Ottawa Foodies

Went to dinner with friends tonight. Tried the Courtyard after some buzz about a new chef and a renewed menu. Certainly the menu on their website looked promising.

When we arrived, 7:00 on a Friday night, the place had only one other couple in it (not a good sign) adding to my trepidation was the combined effect of the wait staff in hotel-server-style uniforms with (ugh!) name tags and menus that looked from right out of the 70s.

The food on the menu as described looked good though.

The starter cocktail was wonderful -- A George Street Martini, a heady mix of Havana Club Rum, Grand Marnier and lime juice.

Our wine selection was not available and we were warned by the maitre'd that they were changing their wine list and very little was available. Not good. We did settle on a bottle that they said they had in stock, and it was fine.

3 of us had a duck confit terrine as a starter and it was very good. my wife ordered a marscapone truffle risotto as a starter, and we were surprised to see a large portion, completely unadorned brought to the table. All of the appetizers were very good. The duck terrine was truly wonderful. My wife's risotto was tasty but the poor presentation and the sheer volume of it were surprising and showed some cluelessness from the kitchen staff.

Then the entrees came. My wife and had ordered a slow-braised short rib and it came to us looking like pulled pork on mashed potatoes -- shredded to smithereens. This is a presentation choice of the chef I suppose, but it was entirely unnecessary. As well, it was nothing special. Again the presentation was stark -- mashed potatoes with shredded meet on top and that was it.

One of our friends had a scallop dish with pork belly I believe... He said it was okay, just unremarkable.

The other friend, however ordered a yam gnocchi dish with lamb shank and brussel sprouts. The gnocchi was browned to a dark crisp on each side and crusty and tough and the lamb was also burnt crusty on the plate. It's as if the cook finished the dish in a saute pan and just left it still on the heat for 10 minutes. It was horrendous and the fact that it wasn't caught in the kitchen, and THEN wasn't caught by the waiter was a big problem for me -- that's just the sign of a business that stopped caring -- it went along with the hotel-waiter uniforms!

They took the meal back and said she could order anything off the menu for free, but by this time we were mostly done, so she opted to wait for dessert.

We did order dessert and the they were terrific - however, they got my wife's order wrong and she had to wait plateless for a full 15 minutes while we had already finished ours.

So, all in all a disappointing evening. If any one thing went wrong, we could always chalk it up to chance, but a few things went wrong and to me, it was the sign of a business that's tired and not that interested in competing with its newer, more popular neighbours. There comes a time when tradition stops mattering, especially if the core business owes it popularity to location and proximity to other popular environments. The Courtyard in its current form, cannot stand up to the quality standards set by it's neighbours like Ei8hteen, Luxe, and others. Merely changing the chef is not enough.

So, our evening wasn't a disaster. It was just not up to par with expectations. The food was not great, the service was confused and the atmosphere was sorely dated.

As a result, while we have had good experiences in the past here with set-menu functions (wedding party meals etc.)I can't recommend this restaurant for someone looking for a modern dining experience.

Ate dinner here Friday night. The food was delicious!

I started with the terrine (confit of duck leg) followed by the braised beef short rib. The terrine was quite good and the shards of duck were still large enough to taste the meat. The short rib was delicious but what made the dish extra special was the lovely gravy and the brown butter potato puree. It was so creamy and warming. Ideal comfort food. Simply delish!

My friend ordered from the table d'hote menu: starter was a dish of in-season mushrooms mixed with pasta; main consisted of trout. She said they were both very good.

For dessert, we shared the Chocolate, Coffee and Bourbon Mud Cake with Allspice Anglaise and Espresso Praline. What a PERFECT finish to a fabulous meal! We were both curious about the Allspice Anglaise -- it was just a lovely cream with a subtle hint of nutmeg. The mud cake was not heavy, nor was it light. For anyone who loves chocolate, this is ideal!

Went here for a brunch wedding reception. It was exceptional! I can't wait to return. Unfortunately the dinner menu looks too "fancy" for my husband's tastes but I'm sure we will return for brunch or lunch.

