Sweet Esc

After coming here 2 weekends in a row you’d think I’d give it full starts. But come to think of it, I was just sold on the presentation. The hot plate is a great gimmick but there’s such a rush to eat the icecrram before it melts away. The ice cream deserves 4 stars — loved the milk tea flavor. Everything else was mediocre. Not much taste to the matcha cream and waffle.

Came here with two other girls and we decided to share a hot plate since we were coming right after dinner. Definitely the right choice!
We order the hot plate with a Brownie base, vanilla cream, Earl Grey ice cream with marshmallow and chocolate chunks as the toppings. We added an extra topping that was $ 0.50 on top.
I’ll have to say… I’ve heard some good things about this place but it was even better than I expected!
The mini marshmallows were a great idea on a hot plate. The taste of the gooey and slightly charred marshmallow reminded me of BBQ in the summers.
The brownie was soooo good, soft and moist, totally exceeded my expectations.
And the ice cream, just enough earl grey. Not too overpowering and it complimented well with the rest of the hot plate.
Will definitely come back to try their matcha ice cream (they were sold out that night) and their other seasonal flavours in the future :)

I love waffles and icecream, so it was obvious I had to try this place once it opened up! It is also only a three minute drive from my house. I adore their coffee milktea and earl grey icecream. Their waffle is just average but the icecream makes up for it. The whole hotplate waffle idea is a gimmick but I have to admit their waffle tastes good with their icecream, with or without the hotplate.

This is a semi unique idea that was talked about all over last year and as a dessert fan, I gave it a try with some friends when there was still a discount for checking into sweet esc via facebook.
I was quite intrigued by the hot plate dessert so I got waffles as a base with green tea cream, earl grey ice cream and brownies as a topping. We got the best of both worlds by having the waffles base and the brownies topping!
My favourite part of the dessert was definitely the home-​made earl grey ice cream. It was so light and refreshing which balanced the overall heaviness of the brownies and waffles.
Will definitely be back to buy take home pints of their earl grey ice cream!

Came here last night with a girlfriend I hadn’t seen in almost a year to catch up. We ordered two waffle plate specials. The food was ok — ice cream flavors were hit or miss. The earl grey ice cream was great but the chocolate ginger just tasted like chocolate.
The service is just awful. We were rushed from the moment we sat down. There wasn’t a line waiting for tables either so I have no idea the server was in such a rush. She came to check on us twice within five minutes to order. She came again to see if we were finished eating in half an hour. Then again after five minutes when we told her we were still working on it. As soon as we were finished eating, she brought the bill with the machine in her hands.
If there were people waiting for a table, we would’ve understood. But there was nobody waiting so I have no idea why she had rushed us to leave. We spent an hour at sweet esc, not an unusual amount of time for dessert/​snacks.
Confused, we left and finished our conversation in her car. Strange place and service. I definitely won’t be going back with company any time soon or recommending it to friends.

Winter here in Toronto is the type of winter that everyone contradicted with a love hate relationship and Sweet Esc couldn’t highlight my experience more.
I love Ice-​cream. I’m drawn to its simplicity and perplexed by the endless supply of constantly growing flavors. Tonight happiness was home-​made Belgian Waffles crowned with magnificent lavender essence of earl grey ice-​cream all over a sizzling hot plate on a cold winter evening.
The melting of the ice-​cream to the hot plate, for a brief time, seemed to be offering respite from the cold weather outside. A fixture of hanging decors of light and shadows to the timeless artwork of the clock on the wall turns the place into a sanctuary of warmth you share with the person you bring.
Sweet Esc knows that you can’t buy happiness you can buy waffles and cream and that’s kind of the same thing. In time waffles and ice cream became more than just desserts. They became touchstones that are almost immediately nostalgic and sentimental to better times.
I’d recommend anyone in the area to try!

Love this place! I saw a lot of the desserts here through social media and thought I’d give it a try. It’s a really cute restaurant with awesome service. I had the «build your own» waffle with the Belgian waffle, green tea cream, two scoops of ice cream (earl grey and eggnog), toppings of seasonal fruit (which is pineapples and kiwis right now), and marshmallows. The waffle comes to you on a very hot plate where you pour the cream on to sizzle. Pouring it was probably the coolest part of the waffle. Tastes delicious and is quite entertaining as well! I would definitely come back to try some of the tarts, cakes, and other ice cream flavours.
I went around 9PM on a Saturday night and was able to get a seat right away but half an hour later, there was a line of about 45min — 1hr wait. I would recommend going earlier if you don’t want to wait!

Absolutely love this place, can’t help but drop by every time I am nearby. The décor is wonderful, the food is great, and the service is top notch.
All the Asian cafes uptown feel very Asian but it’s clear that there is actual thought put into each aspect of the restaurant from eclectic clocks to cool ceiling hangings, and beautiful wall decorations.
The food is made fresh to order every time and all of their ice cream is made in house. The tarts taste absolutely heavenly and their hot plates are just the bomb.
Also, Mason jars instead of cups? Yes please!

