Ottawa Foodies

I was there last night, and the sous chef was dancing around in the kitchen.

oh, and the food was fantastic. definitely recommended.

I have beeen to Trella numeroous times. The food is great, the atmosphere is enjoyable and the desserts are fabulous. Especially the Brownie with ice cream and chocolat sauce.

I've been once for lunch and once for dinner. The patio is definitely fabulous and will be even better next summer, once the construction on Preston is over.

Both times I went this place was "okay" - good food, prices in line with my expectations, and good service. The one thing I thought was a little strange was that the waitress told my fiance that his apple dessert came with ice cream, and then we found a $1.50 charge on the bill for 'a la mode'. Not a big deal, but raised my eyebrow a bit.

Everything is pretty average, but I'll go back for an after-work beer and plate of calamari on the patio!

A group of us dined at Trella this weekend. The calamari are out of this world. The salmon tartar is excellent (some avocado and pear served with it). great pizza. Lamb is so tender. Very enjoyable evening.

I stopped in to checkout the newly opened Trella on Preston St. with a friend last night. The trendy decor is quite nice but more importantly the beer was cold and the calamari appetizer was very good and not over cooked or greasy. We were somewhat disappointed by the background music, it can be a bit nerve-racking unless you are a fan of electronic dance music.

New User 1144, I have to ask. Did you point out any of your concerns to the waitstaff? It sounds like most of them would have been addressed quite readily.

Underdone eggs would likely be replaced. Unless it's a Montreal-style deli, not having rye bread on hand doesn't seem too surprising. It seems quite accommodating of them to offer a bagel or english muffin when the toast selection was not what you wanted. Since they gave you special treatment in this sense, it's really no surprise that the butter slipped through the cracks. I'm sure if you'd asked for some they would have obliged!

The twice-baked bacon isn't really excusable (and certainly couldn't be fixed). But I'm guessing many higher end restaurants that serve breakfast or brunch have a different set of staff, standards, and (hopefully) prices for those meals compared with dinner. Anyway, Mediterranean cultures are not really known for their bacon and eggs breakfasts! I don't think I'd want Kalamari from a North American pancake house either... ;-)

Hmmm... I'm surprised by your experience. We went for breakfast a week ago and were quite pleased. Nothing mind-blowing, but reasonable prices, a great patio that's so large you're practically guaranteed a seat, a plethora of choices ranging from standard breakfast fare to more creative items, and pleasant and efficient service.

I had a 3-egg veggie omelet with a large helping of breakfast potatoes and 2 slices of buttered toast. My husband had the traditional breakfast and found the bacon to be on par with most other places in the city. His eggs were also poached to medium as requested. As a side note, all breakfast entrees come with a "starter" fresh fruit plate, which I thought was a nice touch -- the fruit took the edge off while we waited for our orders, and the fruit didn't get warm as it often does when served on the same plate as a hot breakfast.

We won't be rushing back, but we will make it a regular stop as its only 2 blocks off the bike path at Dow's lake so a great stop after a morning bike ride -- just park your bike right outside the patio.

In the spirit of objective reporting, please do comment on your "VERY enjoyable" dinner at Trella -- we've been curious about the dinner menu so would love to hear your experience!

So Trella is right across the street from our house, and I have been there for a VERY enjoyable dinner. We figured that we would check it out for a Sunday breakfast. BIG mistake.
I must admit that I am quite particular about my orders, I had worked in the service industry for many years, and I know that it is not THAT difficult to get orders right.
At Trella, I had ordered your basic 2 eggs (over medium) with bacon and toast - nothing spectacular. What I received was not what I expected for this place. My eggs were runny, REALLY runny. I poked the yoke and it bled all over my plate. I order OM for a reason. I traded eggs with my boyfriend who had the bagel sandwich and therefore had cooked eggs. When ordering, I had requested rye bread and was unfortunately told that my options were white or brown, I was then offered a bagel or an english muffin (which I chose) as a substitute. My english muffin arrived with no butter, yum. My bacon was twice baked. Most restaurants (except real breakfast places) bake their bacon prior to opening, so all they have to do is warm it. This makes for shite bacon, which Trella served.
For this place - "upscale", I was severely disappointed in their breakfast offerings and unfortunately will not return for this meal EVER.