Chef James Trees's Italian restaurant has been the marquee tenant of the Arts District since it opened in 2018. The room is bright and uncluttered — white subway tile, polished concrete, a fully open kitchen — and the menu is short, seasonal, and built around fresh pasta made daily on the premises. The cacio e pepe is the dish that put the place on the national radar; the bucatini all'amatriciana and the seasonal hand-cut tagliatelle are reasons to go back.
Reservations are essential, particularly for weekends; the waitlist runs weeks ahead. The bar takes a limited number of walk-ins. Trees has expanded with sister concepts nearby but Esther's remains the standard-bearer of the Arts District's transformation from warehouses to a real dining neighbourhood.