Address: 36 Wellington Street East
Type of Meal: Dinner
To clarify, East Thirty Six is not affiliated
with Lucien or the Oyster Bar which previously resided at the space. The menu
and ownership is completely new. Indeed, when you walk inside, the dining room
has been updated with a large illuminated bar and more size appropriate
furniture. It actually feels airy and spacious compared to the former
supper club.
The large bar works well as East Thirty Six
wants to be known as a place for cocktails. For the after work crowd, on weekdays from 4-7 there are happy hour specials - $5 for a Mill Street beer or
mixed drink and $8 for a martini. Alas, despite a tall refreshing looking
cocktail being displayed on the happy hour menu, there are no deals for these.
However, their martinis are a nice substitute, my French martini was deliciously
made with vodka, Chambord raspberry liqueur and pineapple juice.
The smoked sweetbreads ($15) was another great find. Tender pieces of battered sweetbreads were cut into nuggets and deep fried crispy. On the side a great smoky and vibrant poblano and romesco sauce that went well with the neutral sweetbreads. On the bottom a simple slaw with some pistachio mixed throughout. A great easy to share plate for large groups.
Generally, we found their larger
"mains" were good but the small plates which arrived earlier were
better. Overall, the mains had great flavours and were artfully composed but, with
the exception of duck confit, were a tad overdone. The shortrib ($21) needed a
jus drizzled over top to give it more moisture as we found it dry for a
shortrib. The accompanying spicy potato, arugula pistou (similar to pesto made
with garlic, olive oil and arugula), sweet corn and turnips were nice and gave
the dish an Argentinian flare.
The Berkshire pork belly ($20)
was beautifully presented with a ricotta salata (a salty ricotta cheese which
has been pressed and dried) topped fried egg. I thoroughly enjoyed the
crispy pan fried gnocchi and broccoli sides, which with the egg were the dish highlights. The pork belly, while nicely flavoured, was tough to cut through.
The skin could be thinner or rendered more as it was a bit chewy. Perhaps even
just blow torching the top prior to serving would help to crisp up the
skin.
One of my favourite dishes is
duck confit ($23)… but it does mean I've had many versions of it throughout my
lifetime. East Thirty Six's was decent and delicious - the duck tender, hot and
flavourful. The sous-vide cooked duck egg was a great touch, adding
a silky, creamy sauce over the pecorino semolina "grits". On the
side were plump maitake or hen-of-the-wood mushrooms. Overall, the
best of the three meaty dishes, in my opinion.
Our fellow diners also ordered a
variety of dishes. Some of the interesting ones I snapped pictures are below.
The octopus ($23) looked great and was served with smoked potatoes, a creamy
tonnato sauce, olives and red mustard.
The
cauliflower ($8) could be a great side with the meaty dishes with it slightly
toasted and flavoured with capers, preserved lemon, brown butter, hazelnut and
parsley.
I welcome East Thirty Six to the
neighbourhood. They take reservations, service was great and there’s plenty on
the menu to meet all desires. And of course their happy hour menu doesn’t hurt
as well.
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Gastro World's Grading System
- Anything under 5 - I really disliked and will never go back
- 6 - decent restaurant but I likely won't return
- 7 - decent restaurant and I will likely return
- 8 - great restaurant that I'd be happy to recommend
- 9 - fantastic restaurant that I would love to visit regularly and highly recommend
- 10 - absolute perfection!
