T H E O T TAWA C I T I Z E N FOOD & LIFE 2009 Dining Guide 2009 PART ONE: OLD OTTAWA ByWard Market ■ Lowertown ■ Sandy Hill BY ANNE DESBRISAY T his year’s dining guide has a different spin on “where to eat” in Ottawa. We are a city of neighbourhoods, each with its own character, each with its own restaurants. For me, this hit home most stunningly during the transit strike. It may be nice to know the best Thai restaurant in the city is in Barrhaven, but when it’s minus 28 C, the buses aren’t running, and the streets are in gridlock, what you really want to know is “Where can I get a good curry close to where I am?” So this year I’m breaking Ottawa down into regions and exploring our city’s restaurants within its neighbourhoods, beginning today with its oldest — ByWard Market, Lowertown and Sandy Hill. These are restaurants I recommend, some unequivocally, others with certain reservations. But each suits a mood, or a demographic, or a budget. Please note: This list is a guide only, not a guarantee of what you will find! Listings start on page 2 JEAN LEVAC, THE OTTAWA CITIZEN Rene Rodriguez offers delicious food from Spain’s Basque region at Navarra, his restaurant on Murray Street. 1 T H E O T TAWA C I T I Z E N FOOD & LIFE 2009 PART ONE: OLD OTTAWA ByWard Market AHORA 307 Dalhousie St., 613-562-2081 ahora.ca $ Cuisine: Mexican. This colourful, cluttered basement room with seating for 40 is a cheery, nofrills, cafeteria-style eatery with fresh, fast, flavourful food. BENNY’S BISTRO 119 Murray St., 613-789-6797 bennysbistro.ca $$ Cuisine: French. Tucked into the back of the French Baker and open for lunch only, you are advised to tuck into anything baked — the bread, the olive scones, the strawberry tarts. But excellent too are the soups, the risotto, the spiced scallops. BLUE CACTUS BAR AND GRILL 2 Byward Market, 613-241-7061 bluecactusbarandgrill.com $$ Cuisine: Mexican/Southwestern. Big, busy market eatery, with an updated look. Menu has southwest slant. Pasta, pizzas, fajitas, grilled chicken, ribs. Open late. CAFE SPIGA 271 Dalhousie St., 613-241-4381 cafespiga.com $$$ Cuisine: Portuguese and Italian. Portuguese classics (caldo verde, bacalhau, sea bream with piripiri) share space with Italian pasta and veal dishes. Seafood is a clear strength. CASA DO CHURRASCO 190 Dalhousie St., 613-241-2743 $$ Cuisine: Portuguese. A little of the ghost of KFC lingers in the look of this casa, but not in the food. Chicken is grilled, Portuguese style, as are ribs and other meaty things, served up with lots of lemon potatoes and a suitably fiery sauce. CHEZ LUCIEN 137 Murray St. 613-241-3533 $ Cuisine: Pub. Spaghetti and meatballs, liver and onions, grilled chicken sandwiches, a croque monsieur. But really you come to this very pleasant pub for the very good burgers. DALY’S Westin Hotel, 11 Colonel By Dr., 613-560-7333 $$$$ Price guide Loosely based on a three-course dinner for two, with taxes, but before drinks or tip. $: Less than $40 $$: $40 to $70 $$$: $71 to $100 $$$$: More than $100 Unless stated otherwise, all restaurants accept major credit cards and reservations, and many now have websites where you will find their menus and hours of operation. Call about wheelchair accessibility. Cuisine: Canadian. An updated look for the Westin dining room. Signature lamb dish stands out, plus the tuna rolls, scallops with lemongrass, roasted guinea hen. DOMUS CAFE 87 Murray St., 613-241-6007 domuscafe.ca $$$$ Cuisine: Canadian. “Canadian Regional Seasonal Cuisine” is etched in its picture windows and is the philosophy that marks its plates. For close to 15 years, chef John Taylor and his team have delivered startling dishes fashioned from impeccably sourced ingredients. EMPIRE GRILL 47 Clarence St., 613-241-1343 empiregrill.com $$$ Cuisine: Grill. Trendy, handsome restaurant that attracts chic young diners in droves. Also a favourite for dinner meetings. Specializes in steaks, wines and martinis. Open late. HAVELI 39 Clarence St., 613-241-1700 haveli.com $$ Cuisine: Indian. In Ottawa since 1984, the what-you-expect menu of mostly north Indian dishes is well represented. Superior fish and rice dishes. KHAO THAI 103 Murray St., 613-241-7276 khaothai.ca $$ Cuisine: Thai. Fragrant noodle dishes, complex curries, along with the usual Thai starters, salads and soups, in a lush red and gold space. Try the makua yaow len goong, a beautifully balanced dish of shrimp and eggplant. KINKI 41 York St., 613-789-7559 kinki.ca $$$ Cuisine: Japanese-style. Its sexy marketing and its unconventional menu should alert you to the fact that this attractive “Asian-fusion-sushi” restaurant is as much about the scene as the food. LAPOINTE SEAFOOD GRILL 55 York St., 613-241-6221 lapointefish.ca $$ Cuisine: Seafood. The first of five Lapointe Grills, this one is below ground in a yellow room with a school of hand-painted swimmers. Beer-battered fish and chips, pan-fried pickerel, fresh mussels, good chowder. LE CAFE 53 Elgin St., 613-594-5127 nac-can.ca $$$$ CHRIS MIKULA, THE OTTAWA CITIZEN Daly’s chef Nelson Borges. 2 Cuisine: Canadian. Expect some interesting changes in the National Arts Centre kitchen this year, with the creative chef Michael Blackie (formerly of Brookstreet Hotel) newly running the show. Stay tuned for how he marks the menu of this flagship restaurant. LUXE BISTRO 47 York St., 613-241-8805 luxebistro.com $$$$ Cuisine: Grill. Luxe remains, despite changes in the kitchen, a French-style steakhouse with durable mainstays — French onion soup, bouillabaisse, steakfrîtes. You feel new chef Duane Keats’ stamp most strongly in the page of daily additions. MAMBO RESTAURANTE NUEVO LATINO 77 Clarence St., 613-562-2500 mambonuevolatino.com $$$ Cuisine: Latin. Mambo has an exciting Latino feel and look, but my experience with the food is that you need to pick through it a bit to find the good stuff — shrimp kicked up with a spicy orange sauce, carrot and jalapeño soup. MAMMA GRAZZI’S KITCHEN 25 George St., 613-241-8656 mammagrazzis.com $$ Cuisine: Italian. Thin-crust pizzas rolled to order and a page of pasta dishes in a pretty courtyard restaurant. Nice patio. METROPOLITAIN BRASSERIE 700 Sussex Dr., 613-562-1160 metropolitainbrasserie.com $$$ Cuisine: French bistro, seafood. French-style, super-sized brasserie steps from Parliament Hill with a menu that covers bistro basics, from bouillabaisse to blanquette de veau. Raw seafood bar; champagne by the glass. MOJI 97 Clarence St., 613-860-6654 moji.ca $$$ Cuisine: Mostly Italian. The word moji is Japanese, but the short menu in this slim space leans Italian. Good carpaccio, steak salad, seafood linguine, crème brulée. Continued on the next page T H E O T TAWA C I T I Z E N FOOD & LIFE 2009 PART ONE: OLD OTTAWA MURRAY STREET 110 Murray St., 613-562-7244 murraystreet.ca $$$ Cuisine: Canadian. The logo of the new (and good) Murray Street is a stylized M in a boar’s body, and pork certainly figures large on Steve Mitton’s menu and in his charcuterie bar. Meat may be the soul of this place, but neither fish nor the vegetarian entrée eats like an afterthought. NAVARRA 93 Murray St., 613-241-5500 navarrarestaurant.com $$$ Cuisine: Modern Basque. In the former home of the Black Cat Café, former Cat chef Rene Rodriguez has opened Navarra, named for this northern region of Spain. Food is very good; recent menu includes steak tartare laced with ezpeleta powder, lobster “pil pil” and salt-cod rillettes with Bayonne ham and roasted piquillo peppers. PALAIS IMPERIAL 311-313 Dalhousie St., 613-7896888 palais-imperial.com $$ Cuisine: Chinese. Two expansive floors of dining with big windows for ByWard Market-watching. Extensive menu of more than 200 items, mostly filled with Cantonese-Szechwan offerings. PLAY FOOD & WINE 1 York St., 613-667-9207 playfood.ca $$$ Cuisine: Small plates, Canadian. Just open, untried, untested, but given it is the new creation of Stephen Beckta and chef Michael Moffatt, hopes are high. Menu focuses on small plates. RESTAURANT E18HTEEN 18 York St., 613-244-1188 restaurant18.com $$$$ Cuisine: Contemporary. Comfortable, chic and timelessly fashionable, Restaurant E18hteen — three years now under chef Matthew Carmichael’s lead — offers a roundup of pleasures on each stylish plate. Strong wine list. SAIGON 85 Clarence St., 613-789-7934 $ Cuisine: Vietnamese. If you’re after a bowl of hot, restorative soup — and who isn’t? — Saigon delivers in spades. A family-run ByWard Market restaurant. CHRIS MIKULA, THE OTTAWA CITIZEN Chef Duane