Bier Market - Esplanade

WVbeergeek

Ohio

4.53/5  rDev +22.4%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4.5 | selection: 5 | food: 4

Possibly my first place to go where there was a dress code. The sign out front said no ratty jeans allowed, and I couldn't decide what mine were so, I took a chance and entered. This restaurant looked very flashy and up scale, in comparison to most bars I have been to. Overall I felt very comfortable for just wearing a hooded sweatshirt and jeans, this seemed like a dance club with louder music. I put aside all of the afflictions about dress code, once I saw the beer menu I felt right at home.

Our waitress was very good to us, she was upfront about her beer knowledge, but she offered to help us in anyway we needed. The bar was full of taps ranging from your belgiums Hoegaarden, Chouffe, Stella to Fuller's London Porter their special. A wide variety of beers macro to micro to just about anything. They even had some Victory products in the menu. You could be here just about all day and not spend as much as you would in an American wannabe beer bar.

We ordered some oysters and flatbread with smoked chicken and portebello mushrooms. My girlfriend and I really enjoyed the flatbread. The menu was not the most extensive, but they did have mussels steamed with beer "a true belgium style delight". Very well done in the food category.

Overall I was very pleased, and I also became acquainted with a bar that cares enough about their beer to order authentic glassware. My Aventinus Wheat Dopplebock was amazing in its quite strangely shaped glass.

02-17-2003 07:38:13 | More by WVbeergeek

Scooter77

Ohio

4.4/5  rDev +18.9%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4 | selection: 5 | food: 4

I checked this place out during a short stay in Toronto and I must say I was most impressed. The beer selection seemed endless; it took me 20 minutes just to decide what to have first. I was extremely impressed by the extra step that the establishment took to serve each beer in it's own appropriate glassware. The servers could have been a little more knowledgeable about the beers they were serving, but each beer had an individual description in the menu. I guess that made up for the lack of knowledge. There wasn't a large variety of food items on the menu, but what they did have was delicious. I would most definitely suggest adding the Esplanade Bier Markt to any to-do list if visiting the Toronto area. While you're there, be sure to pick up a copy of the beer menu, it makes a great souvenir.

12-02-2002 08:56:01 | More by Scooter77