Ottawa Foodies

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Had a good meal last night at WGP.

I started with the "n.s. sea bream crudo, which came with overnight cherry tomatoes, oregano,
cucumber, lemon zest, basil oil"
It was delicious, extremely flavourful and very delicate. The portion was miniscule but I think that can be expected with any type of sashimi-like dish. It definately was a different dish entirely to my boyfriend's starter - which was a very rich "crispy veal sweetbreads with soba noodles, lobster-miso broth." It was very soup-y, in fact much more soup-y than he anticipated but the sweetbreads were very moist and tender.

For main, he had the crab cakes with ferme Leve Tot tomatoes, fennel confit, kalamatas,
mint, saffron mayo. the saffron mayo was very underwhelming, in fact in a blind taste test I don't think I could have detected the saffron at all. However the crab cakes tasted DEVINE. My bf's only complaint was the main didn't feel like a main, it would have made a much better starter.
This of course was in comparison to MY main, which was amazing.
I had the grilled nagano pork paillards with ragout of corn, chanterelles, peppers, & scallions. It was so rich and creamy and amazing - but not overly saucy. It really was perfect, and I got a HUGE portion, basically 2 pork chops all to myself (although the people at the table next to us had the same, and their portion looked much smaller.)

bill came to 115$ which included a beer and a pot of green tea for $3.50

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I had a wonderful meal at the Wellington Gastro pub last night. We started with the steak tartare, which was conveniently split into three separate portions. Best Steak Tartare in Ottawa, period! The flavour was exquisite and it was perfectly balanced with the mustard, capers, some sweetness, garlic etc. Served with tasty crostini, damn! It was tasty.

For my main, I had the Sea Scallops, which were served on a bed of leeks, peppers and lentils, with two dollops of this cilantro puree. The scallops were perfectly seared, soft and juicy in the centre.

My girlfriend ordered the Rabbit and pork belly dish, however they ran out of Rabbit and substituted it with duck. Not a big deal, and it still turned out fantastic. I tried it and I thought it was wonderful.

My girlfriends mother ordered the wild rice risotto for her main dish. She was disappointed with it, and said it needed more flavour, or garlic or something. She asked the waiter to bring some salt. I tried it, and I felt that the flavour was very delicate, but certainly underwhelming.

Overall, the Wellington Gastropub reigns in the top tier of Ottawa restaurants. I will be back, when the pocket book allows. I’ll skip the risotto though.

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What can i say...this place always delivers. My favorite restaurant in the city hands down.

PEI oysters with apple ginger

@Mac1960: thanks for the feedback on the app, I had actually eyed that one on the menu when walking by Friday and wondered how it would go over on the palate.

You're quite right, The Welly is always *very* good but sometimes they hit the ball right out the park, I had a foie gras appetizer there a few weeks ago that will also be remembered for a long time to come. ;o)

A friend took me today for my birthday lunch. It was quite good. I had the beet soup and pulled pork sarnie while he had the scallops. The bread is quite tasty. I wouldn't have expected the cold-pressed canola dipping oil to be quite that good.

I have to say that the lemon mash (potatoes) were delicious! I sampled a bit of my friend's when he wasn't looking. Definitely potatoey, but it tasted very vaguely like lemon curd. Awesome.

Nice beer selection and one hell of a wine list.

Tiramisu for dessert. MMMMmmmmm. Good. Decent coffee as well. All in all, a good lunch, if a bit loud.

The owner (I assume) came around with a poster to say that I had to come by on Friday for the unveiling of their new Hogsback brew: Kilty Bastard. Okay, sounds good to me! I expect the first one to be free. ;)

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I noticed a new dish on their menu cornmeal crusted lake Erie catfish with dirty rice,sautéed greens with a remoulade sauce. I asked about it but our server had not tried it yet. It is definitely recommended. Lightly crusted catfish pan fried crispy with the integrity of the fish still in tact. Dirty rice had firm kidney beans and onion and the greens off to the side. A nice southern dish. My only complaint was the remoulade sauce was a bit thousand islandy the dish might have been more complimented by a different sauce. Still a great dish hope to see it again.

Roasted sunchoke soup with sour cream. They sure do a great soup creamy and seasoned perfectly. This place tured me onto soup a while back and now I order it every time.

Finally got to try Kichesippi black IPA. Wish this was available all year round. Not too hoppy with a Guinness aroma tasty!

I can't comment on their regular menu, as I was only there for a fixed special. It definately is a hip atmosphere which I think is wise planning on their part (who doesn't want to be a part of cool & hip - I do!). The food was excellent and the service was friendly. Best part of the experience was the fact that my date and I seemed to be having more fun than any other table:)

Ottawa's own beer finally, Kichesippi on tap. Full aroma and a tad on the spicy side...highly recommended!

I particularily enjoy saddling up to the bar at the WGP. The service is always friendly and helpful.

Trying a flight of beer is a nice little journey into the Ontario breweries and a comparison of the tastes and smells and sensations of each one.