Keats of Luxe Bistro on York Street. SHAFALI INDIAN RESTAURANT 308 Dalhousie St., 613-789-9188 shafali.com $$ Cuisine: Indian. Shafali’s tandoor may be hidden away, but its good smells slap you happy as soon as you enter. Sauces shine with gently layered flavours, and sometimes a crescendo of spices. SOCIAL 537 Sussex Dr., 613-789-7355 social.ca $$$ Cuisine: Contemporary. A handsome, hot-spot restaurant/lounge with a solid kitchen. Chef Matthew Carmichael (of Restaurant E18hteen) is now balancing both kitchens — 50 metres apart — and his stamp on Social is as yet untried by this critic. Open late. STELLA OSTERIA 81-B Clarence St., 613-241-2200 stellaosteria.com $$$ Cuisine: Italian. Stella is a hip, happening and handsome place, offering comfort Italian food with contemporary edges. Stick with pasta dishes if you don’t want to spike the bill. Linguine with Manilla clams, short ribs and shiitake on cavatelli. Open late. SWEETGRASS ABORIGINAL BISTRO 108 Murray St., 613-562-3683 sweetgrassbistro.ca $$$ Cuisine: Original Canadian. Coowners and chefs Warren and Phoebe Sutherland apply modern takes to the traditional dishes of North America’s aboriginal peoples with delicious results. On the menu, smoked fish cakes, rabbit dumplings, wild boar back ribs, Canadian goose with risotto, ginger and apples. TAKARA 366 Dalhousie St., 613-241-6582 takara-ottawa.com $$ Cuisine: Japanese. Bright corner restaurant in the ByWard Market where the sushi bar takes centre 3 stage and a complete nigiri sushi dinner, with soup or salad to start, won’t eat up your paycheque. THE BLACK TOMATO 11 George St., 613-789-8123 theblacktomato.com $$$ Cuisine: Eclectic-global. A tall, square space, with great music, great whisky choices and food that has a global reach — Thaistyle soups, spanokopita, quesadillas, curried chicken, crab cakes. THE COURTYARD RESTAURANT 21 George St., 613-241-1516 courtyardrestaurant.com $$$$ Cuisine: Contemporary Canadian. A dining room with a long history, which may feel dated inside but won’t taste it. Bison sashimi, pork belly with ginger and licorice, ginger fritters with liquid nitrogen star anise ice cream. TOTOYA 297 Dalhousie St., 613-241-2224 totoya.ca $$ Cuisine: Japanese. From a largely predictable menu, you will find fresh fish, well-cooked, carefully made sushi, gossamer tempura and soothing service. VITTORIA TRATTORIA 35 William St., 613-789-8959 vittoriatrattoria.com $$$ Cuisine: Italian. The original VT, in the heart of the ByWard Market, boasts an exceptional wine list. Food focuses on pizza and pasta, with a few predictable main dishes. WASABI 41 Clarence St., 613-241-3636 wasabisushibar.ca $$ Cuisine: Japanese/sushi. Reasonable prices for a wide selection of raw critters from the sushi bar, plus some consistently good items from the kitchen, notably the tempura, gyoza and tataki. WILFRID’S Chateau Laurier Hotel, 1 Rideau St., 613-562-7043 $$$$ Cuisine: Canadian. In addition to its good looks, assets include a well-trained staff, a strong VQA wine list and a menu that makes good use of local, seasonal raw materials. Continued on the next page T H E O T TAWA C I T I Z E N FOOD & LIFE 2009 PART ONE: OLD OTTAWA Lowertown and Sandy Hill BENTO SUSHI 606 Rideau St., 613-562-2563 $$ Cuisine: Sushi. A tiny storefront location caters mostly to those picking up sushi suppers or quick sushi lunches, though there is scattered seating and items other than sushi. BISTRO CORDON BLEU 453 Laurier Ave. E., 613-755-2350 lcbottawa.com $$ Cuisine: French. This is a studentrun restaurant, and you are the guinea pig for Cordon Bleu students of cuisine at the end of their nine-month curriculum. Lunch only, Thursday and Friday. Three-course, set menu $25. EAST AFRICAN RESTAURANT 376 Rideau St., 613-789-7397 $ Cuisine: Ethiopian. Grass roof huts and animal skins set the scene. On the menu: chicken, beef, lamb or vegetable stews of varying intensities, served in small mounds on large platters layered with injera. HORN OF AFRICA 364 Rideau St., 613-789-0025 $ Cuisine: Ethiopian. A longestablished African restaurant that offers affordable, tasty food in simple surroundings. PERFECTION-SATISFACTIONPROMISE 167 Laurier Ave E., 613-234-7299 perfectionsatisfactionpromise.ca $ Cuisine: Vegetarian. This is still the Painted Potato, only renamed, and they still serve PPs (choice of baked, sweet, mashed, brown rice, stuffed or topped), but now you can indulge in the tasty vegetarian food in a room dedicated to Sri Chinmoy. SIGNATURES Le Cordon Bleu Ottawa Culinary Arts Institute, 453 Laurier Ave. E., 613-236-2499 lcbottawa.com $$$$ Cuisine: French. In a Sandy Hill mansion, the fine dining room of Le Cordon Bleu (Ottawa campus) offers a menu awash with luxury ingredients and cooking that is layered, technically sound and stunning on every monogrammed plate. JOHN TANGUAY, THE OTTAWA CITIZEN Executive chef Yannick Anton of Le Cordon Bleu Signatures Restaurant on Laurier Avenue. Anne DesBrisay is the author of Capital Dining: A Guide for Dining Out in Canada’s Capital. Check out her website at www.capitaldining.ca. 4 T H E O T TAWA C I T I Z E N FOOD & LIFE 2009 PART TWO: THE CITY CENTRE Downtown BY ANNE DESBRISAY C hapter two of our gastronomic spin around Ottawa-Gatineau neighbourhoods takes us to its centre. Some of our oldest and most iconic restaurants are found here, some of its newest too — and certainly many of its best. These are restaurants I recommend, some unequivocally, others with certain reservations, but they are listed here because I believe each suits a mood, or a demographic, or a budget. This list is a guide only. It is not a guarantee of what you will find. Downtown and Centretown A’ROMA MEZE 239 Nepean St., 613-232-1377 aromameze.com $$$ Cuisine: Mediterranean small plates. A Greek-style meze (small plates) restaurant with an impressive wine list to match the impressive nibbles. Kataifi scallops, melitzanosalata, foie gras stuffed Medjool dates. ARC LOUNGE ARC The Hotel, 140 Slater St., 613-238-2888 arcthehotel.com $$$ Cuisine: Contemporary. Retro-chic dining room/lounge in a boutique hotel offers an unhotel menu to match the look: lobster-basil panna cotta; lamb with pickled grapes and pears; chèvre cheesecake with sweet ■ Centretown ■ corn ice cream. BECKTA DINING AND WINE 226 Nepean St., 613-238-7063 beckta.com $$$$ Cuisine: Contemporary. Food and wine should be the driving interests when considering Beckta. Fresh, local ingredients prepared in winning styles are matched with a top-notch wine list, continually tweaked. Beckta’s service is also a drawing card. BENITZ BISTRO 327 Somerset St. W. 613-5678100 benitzbistro.com $$$ Cuisine: Contemporary. Husband and wife team Derek Benitz and Meghan McManus opened this white-on-white dining room in 2007. You’ll find the colour in the personality of the well-trained staff and on the plates of French-bistro treats. BLUE NILE 577 Gladstone Ave., 613-321-0774 bluenileottawa.com $ Cuisine: Ethiopian. The cuisine’s fundamental condiments — berbere, mitmita, niter kibbeh — lend the good flavour to the food at Blue Nile, a new, plain-Jane Ethiopian restaurant in Centretown. BOCADO 343 Somerset St. W., 613-2331536 bocado.ca $$$ Cuisine: Mediterranean. On the menu, a bit of everything — Italian, French, Spanish, Greek, North African. This is sturdy food with big flavours — fish stew, grilled lamb, roast duck with root vegetables, risotto Milanese. Glebe ■ Old Ottawa South WAYNE CUDDINGTON, THE OTTAWA CITIZEN Cathy Dewar, owner of Savanna Café, and daughter Natasha serve up tasty Caribbean/Asian fusion food. Continued on the next page 5 T H E O T TAWA C I T I Z E N FOOD & LIFE 2009 PART TWO: THE CITY CENTRE B/SIDE 323 Somerset St. W., 613-5678100 bsidewine.ca $$$ Cuisine: Canadian, small plates. On the menu are small plates and pastas, some conventional (calamari, crab cakes, ribs), some more interesting (arrancini, rabbit rilette, lamb sweetbreads). CAFE PARADISO 199 Bank St., 613-565-0657 cafeparadiso.ca $$$ Cuisine: Global bistro. Simple bistro fare — roast chicken, steak frîtes, grilled fish — plus crowdpleasing appetizers for those who just want to nibble while listening to live jazz. CAPITAL DINING ROOM Delta Ottawa Hotel, 361 Queen St., 613-238-2582 www.deltahotels.com $$$$ Cuisine: Contemporary. A windowless rectangle of dated comfort but with solidly good food. Scallops in a lime butter sauce, duck consommé with confit wontons, wild salmon with a lobster crust in a yellow pepper purée. CEYLONTA 403 Somerset