Went to NAIT to try out the new menu. I am disappointed that the menu switches so few times. And also the prices went up, still value but not a steal of a deal as it used to be. I would say if you can go for lunch do so. Service was a good. Our server was polite and prompt. He also came over to refill waters etc. Place is dated. Maybe it works because it is an institution, but it would be great if the students at NAIT did an update on the dining room. I would like it if the kept it cozy. Now onto the food. I chose the Food From the Forest (Askîhk Ohci Mîciwin) game hen | smoked mushroom broth | potato dumplings | seared king oyster mushroom | farro cracker My husband chose the Butcher's Cut (choice of Chuck Flat or Dry Aged Striploin) flavours of pemmican | bone marrow sauce | pickled saskatoons | potato fondant | preserved root vegetable Both dishes were good but mine for sure was a standout. Try it before they flip the menu. We alwasys try a dessert and they rotate, but I have to say whatver I had was so good that I got one to go. That has never happened. read more

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Boyfriend was able to get a reservation 1 week in advance of the date for my birthday. We took an Uber but there is paid parking lot across the road. Easy to find the front door. Multiple stalls in the bathroom. Staff were very friendly but I did have to ask for more water. Loved that one of the chefs came out and asked for honest feedback on the meal. I tried the Pineapple Paradise cocktail - 8/10. Was okay but not my favorite. Boyfriend got the Empress 75 and gave it a 10/10. It was only a 8.5/10 for me. Boyfriend got the Mapo Tofu for an appetizer. I give it a 6/10 but boyfriend thought it was more 8/10. The free bread and butter was 10/10 bread was sooo fresh, soft and delicious. If it wasn't free I would have paid for it. For mains boyfriend got the Lemon pasta - it was wayyy to sour for me and every bite tasted the same. Large portion. Boyfriend gave it a 9/10 but since I wouldn't have even be able to eat it I give it a 6/10. Being able to add a protein (duck) for $5 was a steal of a deal too. Lots of duck in the dish. I got the Dry Aged Duck. 9/10. Didn't seem like a large portion, but I was full after. Very large portion of brassica. I didn't like the ?cherry sauce, very glad it was just on the side. I loved the croquettes and wish I had more. For dessert we tried the chocolate one - it was 8/10. We were very full so it was a struggle to finish it. Loved the bottom crunchy layer. Overall a fun experience but the food wasn't as experimental as I would have hoped. read more

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Checked in October and got a reservation in January. We had an excellent dinner. Food was delicious and interesting. read more

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Ernest's is a lovely roomy restaurant with unique menus, wine pairings and delightful desserts. Pre-pandemic we were fans of dining in. Now we're curbside take away fans. Most recently we picked up the Masi wine pairings dinner for 2. Several courses that included bread and butter, crepes with ricotta and pistachio, braised short ribs with polenta and a flour-less chocolate cake that was exploding with flavours and textures. The curbside pickup is super efficient, you book a time, show up, there's dedicated parking, call a number and someone brings your food out to you. When we picked the Masi dinner we noticed people picking up crepes so I looked it up and saw they were getting boxes of crepes with about six different kinds in a box. Sorry I missed that! read more

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Ok the friday buffets are not a secret. They are booked months in advance for a reason. That is the heavenly table of desserts! A rich array of handmade chocolates, cakes, pastries, macaroons and cookies. If that doesnt win you over then the appetizers will. I love the tapas like appetizers. A generous variety of fruit, veggies, seafood, meat, cheeses all prepared perfectly. I always try to have at least one of everything since it is soooooooo good. All you can eat tapas are rare in edmonton. I normally skip the entrees bc the appies and deserts are heavenly. But the salmon, roast beef, lamb and chicken look great and taste great from what I hear from my family who tried them. Only issue is that the lunch is timed. They have two seatings and literally remove the food so u will leave in a timely manner. So eat fast and enjoy bc I think its one of the best buffets in edmonton by far!!! Plan in advance and book early. read more

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Having lived in Edmonton almost 40 years now, I thought it might be nice to check out Ernest's, which I had always heard and read so much about. The room is spacious and our table for four had been set for two, given that we had a reservation (I would highly recommend this, as it's simple and reliable). There is plenty of outdoor light coming in through the windows facing 118 Ave, supplemented well by various fixtures in the room. We were there for lunch, since at this time of year Ernest's isn't serving dinner, but we will be back once the students have returned full force. Our server was informative perhaps to the extent of overinclusiveness about the contents of the menu, but more information rather than less is generally a good thing when dining at a new location, right? We were surprised that the bread and butter set out before the entree arrived (potato onion bread and sourdough) were so tempting, since we don't usually care for bread with a meal. This was an exception we were glad we didn't miss. Both were at the perfect temperature, and there were two slices of each. I had the flank steak, and my spouse had the chicken roulade. The side dishes were delightful and inventive in both taste and texture, and once again everything arrived at the perfect temperature. I was especially pleased to note that the flank steak had been prepared to be tender and flavourful, and not a chore to chew as can sometimes happen if this cut is not done with proper care. Our water glasses were refilled often and discreetly, and I had a glass of nicely chilled chardonnay to go with the meal while my spouse had a cup of coffee. Service personnel were all delightful and cleared everything promptly despite having a busy and full restaurant. We eschewed dessert. Keep in mind that these entrees arrive at your table for $17, and if you were to have them anywhere else, you probably would expect to pay twice that per plate. We were really pleased that we finally tried Ernest's and have already agreed to come back for anniversaries and other celebrations. read more

