10115 104 Street NW, Edmonton

Updated Review at the end

A few weeks ago I went to Tzin for the first time. It was long over due! I’ve heard really good things and wanted to give it a try for myself. It’s a small wine and tapas bar. I went one Saturday Evening and walked there with my brother. It’s pretty easy to get to by the LRT, as it’s right outside Bay station. Parking around 104th street can be a scarce but there are some meters around.

The restaurant seats maybe 25 people so I recommend trying to make reservations. Smaller than that their kitchen is tiny, no bigger than a bathroom stall. They are on opentable, which always makes things easier to make a reservation. During the summer, they also have a small patio so they can seat more people, which is my favourite time of the year.

They have a relatively small menu and change it up every so often. We opted to get the mushroom tarta, the Duck, and the Bacon. Next time I really want to try the paella because I’ve heard really good things about that too!

The mushroom tarta came out first. This came with mixed mushrooms, Truffled Béchamel, Fontina Cheese, Arugula, Herbed Vinaigrette, Mojo de Perejil. This was a pretty good dish to start off with. It’s nice and light and full of flavour. You can really taste the truffle flavour come out in this dish. Really good, and went well with my white wine. Nice to sip and savour! A bit harder to share compared to the other dishes but not bad.

The next dish we had was the duck. This was Maple Smoked Duck Breast, Slaw, Cherry Chutney, Tangerine Balsamic Reduction. This was probably the best duck that I’ve ever had. Really nice and tender. I really like the flavour of duck and the gaminess that you can taste from the meat. The cherry chutney was really nice and added a nice sweetness to the dish. I’d definitely order this again!

Lastly, we got the Bacon. This was a nice piece of bacon with maple Balsamic Apple Compote, Apple Mayonnaise, Crostini, Calvados Gastrique. To be honest, I found this to be overpoweringly sweet. I don’t think it was as balanced as it should have been. I usually enjoy some sweetness in my food, but this was a bit much. I’ve always heard really good things about the bacon, so I’d still recommend giving it a try because I’m hoping that they were just having an off night.

Lastly we had the bread pudding for dessert. This was a bit disappointing. I’ve had some great bread puddings before and this was not up to par. Their desserts change up pretty quick so I’d recommend giving a different one a try. Honestly, I think I’d prefer to get another savoury dish though. I’ve always liked savoury more than sweet!

Overall, I had a decent time at Tzin. It’s a nice night out to sip and savour on some food and wine. It’s not a cheap night, but I found the balance between quality and price is pretty decent. I do like having the occasional drink during dinner, but I think I’d opt to get more food in exchange for drinks. That being said, a lot of their dishes are pretty rich and heavy, so I found that I didn’t have to eat a lot to feel full. I’d definitely come back to try out their other dishes.

Update: just a few more dishes

The Bison Meatballs come with a tomato compote and pecorino. These were very tender and enjoyable to eat. They just melt in your mouth and the tomato compote was an excellent way to delivery the meatballs.

The Patatas Bravas were also very good. Fried potatoes, onion, garlic, topped with a smoked paprika salt and an “angry” aioli and green onions. Really good potatoes, and the aoili gave the dish a nice kick. Even though it was really good, I didn’t really find it worth it since it’s just simple and cheap ingredients. I think you’d be better off ordering a meat menu item.

This Lemon Meringue Cake was really good. Not too sweet, and had a strong lemon flavour. It was very light and refreshing and a good way to end the meal!

Note: I also got the bacon again, and this time it was perfect. Tender, Delicious, with just the right amount of sweetness!