St. W., 613-2377812 ceylonta.com $ Cuisine: Indian/Sri Lankan. Looks like nothing from the curb, but inside the aroma of Ceylon spices is heady and the south Indian cooking a pleasure. Addictive urid dahl cakes, black curries of various pulses, dosai with curried goat. CORIANDER THAI 282 Kent St., 613-233-2828 $ Cuisine: Thai. Centretown restaurant offers the business crowd at lunch and the neighbourhood at dinner tasty Thai food in a shades-of-blue environment. DON ALFONSO 434 Bank St., 613-236-7750 $$ Cuisine: Spanish. You can fill up agreeably on paella, or order a platter of predictable tapas in this dated-looking, but welcoming Centretown restaurant. EAST INDIA COMPANY 210 Somerset St. W., 613-5674634 eastindiaco.com $ Cuisine: Indian. Lush furnishings Price guide Loosely based on a three-course dinner for two, with taxes, but before drinks or tip. $: Less than $40 $$: $40 to $70 $$$: $71 to $100 $$$$: More than $100 Unless stated otherwise, all restaurants accept major credit cards and reservations, and many now have websites where you will find their menus and hours of operation. Call about wheelchair accessibility. and antiques create an inviting atmosphere. Most people opt for the ample buffet (lunch and dinner). FRIDAY’S ROAST BEEF HOUSE 150 Elgin St., 613-237-5353 fridaysroastbeefhouse.com $$$ Cuisine: Mainly meat. ‘A traditional menu…,’ we are told. Indeed, right down to the crème de menthe parfait. Stick with the rack of lamb, the roast beef and don’t stray far. Portions are generous. GENJI 175 Lisgar St., 613-236-2880 genji.ca $$ Cuisine: Japanese. Tranquil space, with well-crafted sushi, delicate tempura, fragile dumplings and fresh fish, well cooked. HY’S STEAK HOUSE 170 Queen St., 613-234-4545 hyssteakhouse.com $$$$ Cuisine: Steak and seafood. Men in suits and hungry hockey players come to Hy’s for quality cuts of Alberta beef, served in JULIE OLIVER, THE OTTAWA CITIZEN Executive chef Michael Moffatt cooks up fine fare, pleasingly served, at Beckta Dining and Wine. 6 comfort at well spaced tables. ICHIBEI 197 Bank St., 613-563-2375 $$ Cuisine: Japanese. Warm feeling of a neighbourhood pub. Seating for a dozen at the sushi bar. Sushi, sashimi, tempura, noodle dishes and so on. KASBAH VILLAGE 261 Laurier Ave. W., 613-232-3737 kasbah.ca $$ Cuisine: Moroccan. Popular lunch spot for the downtown crowd with affordable noon specials. At night the room takes on a more exotic feel and offers a variety of Moroccan classics. MAMMA TERESA 300 Somerset St. W., 613-2363023 mammateresa.com $$$ Cuisine: Italian. An Ottawa institution in a brick mansion with an enduring, conventional menu. If you order the strengths — soup, gnocchi, smelts, calamari, anything with shrimp (they’re good here), veal — Mamma T’s can be a dependable bargain. Some dishes can let you down. MERLOT ROOFTOP GRILL Ottawa Marriott Hotel, 100 Kent St., 613-783-4212 merlotottawa.com $$$$ Cuisine: Grill. The menu way up here is a mix of brawny steakhouse with a bit of bistro — a thick porterhouse, veal chop with prawns, slow roasted chicken. Lofty wine list too. MYSTIKO 281 Kent St., 613-233-3626 www.mystikogreekkitchen.com $$$ Cuisine: Greek. Formerly Papagus, reopened with a new look, new name, an all-Greek wine list, and the same vigour on the menu (char-grilled souvlaki, lamb chops, garlic dips, farm-boy portions) and failings (frozen fish, dull vegetables, salty sauces). OZ KAFE 361 Elgin St., 613-234-0907 ozkafe.com $$$ Cuisine: Eclectic. Mostly comfort food on the menu of this casual, quirky café. Fresh, bold flavours, some Asian inflections, and some solid choices for the vegetarian. Continued on the next page T H E O T TAWA C I T I Z E N FOOD & LIFE 2009 PART TWO: THE CITY CENTRE RESTAURANT JOY 315 Somerset St. W., 613-2316333 restaurantjoy.com $ Cuisine: Korean and Japanese. A mix of Japanese standards, cooked and raw, traditional Korean dishes and a bit of Asian fusion. Good gyoza, bulgogi, galbi, chicken katsu. SAVANA CAFE 431 Gilmour St., 613-233-9159 savanacafe.com $$ Cuisine: Caribbean and Asian fusion. Since 1987, “Ottawa’s original fusion restaurant” presents a short menu of Caribbean and Asian dishes — kalaloo soup, jerk chicken, pad Thai, tempura shrimp — in a colourful old home in downtown Ottawa. SOM TUM 260 Nepean St., 613-781-8424 thaitaste.ca $$ Cuisine: Thai. Opened in 2007, another Thai restaurant for Art Akarapanich, who introduced Thai food to Ottawa 30 years ago. Strengths are in the well-made classics, but also in those dishes and ingredients less often seen on Thai menus in this city. SUISHA GARDENS 208 Slater St., 613-236-9602 japaninottawa.ca $$ Cuisine: Japanese. Hordes flock for the noon specials. At dinner, you can sup on a predictable lineup of Japanese dishes, either perched at the sushi bar or seated downstairs beneath the waterfall in one of Suisha’s private rooms. THE BUZZ 374 Bank St., 613-565-9595 thebuzzrestaurant.ca $$$ Cuisine: Eclectic. The best of the small plates is the polenta with ricotta and roasted red peppers. More substantial fare includes a good steak-frîtes well priced. Open late for drinks and noshing. THE MANX 370 Elgin St., 613-231-2070 $$ Cuisine: Pub. It’s more than an extensive whisky and draught menu that draws them down to this basement pub. Food is solidly good too, service is kind and unaffected, vegetarian diners are treated well. PAT MCGRATH, THE OTTAWA CITIZEN Som Tum owner Art Akarapanich introduced Thai food to Ottawa 30 years ago. THE SCONE WITCH 388 Albert St., 613-232-2173 $ Cuisine: Café/bakery. Goldentopped, layered and yielding, scones are available in a variety of flavours, either straight-up, with cream and jam, or split and filled with lunchy things. VIETNAMESE KITCHEN 478 Bank St., 613-593-8991 $ Cuisine: Vietnamese. Very yellow, very plain, owned by a kind family. Sizeable Szechuan section of the expansive menu makes it a bit different from the pack. WHALESBONE OYSTER HOUSE 430 Bank St., 613-231-8569 thewhalesbone.com $$$ Cuisine: Seafood. A small and whimsically decorated seafood pub, run by a boisterous staff, where you crowd around cramped tables or at the bar feasting on pristine oysters, seafood chowder, ethically sourced fish, plus a meat dish thrown in for good measure. Glebe and Old Ottawa South CARMEN’S VERANDA 1169 Bank St., 613-730-9829 $$ Cuisine: Eclectic. A short, seasonal menu in a colourful, retro room of mismatched chairs, formica tables, fish tanks and cacti. Salads are bright, sandwiches satisfying and the pizza is excellent. FLIPPERS 819 Bank St., 613-232-2703 $$$ Cuisine: Seafood. Glebe-view restaurant on cheery upper level of Fifth Avenue Court. Large portions of fresh seafood. FRATELLI 749 Bank St., 613-237-1658 fratelli.ca $$$ Cuisine: Italian. This is the Fratelli that started the five-strong chain of handsome, colour-rich eateries dotted across the city, each with similar menus (pizza, pasta, veal) and admirable wine lists. LIGHT OF INDIA 730 Bank St., 613-563-4411 lightofindia.ca $ Cuisine: Indian. Solidly good Indian food in a comfortably dated room. Strong starters — samosas, shami kabab, begun bharta on puri — superior dishes from the tandoor and the curry pot. SACRED GARDEN 1330 Bank St., 613-733-8424 $$ Cuisine: Vegetarian Thai. A new Thai restaurant for Old Ottawa South and the first vegetarian Thai restaurant in the city, housed in a pretty, tranquil space. SIAM KITCHEN 1050 Bank St., 613-730-3954 $ Cuisine: Thai. Ottawa’s first Thai restaurant, now 30 years old and not much changed. The room is dated, but the food is fresh and flavourful. TAJ MAHAL 925 Bank St., 613-234-1280 $ Cuisine: Indian. A first-rate Indian eatery in the Glebe offers traditional northern Indian dishes marked by complex flavours and generous spicing. URBAN PEAR 151 Second Ave., 613-569-9305 theurbanpear.com $$$$ Cuisine: Modern Canadian. A sophisticated but neighbourly space with a short, seasonal menu of adventurous food. Albacore tuna with cranberry gastrique, scallops with a blood orange compote, sumac crème brulée. Anne DesBrisay is the author of Capital Dining: A Guide for Dining Out in Canada’s Capital. Check out her website at www.capitaldining.ca. 7 T H E O T TAWA C I T I Z E N FOOD & LIFE 2009 PART THREE: THE WESTERN FRONT Chinatown ■ Preston Street ■ Hintonburg, West Wellington, Westboro Old Ottawa West ■ Britannia ■ Centrepointe ■ Bells Corners Celebrating diversity from Chinatown to Bells Corners BY ANNE DESBRISAY Part 3 of the Dining Guide focuses on the restaurant-rich neighbourhoods