Esin Restaurant & Bar — Restaurant in Danville

I don't usually write reviews but I feel the need to let people know about this place. I took my wife out to dinner for her birthday last night. Being the parent of two little kids it's a luxury to find time to go out with my wife now. The restaurant was busy so we were ok with sitting outside... no big deal. Unfortunately it was a cold night and the heater next to us was broken.... I had to get up from my table and turn it off because the gas regulator was broken so the whole area smell like propane gas. One of the busboys was very attentive and came right away to help. Our waitress was nowhere to be seen or acknowledge the situation so our whole evening was very cold.

We order some sangria and a beer to start and it took a while to finally get it. We started with the soup of the day and the caramelized onion soup and they were ok but nothing exceptional. We later order the pork chop and the petite steak. Both of the entries were great. The reason I am giving it one star is because the service was terrible. It took like 40 minutes to get our entries and the server came to the table once to check if we were ok. We finish our food, and it took like 15 minutes before someone came and remove the plates from our table. We then waiter out in the cold for another 20 minutes to get our waitress to ask if we were ok. We had planned ordering desert but after being so long out in the cold, the only thing we wanted to do was to leave the place.

I was very disappointed because this place was referred by friends and we wanted to have a good time but it was just the opposite.

If you decide to go to this place, don't sit outside because you won't get the service you deserve.

Our bill was about $120. for two people but you can get better service...

My first visit here, though it came highly recommended by friends. Ambiance is upscale but casual, and a bit on the noisy side. Service, pretty near perfect. Flatbread with pears, caramelized onions and blue cheese was wonderful and the prawns and scallops entree was nice, except the scallops were oddly burnt-tasting. Not seared… burnt, with an ashy flavor. But my fifth star is missing because they list “Classic Caesar Salad” on the menu, but when I ordered it I was not asked if I wanted anchovies on it and our server seemed surprised when I said I did. Not a huge deal, and the salad was great. The problem was the $1 charge itemized on our bill, for something that should be included on a Classic Caesar Salad. For a restaurant of that caliber and price, it seems literally like “nickel and diming”. Maybe it’s punishment for people who like a Caesar salad the classic way. Maybe it’s there to discourage people from ordering anchovies, though I was not informed about the additional charge when ordering. Of course, it’s only one dollar, right? Which makes me wonder why they would tack it onto a fairly substantial bill? There’s a note on the menu that “bread will be served on request” which I appreciate. Why throw out perfectly good bread when so many people don’t eat it? But I don’t think they add an additional charge for those who ask for it. That would probably annoy people enough that they will go somewhere else to...

I can't give more than 3 stars because of the food. This place appears to be where a lot of Danville's more retired population frequents for lunch and dinner. The atmosphere is "classically" nice, which is probably its best draw. The food is fine overall, but there was at least one thing for each of us that wasn't good on our dishes. Our server was very friendly, and her recommendations were spot on. She was able to connect with us without feeling rushed, even though the restaurant was fully packed during our dinner. We didn't see as much of her or the busser as would have been perfect, but not bad either. I had been here once for lunch, and the dinner menu being very different I thought it would be great for dinner. Sadly, neither meal was remarkable and doesn't leave me wanting to return. Gluten free options are limited, despite a menu that should allow for more with minor adjustments. Expect about $40-50/person for food. Wine list has too many $100+ bottles on it for the level and type of food offered, but there are some decent values among the bottles also available...