Ester

Second review on this place and once again happy with my visit. We went on a Friday night to celebrate my boyfriends birthday and the food was great. Everything ordered was great, the chicken piccata special, the chicken, yucca fries, calamari, steak special! To my surprise they had made extra desserts some carrot cupcake and this little piece of heaven of a chocolate cake, and brought them over to our table complimentary without even knowing about the birthday. These little details is what makes this place wonderful! Service was wonderful as well and the live music was fantastic. I will definitely come back and try more items on the menu. Thanks Ester for making his day special.

Absolutely amazing place. We were visiting friends in Boston and they took us. Great drink specials, the place is spotless clean. The menu is progressive for a neighborhood place, but approachable enough for ever day dining. You can always tell when a restaurant is run well, and this is one of those. From the first greeting at the door to the last thank you from our server, everything was pitch perfect. We had the calamari with the banana peppers and a delicious aioli to start. I could of just had that as my entrée it was so satisfying. The server went over the specials with great ease and totally sold me on a salmon dish. My wife got the steak frites which was cooked perfectly and a great value. Our friends got a swordfish item and egg noodle spaghetti. The swordfish was great but not as good as my salmon. The winner for me was the clams with the fresh pasta. They also have a huge roof top garden which is worth coming for on its own. All our dishes were perfectly cooked, the timing was spot on and the manager was available but not intrusive. We visit Boston often and will be returning here for sure.

My wife and I ate in the back garden a couple of times this past summer.
Good food, friendly service and convent location. Every reason to return and recommend to friends.
This past Sunday one of my kids was in town with her significant other so we decided to try the brunch.
We had a very nice meal and the staff, especially our waitperson was great.
Interestingly, another reviewer commented on the «Croquet Monsieur». That particular appellation was the topic of humorous discussion between wife and daughter and was the one item in our order that I would probably not order a second time.

Excellent, creative food and friendly staff. Live music and wonderful ambience. Lovely meal.

Great half chicken, mashed potatoes, broccoli, and flourless molten cake and Pinot Grigio. TVs at bar for football etc. Good place to catch up with friends!

This is a lunch review. I ordered grilled salmon which was juicy and tasted delicious, was happy with it. However the service in the restaurant was not good. We ordered coffee when we arrived and the coffee came even after our food which was after 20 minutes or something. Also they charged us for extra two small tortilla! The server was not around as well.

A «Croquet Monsieur» isn’t a thing. A Croque Monsieur is a ham and cheese sandwich with cheese and bechamel. What the actually served (and described) is called a Croque Madame. (which comes with a fried egg on top). While it was tasty enough such unfamiliarity with actual names of food makes me wonder where these people learn to cook
While the overall experience was pleasant enough, I found the service underwhelming and the miss named food bothered me more than it should of, but honestly makes me wonder who’s running the place if they make such mistakes…

This is by far one of my favorite new places! The kale salad is to die for! Great atmosphere… and we absolutely love the outdoor patio dinning in the warmer months. It’s like your own little oasis that you’d never guess is in the middle of the city :) amazing! 10 Stars in my book!

Had late dinner here last Tuesday night. It wasn’t busy and we were seated right away. On Tuesdays they offer half off appetizers. We ordered the potatas bravas, a fried polenta dish, and a ham and cheese egg roll dish which I can’t think of the names. All the appetizers were OK with the ham and cheese one being the best of the three. I ordered the pork tenderloin and hubby had the half chicken. Food was OK. The pork was a little dry but had good flavor. Hubby’s chicken was good, but said it was a bit overcooked too. We had heard a lot of good things about Ester and were a little disappointed with our food experience. Maybe it was because it was late? Service was good and we had a pleasant dining experience. Definitely worth a try!

What a surprise in Dorchester! Was not the plan to eat here on a Sunday night but found ourselves there. Service was excellent! Food was great! Definitely will be back!

This is a very good neighborhood establishment. We live within a few blocks of Ester, but there is plenty of street parking on Dorchester Avenue that is free if one desires to drive here.
We have been here two times. The first time I came here with my partner on App Tuesday (good find). We came back again on another Tuesday but brought a couple of my family members.
Our first visit, we ordered three appetizers: black forest roll, meatballs and bacon jam. All were excellent, with the black forest rolls being my favorite. These are basically ham and cheese «egg rolls.» As an entrée, I got the chicken pesto pasta, which was really good – I would definitely get this again. We had the berry crisp for dessert, which was not what I was expecting, but good.
On our second visit, we had patatas bravas, polenta sticks and the black forest rolls again (they are excellent!). I was not a fan of the patatas bravas, so would not get those again. I had the pasta carbonara, which consisted of egg noodles (which remind me of lo-​mein noodles, pancetta and brussel sprout leaves). Again, it was good, but I do not think I would order this particular pasta dish again. My partner and sister got the pork tenderloin with polenta and baked apple. It looked really good, and they both enjoyed it. My brother-​in-​law had the roasted half chicken, which also looked really good. I wished I had gone with the chicken :-(
The service was excellent. We had the same waitress both visits.
We are happy to have such a solid food establishment in the neighborhood!