of Ottawa’s western front, from Chinatown and Preston Street, to Westboro to Centrepointe and west to Bells Corners. As for every entry in this year’s guide, these are restaurants I recommend, some unequivocally, others with reservations. But for whatever mood you’re in, budget that fits you or demographic you fit into, you should be able to find something that suits. Please keep in mind this list is a guide only, based on my experiences. There’s no guarantee of what you will find. Chinatown FUSCHIAN 726 Somerset St W., 613-2306815 $ Cuisine: Asian. Fresh, hot, fast and a good blend of Vietnamese and Chinese cuisines, run by very fine people. Fish is a strength, so are salad rolls and lemongrass chicken. Continued on the next page PAT MCGRATH, THE OTTAWA CITIZEN Mekong restaurant owner/chef Dennis Luc offers a good cross-section of well-treated Asian food. 8 T H E O T TAWA C I T I Z E N FOOD & LIFE 2009 PART THREE: THE WESTERN FRONT HOT PEPPERS 495 Somerset St. W., 613-2334687 hot-peppers.ca $$ Cuisine: Thai. It calls itself an “expressive Thai restaurant” with an upstairs wine bar. Fried oysters, curried mussels, spicy crab cakes with mango sauce, steamed salmon with plum and ginger. JADELAND 625 Somerset St. W., 613-233-0204 $ Cuisine: Chinese. It’s not the decor that has folks lined up out its door. Maybe it’s the food: pickerel with chili and garlic, squid with snow pea tips, bitter melon and beef in black bean sauce. JO MOON TING 832 Somerset St. W., 613-237-8887 $ Cuisine: Chinese. Ten tables in a pokey little room, or take-away counter with its window-view of barbecue treats. Whether inhouse or to-go, the house chicken, roast pork and barbecue duck are the wayto-go. MEKONG 637 Somerset St. W., 613-237-7717 mekong.ca $ Cuisine: Asian. Vietnamese, Chinese and Thai dishes on the menu. Seafood is treated well. Good too are the soups, pot stickers, shrimp dumplings, crispy beef and braised duck. NEW MEE FUNG 350 Booth St., 613-567-8228 $ Cuisine: Vietnamese. Large dining room with a large menu. Order by number. Try No. 223 lemongrass chicken, or No. 136 spicy satay with rice noodles. NEW PHO BO GA LA 761-763 Somerset St. W., 613-233-2222 $ Cuisine: Vietnamese. Pho is noodle soup, Bo is beef, Ga is chicken and La is the large, extended family that runs this place and others like it on the strip. PHO THU DO 765 Somerset St. W., 613-2357116 $ Cuisine: Vietnamese. One of the originals and as plain-Jane as Price guide Loosely based on a three-course dinner for two, with taxes, but before drinks or tip. $: Less than $40 $$: $40 to $70 $$$: $71 to $100 $$$$: More than $100 Unless stated otherwise, all restaurants accept major credit cards and reservations, and many now have websites where you will find their menus and hours of operation. Call about wheelchair accessibility. they come. Chipped formica and permanently scarred linoleum. But the sweetly scented noodle soups are wonderful. SHANGHAI 651 Somerset St. W., 613-2334001 shanghaiottawa.com $ Cuisine: Asian. Mandarin martinis, Brazilian rhythms, disco bingo, karaoke Saturdays … This isn’t your typical Chinese restau- rant, though it is the region’s oldest. Food’s all over the place too — North American Cantonese to Thai curries to Malaysian calamari. SUSHI 88 690B Somerset St. W., 613-233-3288 $ Cuisine: Sushi. For the sushinovice, try the “I Like My Sushi Cooked” combo; for the well ini- BRUNO SCHLUMBERGER, THE OTTAWA CITIZEN At Atelier on Rochester Street, chef Marc Lepine treats his kitchen like a laboratory, creating extraordinary food. 9 tiated, “Sashimi Surprise.” Dining alone? “Sashimi Just For Me.” VIETNAM PALACE 819 Somerset St. W., 613-2386758 $ Cuisine: Vietnamese. First-rate seafood: scallops with lemongrass and chilies, shrimp with fresh pineapple, sea bass in black bean sauce. Sizable vegetarian section. Preston Street ALLEGRO RISTORANTE 422 Preston St., 613-235-7454 allegroristorante.ca $$$ Cuisine: Italian. A traditional restaurant comfortably settled into its way of doing things, with a familiar menu and reliable food. Count on a good Caesar, homey soups, fresh, well-prepared fish and seafood, and fine pasta dishes. ATELIER 540 Rochester St., 613-321-3537 atelierrestaurant.ca $$$$ Cuisine: Modern. Chef Marc Lepine’s new avant garde, tasting-menu-only restaurant, based on the Barcelona model of the kitchen-as-laboratory. Twelve courses of mostly extraordinary food. Reservations required. BIG EASY’S 228 Preston St., 613-565-3279 bigeasys.ca $$$ Cuisine: Southern seafood. A new New Orleans-style seafood and steakhouse in the middle of Little Italy, with a long bar and oyster bed, good gumbo, excellent crab cakes, fat ribeyes, and a delicious pecan-sweet potato pie. BLACK CAT BISTRO 428 Preston St., 613-569-9998 blackcatcafe.ca $$$ Cuisine: Comfort Canadian. A new home for the old BC, born 30 years ago on Echo Drive, recently relocated from Murray Street, and now purring along nicely on Preston. Venison carpaccio with aged cheddar, fennel-seeded sweetbreads, duck with figs, lemon tart. Continued on the next page T H E O T TAWA C I T I Z E N FOOD & LIFE 2009 PART THREE: THE WESTERN FRONT DIVINO WINE STUDIO 225 Preston St., 613-221-9760 divinowinestudio.com $$$ Cuisine: Small plates. Ottawa’s first enoteca of exclusively Italian wines, the collection constantly changing. The food menu relies on small plates designed for sharing — polenta ragu, mushroom risotto, pappardelle in a leek and walnut sauce. EFES 484 Preston St., 613-230-8828 $ Cuisine: Turkish. Rib-sticking Turkish food in Little Italy. The meze platter could make a light supper on its own — and don’t miss the doner kebab when it’s available. GIOVANNI’S 362 Preston St., 613-234-3156 giovannis-restaurant.com $$$$ Cuisine: Italian. Often busy, often loud, but service is topnotch, the food is flavourful northern Italian fare and the wine list is superior. GREEN PAPAYA ON PRESTON 256 Preston St., 613-231-8424 greenpapaya.ca $$ Cuisine: Thai. The first Thai restaurant to immigrate to Little Italy. The pasta strip has made room for kwaytiaw, classic Thai soups and searing salads. IL PICCOLINO 449 Preston St., 613-236-8158 ilpiccolino.ca $$ Cuisine: Italian. Comfortable, homey decor in a quirky house where pasta and pizza dominate the menu. Pretty summer patio framed with grapevines. IL PRIMO 371 Preston St., 613-234-6858 ilprimo.ca $$$ Cuisine: Italian. Il Piccolino’s sister restaurant, this one is more formal, more contemporary. No pizza, lots of pasta, tender veal, inventive antipasti. STONEFACE DOLLY’S ON PRESTON 416 Preston St., 613-564-2222 stonefacedollys.com $$ Cuisine: Eclectic. Thai soup, tarragon chicken, mussels, jerk chicken, Thai red curry mussels, jambalaya, and wacky pasta ROD MACIVOR, THE OTTAWA CITIZEN Bella Milito offers comfort food at her Bella’s Bistro. dishes, in modern surroundings in Little Italy. TRATTORIA CAFFE ITALIA 254 Preston St., 613-236-1081 trattoriaitalia.com $$$ Cuisine: Italian. Recently renovated, but red-and-white-check cloths still cover the busy tables. On the plate: kind portions of fresh, carefully made, affordably priced, traditional northern Italian food. Hintonburg,West Wellington,Westboro ABSINTHE CAFE 1208 Wellington St., 613-7611138 absinthecafe.ca $$$ Cuisine: Bistro. Patrick Garland’s food is seasonally sound, locally sourced, and big on assertive flavours. Warm tomato salad, bacon-wrapped quail, red snapper, steak frîtes, profiteroles. AGAVE GRILL 1331 Wellington St., 613-7285588 agaveottawa.ca $$ Cuisine: Mexican. Go for the margaritas. Stay for the guacamole, burritos, tender steak bathed in a chipotle chili sauce, and anything with salsa verde on top. ALLIUM 87 Holland Ave., 613-792-1313 alliumrestaurant.com $$$ Cuisine: Contemporary. Monday night tapas at allium make Monday nights palatable. Other days, chef-owner Arup Jana dishes up big flavoured food, with particular pleasure found in game dishes and vegetarian arrangements. ANNA 91 Holland Ave., 613-759-8472 thaitaste.ca $$ Cuisine: Thai. Traditional Thai vestiges mingle with contemporary decor. Good satay, gingersteamed duck, prawn curry, mango ice cream with mango sauce. BELLA’S BISTRO 1445 Wellington St., 613-7246439 bellas.ca $$$ 10 Cuisine: Italian. Bella Milito prepares Italian comfort food, specializing in pasta fatta a casa, along with the usual vitello, pollo and pesci, all of it pretty primo. CAFFE MIO 1379 Wellington St., 613-7615510 caffemio.ca $$ Cuisine: Italian. Soup and panini on a sunny afternoon on the Mio patio