Est West Cafe

I’ve been coming to Est West at least twice a week for the last seven years. The salad selection is great, the prices are very reasonable, and the portion sizes are huge. Highly recommended!

The staff are super friendly and the food is fresh. Portions are huge.
My favourite is the vegetarian sandwich. Fried eggplant, hummus, lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers, cheese, and avocado. Everything is fresh and delicious!
If you ever get items off the breakfast menu, the potatoes are thinly sliced potatoes deep fried to crispy perfection. Super addictive!
Their lunch specials are a great deal as well! My favourite is the Kalbi beef special on Thursdays.

Came here for lunch after seeing U of T. Don’t be fooled by the good reviews– this is not a sit down lunch restaurant or café, it’s a fast food counter in a dingy mall basement. I had an egg salad sandwich, which was good compared to the other options typically available in a food court. DON’T order anything with meat, the chicken in my soup was repulsive. If you’re looking for a quick bite between classes that won’t make your stomach curl, this is a good spot. The staff were very friendly.

This is easily my go-​to for grabbing food that’s cheap, filling, and tasty when I’m at school. They’re located in the food court right next to Manchu wok. You can take it back to the office or sit down at the food court which has plenty of seating. You pay first and then get to make your selection and/​or pick up your order when it’s ready.
Go during lunch time if you want several options when ordering a large salad. It’s only $ 6 and they are hella generous! Make your selection from a variety of salads, pastas, fruits and veggies. The days I’ve went they had glass noodles, broccoli, tomato pasta, spicy noodles, mashed potatoes, mushrooms, kimchi, watermelon, tofu, and beets.
I also enjoy some of their combos that they have. Their chicken specials are flavourful and they give you plenty of meat. The chicken teriyaki comes with a cup of soup which is plenty of food. My recommendation for soup is the beef barley which is absolutely wonderful!

This is the best place in the building to get a healthy meal. They are very generous in their portions, especially if you get the large «salad»! You can expect a variety of vegetables, tofu, glass noodles, tuna pasta salad, fruit, etc. Make sure you show up early in the day, because they start to run out later in the afternoon.

They CHARGE 50 cents if you use credit card :(
pretty decent food. tasty and cheap. the lady accidentally packed me «too much» of the expensive ingredients, overhead the owner complaints lol.

Absolutely horrible customer service. Have you ever had the business owner (I presume) of the restaurant yell at you? If you haven’t, and don’t ever want to, I suggest you avoid this place. Their food is decent for the value but holy moly I wouldn’t ever come back here again.
I paid for my Korean Ribs with rice and sides and was waiting in line. It was lunch time and so there was a crowd. Unfortunately, the ordering system was trash here at Est West, because we were all confused about when our orders would be called. I was standing literally in front of the employees on the other side of the food bar and just casually chatting with my friends, when the restaurant owner starts screaming:
«HEY! YOU! IM TALKING TO YOU! STOP TALKING WHILE IN LINE! LISTEN FOR YOUR ORDER!!!»
I looked at them, buried my desires to scream back because I have that much more civility, and stared at the other employees.
So I asked them, «So, what am I supposed to be paying attention to?»
You know what’s hilarious though?
I waited for a solid 3 minutes before my order was called.
So wait… hold up. I paid YOU money, and you yelled at me? Haha good luck staying in business.
It was a terrible experience overall. I will not come back, no matter how value the meals are.

My favorite breakfast place in the neighborhood. Quickly made, fresh and cheap. A very wide selection of food and fresh fruits. I order their breakfast sandwich special whenever I skip breakfast.

Great place for lunch. I particularly enjoy this for the salad bar. many different options to choose from. Glass noodles, pasta salad and the herb tofu balls are personal favourites. They do prefer cash-​tends to be much faster.

Went to Est West for lunch with a friend today and it was great! I ordered a large salad bowl and they let you fill it up with as much as you can fit in there. Be warned: if you’re someone that doesn’t like their food touching, you won’t enjoy the salad.
I filled mine up with glass noodles, spicy udon (so good!), beets (steamed), potato salad, kimchi (delicious!), steamed broccoli, sauteed green peppers, tofu balls (they’re like unsweetened timbits), chick pea salad, and tofu with chilli sauce. They had a lot more options including fresh fruit, sauteed carrots, snap peas, pasta with tomato sauce, pasta with tuna etc.
The total was $ 6 including tax which was a steal especially for downtown. Would visit again.

Love this place for their mixed salads! They have many choices including kimchi, pasta salad (the than pasta is amazing) some noodles, greens, fruits and so much more. They also pack your container full so you always get a lot for your money’s worth. If I worked close to here I would be coming every day!

I actually work in the same building as this place which is the only fast food restaurant I buy from in the small food court.
FOOD: Their food is great because of the cheap price! I don’t mean the food tastes cheap either. You can get a big box of salad for $ 6 (tax included). Now what do they mean by salad? They mean any fresh fruits, vegetables, noodles, potatoes, tofu balls, stir fry etc. they have that day and they will pack it into your box. There’s just no meat. If you want meat I would recommend getting a sandwich or their special of the day which ranges from: korean style chicken, beef, fried chicken, etc. All the food tastes decent and again you just can’t beat that price.
Service: Not the friendliest bunch but they do have a long line of day time workers to feed. Super fast though.
All in all, I love this place and it’s very affordable for the good quality food that they serve. Also they have $ 5 breakfast!

