Name: Essen Contact Info:1282 Dundas St. W., 416-534-0407, essentoronto.com Neighbourhood: Little Portugal Previously: Quinta Chef/Owner: Leor Zimerman, who closed his Portuguese-French bistro Quinta earlier this year and reopened the restaurant as Essen.
The Food: Essen serves the kind of food you would’ve eaten at home, if you’d been raised in a Jewish household with a French-trained chef for a mom. Ashkenazi and Sephardic dishes are unfussy but prepared with care by Zimerman, who likes to tweak traditional Jewish staples (matzo ball soup gets a ramen makeover, for example). Though à-la-carte options are available, meals are designed to be eaten family style; Zimerman suggests ordering a main (beef brisket, roast Muscovy duck breast), a veg (tsimmis roast carrots, braised cabbage) and a side (duck fat fries, pearl couscous). Essen isn’t strictly kosher, but they don’t serve pork or shellfish, and meat and dairy never mix.
The Drinks: Signature cocktails have quirky names; for instance, the H. Krustofsky (a slivovitz-and-manischewitz number) is named after Krusty the Clown’s father.
The Place: The 17-day reno left much of Quinta intact (same tables, chairs and lights). A fresh coat of paint and a revamped bar are the biggest changes, plus a clutch of adorably awkward bar mitzvah photos hanging on one wall (if you bring your own wall-worthy shot, Zimerman may comp your dinner).
The decor hasn't changed much since the restaurant's Quinta days; there's a new coat of paint, a new bar, and a clutch of bar mitzvah photos on one wall.
Miami short ribs with prune and manischevitz glaze, fresh chilies and scallions ($12). The dish was inspired by Zimerman’s love of Korean short ribs. The name is a nod to elderly Jewish snowbirds who flock down to Florida during the winter (hence the prunes).
Looks awesome! Can’t wait to try!
I’ve been and the food is incredible … Highly recommended!!!
Yes foods deserve respect !!?
I absolutely adore anyone who tries to updates all the best of Jewish Food, and think that Soup looks to be heaven in a bowl. Now if someone could work similar magic with Gifilte Fish I would be over the moon!