is pretty hard to beat. This little neighbourhood restaurant satisfies with good service, fair prices and decent food. CAFFE VENTUNO 1355 Wellington St., 613-7299121 $$ Cuisine: Italian. A modern-look café attached to Nicastro’s upscale Italian food and cheese shop. The menu offers pasta, risotto, thin-crust pizza. CANVAS 65 Holland Ave., 613-729-1991 canvasrestobar.ca $$$ Cuisine: Bistro. A petite space with a petite menu of bistro dishes — scallops, steak frîtes, short ribs, gnocchi, daily fish — named in honour of the galleries and theatre that surround it. HABESHA 1087 Wellington St., 613-7616120 $ Cuisine: Ethiopian. Short menu, cheap prices, plain room, and on the menu, 10 fragrant and sometimes searing stews — beef, lamb, chicken, pulses, vegetables — served with injera. JUNIPER KITCHEN AND WINE BAR 245 Richmond Rd., 613-7280220 juniperdining.ca $$$$ Cuisine: Modern Canadian. A kitchen that looks locally for quality ingredients and then casts its net widely for inspiration. One of the neighbourhood’s finest. LES GRILLADES 85 Holland Ave., 613-792-3224 $$ Cuisine: Lebanese grill. Reopened after a fire and as good as ever. Fabulous flame-grilled chicken, hummus, roasted eggplant dips, grilled lamb, either for sit-down or takeout. Continued on the next page T H E O T TAWA C I T I Z E N FOOD & LIFE 2009 PART THREE: THE WESTERN FRONT MHK SUSHI 429 Richmond Rd., 613-7980800 mhkrestaurant.com $$ Cuisine: Sushi. Fish swim in the walls and on the menu of this small, chic sushi restaurant. Seaweed salad to start, then à la carte treats, or one of the MHK maki platters. MILAGRO GRILL 357 Richmond Rd., 613-722-8011 milagrogrill.com $$ Cuisine: Mexican. With an upscale decor and a drinks menu that offers tequila by the “flight,” Milagro is Tex Mex for grownups. Food can be uneven. Upstairs patio is a treat. PETIT BILL’S BISTRO 1293 Wellington St., 613-7292500 petitbillsbistro.ca $$$ Cuisine: Unpretentious restaurant offers small and large plates of eclectic dishes — curry chicken to maple scallops to eggplant can-nelloni. PHNOM PENH 1100 Wellington St., 613-7228588 phnompenhnoodlehouse.com $ Cuisine: Cambodian and Chinese. The food is tasty, there’s lots of it, prices are reasonable, service is fast and friendly, and the place has an engaging family-run feel. SIAM BISTRO 1268 Wellington St., 613-7283111 siambistro.com $$ Cuisine: Thai. A handsome new interior and the same familiar line-up of standard Thai dishes. Among its talents are its generous servings and pretty arrangements. THE DINER 1385 Wellington St., 613-7987800 $$ Cuisine: Diner grub. An agreeably grown-up sort of diner, where parents as well as their issue can feel at home. Hearty breakfasts, good pot roast, homemade soups, chicken pot pie, burgers. THE FOOLISH CHICKEN 79 Holland Ave., 613-321-4715 foolishchicken.ca $$ Cuisine: Chicken and ribs. Rotisserie chicken, gooey ribs and homemade desserts are the WAYNE CUDDINGTON, THE OTTAWA CITIZEN Chef-owner Arup Jana serves up ‘big-flavoured’ food at Allium Restaurant. strengths at this affordable family restaurant. THE LOCAL BAR Irving Greenberg Theatre Centre, 1227 Wellington St., 613-236-5196 ext. 315 $$ Cuisine: Canadian. Open for breakfast, lunch and dinner, pre- and post-theatre nibbling, with a short, straightforward menu of well-flavoured dishes at fair prices. THE TABLE 1230 Wellington St., 613-729-5973 $$ Cuisine: Vegetarian. Bright, utilitarian space for the orthodox vegetarian to feast all day, every day, at the pay-by-weight-ofloaded-plate buffet. THE WORKS 326 Richmond Rd., 613-564-0406 worksburger.com $ Cuisine: Burgers. Seven patties, 62 toppings, 12 upgrades make for innumerable options and permutations for burgers and fries at this busy, high-octane, familyfriendly joint. TRIO 307-D Richmond Rd., 613-722-3887 $$ Cuisine: Small plates, lounge food. A teeny neighbourhood eatery that’s breezy, quirky, affordable and allows you to drop in at midnight for paté and pears, pasta or pizza. VILLAGE CAFE 295 Richmond Rd., 613-728-2162 thevillagecafe.net $$ Cuisine: Café. A casual restaurant with an eclectic menu — tandoori salmon, Moroccan-style crab cakes, Thai-style prawns. A soup and sandwich lunch remains a draw. WELLINGTON GASTROPUB 1325 Wellington St., 613-7291315 thewellingtongastro pub.com $$$ Cuisine: Canadian gastropub. Fine dining in a relaxed venue: Ottawa’s first gastropub offers a short daily menu of seasonal treats, many options for artisan beer and an international wine list. 11 Old Ottawa West AMBER GARDEN and DALMACIA RESTAURANT 1702 Carling Ave., 613-728-0000 ambergarden.net $$ Cuisine: Eastern European. Traditional dishes from the Baltic to the Black seas — cabbage rolls, pierogies, schnitzels, goulash, kulebiaka, chicken Paprikash. CARIBBEAN FLAVOURS 1659 Carling Ave., 613-237-9981 caribbeanflavours.net $$$ Cuisine: Caribbean. In a plainJane location, but nothing plain about the cod cakes, jerk chicken, goat curry, rotis, saltfish, ackee and homemade ginger beer. GOLDEN PALACE 2195 Carling Ave., 613-820-8444 $ Cuisine: Chinese. This is the sweet-and-sour, battered-andfried, red-dyed Cantonese treat food of the 1960s, with legendary egg rolls. Now in its 50th year of service. Continued on the next page T H E O T TAWA C I T I Z E N FOOD & LIFE 2009 PART THREE: THE WESTERN FRONT HO HO 875 Richmond Rd., 613-7229200 hohorestaurant.com $ Cuisine: Chinese. “Dine-in, takeout, we-deliver” restaurant with strong west-end following. Locals come for the fresh food and for the gracious family that serves it. LA CABANA 848 Merivale Rd., 613-724-7762 $ Cuisine: Latin American. A Salvadorian pupuseria with a menu of fast, flavourful, filling food: tamales, pupusas, whole fried platanos, refried beans. MERIVALE SEAFOOD GRILL 1480 Merivale Rd., 613-723-2476 $ Cuisine: Seafood. Fish from the adjoining market is plucked off the ice, steamed, grilled, battered, breaded, brochetted — your choice. MRS. LE 1766 Carling Ave., 613-798-5697 $ Cuisine: Vietnamese. All the crunch-soft-pungent-fresh of Vietnamese cuisine is here, in a homey space. Lunch specials are popular. NOKHAM THAI 747 Richmond Rd., 613-7246620 $$ Cuisine: Thai. Pay attention to the house specials at this popular place. Stuffed chicken wings, tilapia in a red curry sauce, delicious mango and shrimp salad. THEO’S 911 Richmond Rd., 613-728-0909 theosgreektaverna.com $$$ Cuisine: Greek. Hellenic music, columns, frescos, the works. Terrific things done with eggplant and lamb. Servings are enormous. Britannia CEYLONTA 2920 Carling Ave, 613-828-7812 ceylonta.com $ Cuisine: Sri Lankan/ Indian. A second home for this popular Sri Lankan restaurant, you find the same curry-leaved, coconut-sweetened, tamarindtanged, chili-fired food of Centrepointe BAAN THAI 261 Centrepointe Dr., 613-2267604 $ Cuisine: Thai. The soups are fullbodied, lip-tingling, sinus-clearing brews, the salads have some attitude, the stir-fries are perked with generous amounts of basil and garlic, and the curries have heat and perfume. Bells Corners PAT MCGRATH, THE OTTAWA CITIZEN The Vietnamese and Chinese food at Tom Trinh and An Tran’s Fuschian restaurant in Chinatown is fresh, hot and fast. dles, coriander chicken and tamarind shrimp. TAJ 3009 Carling Ave., 613-726-6955 $ Cuisine: Indian. Typical north Indian fare that distinguishes itself through the lustiness of its spicing, the long drenching marinades and the expertise with the tandoor. LINDENHOF 365 Forest St., 613-725-3481 thelindenhof.com $$ Cuisine: European. On the menu, wiener schnitzel, ham hock, sauerbraten, bratwurst, apple fritters. On the plate, lots. On the bill, not much. On the floor, nice people. Sri Lanka here in the west as you do downtown. LITTLE INDIA CAFE 66 Wylie Ave., 613-828-2696 littleindiacafe.com $ Cuisine: Indian. Hole in the wall (under renovation) offers Indian cooking from the north and mystic south — silky butter chicken, complex lamb bhuna and admirable vegetarian dishes. SINGAPORE 69 Kempster Ave., 613-820-4119 $ Cuisine: Asian. Mostly Malaysian fare, with some Chinese, Indian and Thai influences. Curry puffs are must-eats. So are satays, Singapore noo- Anne DesBrisay is the author of Capital Dining: A Guide for Dining Out in Canada’s Capital. Check out her website at www.capitaldining.ca. 12 A TASTE OF JAPAN 3710 Richmond Rd., 613-7217675 tasteofjapan.ca $$ Cuisine: Japanese. In the suburban sprawl, Japanese food that is a cut above. Miso-marinated mackerel, scallops flamed in wine, beef katsu, along with all the raw snacks. CYRANOS 