Captain John's Harbour Boat Restaurant
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Captain John's Harbour Boat Restaurant is a noted Toronto restaurant. It is located in the MS Jadran a former Adriatic cruise ship now permanently docked at the foot of Yonge Street on the Toronto waterfront.
The restaurant is owned and operated by John Letnik who came to Canada as a refugee from Yugoslavia in 1957. He opened the restaurant aboard the Normac in 1970. The Normac had served several years with the Detroit Fire Department and then as a ferry that travelled between Tobermory and Manitoulin Island. In 1975 Letnik bought the larger Jadran from the Yugoslav government. The Jadran was one of three luxury cruise ships built in Split for the Jadranska Linijska Plovidba company. For several years it operated as a luxury cruise ship in the Adriatic and Aegean. Letnik purchased the ship in 1975 for a million dollars, and it became a second location for his restaurant.
In 1981 the Normac was struck by one of the Metro operated ferries and sunk. No one was hurt, but the restaurant was destroyed. This set off a long legal battle between Letnik and the city. Letnik was eventually awarded damages, but reportedly not enough to compensate for the destruction. The Normac was raised and refurbished and served as a floating restaurant in other communities with the Jadran being the sole home of Captain John's since then.
Despite poor reviews by local papers,[1] the restaurant is popular with tourists and many bus tours stop at it. Seating over 300 it is also popular for large banquets and special events.
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[edit] References
- Shephard, Michelle. "Restaurant's Claws for Success, Sinking of His First Restaurant Failed to Dampen Captain John's Ambitions. Toronto Star. Aug 14, 1995. pg. C.3
