ēst Restaurant

We came here for a birthday brunch with my girlfriends, and it ended up being such a lovely experience. The service was truly amazing! our server handled everything with so much care, from taking our orders to making our delicious cocktails herself. The food was decent, the vibe was great, and the atmosphere made the whole celebration feel special. Definitely planning to come back soon for dinner!

We went for their neighborhood menu, which at $65/person sounded like a good deal. The appetizers and mains were perfect and delicious. We had the scallops and the steak tartare to begin with and an additional charred octopus to share. For mains we had the truffle gnocchi and the steak frites. All dishes so far had been amazing and had made us thought $65 was a really fair price for their 3 course menu. Until we got to the dessert… The only option was a cheesecake, which sounded ok, though when we got to it we got really REALLY frustrated. It looked and tasted like a cheap frozen cheesecake from the grocery store, which is something we obviously wouldn’t expect from them given the high quality meal we had just had. We’ll come back for their regular menu for sure, though we might just skip the dessert next time. The service was ok, nothing really exceptional.

Their Summerlicious menu ($75 per person) is at the highest price point, but still good value compared to normal prices (reflected in this post). For example, the burrata & caviar starter is typically $41, more than half of the special deal, which is surprising given its modest size. Hopefully, they usually give a full burrata as the palm-sized portion barely whet the appetite. Served on top of toasted pain-au-lait with a dollop of sturgeon caviar, the starter was a blend of flavours with the olive oil and honey. It’s good, but would I order it again for $40? Let’s just say I’m glad I experienced it with Summerlicious. Unlike the burrata, they weren’t stingy with the lobster agnolotti ($39) with plenty of plump stuffed pasta to go around. The chopped lobster and ricotta (?) filling was wrapped in an al dante shell that went nicely with the light champagne butter sauce. Simply topped with chopped fermented garlic scapes and a yuzu foam, they complimented but didn’t overpower the seafood. You can’t go wrong with the braised beef short rib ($51) a large hunk of tender beef sitting on silky pomme purée (or mashed potatoes for the English) swimming in a lovely red wine jus. It’s a classic for a reason, excellently executed at Ēst. If you like chocolate, you’ll love the Ēst chocolate cake ($15), a rich dark chocolate dessert with sweet chocolate whipped cream and more warm chocolate sauce on the side. It’s A LOT but thankfully there’s a bit of vanilla gelato to help cut through it all. At the other end of the spectrum, the piña colada sorbet ($15) was lighter with coconut sorbet topped with crispy coconut, pineapple, and nuts. It’s good, if you wanted to end on a more manageable note. At the risk of sounding like Goldilocks, the crème brulee cheesecake was just right - a balanced sweetness with a creamy and not overly dense texture. The scoop of gelato didn’t hurt either. Of the three desserts, this was my favourite.

4.6/5 Food quality is comparable to some other top french cuisine. Service is excellent as well. Tartar beef is very good, and Crispy Mushrooms is impressive. Duck breast is awesome, the way they slice the potatoes is amazing. Chocolate cake with icecream dessert is also very nice.

Overall beautiful space and courteous service. The dishes were intricate, but some of the items came out cold, especially the brisket, it was way too tough. Octopus was delicious! 🤤

Here for the Summerlicious. The food was good and the service was super friendly and attentive all night, which made the whole experience feel even better. • Charred octopus: tender with a beautiful char. It was paired nicely with layered potatoes and bold flavours. • Braised beef shortrib: ridiculously soft, and juicy. You can really tell it was slow-braised for 12 hours. • Lobster agnolotti: buttery but not at all heavy, with the agnolotti cooked to perfectly al dente. • Burrata with caviar: fun, creative, and super tasty. The waffle was a bit hard though. • Steak tartare (off menu): solid and well-balanced, great texture. Dessert wasn’t really for me, but everything else made up for it, and we will definitely come back to try the regular menu.

At my time of rating, the aggregate review on Google is 4.4, and that's what I would give ēst if I could. Overall a great experience, with a few minor things that take it down to a four for me. Food-wise, the scallops and the lobster agnolotti were absolutely brilliant, and I'd recommend you visit here just to try them. The foie gras was good, the arctic char was good if a little underseasoned, the beef tallow fries mostly just tasted like regular fries, but were still good. Drinks were so-so across the board. The Tiger's Eye was good though nothing extraordinary, and the Fool's Gold was a bit too sour for my fiancé and I. I asked about another drink - the Almost Famous - after this, noting to the server that we found the Fool's Gold too sour and that we wanted to make sure we ordered something less sour. She assured us this one would be a little sweeter and less sour, but it was just as sour as the previous drink. She asked us how it was, we told her the truth, and nothing was done about it. Not that anything NEEDS to be done, really, because no major mistake was made - but it's this kind of thing that keeps me from giving a restaurant a 5. Atmosphere was pleasant if a little drab, but the booth tables are too close together. Service was otherwise excellent - we were never waiting, and dishes were delivered and cleared promptly. Overall a worthwhile experience. I would just expect a little more from service and a little more wow factor from the food and drink for the price point.

Tried ēst for the first time this evening and really enjoyed our dinner experience. Atmosphere, food and drinks were all very good. We had the oysters, caesar salad, lobster agnolotti, duck breast, and arctic char (with a stellar sauce). Everything was excellent but the standouts were the oysters and arctic char. The cocktails are great, but the selection of non-alcohol cocktails/mocktails was EXCEPTIONAL. As was their taste. The ambience is intimate, modern and quiet. Service was also really friendly and prompt. There is a clean and accessible bathroom on the first floor as a bonus for those who may need it.