit Of York Aquavit, mezcal, cucumber and fennel bitters.

Or, given the sun streaming through the floor-to-ceiling windows, you might want to embrace the tropical feel of a Burnt Paloma ($26) or Toucan Sam ($24). Made with Patrón, Pimm's, grapefruit soda, and oak-smoked sea salt and Chinese five-spice-infused agave syrup, the former is sweet, salty and smoky in equal measure.

As fruity as the Jungle Bird classic that inspired it, the latter transforms pineapple-infused Planteray Rum, Campari, passion fruit syrup and habanero bitters into a cultured take on a spicy marg.

An homage to the restaurant's roots in cocktail form, the One-Two Brant ($24) is a frothy concoction of chamomile-infused pisco, Aperol, white rum, guava syrup and egg white topped off with a fragrant sprinkle of freshly ground chamomile tea.

Continuing on, guests enter the split-level dining room, where the softness of carpet underfoot, warm walnut walls, gleaming gold accents and the elegance of marble ground them in a thoroughly cushy space. Hanging in glass showcases, dry-aged fish, primal slabs of beef and premium bottles of wine add a little still-life artistry to the old-money aesthetic.

Inspired to venture even further? Beyond the main space are private dining rooms able to accommodate fêtes for 40 or intimate dinners strictly for one's nearest and dearest.

Despite its serious DesignAgency glow-up, Jacobs & Co. has retained the qualities that have consistently made it one of Toronto's favourite spots to indulge. This fact seems due, in no small part, to executive chef Danny MacCallum's deep-seated passion for what he does.

"I get really serious and nerdy about meat and fish and what we serve," explains MacCallum, who has been with the restaurant for 17 years.

A lapsed vegan, MacCallum credits his former diet for directly influencing his philosophies toward food — even steak — today. "I became really conscious and respectful of animals. … Often, people think of it as an opposite end of the spectrum, but I see it more as a circular, full-circle thing where now what I do, I can come at it with a great deal of respect."

That respect is demonstrated through precise sourcing (down to a specific farm or, in the case of fish, a specific boat or area of water), the team's profound understanding of ingredients, and the way they are handled. "Knowledge is a key pillar for the staff. And training," affirms MacCallum. "Knowing where things came from exactly is really what we're all about."

To satisfy regulars (and charm first-timers), dinner service at the new Jacob's & Co. begins as it always has — with the team's made-to-order popovers served with house-churned butter. It's a sumptuous gesture that sets the tone for the meal to come.

From there, Beet Salad ($26) is a sweet next step, composed of roasted red beets, yellow beet purée, goat cheese, pistachios and dazzling nuggets of honeycomb.

Made by Tiny Market Co., Tortelli ($45) feature a rich parmigiano and braised leek filling, and a lip-slicking butter sauce.

New to Jacobs 2.0, the dry-aged fish program mimics the process used to ensure beef is served at its best. "We work with a local purveyor called Affinity Fish," explains MacCallum.

"They specialize in local Ontario fish, and now they've branched out to be a little more coast-to-coast. We're getting some amazing tuna from British Columbia and spot prawns. And beautiful, line-caught sablefish from out east."

Served with fennel, burnt orange and yuzu dressing, 20-day dry-aged kanpachi Crudo ($28) is a buttery, fresh way to sample the team's newest tricks.

With a treasure trove of beef sourced from near and far, with cuts that range from petite tenderloins to $1000 behemoths, it's safe to say that Jacobs' menu includes a steak for every type of carnivore.

Whichever you order, be it a 14 oz Ribeye ($140) from Guelph that's been aged for 45 days or a 12 oz Creekstone Farm Striploin ($108) from Kansas, steaks receive the same treatment once they reach the chef's hands.

Seasoned simply with salt and pepper, they are then brushed with rendered tallow. "It adds a great flavour to the beef, but you also feel better because you're not wasting a fuel source by throwing it away," says MacCallum.

"Then we sear the steaks. We have a Montague charbroiler, which is a top-down charbroiler. We let them cook in there to about its doneness and then we take them out and let them rest. Steaks have to rest. Resting it really allows the juices to come back into the steak and keep it a juicy steak."

Share a steak, and the next logical move is to share one of the team's classic desserts, be it Vanilla Crème Brûlée or Cherry Cheesecake ($22). Made with house graham crackers and sour cherry compote, every lofty cheesecake slice is garnished with toothsome chunks of dark chocolate for a traditional trifecta of flavours.

Refreshed and revived, Jacobs & Co. Steakhouse continues to deliver the experience that diners have come to expect. "We really kept everything that we liked," says MacCallum. "We just took a magnifying glass to everything that we liked and amplified that in the design, in the food, etc."

Beyond the food, it's the feeling of being looked after that the expert team hopes people will hold onto. "We provide a really good time, through service, through caring and through anticipating people's needs," MacCallum assures.

Leaving with a bag of complimentary coffee cakes to enjoy the next day (or on the ride home), you'll know exactly what he means.

Jacobs & Co. Steakhouse is located in the south tower of the CIBC Square complex, at 81 Bay Street, four^th floor.