ēst Restaurant — Restaurant in Toronto

This is probably one of the worst fine dining experiences I've had in Toronto. The only redeeming quality of Est is the half decent service. And quite honestly, it can't be that nice considering they never once asked how our meal was.

The seats are so uncomfortable and they only give you a piece of felt to sit on. If you're unlucky enough to be seated in a booth, the half back of the seat will dig into your spine.

Food wise, only the snacks before the first course were nice. I say that bar this one snack that was a highly vinegared snack with pumpkin seeds.

In terms of the first course of cabbage and squid was a poorly paired disaster. The cabbage was over charred and drenched in oil. The flavours were so overpowering that you couldn't even taste the squid. You might as well have left it off. This course alone would have been enough reason to leave the restaurant then and there.

The second course of corn and lobster was decent. If you count emulsified lobster that's smaller than a penny decent.

The fish stew course was another huge disappointment. The seafood was overcooked and hence dry. This type of poor preparation was shocking, and something you would expect from an amateur cook who is learning to cook for the first time. The ingredients themselves were lacklustre and tiny. A fine dining restaurant serving you a scallop the same size as the muscle next to it, is condenscendingly atrocious. The charred calamari served with it, left a disgusting taste in my mouth. They finish this course off with a piece of charred focaccia, again burnt just a little too much.

The main of dry aged duck and pork were a nice enough way to cap the meal. Neither were overly fatty nor dry. But unfortunately a couple decent courses can't make up for the poor quality of other courses.

I won't even comment on the dessert, as most restaurants fall short on this regardless.

I will say though that the orange float served before the dessert was quite nice and the presentation was adorable.

I would not recommend this restaurant to anyone, regardless of the price point. The meal overall left a poor taste in my mouth, and I mean that literally not...

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...

Food: Overall excellent. We had the beef short rib and the pappardelle ragu. The rapini on the beef dish were very, very slightly undercooked but overall everything tasted great and was made/presented very well. The chocolate cake dessert was also very good with a nice mix of textures and warm caramel/chocolate sauce. You can tell the kitchen staff are well-trained and care.

Atmosphere: The restaurant was a little bright for dinner. The ambiance would benefit from a slightly darker decor (everything is white) or softer/warmer lighting. It felt a bit less cozy than it should have. We were also sitting in the back by the kitchen entrance which emphasized this. The music was great and a good volume.

Service: The service was just okay. For those prices you often expect a bit more knowledge about the dishes and wines. I understand there was only one waiter for the whole place, maybe Est would benefit from a host + waiter or even a bartender so more attention can be given to the guests. We didn't really interact that much with the waiter outside of briefly ordering and often times it's those small interactions with the staff that make a place memorable.

My only other note is that the menu was a bit basic/bland. You have a standard set of dishes you see at most/french or italian restaurants. Mind you, executed very well, but nothing wow'd us. The wine menu was similarly basic. You have a few standard cocktails and maybe 15 wines on the menu. I would have liked to see a special that stood out a bit more. I think the fact that there was only one waiter/lack of bartender for the whole place explained the drinks; however, I expected a bit more creativity from the kitchen based on the food quality.

Overall solid, if our dinner was sub $200 I don't think we would have minded as much and would have given 4 stars, but when a restaurant prices high the customer tend to set the bar...