Ethan delivers a robust exploration of Szechuan culinary traditions through a menu defined by bold spice profiles and authentic regional techniques. Diners encounter signature dishes featuring numbing peppercorns, vibrant chili oils, and meticulously prepared proteins that characterize this distinct style of Chinese cooking. The kitchen focuses on the balance of heat and flavor complexity, utilizing aromatic ingredients to elevate classic Asian preparations. Each plate reflects an adherence to traditional seasoning methods, ensuring that the signature profile of the cuisine remains intact. The environment facilitates a direct focus on the food, prioritizing the intensity of the flavor profiles over superfluous aesthetic distractions. This establishment serves as a deliberate destination for those seeking a sincere and uncompromised approach to the nuances of Szechuan spice and traditional preparation methods.
Restaurant Ethan is widely recognized in Montreal Chinatown for offering a broad menu of authentic Cantonese-style cuisine at very affordable prices with generous portion sizes. While many visitors appreciate the quick service, cozy atmosphere, and great value for a casual meal, opinions remain divided regarding the overall experience. Some patrons highlight the efficiency and friendliness of the staff, while others report inconsistent food quality and express frustration over aggressive tipping practices or impolite service. The dining environment is often described as dated or simple, but for those seeking a convenient and budget-friendly spot for staples like dumplings, BBQ meats, or bubble tea, it remains a popular and frequently visited destination.
The service & food were excellent, making for an unforgettable dining experience. I will definitely be returning. I ordered the fried dumplings & Korean barbecue, both of which were absolutely delicious.
Jul 31, 2024
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A very casual Chinese spot, with very cheap eats & average food. While they offer a wide variety to satiate the Chinese food urge, I can't say it is of the best quality. For a tourist visiting Montreal, I would have preferred a higher quality experience with actual recipes. The General Tao chicken, for example, seemed merely to be a plate of bulk chicken nuggets doused in sauce. The dumplings just tasted like bulk frozen dumplings & lazily fried. I'd say this place is probably good for take out or hangover Asian food, but not necessarily worth an intentional visit for a sit down meal.
Only ate here because the wait upstairs at Keung Kee was too long. Made the mistake of ordering the Peking duck. The wrappers were tiny & too thin, the duck was dry, & instead of getting leftover duck with lettuce wraps we got fried bean sprouts! It was $65 for the Peking duck alone which was SOO overpriced. This place is better for casual eats like fried rice, sweet & sour pork, etc. The place was also extremely noisy & felt chaotic. For those traditionally "nicer" dishes & a calmer atmosphere, go somewhere else!!
Certainly treated so much better here than upstairs resto where we were ignored for almost 10 min waiting while they had empty tables. The peking duck, salt & pepper calamari & salt & pepper shrimps with shrimp fried rice wad absolutely amazing 👏 service was prompt & good 👍 delicious food, made right to taste, we asked for extra spice & extra spicy the seafood was ❤️ We were grateful to be served with a smile & served fast. You can see them cooking behind the window. Their Peking duck is also really amazing. Thank you so much for welcoming us in after a horrific experience upstairs 🙏 😢 ❤️ You have won our hearts & tastebuds over. Next time we are ordering more dishes & a couple to go! Good service + tasty yummy food = more business 😋
Tried this restaurant while walking in Chinatown as it looked busy inside. BIG MISTAKE not taking a look at reviews first to see the low ratings. We ordered the combo A for two & added 10 pieces of dumplings as it is very reasonably priced. The combo includes soup, chicken, fried rice, vegetables, egg roll. It was a red flag when the general tso's chicken came out 1 min after ordering - the chicken was luke warm so I think they have it pre made as its a popular dish part of many combos. For those who say this is authentic Chinese food, it is definitely not. It's westernized fast food Chinese that is average at best. We were brought vegetables & multiple servers were yelling beside our table & across the restaurant that they messed up our table number & brought us the wrong type of veggies (I understand Cantonese). One of the servers eventually took the vegetable dish away, however I told her I had eaten a piece of broccoli & she looked at me & acknowledged what I said... then she took the vegetables & gave it to the table right beside us! After that, I didn't have much of an appetite - this shows the class of service or care that the restaurant operates at. While paying the cashier was extremely snappy & rude to the gentleman ahead of us ordering for take out. I would not go back nor recommend this restaurant.
Food was decent, definitely authentic Chinese cuisine but the fried rice & fried Gyozas were on the oiler side.
Service on the other hand was appalling, we waited to be seated for about 5 minutes & no one attended to us. When we decided to find our own seats, the waitress decided to chide us twice about how this is inappropriate behaviour “here in this country” & that we should have waited to be seated which we already did.
Servers would ignore us when we raised our hands to ask about an order that did not arrive, & one snickered instead of helping us.