I work in the building and this is my come-​to when I’m working a late shift and the café has already closed. The large house salad is the best deal, you get to pack the container full of any of the selections from the salad bar.
My personal favourites are the tuna pasta salad and the broccoli florets (they toss it in some sort of dressing that makes it irresistibly delicious).
You can see into the kitchen and whenever you’re ordering a hot dish (eg. protein salad, hot chicken sandwhich), they make it in front of you and always error on the side of being generous; I’m often amazed by their stacking skill.
Debit and cash only, credit cards not accepted.

Love this place, used to come here almost every day and it was always busy. Owners are friendly once they recognize you, and it’s a fast-​pace ordering system which is good for little wait times. Food is always a hit, love how they change up their salad options but the classic items are always there (tuna pasta, asparagus, bean sprouts, snap peas, spicy udon, cold tofu etc). Not your typical cheese and meat western salads, more like a gigantic portion of various Korean sidedishes for under $ 10. Their sandwiches are also amazing (ciabatta gets you the most filling) and they prep it right in front of you.
Will always be a loyal customer :)

This is one of those places that you come for quantity over quality. Which isn’t always a bad thing if you’re looking for a cheap lunch place to eat. I came here for their salad bar that I’ve heard good things about. I ordered the large salad for $ 6 including tax. It was my first time here so I wasn’t sure how many choices I could order but I quickly found out that it was AYCP… all-​you-​can-​pack! They literally filled it to the top and squished the lid over the food. Like I said in the beginning, this special was all quantity over quality so the food wasn’t anything amazing but it was fine if you’re looking for a basic salad bar with some korean options.

I absolutely adore this place. I do not work close (Wellington & University) but that does not deter me from making the trip up to Est West Café for its cheap and delicious salad. I would say that the salad bar is the focal point of the café because they have a handful of korean sidedish-​inspired items. I need to emphasize that I am not a salad person but this salad bar has had me coming back every other day for it!
The large salad is $ 6 and small salad is $ 4, and it can be stuffed with as many items as the container allows, so don’t be shy to ask! The salad bar also has a great selection of pasta, noodles, an assortment of veggies, and fruits. I would recommend the following:
— Glass Noodles
— Kimchi
— Beansprouts
— Beets
— Tuna pasta (simple but tastes perfect!)
— Kale
— Tofu balls
— Chickpea
— Mushrooms
The order and pick-​up system is orchestrated by two lines. Line up at the cash register first to pay for your order and then proceed to the next line on the left handside for pick-​up. I would recommend heading there early during lunch time because this place gets busy after 12pm.

Tons of selection, large portions, great value. The other vendors in the food court look on in envy as est west has a huge line up during lunch whereas it’s empty elsewhere.
I have to admit if you’re a first timer, their menu is a bit confusing. When I ordered a main with a salad on the side, I expected a leafy green salad. Instead, I got a bunch of appetizers to accompany my main like noodles, veggies, pasta etc and they don’t seem to limit how much you can get. I could get 2 meals for the price of one! Awesome!

I am a huge fan of this place. I’ve come here numerous times for their famous salads. Just order a «small salad» or if you’re really hungry, a «large salad». You get to pick whatever you like and they fill your container to the brim. The foods include pasta, fruit, vegetables, tofu, chickpeas, and tons of other goodies. This place is usually packed during office lunch hours. If you come, look to your right, those poor servers working at that Chinese restaurant — they never get any business because of Est West Café. Yum!

I had a salad earlier in the week from Salad Days located at Bloor and Yonge, and I fell in love. For under $ 5 I had a Cobb salad that was overflowing with a generous amount of avocado, chicken, feta, crisp lettuce, olives, fresh tomatoes and half a boiled egg. Unfortunately, I work in Queens Park, and making the trek to Yonge and Bloor is not always feasible. So after doing some research, I learned of Est West Café located a short walk away from my office. The Unilocal reviewers rave about their salads.
You have no idea how excited I was with the possibility of eating a delicious salad for lunch whenever the craving hits. So at lunch time a few days ago, I just about ran to Est West Café. As soon as I entered the food court, I spotted them by the long line. I ran over and joined the crowd. While in line I was trying to figure out how the order process went, and it looked like you just told the people behind the counter what you wanted in your salad. So I paid for a small salad and proceeded to scan the options. To my dismay, I had very little time to scan the salad options since the people behind the counter were not exactly patient. So I chose a bunch of items on the basis of what seemed popular. I did not see any meat or cheese options. I think for meat you have to pay extra.
I walked back to my office with my salad in hand, but my excitement had deflated. The salad looked nothing like the one I had at Salad Days, and for the same price I did not even get chicken or cheese! Once at my desk, I had a few bites, and then threw the rest out. It tasted awful! Maybe I chose the wrong combination of ingredients, or maybe comparing this salad to the Cobb salad I had earlier in the week was not fair. Whatever it was, I am not going back.

The Staff here is so friendly and try hard to be funny. I like the effort. Also after pouring my rice, she asked if I wanted more rice… how many places ever asked you if you wanted more of anything? Also very good prices for the day’s special and the amount of food is generous.