Impeccable service. Great food, loved the variety and choice. My entree was pheasant and had puréed carrots that were amazing. Good wine pairings and a good thorough wine menu. It's not too noisy, nice background music. Street parking out front. read more

Ernest's Dining Room - Pheasant - Canadian (New) Near Me - Edmonton, Alberta

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Innovative and creative menus, Earnest's showcases the newest talents in the culinary world. Students at NAIT earn polish and flex their muscles in the kitchen and practise serving their craft in a cozy and warmly appointed dining room. Yes there are some nervous wobbles and hesitant glances, but they have not only the pressure of working in a fast paced kitchen, they have a keen eyed instructor watching them like hawks. The menus are constantly in flux, and as Valentines day is tomorrow, they had a special condensed Vday menu. Bonus- they usually have different amuse bouche (ricotta and pomegranate mini macaron) and palate cleansers (lychee and blackberry gelato) with all meals. Stand outs were the shrimp appetizer- be best balanced bites I've had in a while. Beautifully seared large prawns with a luscious avocado cream, a hint of sweetness from the freeze dried raspberries and balanced with a delicious beet molasses that was reminiscent of a good balsamic reduction. I am seriously heading out to hunt down a bottle of beet mollasses. The pink pepper and juniper compound butter served with a seed bread was delightful with the peppery pine flavor growing on you with every bite. The cauliflower fritto and honeyed brussel sprouts outshown the proteins- I never seen hubby inhale veges so fast! The smoked mushrooms were interesting, but overpowered the palate a bit. The duck breast had a lovingly rendered crispy skin, but it would have benefitted from being brined first so the breast meat can be more tender and moist instead of being quite dense. The steak was beautifully cooked, but needed a sauce to tie the plate together I to a cohesive dish -though a runny egg yolk is always sexy in my book. We went with a trio of desserts to share as we were quite full. The chai mousse was a delightful bite and the orange pekoe tea icecream was heavenly. The chocolate in the matcha roulade sadly masked the matcha, and there was a fairly salty and dry ?brownie that was extraneous as the orange pekoe icecream easily stole the show. We even got a small box of handmade truffles to take home. Overall, if you love food, you'll love what the students are cooking up at Earnest's. read more

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I had a hard time giving this a star rating. On the one hand it is a culinary arts school and those students pull of an impressive feat on Friday nights putting together an amazing meal. On the other hand, some of the dishes are just a bit too precious. I'm mostly referring to my first course, which consisted of layers of zucchini and eggplant built together in a little brick of impenetrable vegetable-ness and lying in a confusion of random sauces. Obviously a vegetable dish designed by someone who doesn't like vegetables. My main course, the chicken, followed a similar pattern, but aside from a bland purée of sweet potatoes, was prettily presented and very tasty. Again, I felt like the vegetables were treated more as garnish than as supporting features in an integrated dish. The highlight of the evening, a heart shaped moulded pannecotta, was perfect. The vanilla bean seeds used for flavour were visible and the dessert wasn't overly sweet. It was excellent. A pleasant amuse bouche and a palate cleanser between courses completed the dining experience. read more

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We went to Ernest's on a Friday evening to celebrate my dads birthday. We were a party of 9 and very nearly had the place to ourselves. Menu is somewhat fixed, our server told us some slight adjustments would be made available but this is definitely something you should be aware of before you go if you don't like the look of the menus you won't really have another option. The breads served were delicious and the amuse bouche was delicious - tasted like pho almost! The tuna starter was amazing, the salad had mango subbed in for peach and was mostly a boring salad. The mains were good, unfortunately I didn't get pictures of them! A sour cream sorbet palate cleanser was interesting! The food is a little underwhelming...but good, it's absolutely beautifully presented though, and the meal is excellent value for what you get. My ONLY issue with the service was that nearly nothing was explained or introduced to us when it was dropped off at the table. Obviously we know what we ordered but the amuse bouche and the sorbet were a mystery until we asked! I would think as students they would want to show off a little of their food knowledge, or as learning the art of table service even to show off their knowledge of the menu and sell us on it a bit but that might just me being a snob lol. read more