It’s a cute place to enjoy desserts around the Warden/​Steeles plaza! The concept is definitely unique, where you customize a base (waffles/​brownie) + cream (chocolate/​vanilla/​matcha that you pour on the dessert) + toppings (nuts/​fruits/​cookie/​brownie/​marshmallows etc.) + housemade icecream (eggnog, mint fudge maple, and earl grey are some of the more unique ones) on a sizzling hot plate for $ 8.50. Try the earl grey icecream. It’s extremely tasty!
For maximal tasting enjoyment, I recommend actually just using the hot plate to heat up solely the base/​toppings so that the cream doesn’t go to waste by drying up on the plate. Also don’t let the icecream touch the plate and have it melt into an inedible puddle! When you eat it you should taste the temperature difference of the base and icecream this way. The waffle holes were good pockets to hold the cream.
There are also other desserts to choose from that don’t require customization. The server was respectful, friendly, sociable, and informative.

Small dessert place that I finally got a stomach to try. It’s at the Gibson corner plaza one street north of Warden and Steeles, same plaza as Chatime and that hot pot place.
Sweet Esc seems to be known for their build-​your-​own waffle ice cream as their menu is limited in other dessert choices such as tarts and toasts.
For Christmas, their seasonal ice cream flavours include Eggnog with Rum and Mint Fudge ripple. We ended up getting their classic Coffee Milk Tea flavour topped with chocolate sauce on waffles with seasonal fruits (one free topping).
The waffles came on a hot sizzling plate where we had to pour out chocolate sauce on before it cools. That was pretty cool of a scene and action! I was surprised how well done the waffles were, being slightly crunchy on the sides yet super soft overall. The hot and cold mix of ice cream and waffle with sauce was delicious! The coffee milk tea ice cream was good too — wasn’t too overwhelming and dense. I have to admit there was more coffee taste than milk tea though.
We also ordered a marshmallow toast afterwards. It tasted great. though if you ask me, any melted marshmallow tastes fantastic! But I still think Sweet Esc made it yummy, especially the texture overall.
Service was good. They explained briefly the seasonal flavours along and asked whether we were first-​timers. Flip side: not that it bothers me but one waitress dropped and broke a whole bunch of tea cups and pots during my visit. Oh well haha.
The interiors is very simple and lightly decorated. It’s pretty much a tiny dessert place, not much to really feel a relaxation besides the food.

I really enjoy being able to get a waffle late at night!
Staff: They are very friendly and explained how the menu worked. I think this is top notch in terms of service and getting our food in a timely manner.
Ambience: It is small but brightly lit. They have a chalk board with their ice cream flavours and specials. And while I am fine with the chalkboard having information, we couldn’t see it because were seated around the corner. I wish the had it on the other wall or on the table (maybe as a whiteboard card or something?). I had to stand up and walk over a few times which was definitely cumbersome.
Food: I got their hot plate waffle with earl grey ice cream. On the surface, I think the hot plate adds nothing, but if I think about it, it may have kept the waffle warm and toasty, since ice cream could make the waffle cold and soggy. I’m not sure how much of that is true though. The waffle was very nice, but I didn’t care too much for the ice cream. I’m a kid who likes basic flavours and Sweet Esc offers anything but.
I do like it and want to go back again soon!

This is a small new restaurant that serves homemade ice cream, waffles and tarts. Visited here on a Sunday evening and it was full. We had to wait a little before being seated.
We tried their tarts and the Belgian waffles served on a hot plate. For $ 8.75 you get to choose a flavour of their homemade ice cream (Earl Grey was delicious!), two toppings and a flavored cream to pour over the waffles. As others have said, the hot plate doesn’t do much and ends up melting your ice cream faster than you need it to.
The tarts were also really good. The crust was crispy and I loved the hint of lemon in their blueberry tart.
For drinks they serve something called a ‘Dino’. This was interesting but again wasn’t the greatest. It’s like a milk tea with loads of powder of Milo or Horlick.
Sweet Esc is a welcome new addition to the growing number of dessert restaurants in Markham!

I love the idea of hot plate waffles! Keeps the waffles nice and toasty. Except melted the ice cream on top quicker than we were able to consume it. Really enjoyed the ice cream though. We had Earl Grey and the coffee milk tea flavour!
Their grapefruit lemonade was a surprise, in a good way! We had to order another one after trying it :)

Came on a Saturday night 10pm, no wait needed, probably got lucky.
This is a clean and bright place that serves dessert and specialty teas.
You can customize your dessert by waffle/​brownie, vanilla/​chocolate/​green tea sauces, your choice of ice cream (they have various special in-​house ice cream). They also have thick toasts, and smores inspired thick toasts.
Ordered the Earl Grey ice cream green tea sauce waffles on hot plate
Dessert came within 5 mins after ordering, the ice cream is creamy smooth and the flavor is unique, very tea-​ful if that is a word. Waffles are good, not super good but went well with the ice cream. Could not take the green tea sauce tho. Overall, it is pretty good with the whole thing on a hot plate so its like hot and cold in your mouth kind of thing. $ 8.50 each.
Loved the service, servers were very attentive with smiles and they are proactive in offering assistance with menu. They also joked about how pictures are welcome but just dont take too long since ice cream is gonna melt on hot plate.
5 stars and will def come back for their ice cream. Some ice cream flavours were sold out by the time we came.