I have enjoyed plenty of great discussion about local products and sipped a few new beers whilst doing so at the WGP.

Highly enjoyable from my perspective!

The beer I chose was an ale from the Robert Simpson Brewing Company out of Barrie, ON which is one of the many beer microbrewed beers they serve. I like the fact that they serve beers from local Ontario small breweries and in being a gastropub, compliment the food you eat as well.

We ordered beers with our meals and this was the bf's choice. St. Peter's English Ale which is brewed in Suffolk, England and is organic. The bottle was the coolest bit....we were allowed to keep it! Very good beer.

While not really a comment on beer from this vendor, I just had to respond to FF's comments on Guinness. If you don't like the relative harshness of Guinness, you should head over to Ireland. The Irish all swear it doesn't travel well, and I thought they were full of it. But it's true. Guinness in Ireland is as you describe: heavy, dark, but smooooooooth and creamy. It's just the perfect drink. Though "perfect" is a dangerous word when talking about taste.

The really big Irish fans insist it has to be sampled in Dublin, near the brewery, as even trucking it to the outer counties reduces the quality. This might be going a little too far, so to speak.

I really enjoyed the Amsterdam Two-Fisted Stout (presumably from Toronto's Amsterdam brewing company). Although the waiter "warned" me that it's dark like Guinness, this beer is the way Guinness *should* be. Heavy and dark, but with a smooth and delicious flavour. No overpowering bitter burnt flavours like Guinness... A pint of Guinness is too much (hence the existence of Black and Tan). A pint of this Two-Fisted Stout is spot on!

The only downside of their beer selection is that the other four draught choices tonight were all yellow beers: three lagers and one pale ale. The beers I love most always seem to be red (or at least orange).

The owners took a broad range of input when coming up with the beer menu, including the opinion of some local craft brewers. They serve an excellent selection of Ontario Micro Brews and British Ales which attracts beer geeks from all around the Ottawa Valley. Definitely go here for the beer.

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Everyone knows to try the Beef Tartare at the Gastropub. So if you haven't already done so, unless you are planning a visit to restaurants on Boulevard du Montparnasse in Paris, there are no other places in Ottawa that will offer the same (tasty) quality Tartare. A must!

Success!

I believe it was "beef tartare with crostini and truffle oil" on the menu.

Generous portion, marries well with their "house"-level Pinot. Were I to make it at home I'd probably boost the acidity a bit (maybe more capers?), but this was full of beefy goodness.

We've had the steak tartare here. We thought it was very tasty, and the portion was quite large (so large that, had I been eating it alone as a starter, I would have been too full for my main -- but, perfect for sharing).

I can't give unilateral "yay" or "nay" on the steak tartare here yet, because it wasn't available on the menu when I went. They did, however, make some up for me right special. It was good, but I'm not sure if it was the recipe they normally use.

I sampled a glass of the Shingleback Shiraz (South Australia) and enjoyed its sweetness and complex fruitiness. I'm generally one to sip my wine between courses rather than with the food, so this worked out well. Unlike most wines it even went well with dessert. Anyways, I have yet to meet an Australian Shiraz I don't like.

They have an extensive selection of wines by the glass here, so if you like to sample a few different ones it's a great place to be!

For lunch, yesterday's Ice cream selection was:

Cranberry sorbet, raspberry chocolate, and get ready for it, Banana caramel!

The cranberry sorbet would have been the perfect palate cleanser... a bit sour and very refreshing.

The raspberry chocolate was rich. I have never really enjoyed the chocolate/raspberry mix. But I ate all the ice cream in my bowl.

The chunky monkey carmel was the perfect mix for desert. Once again nice and rich, I could of had a full bowl of this ice cream only and would have been happy.

I love that they serve the ice cream in cold bowls. Pretty sure they put them in the freezer so that the ice cream won't melt while you eat! Very nice attention to detail.

Here is the photo showing "3 small scoops of exquisitely delicious gourmet ice cream" that zymurgist describes. I had raspberry, Tiramisu, and vanilla. They are creamy and yummy!

They do the ice cream in house but I no longer make it for them since February

We've had the ice cream from Wellington twice now...the first time was in late May; we had caramel, something forgettable and banana (the banana was lucious!). We went again last week and had strawberry-rhubarb sorbet that was a bit icy...black currrent ice cream and peanut butter ice cream; we also ordered a chocolate-caramel pot de creme; probably the best dessert course I have ever had. YUM!

She was making it. I'm not sure if she still is. I can ask on Sunday =)

I've heard that their ice cream is homemade, and I've also heard that Pascale's (now with the Piggy Market) was making it. Can someone verify this for me?

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their homemade ice cream is amazing! well worth the price.

I hear they make the ice cream in house. Every time we've been there, we've lucked out since they made peanut butter ice cream on those occasions! Delicious!

For 7 bucks you get 3 small scoops of exquisitely delicious gourmet ice cream. Extremely yummy!

We all like this baguette-type bread. I was told that the bread is supplied by their neighbor Harvest Loaf, Harvest Loaf. I wish that I also live next to a bakery so that I can have fresh bread daily.