39 Robertson Rd., 613-721-0510 $$ Cuisine: Mediterranean. A longrunning Bells Corners restaurant. Strengths are in homemade breads, pastas and pizzas, fresh seafood and luscious desserts. LAPOINTE SEAFOOD GRILL 194 Robertson Rd., 613-5969655 lapointefish.ca $$ Cuisine: Seafood. One of a half dozen Lapointes, these are fish cafés attached to fish markets, each with similar menus. Beerbatter fish and chips, grilled swordfish with a lime caper sauce, fresh mussels. SUKHOTHAI 134 Robertson Rd., Unit 10, 613-829-1010 sukhothairestaurant.ca $$ Cuisine: Thai. Service is bright in this dated, dimly lit restaurant set back in a strip mall. Dishes are predictable. Highlights: beef with basil and chili and green curry of chicken. WEST END STATION BISTRO 3659 Richmond Rd., 613-7219639 westendstation.ca $$$$ Cuisine: International. Nicely refurbished Bells Corners restaurant offers a fine dining option in a part of town in need of it. Good soup, mussels, crème brulée. T H E O T TAWA C I T I Z E N FOOD & LIFE 2009 PART FOUR: THE MIDDLE EAST New Edinburgh ■ Vanier ■ Manor Park ■ Gloucester ■ Ottawa East ■ Alta Vista ■ Hunt Club ■ South Keys BY ANNE DESBRISAY T oday, the Dining Guide takes us to neighbourhoods more or less east of the Rideau River but still within the greenbelt. We start in the north with the Beechwood Avenue strip (neighbourhood restaurants serving Rockcliffe Park, New Edinburgh, Lindenlea, Manor Park and Vanier, but that attract clients from farther away). From there, we head east to where Montreal Road becomes St. Joseph Boulevard. And since the Rideau is a winding river, we also drift south, through Alta Vista, down to Hunt Club and South Keys. I recommend every restaurant here (though some with reservations, sometimes noted). They’re expensive, cheap and everything in between, and fancy and casual — whatever your mood. As always, I provide a caution: This guide, like my weekly reviews, is based on my experiences. As they say on TV, individual results may vary. New Edinburgh/ Vanier/Manor Park EL MESON 94 Beechwood Ave., 613-7448484 elmeson.ca $$$ Cuisine: Spanish/Portuguese. Stately old house in New BRUNO SCHLUMBERGER, THE OTTAWA CITIZEN Brothers Simon and Ross Fraser’s tasty food at their Fraser Café on Beechwood Avenue in New Edinburgh draws hungry diners from across Ottawa. Edinburgh serves hearty dishes of the Iberian Peninsula: garlic soup with chorizo, zarzuela, paella, filet of beef with cepes. Finish with crema Catalana. FARBS KITCHEN AND WINE BAR 18 Beechwood Ave., 613-7446509 farbskitchen.com $$$ Cuisine: Canadian. A short list of wintry dishes on a February menu at the new Farbs — oxtail ravioli, smoked pork chops with roasted apple, braised lamb shanks with garlic polenta. Food was solid, but service was soft. FRASER CAFE 143 Putman Ave., 613-749-1444 frasercafe.ca $$$ Cuisine: 13 Canadian. Small, cramped, endearingly cluttered, this former hamburger joint has been turned by the Fraser brothers into a neighbourhood gem with a short list of Canadian comfort food. The “kitchen surprise” is fun. Continued on the next page T H E O T TAWA C I T I Z E N FOOD & LIFE 2009 PART FOUR: THE MIDDLE EAST FRATELLI 7 Springfield Ave., 613-749-3369 fratelli.ca $$$ Cuisine: Italian. The fourth Fratelli in a chain of five, this one has the same modish decor, Italian-ish cuisine, and midrange prices. Good soups, carpaccio, house antipasti plate. IL VAGABONDO 186 Barette St., 613-749-4877 $$ Cuisine: Italian. On a skinny side street just off the main Beechwood Avenue restaurant row, this modest Italian bistro may just have the best lasagna in town. Gloucester/ Ottawa East CHAHAYA MALAYSIA 1690 Montreal Rd., 613-7420242 $ Cuisine: Malaysian. A long menu is divided into Malaysian, Indonesian and vegetarian sections. Flame-throwing dishes (chili-fried squid) along with milder ones (Singapore noodles) and those that linger in the middle (the rendang Java). COCONUT LAGOON 853 St. Laurent Blvd., 613-7424444 coconutlagoon.ca $ Cuisine: South Indian. This eastender cooks dishes from the south, specifically from Kerala, where rice, coconuts, fish and root vegetables abound, prepared with intoxicating spices. HOST INDIA 622 Montreal Rd., 613-746-4678 hostindiaca.com $ Cuisine: Indian. The wood-fired tandoors get much credit for the superior flavour of breads and meats at this cavernous restaurant. But sauces are also a cut above, and prices a cut below. LE SAINT O 327 St. Laurent Blvd., 613-7499703 lesainto.com $$$ Cuisine: French. An enduring French restaurant that continues to offer a menu of French classics with Québécois accents: ris de veau with local honey, duck confit with maple syrup. Price guide Loosely based on a three-course dinner for two, with taxes, but before drinks or tip. $: Less than $40 $$: $40 to $70 $$$: $71 to $100 $$$$: More than $100 Unless stated otherwise, all restaurants accept major credit cards and reservations, and many now have websites where you will find their menus and hours of operation. Call about wheelchair accessibility. Alta Vista/ Hunt Club/South Keys festooned with the elephants that are its namesake. Good seafood, fragrant curries, wellbalanced pad Thai. FLYING PIGGY’S BISTRO ITALIANO 1665 Bank St., 613-526-4900 flyingpiggys.com $$ Cuisine: Italian. Affordable, tasty food served by a kind crew in AIYARA THAI CUISINE 1590 Walkley Rd., 613-526-1703 $$ Cuisine: Thai. Service is soothing and attention to detail a cut above at the sister-run Aiyara, found in a mini-mall and JEAN LEVAC, THE OTTAWA CITIZEN Ratana Phanrat is one of the sisters who run Thai Lanna restaurant on Bank Street. 14 busy, unpretentious surroundings. Soups are a strength, so are mussels, homemade pasta, pecan pie. NAPO FARM TO TABLE 1542 Bank St., 613-523-9595 napofood.ca $$$ Cuisine: Italian. In a little brick house bordered by traffic and industry, Napo Farm to Table creates simple, flavourful Italianinspired dishes, devoid of any attention-seeking chic. Bread salad with grilled squid, duck with blood oranges, lamb shank, deconstructed tiramisu. PELICAN FISHERY AND GRILL 1500 Bank St., 613-526-0995 pelicanfisheryandgrill.com $$ Cuisine: Seafood. A longrunning suburban fish café attached to a fishmonger where the bill of fare is all fish, the service all kind and the prices kept reasonable. THAI LANNA 2401 Bank St., 613-249-9524 thailanna.ca $$ Cuisine: Thai. Another tiny gem run by sisters. The ambience is perfectly pleasant, and the food is fresh-tasting with good, strong flavours and plenty of contrasting textures. VERANDA D’OR 4 Lorry Greenberg Dr., 613-7361965 $ Cuisine: Chinese. Family-run strip-mall restaurant concentrates on the cooking of the Szechwan province. Top marks to the fish specials and the authentically hot Szechwan dishes. VITTORIA TRATTORIA 3625 Riverside Dr., 613-731-8959 riverside.vittoriatrattoria.com $$$ Cuisine: Italian. Two Vittorias — the original in the ByWard Market and this newer location in Ottawa South — both with exceptional wine lists and a food list that touches the basics — pasta, pizza, veal. Anne DesBrisay is the author of Capital Dining: A Guide for Dining Out in Canada’s Capital. Check out her website at capitaldining.ca. T H E O T TAWA C I T I Z E N FOOD & LIFE 2009 PART FIVE: AROUND THE EDGES Kanata ■ Stittsville ■ Carp ■ Barrhaven ■ Manotick ■ Orléans ■ Out of town PAT MCGRATH, THE OTTAWA CITIZEN Chef Bruce Enloe of The Branch Restaurant in Kemptville specializes in local, made-from-scratch, seasonal fare. BY ANNE DESBRISAY T his second-last instalment of the Dining Guide takes us to the restaurants on the edges of Ottawa— those found beyond the greenbelt in the growing communities of Stittsville, Kanata, Carp, Barrhaven, Manotick and Orléans. And then we go farther still, into the tastiest bits of the Ottawa Valley — to Kemptville and Carleton Place and an old house near Arnprior with home-grown fare. bombay-masala.com $ Cuisine: Indian. Kanata dotcommers descend on the noon buffet. At dinner, the room is more peaceful and the à la carte menu holds more appeal. Tandoor dishes are a cut above. FRATELLI 499 Terry Fox Dr., 613-592-0225 fratelli.ca $$$ Cuisine: Italian. This was No. 2 in Kanata/Stittsville/Carp BOMBAY MASALA 591 March Rd., 613-599-0090 15 the now-five strong Fratelli empire. Past strengths here have included the house Caesar dressed in robust style, the carpaccio, and the rack of lamb. Award-winning wine list is extensive, as is the built-in storage system that is part practical, part