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| - As a former server, and food lover, it takes a lot for a restaurant to impress me. Beast blew me away. I came with a friend for drinks and dinner. We arrived at 6:45 and were informed of the Beast 120 menu which is only applicable until 7. We wanted to take advantage of the $5 glasses of wine, and the server was kind enough to put in our order for 2 glasses each before 7, but kept the second glass at the bar until we were ready for it. Loved this touch, and we honestly ordered more and stayed longer because of it. The red wine was lovely - I don't remember the name, but it definitely did not taste like a $5 glass of wine.
We started with the cheese plate and the scallop dish. I often find the cheese on cheese plates to be too strong for me, but this was not the case. Every single one was flavorful without being overpowering, even the blue cheese which I normally wouldn't touch! The scallops were large and perfectly cooked. We then ordered the gnocchi poutine with bbq boar and the striploin. The striploin melted in my mouth and the hoisin jus was phenomenal. The gnocchi poutine was my standout dish for the evening. Perfectly balanced, not too cheesy or meaty or saucy, soft gnocchi - drooling just thinking about it. The chocolate tart for dessert was average, although thinking back on it, it was probably just overpowered by the other AMAZING dishes.
Service was impeccable throughout the evening; the candlelit patio was quiet and intimate. Beast is on a tree-lined residential street, so people were walking by with their dogs, families, etc. I got a really strong West Village vibe.
Can't wait to go back and try everything else on the menu!
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