Est West

I find that when I review Korean restaurants I base a whole star just on the side dishes alone. I really enjoy when they give you refillable side dishes. I didn’t bother asking for refills this time as the side dishes were not to my liking. The bean sprouts and spinach are my least favorite. The pork bone soup was okay and the Japanese bento was also okay. Nothing worth mentioning but no real complaints either. Just wish they had more of the side dishes I liked (soya beans and radish are my favs). And like Tiff L mentioned already, don’t get it confused with Sushi Mori. Its the same place. Two names for one restaurant. Hmmmm… should I write a review for Sushi Mori as well?

I like coming here for their pork bone soup, and some other korean dishes.
I tried several Japanese dishes since they added their Sushi Mori section onto the menu, and the sushi is a hit/​miss. Sometimes the sashimi tastes fresh, but sometimes it tastes very bland like the ones you get at AYCE places.
However, the korean dishes are consistently good. So I usually stick to those

We went there last month.
I ordered the Hoedeopbap. 60% of the supposedly fresh vegetables were spoiled, which I have never experienced in a restaurant.
Both my boyfriend and I had upset stomachs the day after. Not going back.

I was here on a Saturday night. It wasn’t packed but it wasn’t empty either. I’ve only ordered Pork Bone Soup at places where they serve Pork Bone Soup and that night was no exception. The soup was just ok. It wasn’t bad but it wasn’t amazing either. I still like the soup at Owl of Minerva better. Actually, my sister said that the pork was a little dry but I didn’t notice it. Someone said on their review that the side dishes are good. And they were. They had mangoes, eggplant, bean sprouts and kimchi. My only complaint is that their serving is smaller than I’m used to (can’t help but compare Est West with Owl of Minerva in my head). But it’s all good because all I gotta do is ask for more (it’s just too bad for the servers because they have to keep refilling them). Oh and they also served miso soup which gives Est West bonus points because I LOVE miso soup.
My other sister ordered Bimbimbap. They had her waiting for almost half an hour before she got her order (poor thing had to watch us inhale our soup while waiting). I don’t even think the server apologized for the wait, although they have been friendly in general. Also, the Bimbimbap wasn’t amazing either and was borderline bland. In fact, she didn’t finish the dish because it was unappealing.
I’d still go to Est West in the future because a lot of the reviews say that this place is awesome. We probably just went on a bad night. But I’d only go again if I have to wait for a table at Owl of Minerva.

Came back to Est West last week, and was surprised that they’ve added a sushi bar! The owner is still the same, Est West is still labeled on their menus, but they’ve added the name «Sushi Mori» as well. A little confusing.
The pork bone soup was still has yummy as before, but the chicken katsu (new on the menu) that my friend tried was pretty horrible — barely any chicken, dry and floury, and not enough sauce.
The nice waitress from before was also gone, but the new servers weren’t unfriendly either. I would suggest they get rid of the sushi bar, and go back to good ol’ traditional Korean food.
But of course, I“ll still be back for their pork bone soup!

My newest obsession is Korean food, having heard good things about Est West I knew I had to check it out so I could try their take on gamjatang (pork bone soup).
My friend and I came here on a Sunday night and despite being in the very crowded First Markham Place plaza the restaurant was actually very quiet. My friend and I decided to share the pork pone soup hot pot for 2 and the seafood pancake. The pork bone soup came out in a large pot and was put on the burner to keep it bubbling. The portion was huge! Large bones of pork, dumplings, little rice cakes, potatoes, and enoki mushrooms comprised this tasty concoction. The broth had a nice kick and was a bit tangy, the pork was fall off the bone tender, the dumplings and potatoes made this a very filling meal. The enoki mushrooms were a nice touch as I have never seen this dish served with mushrooms. My only complaint was that the bones were not as meaty as I have had at other places.
The seafood pancake we ordered was off the charts. The pancake was egg based and contained a decent portion of squid and scallops as well as green onions for flavour. I loved the texture of the pancake; it was a little crispy on the outside without being too heavy, amazing! Our meal came accompanied by about 8 banchans (side dishes) the best of which was the fish cake. The kimchi was also quite good and the fresh mango provided a nice palate cleanse. At the end of our meal we were given a little complimentary dessert which was like melon slush, the taste wasn’t great but it was a nice touch.
The place itself is quite modern with mostly booth seating. I did see that they have an AYCE bbq option (with only select meats). The servers were absolutely amazing; they were very welcoming and kept checking up on us to make sure we were doing ok. I will definitely be back here!

Back to Est West for dinner and finally meet my Korean Mama here.
The owner is just so kind and sweet. Check on us numerous of time, help us cut our meat, tell me which banchen is good for my health… eat more of this and that.
Food is excellent as usual…
I feel like I am home!

Great place for lunch as the specials are priced at $ 6.49 and $ 6.99 and the portion is big. Almost all menu items have lunch prices, so the selection is big. LOVE their egg pancake and the bibimbap that has the noodles (Est West serves 3 types of bibimbaps). It is ridiculously good.

