Edward Street Bistro Review

I'm almost done....the review was much longer but it had to be no more than 800 words.

The Edward Street Bistro and Marketplace, located on 14785 Yonge Street, Aurora opened in the fall of 2010. It’s owner David Mintz had come from successful catering background in the entertainment industry. Many of its reviews, which used phrases like “over priced” and “incorrectly served”, are published on the public restaurant database Open Table. A Star critic praised the creativity of the food but complained of  “ details lacking” in service and inconsistent quality of food. However, Edward’s did win the Open Table Diner’s Choice Winner for 2011.

    The reservation system allowed me to be met only with an answering machine, asking for my name and number. I love technology as much as anyone, but for an upscale restaurant I would have liked to speak to an actual person. This was not available even though it was Monday night and the diner hour. So I made an online reservation.

    I parked in Edward’s underground parking and was greeted in the bistro by a friendly hostess who was expecting me and took my coat. She asked me where I wanted to sit which surprised me; I had made reservations and had asked to not sit by the door. She then had to remove settings from my choice of table. I received my menu as I sat down and within 2 minutes I also had water and a breadbasket. My server suggested a Shiraz, which I enjoyed through the appetizer and entrée. An Australian 6 Rows Shiraz’09, I’m not a wine expert, but it was delicious.

      I had picked out my entrée, Roasted Ontario Lamb Sirloin, but asked my server to suggest an appetizer to go with it. She suggested the “Tuna “Nicoise”, seared tuna loin with a wasabi edamame mousse. I asked how the wasabi was served with the tuna and she assured me it was positioned to be dipped into as a guest chose. I chose the tuna and then waited only 10 minutes for it to arrive.

     When my tuna came out and I was disappointed to discover that all of it was placed directly on top of the wasabi mousse. The eight tuna medallions were wonderfully rare and seared beautifully on the edges and had a fantastic melt in your mouth texture.  The few medallions that were not in the mousse had a light delicate flavor, which was delicious. The rest tasted like wasabi. It was served with a mix of salad greens lightly dressed with vinaigrette with a few baby tomatoes and dehydrated black olives and some lightly cooked halved baby potatoes. This would have made a nice accompaniment for my fish if I could have tasted it. I tried to scrape as much of the wasabi off as I could and hoped my server was more accurate about my lamb.

     My lamb arrived 10 minutes after my appetizer had been removed.  There were three, thick, glistening lamb steaks, resting on a layer of steamed green beans, baby carrots and broccoli. Underneath this was a bed of chorizo sausage and white bean ragu. The lamb was superb, moist and very tender.  It’s edges held a delicious smoky flavor, gloriously caramelized. The vegetables were tender crisp, lightly steamed except for the broccoli, which was buried under the meat and mushy. Underneath the vegetables lay the chorizo and bean base, which was appropriately seasoned to allow the chorizo to shine. The sausage was neither dominated by the ragu, nor did it overshadow the lamb.  But the star of the dish was the lamb. I had read several reviews complaining about small portions for the price at Edward’s Bistro. Although this was a $30 entrée, I was hard pressed to finish it and felt the generous portions of meat were worth the price.

     There were only four choices on the desert menu and all fairly large. I chose the double chocolate creme brulee.  I was told it was not a traditional brulee as it had a chocolate ganache center. The presentation was acceptable, with fresh berries and chocolate shavings as garnishes, but the dessert may as well have been a cheesecake. It was rich and overly dense with barely a hint of a brulee-like consistency.

    After my meal my server, who turned out to be the floor manager, took me on a tour of the kitchen at my request. She was very friendly and informative explaining the organization of the kitchen. The Executive Chef Brad Kelsall was away with the Sous Chef Dave taking his place. He was busy, but my introduction was rewarded by a smile and wave done the less.

The bistro’s website is www.edwardstreet.ca. The phone number 905 841 9500 (ext 3) is available for reservations for groups. The Open Table states a range of $30-$50 per person, which I think is low for three courses.