The Beast Tasting Menu - Whole Beast

[meatnveg]

I found this on Blogto and thought it would be appreciated here:

http://www.blogto.com/eat_drink/2011/...

[Pigurd]

I was wondering about the Beast's regular menu in general. For the prices that i am seeing, are the dishes shared plates (tapas?)?

[ggom1]

You have to contact them in advance; I usually ask about a month before booking a tasting menu since they can get pretty busy but I don't think there's a set amount of time that you need to book in advance. I think it kind of depends on the number of people and type of tasting menu you wanted to arrange.

The regular menu can be shared, but I've found the entrees to be pretty well sized for individual dining. The dishes are often pretty heavy so you can get full fast, even during happy hour.

[Lovetts]

Yes, I went for dinner recently...it was great. All the plates are small and come out at a tapas style pace. It was fun to share and try a little of everything.

[meatnveg]

Is it possible to do justice to the place if one is dining solo?

[edfs72]

Sorry for the stupid question but how does one order the tasting menu? Do you have to reserve in advance? If so how many days in advance? I would totally love to try this!

[canadianbeaver]

Had a Whole Beast menu tonight at Beast.

We preordered a wild boar ($80/person). Scott called me on Wednesday to get my credit card number for the reservation. He never mentioned the $10 corkage fee, so I brought it up and he said yes, per 750 mL it is $10. I inquired if that was just wine and he said no, that could be for liquor or beer. He asked after any preferences or allergies.

We arrived at 7:30 p.m. The place is small and was mostly full but the noise level was quite low. It was cold in there, though, so keep that in mind. They started us off with some really great bread, and then our amuse bouche was a dirty rice ball with wild boar and house made ketchup. Service was efficient and friendly. Wine was opened without issue.

We had 5 courses total after this, plus dessert. Everything was delicious, and included the liver, heart, tongue, shoulder, and even the dessert was made with part of the stomach fat. At the end with the bill, they gave us a full list of our entire menu, which of course since I had taken photos I was very excited about. The only thing I found off at all was that they added an 18% gratuity to the bill (there was just two of us) but never mentioned it, even when we went to tip having not realized this. A strange practice, but apparently standard with the wild boar menu,

Very filling, well paced (we were there about 2 hours) and I would recommend as a romantic night out.

[Whats_For_Dinner]

Thanks very much! I've had this on my "to-do list" for a while now, but always wondered if you needed a large group to do one of the larger animals -- good to know you can get something like boar even if you're only a deuce. Thanks!

[downtownfoodie]

we did the boar as well back in march. loved it, and glad to hear that the dishes don't sound like they overlapped very much at all. speaks to the talent and creativity of the chef that they can keep conceiving new and tasty dishes instead of just recycling the tried and tested warhorses

[igk]

We've done this twice now and both times have been fantastic. The first meal was with duck and last night we had a private birthday dinner for 24 people with beef. All the guests were happy with their meals and enjoyed the experience. The chef, Scott, works with you ahead of time to arrange the meal with respect to the number of courses and the dishes being served. Service is great. With this menu, they have a $10 corkage fee too. Overall, can't say enough about this concept and am already thinking of our next "beast" to try.

thanks again to the excellent team at Beast.