art. Continued on the next page T H E O T TAWA C I T I Z E N FOOD & LIFE 2009 PART FIVE: AROUND THE EDGES PERSPECTIVES AT BROOKSTREET HOTEL 525 Legget Dr., 613-271-1800 brookstreet.ca $$$$ Cuisine: Contemporary. Dining room of swanky Kanata hotel takes us on a culinary ride with an ambitious menu of multi-faceted dishes. Lamb with lobster-stuffed brioche, scallops with chorizo, pineapple and coriander. POCO PAZZO 6081 Hazeldean Rd., 613-8367100 pocopazzo.com $$ Cuisine: Italian. Crayola-coloured and cute, in a new strip mall in Stittsville, Poco Pazzo (“a little crazy”) devotes most of its menu to pasta dishes. Prices are in an affordable range, which keeps the funky little place filled. THE SWAN AT CARP 108 Falldown Lane, 613-8397926 $$ Cuisine: Eclectic. While the interior remains much as it was — Presbyterian parsonage meets pub — the food does not. You can still get a steak and mushroom pie or a bucket of wings, but turn the page to miso-marinated chicken, Korean pork bulgogi, and escargots with wild mushrooms in a beurre blanc. Don’t miss dessert. its big, inventive salads, yummy bread, pizzas and wines by the glass. LA PORTO A CASA 3500 Fallowfield Rd., 613-8430825 $$ Cuisine: Italian. A cheery mom-and-pop restaurant that offers sturdy, home-cooked food (pasta, pizza, veal, tiramisu) at prices that keep the place packed. PAESANO 1160 Beaverwood Rd., 613-6926100 $$$ Cuisine: Italian. The corner unit in the Manotick Mews, but more impressive once you’re through the front door, Paesano offers a traditional Italian menu bolstered with daily specials — roasted halibut in a niçoise sauce, linguine bistecca, admirable crème brulée. PHO THI FUSION 4-129 Riocan Ave., 613-825-3325 $ Cuisine: Asian eclectic. A newish restaurant next to a newish megaplex, Pho Thi Fusion forays into upscale looks and prettily arranged pan-Asian offerings, with a menu of popular Vietnamese, Chinese and Thai dishes, plus a page of sushi. Barrhaven/Manotick Orléans BARRHAVEN VIETNAMESE RESTAURANT 16-3777 Strandherd Dr., 613-8254567 $ Cuisine: Vietnamese. All the pho, mi, bun, banh hoi, xao and lau (noodle soups, vermicelli dishes, wrap and roll platters, stirfries and fondues) we’ve come to expect in a Vietnamese restaurant, but there are other distractions on the long menu too — snails with curry, lemongrass and peanut, salt and pepper beef rib, deep-fried squash with honey and ice cream. FIAMMA 3750 Strandherd Dr., 613-8435263 fiamma.ca $$$ Cuisine: Italian. A welcome alternative to the usual suburban chain eateries, Fiamma scores big points on atmosphere, and with CAFE TOURNESOL 2564 St. Joseph Blvd., 613-8245049 $$ Cuisine: Café. Can only vouch for the club sandwiches and ample breakfasts, but I understand they also serve weekend dinners and end of week tapas, in a suburban-countrydiner-looking space brightened with sunflower art. LITTLE TURKISH VILLAGE 2095 St. Joseph Blvd., 613-8245557 $ Cuisine: Turkish. Longestablished, busy communityminded restaurant serving generous portions of rib-sticking Turkish food — shish kebabs, seafood, lamb. Price guide Loosely based on a three-course dinner for two, with taxes, but before drinks or tip. $: Less than $40 $$: $40 to $70 $$$: $71 to $100 $$$$: More than $100 Unless stated otherwise, all restaurants accept major credit cards and reservations, and many now have websites where you will find their menus and hours of operation. Call about wheelchair accessibility. PAT MCGRATH, THE OTTAWA CITIZEN Chef David Ngo offers specialty sushi at Pho Thi Fusion restaurant in Barrhaven. Continued on the next page 16 T H E O T TAWA C I T I Z E N FOOD & LIFE 2009 PART FIVE: AROUND THE EDGES RANGOLI INDIAN CUISINE AND SWEETS 2491 St. Joseph Blvd., 613-8344549 rangoli.ca $ Cuisine: Indian. Tables are packed into this colourful space, and most are filled. Rangoli is busy because the food is good — homemade chutneys, breads and a long list of Indian sweets. THE WORKS 900 Watters Rd., 613-824-0406 worksburger.com $ Cuisine: Burgers. The fifth location in a chain of “burger bistros” with the same menu of poutine and onion rings, sandwiches and wacky-named burgers — eight kinds, 66 toppings, and a dozen “upgrades.” Out of town BALLYGIBLIN’S 151 Bridge St. Carleton Place, 613-253-7400 ballygiblins.ca $$ Cuisine: Eclectic. An odd blend of pub (deep-fried pickles, nachos) and fine dining (wild salmon, heirloom tomatoes, local pork) with a sidebar of sandwiches, burgers, mussels JOHN MAJOR, THE OTTAWA CITIZEN Rangoli Indian Cuisine and Sweets in Orléans is busy because the food served by owners Charanjit Singh and his wife Gurvinder Kaur is good. CHRIS MIKULA, THE OTTAWA CITIZEN Clifford Lyness is new executive chef at Perspectives. GOOD FOOD COMPANY 31 Bridge St., Carleton Place, 613257-7284 $$ Cuisine: Eclectic. Cheery space of mismatched chairs, batikcovered tables, a takeout counter and excellent home-cooked comfort food. The short menu leans in all kinds of directions, from Thai curries to shrimp with olives, basil and feta, to lemon trifle with local berries. SAM JAKES INN 118 Main St. East, Merrickville, 613-269-3711 samjakesinn.com $$$ Cuisine: Canadian. Chef Thomas Riding is a Scot trained by a Swiss and his experience includes hunting lodges in the northern Highlands, but he’s committed to a Valley-first and ribs. Homemade desserts. CASTLEGARTH 90 Burnstown Rd., White Lake, 613-623-3472 castlegarth.ca $$$ Cuisine: Canadian. Lanterns flicker in the windows of this heritage building, once a post office, now a seriously good rural restaurant. Raw materials are mostly home-reared or sourced locally, and they elevate the Canadian dishes that fill a onepage daily menu. FITZGERALD’S 7 Mill St., Almonte, 613-256-2524 $$$ fitzgeraldsrestaurant.ca $$$ Cuisine: Bistro. Upscale dining provided by two talented young chefs in a restored woollen mill — duck confit, scallops, cornmeal-crusted chicken, potato rosti. 17 philosophy. Autumn menu included squash soup, housecured gravlax, local lamb, roast duck with fennel. THE BRANCH 15 Clothier St. E., Kemptville, 613-258-3737 thebranchrestaurant.ca $$ Cuisine: Canadian. There’s a casual, energetic vibe in this old room. Locals gather at the bar, artists gather on the walls, musicians jam. The feel may be informal, but the food is accomplished — fresh, unfussy, made-from-scratch seasonal fare by chef Bruce Enloe. Anne DesBrisay is the author of Capital Dining: A Guide for Dining Out in Canada’s Capital. Check out her website at capitaldining.ca. T H E O T TAWA C I T I Z E N FOOD & LIFE 2009 PART SIX: ACROSS THE OTTAWA RIVER Aylmer ■ Hull ■ Chelsea Wakefield ■ Papineauville ■ Messines ■ ■ BY ANNE DESBRISAY F or this sixth and final instalment of the Dining Guide by neighbourhood, we cross the Ottawa River to explore the gastronomy of Gatineau and the Outaouais. From the dazzling French regional cuisine at Le Baccara in the Casino du Lac Leamy to the chewy pies at the wildly popular Piz’za-za in Old Hull; from promising newcomers like Bistro StJacques to the old-timer Le Pied de Cochon, which has been dishing up steak tartare since 1976, there is lots to choose from. The region still seems to me haunted by the absence of the iconic Café Henry Burger, which closed in 2006 after 83 years of distinguished service. In its place is a Thai restaurant filled with patrons in jeans chowing down on pad Thai. Progress, I suppose. And yet, we mourn. It’s worth venturing out of Gatineau into the countryside, to the quirky little restaurant Chez Eric (named for a goldfish) in Wakefield, or to the muchcelebrated Les Fougères in Chelsea, which seems to me better each visit. This guide is meant to direct you to those restaurants I feel I can recommend — some BRUNO SCHLUMBERGER, THE OTTAWA CITIZEN Marianne Johner and Rachid Belamri serve delicious food at the well-hidden L'Echelle de Jacob in Aylmer. unequivocally, some with some reservation, that might suit a mood or a budget. There’s a lot of good eating in this chapter of the guide. So let’s get to it! Cuisine: French. A well-hidden, well-established restaurant on the second floor of a century-old mill. Local goat cheese soufflé, scallops ceviche, wild mushroom charlotte, perfect profiteroles. BIFSTRO MARIN 11 Front St., 819-685-0123 pages.videotron.com/bifstro $$$ Cuisine: Seafood and steak. The Aylmer L’ECHELLE DE JACOB 27, boul. Lucerne, 819-684-1040 lechelledejacob.ca $$$ 18 30 seats inside, mostly constantly filled, plus about 20 more when the patio opens, keep owner Flo flying