Est - Restaurant Impossible Update

On this week's episode of Restaurant: Impossible, Aaron Sanchez, Jen Agg and their team are in Toronto, Canada to makeover Est (pronounced like "East").  Est is a French restaurant with an over-confident young chef that has high-end ambitions.  The restaurant is supposedly $150,000 in debt, so things need to turn around.

As I normally do with Restaurant: Impossible episodes, I searched around the Internet to read stories, comments and reviews about Est to get an idea of how the restaurant is doing since Restaurant Impossible visited, and here is what I found (note - all reviews are post Restaurant: Impossible):

Positive Reviews:

• "It is an interesting eating experience. The menu is compact but it can be eclectic not much aligned but impactful tastes. Maybe that is why my family likes it. The buck an oyster was great and was the highlight of our night."
• "An absolute hidden gem. The menu is exquisite. We went for the server selection tasting and could not have had a better meal. Staff was attentive and friendly. Quiet and quaint atmosphere. Menu is phenomenal. Highly recommend"
• "Delicious, well presented and well served. Looking forward to going back."
• "Est absolutely delivered. The scallops were so good I could have eaten 20 of them. The short rib was melt-in-your-mouth, but somehow the mashed potatoes managed to outshine the entire plate. The trout was perfectly cooked, the choux craquelin was rich without being overly sweet, and the cheese plate was beautifully balanced."
• "Ashleigh was fantastic and the food and drinks were perfect! We had the buck-a-shuck oysters, endive salad, duck, rainbow trout, and a couple of cocktails and everything was delicious. Lots of walk-ins and a smaller dining room, so a reservation is needed. Definitely coming back to try the ribeye and octopus. Thanks for the excellent experience!"

Negative Reviews:

• "Came here for the summerlicious experience and unfortunately the food left a lot to be desired. It’s one of the more expensive summerlicious offerings at $75 pre-tax but the portion sizes were…interesting....The service was just alright and apparently tables are set for 2 hours as we were promptly ushered out because they had another group similar to our size. In all, it was just an average experience hence my rating."
• "Food was just ok. Nothing special, very small portions, not memorable. Expensive for what we got. Would not recommend."

*Reviews from Google

Other News and Links:

• The Restaurant Impossible makeover for Est happened in early 2026.
• Here is the Est website and Facebook page.
• A section on their website has this to say about the restaurant, "Opened in 2022, ēst is a contemporary French restaurant on Queen Street East in Toronto’s Riverside neighbourhood. Grounded in seasonality and precision, the kitchen offers refined tasting menus driven by locally sourced ingredients and thoughtful technique, paired with signature cocktails and a meticulously curated wine program."
• Here are the reviews for Est from Yelp and Google.
• Restaurant Impossible hasn't visited many high-end restaurants like this in the past.

Conclusion:

The reviews for Est since the Restaurant Impossible makeover are mostly positive with people liking the food, atmosphere, and the $1 oyster specials.  The few negative reviews mention the smaller portion size for dishes.  This was one of the fancier restaurants that has appeared on Restaurant Impossible.

*Visit Our Restaurant Impossible Update Page to see all Restaurant: Impossible updates, and which restaurants are open, closed, or have been sold. Also Follow Us on Twitter