Calvin Cheng

Located in a tiny unassuming house-like building in the King West area, SARA is a phenomenal restaurant with best-in-class food, service and atmosphere. I’ve had their tasting menu twice this year and both experiences have been stellar.

RECOMMENDATIONS:
- Wagyu Reuben is a crowd favourite here, continuing to stay on their tasting menu

- Ikura Latke is deliciously balanced, especially delightful when the ikura bursts in the mouth

- Grilled Shrimp is a must here. Wonderfully fragrant. They fly in a specially selected charcoal to grill it with. Combined with the tomato purée, they work in unison to bring out the most intense shrimp flavour i’ve had in years

- Likewise the striploin is grilled with the same charcoal. Smells equally amazing and pairs well with their Whisky au-jus sauce

- Profiterole dessert was incredible, taking the crown as one of my new favourite desserts. The salted caramel pairs very well with the dulche de leche

- All their cocktails are good

Misses:
- Octopus unfortunately was a miss for me. Maybe I’ve been spoiled with the octopus in Portugal, Japan and Chinese cuisine. The one served to me was slightly mushy, similar to the texture of overcooked shrimp. The servers quickly noticed my disappointment and offered to replace it with a fried chicken dish instead. That was a much better dish and I gotta give credit to the phenomenal staff who handled the situation professionally.

Lastly I want to thank the staff again for an amazing night both times. They really know how to help their customers feel like honoured guests. Thank you for the complimentary champagne when you learned of our 1 year anniversary night. I will definitely be back in the future!

This restaurant is attached to the Sterling Inn and offers prix fixed farm-to-table meals only on their menu.

Overall the food was fantastic and service attentive. Our Server Emily was the best, noticing something was off about my experience and insisting on replacing my over-salted fries without me asking. She also took time to ask us about our evening plans and offered us great suggestions, such as fireworks over the falls which we did not know about.

Foodwise, the Lamb shank we had was incredible. Tender, succulent and essentially fall of the bone. This was the best dish of the night by far. Other dishes were good too, carrying a complex layering of flavour due to the variety of farm fresh ingredients they used.

The AAA beef flank however was a disappointment and am deducting a star for that. Very chewy. Could not cut it with the regular knife and had to ask for a steak knife. Still very difficult to slice and eat.

Because I was staying at the Sterling Inn, I was given a voucher for a free glass of wine from 5-6pm. It was a nice touch right before my 6pm reso.

I enjoyed my meal here and would like to come back in the future. Thanks for a wonderful night

Been here twice and enjoyed Ramen Isshin both times. Their broths are flavourful and their egg is consistently cooked to that gooey goodness centre.

Having tried 4 of their menu options (thanks to my date sharing with me), my favourites are the White Sesame Shio and their seasonal special ramen with the shrimp.

Of note, the White Sesame Shio is served with a mini mortar & pestle for guests to freshly grind their serving of sesame into their ramen