However, I am extremely surprised and disappointed that they don't have balsamic vinegar when I asked for it!

This is the tuna tartare ($12) that my friend ordered. Tuna mixed with spicy yuzu mayo. My friend is a picky diner and she told me that the tuna was good, but didn't blow her away though.

Note: Talking about yuzu, have you ever picked up a glass jar of Korean yuzu (called yuja in Korean) from any Chinese grocery stores (e.g., New 168, Kowloon Market, or T&T)? It looks like orange jam. In the winter time, I use about 1 or 2 tablespoon of yuzu syrup to stir in a cup of hot water (sometimes I add small amount of honey) to soothe my throat. I remember that few years ago, a popular Korean TV series (called Dae Jang Geum) was aired in Hong Kong and the drama series has fascinated many Asian TV audience as well. The story talks about the first female Royal Physician in Korean history. About every episode involves making delicious food presented to the king and the stress of herbal medicine.

Two of our friends ordered their Angus ribeye ($30) with brown butter cheddar potato puree. The menu states that the dish accompaniment includes Le Coprin mushrooms. But I don't see any mushrooms in the photo. I think it would be nice to add some vegetables on the side to accompany the big steak (very good portion!). My friends told me that the steak they had was tasty.

Sea scallops are always our favorite dish, so delicate. However, scallops are often overcooked and become a rubbery dish. Our sea scaloops were cooked to perfection. The accompaniment (lentils, Nagano bacon, savoy cabbage, overnight tomatoes, corn relish) was also very delicious.

Note: We didn't order this as our main. Instead, we ordered this dish ($25) as our appetizer for the group to share (since many of us ordered the soup of the day). My girl friend who went here for dinner the next day also ordered the scallops as her main. She said the same thing - "the scallops are cooked perfectly!"

This is the Nagano pork loin that my husband and one of our friends ordered. The meat was very tender and juicy. The meat does not have the texture like the typical Canadian pork. My friend (used to be an expat in Japan) told my husband that when you eat the Nagano pork meat, you have to cut it in a smaller portion, put the small piece in your mouth and detect the fine texture to enjoy this type of meat. Then you will see the difference. Nagano pork does not taste like pork at all. So, when you order this dish, try to eat it slowly to enjoy the taste and fine texture.

I told my another friend about this dish. She brought her husband with her to try our recommended dish the next day. Her husband also likes it.

When it came to order our second courses, I was hemming and hawing between the walleye and the chicken. Our server noticed this, and asked what I was trying to decide...when I told him, he immediately said the walleye. And wow, was I glad! Although I'm sure the chicken would have been just as good but he had said that this was the right season to have walleye since it takes a few years before the fish are good to eat again from the lakes. Or should I say, BEST to eat again. This fish (we call it pickerel mainly in SK) is not 'fishy' tasting at all and flaky. It was served on a bed of duck sausage (delish) potatoes, and beets. Sooooo goooood!!

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My friend ordered their Date square with vanilla ice cream and toffee sauce. I tried a bite and told my friend that I like her Queen's date cake more.

This is the Chocolate terrine with raspberry sauce ($6). My hubby enjoyed it very much!

Went here for the first time on Sat. night for my birthday! This was my 1st course....I wanted to quote from the menu but since their menu changes regularly, they just have a sample menu on their website so I'll try as best I can.
Albacore tuna with pickled ginger, tiny pieces of watermelon, and roe. It was cooked nicely, leaving the middle a touch undercooked, which I believe is the best way to serve tuna in this manner. The roe was wonderful with this, and the ginger gave it an extra zing with the bits of watermelon adding cool freshness.

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This is a general comment on veg options here: this is gourmet food at mid-range restaurant prices. Every time I've got the veg main here, my expectations have been surpassed. Taste and texture are first and foremost, presentation is always fun and there is guarunteed to be a lovely wine or beer pairing with the meal. It's different every day, which is also neat, and usually utilizing seasonal and local ingredients. Try it sometime!

My bf's second course was the parpadelle pasta which is similar to lasagna noodles but half the size. It was served with roasted red peppers, oyster mushrooms, and padano cheese. I'm sure there were other bits and bites in it but these were the main items. Very delish and the portion size was just right.

Sorry this pic isn't the best since it was getting darker and the table was only lit by a small candle. Quite romantic, really!

This was the bf's 1st course...chicken fricasee with corn,oyster mushrooms, and truffle oil served on a herbed crepe. I'm sure there was other goodies in here but I'm recalling from my memory a few das later. I had a bite of it and it was served warm (I thought it'd be cool, don't know why) but wow, this was amazing! Even though my tuna was excellent as well, I was wishing I had ordered this instead!

I have to second this. I had the scallops there back in Feb and they were awesome.

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Best scallops I've had so far has got to be at The Wellington Gastropub. They play around with this dish but on the night we were there, the perfectly seared scallops sat atop chorizo and beans. Absolute perfection! It has a great hipster vibe and an incredible beer selection (which won over my boyfriend).