Presentations were great! But taste was moderate. The waffle itself was plain and stale. Would’ve given higher rating if the waffles taste better. If you are looking for a place to eat waffles for similar price, I suggest Caffe Demetre or Café Mirage.
Though I must say that we enjoyed our $ 4.25 ginger lychee tea, and it was free hot water refill! And the place had a great relaxing atmosphere (.maybe for studying?). :)
We came Saturday at 6: i and just us. The place started filling in when we were about to leave, at around 7:40pm.

The hot plate is a gimmick.
Everything tastes good, but the hot plate adds as much to the experience as if they told you the chef speaks 12 languages: nothing. It doesn’t transform or enhance the waffle experience.
The hot plate order is like a build-​a-​bear custom order. You pick a base (waffles or brownies), ice cream (changes based on what is made in-​house that day), sauce (vanilla, chocolate, matcha), and topping (seasonal fruits, nuts, etc.) I felt like their ice cream choices were a bit limiting. They only had three and they ran out of one from a big party the day before. They have other flavours like vanilla and green tea, but you can’t pick them because they’re reserved for thick toast or other dishes. It just feels restrictive for a «custom» dessert.
My friends actually tried to avoid getting any sauce or ice cream on the hot plate because they were like, «They just disappear.» I wasn’t as bothered.
«Seasonal fruits» is code for «random fruits» because we ordered two different dishes with seasonal fruits and the fruits were different on both.
Between the hot plate and the thick toast mountains, I preferred the thick toast. It did feel like there should have been more condensed milk as the dish as a whole looked a little sparse and dry, but the overall dish was yummy.
Service was exceptional. Guy in a beanie was friendly and paid extra attention to whether it was our first time and reminded us to pour the sauce while the hot plate was still hot. Sounds straight forward but I always feel like over-​explaining is more customer-​focused than under.
For the portion size and the fact that their main draw is a slapped on gimmick, I don’t feel compelled to return. However, based on just the taste of the food, I was satisfied.

Came at night a few weeks ago and waited 5 – 10 mins for a table. Presentation of the desserts was good. Taste was alright.
Taste: ³⁄₅
Service: ⁴⁄₅
Atmosphere: ³⁄₅
Value for Money: ³⁄₅
Would I come again: Maybe

I saw many pictures of their signature dish on instagram and I just had to try it out! I walked in and was immediately greeted and seated by a lovely waitress. She also told us that the waffles were extra big today which was great to know!
I had the hot plate — belgian waffle, earlgrey icecream, topped off with vanilla cream sauce and brownie bits. The dessert was very unique; they give you a 400 C hotplate with a small jug of sauce and you pour the sauce over the waffles. I accidently poured alot of the sauce on the hotplate since I wanted to see the sizzling but try to pour more onto the waffles themselves. Really, the hotplate doesn’t provide much to the desert itself other than the presentation and uniqueness of seeing the sizzling waffle. Nonetheless, the dessert was delicious — not extremely sweet and the waffle was crispy on the outside and fluffy on the inside. The earl grey icecream is also not too sweet and has a strong flavor. All in all, everything was enjoyable.
The only thing is that the prices are a little bit expensive, but its definitely a dessert worth trying once.

Came here with low expectations after looking at all the pics uploaded. I just couldn’t find anything I wanted to have but I still had to go out of curiosity. The place is quite small. The menu is limited to tarts, waffles and toast with a few drink selections.
Tried the milk and honey toast mountain $ 8.50 — its basically bread soaked with honey and topped with condesnsed milk, strawberries and a scoop of ice cream. I had all these ingredience at home and I’m sure I could have slapped this together myself. It was a bit on the sweet side for me with all the honey they used. Portion is quite large with all the bread it comes with. I found myself forcing it down just to finish it. At the end it just felt like I was eating honey toast.
Also got a chance to try the waffle with brownie topped with ice cream for $ 8.50 — Its served on a hotplate and they poured vanilla cream on the waffle to top it off which made the hotplate sizzle. Thats the most excitement your gonna get outta this place. It tasted okay.
Also tried an iced peach lemonade drink $ 3.50 — couldn’t taste the lemon part of it. It was more of a sweet peach drink.
Overall, decent at best and the selection of desserts are nothing to get excited about. Service was good at least.

Came here today, nothing special
A little over priced for 3 pieces of waffle and a scoop of ice cream for $ 9.50 including tax.
The service was really good and helpful. The chocolate hazelnut ice cream we ordered wasn’t that tasty in my opinion. It is neat how they serve the waffle on a hot plate though. But, I probably won’t be coming back unless I feel like trying their thick toast.