around this cluttered little space. She is much the pleasure of this bistro. The generous portions of steak and seafood prepared by her husband Sandy are the other. Continued on the next page T H E O T TAWA C I T I Z E N FOOD & LIFE 2009 PART SIX: ACROSS THE OTTAWA RIVER Price guide CHRIS MIKULA , THE OTTAWA CITIZEN Chef Lucas Hornblower and owners Tina Cobb and Vincent Denis of Bistro St-Jacques offer gracious service and carefully sourced food. Hull AROME 3 boul. du Casino, 819-790-6410 hiltonlacleamy.com $$$$ Cuisine: Grill and seafood. The dining room of the Hilton Lac Leamy offers a menu of seafood and meat, mostly from the grill — steaks, ribs, Kobe beef hamburgers — but also from the oven (prime rib, pork sous vide) and the smoker (house-smoked chicken and salmon.) BISTRO ST-JACQUES 51 rue St-Jacques, 819-420-0189 bistrostjacques.ca $$$ Cuisine: French Canadian Bistro. Carefully sourced raw materials, prepared in comforting ways — roasted vegetable soup, warm mushroom salad, duck confit, lovely desserts — are paired with gracious service at this new bistro. CHEZ FATIMA 125 prom. du Portage, 819-7717568 $$ Cuisine: Moroccan. If you have yet to experience what tasty things happen when a lamb has lain down with a preserved lemon for a few hours, Fatima’s place (recently moved from up the road) is a good introduction. CHEZ LE THAI 39 rue Laval, 819-770-7227 chezlethai.com $$ Cuisine: Thai. A dimly lit restaurant with bright food. All the hot- Loosely based on a three-course dinner for two, with taxes, but before drinks or tip. $: Less than $40 $$: $40 to $70 $$$: $71 to $100 $$$$: More than $100 Unless stated otherwise, all restaurants accept major credit cards and reservations, and many now have websites where you will find their menus and hours of operation. Call about wheelchair accessibility. sour-salty-sweet we want in Thai food; ingredient-focused and fairly priced. DELISH 45 rue Laval, 819-771-3456 $ Cuisine: Café. You order from a display case with seasonal stylishness and either take it away and relish it, or else find a perch at this 10-chair/six-stool café with a liquor licence. FLEUR DE SEL 59 rue Laval, 819-772-8596 $$ Cuisine: Vegetarian. Serene and pretty, with fish on the evening menu for pescetarians — pickerel with mango ratatouille, shrimp with arugula, lentil and cashew terrine — and now with crêpes. (See L’Argoat.) L’ARGOAT 59 rue Laval, 819-772-8596 $$ Cuisine: Crêpes/galettes. Former fans of this upper deck galetteria, who may have noticed it’s been supplanted (see Le Café d’en Haut), do not despair. You will rediscover it sharing space and a menu with the vegetarian restaurant Fleur de Sel a few doors away. LA GAZELLE 33B rue Gamelin, 819-777-3850 $$ Cuisine: Moroccan. In a vibrant room of 10 tables, you find a traditional menu of tagines, brochettes and couscous dishes. Lamb with prunes, honey, almonds; chicken with preserved lemon, cumin, onion, olives and artichokes. Mint tea and Moroccan wines. LE BACCARA 1 boul. du Casino, 819-772-6210 casino-du-lac-leamy.com $$$$ Cuisine: French. Fine dining restaurant of the Casino. Chef Serge Rourre’s cooking is an- chored in solid French traditions, but filled with toothsome flights of fancy. Magnificent presentations. Magnificent wine cellar. One of the region’s best. LE CAFE D’EN HAUT 39A rue Laval, 819-770-9997 $$ Cuisine: French bistro. Opened early in 2009, in the upper space vacated by L’Argoat, with a short, daily menu of fresh, seasonal fare — soups, fresh fish, homemade terrines — at a price point that will have you climbing the stairs often. LE PANACHE 201 rue Eddy, 819-777-7771 $$$ Cuisine: French. Reliably good French and Mediterranean cooking complemented by a generous wine cellar and charming service in a petite, dated-looking space. LE PIED DE COCHON 242 rue Montcalm, 819-7775808 lepieddecochon.ca $$$ Cuisine: French bistro. Since 1976, a no-nonsense lineup of Parisian bistro classics. Some things are done very well, like the steak tartare, duck confit, the daily fish. LE SANS PAREIL 71 boul. St-Raymond, 819-7711471 lesanspareil.com $$$ Cuisine: Belgian/French. More charming from within than without, but once within, inspired French and Belgian cuisine with emphasis on fish, seafood and game. Of course, moules et frites, but also venison in a Belgian beer sauce, apricot-roasted duck breast with braised Belgian endive, and a fine chocolate ending. Delightful. 19 Continued on the next page T H E O T TAWA C I T I Z E N FOOD & LIFE 2009 PART SIX: ACROSS THE OTTAWA RIVER LE TARTUFFE 133 rue Notre-Dame, 819-7766424 letartuffe.com $$$ Cuisine: French. In a lovely old house, the principles of modern French cuisine are applied to regional produce: cranberrystuffed roasted quail, pheasant with wild mushrooms, crème brulée. LOTUS ROYAL THAI 101 rue Montcalm, 819-7780559 $$ Cuisine: Thai. Thai food with all the right stuff. Excellent soups, panaeng, spring rolls, satay and fish curries. PAPAYE VERTE 69 rue Laurier, 819-777-0404 greenpapaya.ca $$ Cuisine: Thai. Not sure what Madame Burger would make of neau nam tok, but this pretty beef salad, along with a few dozen other Thai dishes (soups, curries, stirfries, rice and noodle dishes), fill the menu of this third location of the Green Papaya restaurants, in digs once occupied for some 83 years by Café Henry Burger. PIZ’ZA-ZA 36 rue Laval, 819-771-0565 pizzaza.ca $$ Cuisine: Pizza. This cheerfully French and jampacked restaurant is mostly about pizza and wine, but also about lemon pie. STERLING RESTAURANT 835 rue Jacques Cartier, 819568-8788 sterlingrestaurant.com $$$$ Cuisine: Steak and seafood. Spacious, dramatic dining, where a cornucopia of cuts and weights of premium steak share a luxury menu with oversized seafood. Chelsea/Wakefield CAFE SOUP’HERBE 168 chemin Old Chelsea, 819-827-7687 soupherbe.com $ Cuisine: Vegetarian. There’s more than veggie soup to like at this little house in the woods in Chelsea. The burrito has ample flavour, the chili has PAT MCGRATH, THE OTTAWA CITIZEN bite and brawn, and the pizzas boast fresh toppings Game terrine is a constant on chef and a tasty crust. HomeChe Chartrand’s commendably made desserts. short menu at Chez Eric. CHEZ ERIC 28 Valley Dr., Wakefield, 819has changed hands and purpose 459-3747 cafechezeric.ca $$$ over its 170-year history, but it Cuisine: Canadian. The blackhas been operated as an inn board menu changes regularly since 2000. Its restaurant offers and is commendably short. On it a short menu of contemporary you will likely always find a game dishes, some with Asian notes — terrine, dinner salads, somesmoked beef maki and ginger times fish and chips, pasta with cream; scallops with a green tea local mushrooms, and magnifibeurre blanc. cent duck. LES FOUGERES Out of town 783 Route 105, Chelsea, 819827-8942 fougeres.ca $$$$ LA TABLE DE PIERRE DELAHAYE Cuisine: Canadian. Impeccably 247 rue Papineau, Papineauville, sourced raw materials prepared 819-427-5027 latabledepierrewith contemporary flair at this delahaye.ca $$$ lauded Chelsea restaurant. PotaCuisine: French. Lacy French to soup with smoked Arctic char, restaurant that specializes in the scallops teamed with salt cod, cooking of the apple-rich region lamb drenched with Indian of Normandy: escargots with spices, chocolate tart with blueCalvados, ris de veau braised berry compote. with apples, apple tart. L’OREE DU BOIS MAISON LA CREMAILLERE 15 chemin Kingsmere, Chelsea, 24 chemin de la Montagne, 819-827-0332 oreeduboisMessines, 1-877-465-2202 lacrerestaurant.com $$$ maillere.qc.ca $$$ Cuisine: French. Long-estabCuisine: French. The focus of lished, rustic-looking restaurant chef Andrée Roger’s table d’hôte in Gatineau Hills forest setting is on local, seasonal and Quebec serves unrepentantly old-school ingredients, prepared in classic French favourites: fish soup, esFrench style. The focus of somcargots, duck confit, seafood pot melier André Dompierre’s list is au feu. Regional products on wines to match his wife’s good abound and chocolate enthusicooking. Reservations essential. asts are well served. WAKEFIELD MILL INN Anne DesBrisay is the author of 60 Mill Rd., 819-459-1838 wakeCapital Dining: A Guide for Dining fieldmill.com $$$$ Out in Canada’s Capital. Check out Cuisine: Contemporary. The mill her website at capitaldining.ca. JANA CHYTILOVA , THE OTTAWA CITIZEN Robert Noël, head chef at Le Sans Pareil in Old Hull, delivers delightful French and Belgian cuisine, such as apricot-roasted duck breast on Belgian endive. 20