Ottawa Foodies

I just got back from the Fish Market, and i must say i wish i had read the reviews here in the forum before going. I went there with a friend, we had not decided where we were going in advance, but decided to give this place a try.

We sit down, and immediately had to ask the waittress to change all the dishes that were on the table because they were dirty. Usually at this point i would have just walked out, but i guess i was in a good mood and decided to try it out anyways.

The bread we got next was great. It tasted really good. So there was a bit of positive.

Then we order, and i decide on having the steamed mussels as the appetizer and pan seared Florida Mahi mahi as the main course.

While we were waiting for the appetizer, we were brought a "chef's compliments" which consisted of exactly what Nanook said.. some dough-like thing with salmon. Average.

Finally the appetizer gets to the table, and what a disappointment. The mussels don't look all that fresh (some are orange-y as i've always seen them, and some are really white). The plate in general is very average and doesn't look good either.

The main dish: What a huge letdown. As soon as the plate is set down in front of me, i know i won't like it. First I get mashed potatoes instead of the fries i asked for. The mashed potatoes are PLAIN. I don't think they put anything (not even butter) along with it.
I can tell by looking at the Mahi Mahi that it was not cooked properly. For one, it was supposed to be pan-seared, but it was VERY WET. It just didn't look good. Taste wasn't that much better, and i had to watch every bite because i got 4 fish bones (probably more but i only ate half the fish). The side veggies were not good at all. Other than carrots, i couldn't even tell what the other veggie was.

Last course is dessert, and i get the vanilla cheesecake, which was ok. I guess along with the bread, it would have been the "highlight" of the meal. :|

Then we get the bill.. 40$. To add to the fun, while we're paying, the fire alarm sounds and everyone is evacuated.

OK OK, that last part is not their fault, but taking 40 of my hard earn bucks and giving me such an awful and disappointing meal IS. I rarely give bad reviews.. but tonight's meal was simply BAD.

I'm definitely not going there again.
(same for my friend, his dishes were average at best)

We went for dinner here last night at the request of friends who had returned to Ottawa to visit. I had heard the less-than-stellar reviews of this restaurant in the Forum here, but decided to go with an open mind, since I wanted spend time with my friends more than anything else.

As it was my first time there, I found the menu very confusing and it took me a bit of time to decide. I also found the service very pushy. After arriving, we had been seated for less than two minutes when our server arrived with our rolls and asked us to order our drinks. Our server visited three more times and on the third visit, after us being there for 10 or 15 minutes, asked us "if we'd had enough time to look at the menu," as if to say we were taking far too long to order. This made me pretty uncomfortable and I probably would have left after that comment, if my friends hadn't been there.

We had the calamari to start and our reviews on it are split. The dill sauce served with it was good, but I thought it was rubbery and had very little taste. I have had much better in the city.

I ordered the Yellowfin Tuna Salad. I ordered my tuna medium-rare and it was cooked properly. It was also topped with a tasty lemon-pepper rub. It was a good quality steak. The salad, however, was disgusting. It had clearly had been sitting in the dressing for an extended period of time as it was all limp and looked more like cooked spinach than anything else. Mr. Nanookie ordered the Blackened Swordfish and he felt his piece of fish was small for the price.

We also received 'complimentary salmon pate' which were part of my friends' dinners. They were from-frozen phyllo pastries with a bit of what tasted like canned salmon placed in the middle. My friends actually debated if it was salmon or tuna.

I found the wine list pretty extensive (roughly 10 whites and reds) and you have the option to order from the Vineyards wine list as well, which is more extensive. But the wine is horribly over-priced, both by the bottle and by the glass. Almost all the bottles were triple the retail price ($34 and up) and the wine by the glass started at $8. Nor do they serve half-litres.

Our dinner came to $81 or so before tip and included 2 glasses of wine. It's not bad, but overpriced for what we received. I enjoyed my meal there only because I was in the company of friends who I hadn't seen in over a year. This review sounds really cranky and bitter - it sounds a lot worse when you put it all together in one concise post.