With a handful of choices for Korean restaurants at First Markham Place, Est West, in my opinion, is either first or second best. The place is comfortable and clean.
They served a variety of pan-​chans, Korean side dishes. I wished the server explained them to me because I was left to guess 1 – 2 of them. However, I really liked their kimchi and mango salad. It was refreshing! There was also kelp and o-​deng (fishcake).
My friend and I ordered the course set A, recommended for 2 – 3 people. For lunch, the price is $ 30 and for dinner, the price is $ 40. First in the course, was dukkboki. This was absolutely amazing with chewy rice cake and fish cake in hot spicy sauce. Hands down to the best dukkboki at First Markham Place for me. Next was a dolsot bibimbap which was average with little meat, vegetables and an egg on top of the rice. There was a seafood pancake with a soy sauce dipping sauce. I love Korean seafood pancake and this did not disappoint me at all! It was crispy with big chunks of squid inside a chewy batter. Lastly, there was a dwanjang jigae, soybean stew, with a bowl of rice. I was never a big fan of this stew but my friend said it was delicious. It had a lot of tofu cubes and meat inside.
This course set was a little too much for 2 people (one girl and one boy). We had to pack some home. When we asked for the bill, they gave us a sorbet in soju shot glasses. Again, I wished the server told me what the flavour was but we assumed it to be pineapple– that was a great finish to the meal.
Overall, I was deeply satisfied with the food at Est West.
Would I go back? Absolutely! The food was delicious; the price was good. There was a lot of variety in the menu, leaving me curious to try more of their food!

Nice clean place. Liked their kimchi, had some different items than the regular flare.
Kalbi was lean, pork bone soup was very meaty. Tofu in the tofu soup did not have a lot of flavor, though the soup base was good. Overall average tasting food. Server was very friendly and attentive.

I’ve been told many times by my girlfriend about how much she likes eating in the downtown location of Est West and the one thing I remember the most from our first conversation is me saying «a Korean restaurant is named Est West?».
What? You gotta admit, usually Korean restaurants have a very. um…Korean name to them (i.e. Nak Won, Joons, Song Cook — an exception is the Owl of Minerva, but that to me actually sounds like a math tutorial place o₀). Still, I was intrigued.
Luckily, the owner decided to open a branch in First Markham Place, and I suggested we pay a visit so that I can learn firsthand the wonders of Est West. Suffice to say I wasn’t disappointed.
Being a fan of the Korean rice cake, I decided to order the spicy version of it (with cheese! Shades of Joons in Koreatown) while my girlfriend decided on a bibimbap. The food came promptly and were delicious. It tasted fresh and it had a certain je né sais quoi (sp?) about it that shows me that the chef put quite a bit of effort into it. The taste of my dish was strong but not overpowering (though it could be much spicier), and the girlfriend’s bibimbap was complete with egg that’s cooked just right (with the perfect amount of runniness) and meat that’s tender.
The service was ridiculously good. The servers, most of them quite young, were extremely polite and courteous. It really felt like authentic Asian hospitality, much like what you would get in Asia (maybe except Hong Kong: P) and they also were very attentive. Our banchans (side dishes) were continuously replenished and the owner even came out to give us a few extra pieces after we told her how much we liked certain ones. Granted, she recognized my girlfriend, but it really shows how much they care about their customers. I now tease my girlfriend about her «Korean mama» all the time. It was very lovely.
The décor was modern and sleek, and everything was really good. The only downside is that, perhaps due to the material used in the walls (shrug I dunno, I’m no acoustics expert), sounds bounce off quite strongly in the dining room, resulting in a very loud dining experience even though the restaurant was only around half full at the time.
Will definitely come back, and try out their other dishes. Next project: Kan Poong Gi! Or however that’s spelled these days.

The quality of this restaurant is first-​rate. All dishes are approximately 1 — 2 dollars more than the other Korean restaurants within the First Markham Place plaza, but it is well worth it.
It’s spacious and beautifully decorated. I ordered the pork bone soup for 7.95, which came with 4 large pieces of pork — very generous and first-​rate, with fall-​off the meat bone.
Their side dishes are slightly different than other ones — there were 8 altogether including a scoop of mashed potato and mango.
At other places you tend to have to flag down the staff, but here, they give you refills of side dishes without even asking. They are all very friendly.
It also comes with a small mango sorbet at the end, which was great.
Will definitely visit again.

Went for lunch and ordered Dolsot Bi Bim Bop. The rice was soaking wet and there was a puddle of water in the stone bowl. It was like mushy rice… the food and side dishes were not appealing at all. It was so unappetizing we didn’t even eat the side dishes.

Another Korean restaurant opened up in First Markham Place. Very spacious and clean compare to other Korean restaurants, mostly because they took over the place from another Korean BBQ restaurant that invested in the renovation.
What I like:
— really competitive lunch deal. For example, their Monday lunch special is pork bone soup for $ 6 bucks. Just like any other Korean place, they give you complimentary appetizers. On top of that, it comes with free dessert — a mini homemade sorbet (mango or ginseng)
— servers were very friendly
Don’t like:
— I have had better pork bone soup at other places
I will definitely be back.