We got married at The Courtyard a year ago, so we went back this evening for our first anniversary dinner. Since we were last there, they've changed their menu to smaller plates so that one can have multiple courses and try a wider variety of dishes.

Here's what we ordered and a few comments on it:

Drinks: We started with glasses of the house sparkling wine, to toast our anniversary. Later we grabbed a half litre of the Duboeuf Beaujolais. (One thing we would suggest to the restaurant is to list recommended wines to go with each course, and have them available in smaller servings appropriate to tasting courses. )

My first course: Crispy-Skin Ontario Pickerel, Israeli Couscous, Black Radish, Asparagus Tips, Beurre Noisette. Perfectly done pickerel and nice flavour to the couscous.

mendel's first course: Espelette Pepper dusted Diver Scallops, Kohlrabi Seviche, Avocado Salsa, Fennel Root Salad, Orange Vinaigrette. Gigantic scallops that were perfectly done. Beautifully presented (the kohlrabi looked like a flower).

My second course: Mustard Pappardelle, Olive Oil Poached Tomato, Olive Chutney, White Bean-Garlic Purée, Grana Padano Cheese. The tomato on this was so good, but I love olive oil in general. This didn't have as 'mustardy' a flavour as I was expecting; it was much more mild. An enjoyable second course.

mendel's second course: Yam Gnocchi, Pulled Mariposa Farm Duck Confit, Chanterelle Mushrooms, Le Douanier Cheese Croquette, Brussel Sprouts, Pumpkin Seeds, Roasted Celeriac Sauce. I nearly ordered this one myself, even though I don't often eat poultry day-to-day. The bite I had was very good, though. Nice texture to the pulled duck meat and the yam gnocchi was so good, I would happily have eaten an entire plate of just that.

My third course: Roasted Cremini Mushroom Caps, 4 Impromptu Garnitures. This was the best course of the three I had, as it was both delicious and fun. In my case, the garnishes were as follows: 1) the fennel salad and avocado salsa from the scallop dish (listed above); 2) a creamy, onion-y dressing with two sweet potato 'chips'; 3) small pieces of crispy pork on top of what I believe was squash; 4) a double layer of tomato, goat cheese, and polenta.

mendel's third course: Albenblick Farms Organic Lamb Featured Cut or Two, Roasted Beets, Sunchokes, Mustard. In this case the lamb was done as a scallopini and served with a cheese topping. He said it was delicious.

My dessert: Star Anise Ice Cream Sandwich with Florentine Cookies, Tempura Pineapple and Curry Syrup. I love everything in this dish so I figured I'd love it all together. I was right!

mendel's dessert: Panko-Fuji Apple 'Crumble' with Butternut Squash Semifreddo, Butterscotch Chaud-Froid and Mascarpone Cream. Nice and creamy but not too sweet mascarpone cream and the apple crumble had good texture and flavour.

Went here last night for the Winterlude $45 prix fixe.

The service was excellent, though the food came a bit quick for my liking. We were barely (and once not even) finished a course prior to the next one arriving. If I'm paying that much for food I'd like to savour it a bit before getting to the next course.

There was a delicious bread (salt, peper and anise?) to eat before our apps arrived. We had halibut on a sweet toast with micro greens and some sort of foam on top. The halibut was meaty and not fishy in the least. The foam was not memorable, but the overall dish was quite simple and enjoyable.

The pumello sorbet did its job as a palate cleanser.

For mains we had the seafood plate. The very fresh tasting shrimp had a hint of heat, but the rice cracker it sat on was a bit like eating cardboard. The scallop was mediocre on its own but when paired with the avocado salad the textures created something more interesting. The lobster tail on the jicama slaw was very good.

I had the honey mousse for desert. Honey's never tasted so good as this. Yum!

Overall the food was creatively presented and enjoyable to eat. However many places do this as well or better for cheaper. I suppose this place otherwise stands out in terms of the space, the staff, the wine list and their use of more inaccessible ingredients.

They have a flat-iron steak cut of Kobe here on the dinner menu. It's from Snake River Farms which is a fairly large producer of American Wagyu.

www.snakeriverfarms.com