I just moved to the area and have been several times so far, each time bringing a new crew with me and my fiancé. Went with my parents for my birthday and we had an assortment of meals including pasta dishes which were flavorful! Went again with some friends and we had some apps and my friend had the burger (he has a million allergies and they were very accommodating) and he said it was the best burger he’s ever had, which I thought was a polite embellishment until I brought ANOTHER group of friends a few weeks ago on Halloween. My friend and I split the meat plate, the truffle goat cheese balls and calamari and all were fantastic. My other friend got the burger too and ALSO said it was the best burger he had ever had. So I had to try and the burger WAS truly awesome. I LOOOOVE cheeseburgers (I have a cutoff T with a giant burger on it) and usually get it with all types of fixings. This is a classic burger, but the meat was SO flavorful and juicy. My friend and I also tried to live on the wild side and shared the frog leg special for Halloween night because we had never had them; and they were surprisingly awesome! I ate every last bite. I’m so glad this is a neighborhood spot I’m looking forward to returning to!

I came for a baby shower and all of the food was delicious! It was a nice fun atmosphere and the servers were attentive and polite. I would love to come back here for brunch!

This is a dinner experience review:
We really enjoyed the back patio, especially the external heating units on a cooler fall evening. A TV screen was viewable and some great 70’s southern rock played at just the right volume.
However, the value for the food is really not good at all. $ 73.00 for: one cocktail, one entrée with a small bit of steak on top of prev. frozen french fries (with little flavor overall) & one smaller cod loin fried (fried well, but little flavor again) on top of a huge pile of prev. frozen french fries. NO VEG included at all, and with that price? We wanted to try this place for a long time — but ended up unimpressed I would say. The prices are inflated for what is delivered.

I had enjoyed Ledge before it closed so my wife and I tried Ester for our anniversary dinner. We arrived around 5:30 and the place was only about 20% full so we were seated quickly in the back patio. We were a little nervous at first because the clientele at the bar weren’t what we were expecting, old men ranting about politics and drinking by themselves, but the back area was really nice.
The food was good. We had the yuca fries, risotto, and spaghetti. The portions were a little on the small side for the price tag, but they’re trying to be fancy so it’s to be expected. We wanted to try a dessert but the staff was really un-​attentive and we were never offered the opportunity to order one.
Our waiter never came over to see if we needed refills on our drinks and completely disengaged from service as soon as the food was delivered. After we finished a busser cleared our table and we sat and waited for the waiter to return, we waited for over 20 minutes and he never came back, we tried to flag him multiple times as he was at every table around us but never came back, we had our credit card sitting on the table this entire time, hoping he’d see it, be he never came back. It got to the point where I had to get up and meet him at the register and tell him we needed to leave.
Not sure what the deal with this was but the food was decent it was just the service that earned it two stars. I hope they can replace this guy before he sinks the ship.

Great ambiance, warm lighting, friendly service personnel embrace With the ester excitement!
The dining room is spacious ! Awesome décor.

Ester embodies everything good about Dorchester. I went twice this week. For lunch on Sunday & dinner on Wednesday.
On Sunday, my boyfriend and I went for lunch and didn’t realize they only served brunch. Nonetheless, we correctly ordered the only lunch item on the menu — the burger. It was incredibly juicy & delicious — definitely add the bacon jam! The fries are to die for too. We sat out on the patio which is absolutely gorgeous!
On Thursday my mom & I went and shared 3 appetizers — the chicken tinga, patatas bravas, and the orange arugula salad. The chicken tinga is my favorite dish & has the perfect amount of spice. The patatas bravas were excellent and accompanied with a delicious tomato sauce. I felt as if I was back in Spain eating tapas!
To top it off, we got the flourless chocolate cake which was very similar to a chocolate lava cake. It was melt in your mouth good.
Overall, all the food was fresh & delicious. The service could have improve, but everyone in the restaurant helps eachother out giving it a homey, relaxed feel. This is a great local restaurant, with top quality food. Highly recommended!

You want the good or the bad first? I’ll give you the NoNo’s. Here’s another restaurant that likes to beat you in the head with what looks «gourmet». Bacon jam (onion mush), funky looking season less french fries (they look edible, but). Truffle fries and truffle ketchup? C’mon son? They forced it. No Bueno. My Croque Monsieur had mayonnaise for days on it. Food is cute and flavorless. Expensive for no reason. They couldn’t even get the cranberry mimosa right. My home fries were soggy and tasteless. I was disappointed!
But I did sit in the sun on the patio side, which is very nice. The outside bar, the fancy umbrellas, the set up is nice. I’ll come back and have beer only. They can’t mess that up, can they?
The staff was nice. Gavin I think his name was.

I came with friends and we had a drink and dessert while listening to soft jazz. It’s like I’m a mature adult. #notreally
Honestly, this place makes more sense as Ester (as opposed to Ledge — fancy Irish bar). The ice cream sandwich was good, and they had Long Trail ale on tap so what else do you need to know? Our server initially was absent, but then he acknowledged as much and made up for it. Overall, service was very good.
Loved the music. The sax player was pretty good! I’ll be back.

Terrific spot with an wonderful menu. A few little kinks during lunch but nothing major.
1. Atmosphere is bright and comfortable
2. Service was excellent
3. Drinks excellent with a bit more training need for the bartender
4. Food is top flight. The bacon jam is addicting; I easily could have devoured a second helping. My steak frittes was better than anything I have in Europe of the last two years. The big kids grilled cheese is fantastic.
Overall well worth the visit.