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The Friday Student Showcase Lunch Buffet offers the best, most creative dishes one could enjoy at a buffet.  It's a wonderful treat to go to this restaurant, with an additional incentive of knowing we are supporting the Culinary Arts students.  There are 3 different stations (appetizers, main hot dishes, and desserts) which are spread out in 3 separate areas in the restaurant. The buffet unfortunately has "timed" seating. It's also a little pricey ($65.00 per couple for the lunch buffet, even without any drinks or extras, and the restaurant automatically adds a 15% gratuity to the bill for 2 people).  The gift certificates available for purchase ($25, $50, etc.) do not quite cover an even 1, 2, etc., buffets, but I still like to purchase them as Christmas gifts and have done so for years. Some of the appetizer offerings (meat pate, seafood terrines - larger slabs, squares and pinwheels) could be half the size as they're too large. If one cuts the terrines in half, it could be seen as rude and ruining the dish for subsequent customers. If one wants to taste a bit of everything in the appetizer section, one is forced to take the entire terrine, which results in either filling up the customer way too soon in the buffet, or results in food waste. There are often 5-6 terrines - a common offering at the appetizer stations. One big issue - for seniors and mobility impaired patrons (we had a couple in our group), this restaurant is not ideal for mobility impaired patrons. The tables are crammed together.  The inside foyer of the restaurant is out of the way, sealed in without windows, and therefore does not allow customers the ability to view outside to see when their rides are arriving.  One must pass through 2 doors from outside NAIT to get to the restaurant and, on one occasion, the doors' automatic opening buttons were not working at all, making it difficult for one of our group who was in a wheelchair. When leaving, waiting in the hallway outside the restaurant to watch for your ride is hazardous, especially at lunchtime, forcing one to stand outside to watch/wait on the crowded street. Both last year and this year, there is a construction zone across the hallway from the restaurant, which also resulted in the washrooms being a considerable distance away, deeper into the school, which was a problem for two members of our group who were a seniors, one of whom used a walker.  Keep following the signs and hope you haven't accidentally passed them. When we were waiting for our cab, we tried standing to the side in the hallway outside the restaurant to watch/wait for our taxi outside (a friend in our group was using Uber), which resulted in being shoulder-struck by students rushing past. So we found a little alcove off to the side near the entrance, in between the 2 main entrance doors.  There was a solid door off to an angle in the little alcove - we had been to this restaurant more than a few times in the past several years and never saw the angled door being used. Well, Murphy's Law!  A student came barrelling through the door (which had no window allowing us to see through it), almost hitting one of the seniors in our group.  The female student yelled at the senior, "That's not a great place to stand!!" and continued rushing down the hallway.  We then saw a small sign behind our heads next to the other innermost door, advising this alcove door led to a stairwell.  No, the little alcove is not a safe place to stand either, especially when someone bursts through the door blindly without a care. We then had to stand outside the school on a rainy, windy day until our taxi/Uber arrived. read more

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We recently were lucky enough to experience this dining room at Nait. I had never been but had heard about it for years. I certainly did not know what to expect with it being a kind of training ground for the participants of the cooking program there. But I was pleasantly surprised by the taste and quality of the dishes. The service was excellent as well but I was told that the servers are from outside and are employed by the dining room like any other restaurant. All in all a very positive experience. My only caveat would be the price...which is a little on the high side. read more

Ernest's is a really great place to enjoy a fine dining experience at very reasonable price, either to catch up with friends or entertain guests. Students in the Culinary Arts and Hospitality Management programs work in the restaurant, so the menu does change quite frequently, as a result of this. And likely also changes due to what ingredients are available durinf the season. I've only been able to ever stop in during dinner service, but on Friday's during lunch, they often have a student showcase buffet which I've always heard such good things about! Dinner service is always top notch, and the food is always is creative/imaginative, and plated beautifully. No matter, what you end up ordering, you wont end up disappointed. If you swing by on Tuesdays/Wednesdays, they do offer a prixe fixe menu which they change the name of from time to time, and even have the option of including a flight of wine with each course! The only downside is that this place is a pretty happening place, and usually requires a bit of planning in advance, especially if you want a Friday night reservation or a reservation around the holidays. Dinner reservations on a weeknight are a lot easier to manage on a shorter timeline! And they do also have free parking after 5PM! read more

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Everything was wonderful! Great dining experience, the food was superb. Good wine selection reasonably priced.

Everything about this place was amazing! Truly a great dining experience for the price. The service was fantastic and quick, the food was incredible, and the atmosphere of the place was warm and friendly. I would LOVE to come here again. My only complaint was my rare steak was much more on the medium side, and the pop music did not seem to fit the atmosphere, but even then... the food was just unbelievable! 5 stars!!! read more