Ottawa Foodies

I treated my parents and their friend to dinner at Arome on Friday. The service here is excellent, and the decor a much appreciated change from the usual hodge podge found in the Ottawa Chinese restaurants that my parents normally frequent. We ordered the sirloin steak, prime rib and seafood fettucini. The beef was perfectly cooked and the portions were generous. I found the soup of the day (cream of mushroom) rather bland (but the presentation was nice). Too much radichio in the chef's inspiration, and the goat cheese was yummy despite a rather odd presentation wrapped in a giant wonton-type wrapper. The table d'hote is an excellent value, and who can say no to a table array of sweets? The premises are fully accessible.

We went to this place for a family dinner last Tuesday (two weeks in a row). The service was excellent! Plates were changed very often. We didn't order wine and we ordered from the 3-course Table d'hote menu again. (My son wanted to order the $75 Kobe steak after reading the trip report of his cousin in Japan and the delicious Kobe beef they tried.) I told him he can order Prime Rib ($39.90) instead of Kobe and the meat should also melt in his mouth.

We went to Arôme for dinner few weeks ago to celebrate our friend's happy birthday (his wife tried to make it a surprise dinner, but he was just too smart to know the arrangement).

It was my second time here (last time there was for a Christmas dinner and I can't even remember what we ate).

My friend told us that she had hard time to book the table (for 6) and was requested to either take the reservation for 6:00PM or 8:00PM. Our preference was 6:30PM. Anyhow, when we arrived there, the restaurant inside was empty (wonder why they didn't let us have the reservation at 6:30PM). Actually, the majority of the customers had their dinner (buffet dinner) in the patio/bacony. If it was not windy, we would also like to have the dinner outside since the view was beauitful! That day was the last day for summer BBQ buffet dinner (I think it was $35 per person). Next summer, we would definitely want to try their BBQ buffet dinner (they had roast beef, salmon, big size shrimps, many seafood, salads, etc.). I think the environment would make it a very romantic dinner.

For our dinner, we all ordered their 3-course meal (price depending on what you ordered, ranging from $29.9 to $42.90):

Appetizer
I ordered the Chef's Inspiration which was like potsticker (Western style) with very delicious mango sauce. One friend ordered their soup of the day which was celery soup. I was told it was very good.

Entrée
I ordered their grilled poutry Arôme style ($29.9). The meat was a little bit overcooked. However, the taste was good. I can't remember what my husband ordered. Probably prime rib. He told me it was good.

Dessert & tea/coffee
Instead of ordering from dessert menu, they have sweet table - mousse cake, fresh fruits with chocolate fondue, creme brulee and many more (see the photo below). I had fun selecting the cakes (make you feel like you were kids again).

The whole meal took very long. I remember we finished around 10:00PM. Anyway, a good dinner and we all enjoyed it. We would definitely come back again.

P.S. My friend let the server select a red wine for our table. I forgot what we had. But it was very good one.

new york striploin which is another grilled meat dish that melts in your mouth.

white tuna steak cooked medium on grilled vegetables and capers. the seafood cuts that this place uses are thick, juicy, fresh and cooked very well to request.

seafood linguine in a tuscany tomato sauce was exquisite and among the best i've tried. before they used a saffron butter sauce but today was a pleasant surprise. i usually evaluate a restaurant by their seafood pasta dishes.

steak with showstring fries and cheese cooked to perfection and melts like butter in your mouth.

arome is the restaurant inside the hilton lac leamy which is a top notch steak and seafood restaurant in hull (gatineau). their menus' themes are constantly changing with the seasons which makes this place have high rate of return visits. the service is TOP notch bilingual and the clientele very upscale. their prices are higher than most restaurants in ottawa but very reasonable for the quality, taste and presentation.

pictured: smoked salmon and greens

My fiance and I visited our friend who is a seafood sales rep in california. We at fresh/delicious seafood for three weeks while we were there. Once we got back, Big Daddy's didn't exactly cut it anymore. Though we regularly visited Arome for the Kobe steak, on a whim, one visit, I ordered the seafood platter for one. It was by far the single best seafood experience I've had in Ottawa. TRY IT!!!!

Real Kobe beef is supposed to be extremely marbled. That's the whole point of Kobe beef. What you had at Hilton Lac Leamy is probably American Wagyu which has been cross bred with Angus. This will be leaner than true Kobe beef which is fatty. One of the conditions of Kobe beef actually, is that is has to have a marbling index (BMS) of over 6 (between 6 and 12 which is the highest with over 50% marbling). USDA doesn't even go above a 7 in the marbling index, so true Kobe beef can't even be compared to American beef (Angus) or American Wagyu.

Forget the rest of the vendors listed, I guarantee they won't compare. If you want a serious taste of what Kobe beef should taste like, take a trip to L'Arome, located in the basement at the Hilton Lac Leamy in Hull QC. The best steak I've ever had. A 4oz cut will run you ~$40, and an 8oz costs ~$75, but well worth it. The service is sensational. If you're into surf and turf, there is a seafood platter that is to die for as well.

My fiance and I discovered L'Arome a couple of years ago, and when we visited Vegas a while back, we searched for a restaurant that served Kobe so we could compare. We found a high end steak house in Caesars that boasted an amazing Kobe...at $20/oz. My fiance ordered a 10oz cut, and without exaggeration, it was the single worst experience with a steak I've ever had. In comparison, I would rather eat at The Keg. It was extremely marbled and greasier than a McDonald's patty.

Moral of this story: Forget the price tag, try it.

I really like their fresh bread (flat bread, walnut bread and white baguette). We ate most of the flat bread and walunut bread while we were waiting for the appetizer to come.

This is the Prime Rib. I tried one piece and was really melt in your mouth. I can't remember if he ordered 10oz ($39.90) or 20oz ($47.90). But it was huge and my son can't finish it.

Ashley - looks like it's Mahi-Mahi

I ordered their catch of the day. I really don't know what fish it was. The server told me it was called Mei Mei and I had no idea of what type of fish it was. I joked to the server if this was Chinese fish.

Any clue about what kind of fish it was (sounds like Mei Mei, or nei nei)? All I know is it is ocean fish.

My rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars.

I tried their Grilled poultry Arome style (also part of the 3-course meal, $29.90). Taste was not bad and my rating was 3.5 out of 5 for what I ate.

My kid ordered this dish this time and he gave a rating of 4 stars out of 5.

My husband had this Seafood fettucine ($42.90 from their 3-course Table d'hote menu) . Very rich and creamy sauce (as expected). After finishing this, he had no room for dessert any more.

His rating of this dish: 3 stars out of 5.

Pumpkin soup. Taste was good.

This is the Chef's inspiration (cold appetizer - advocado sauce over chicken over mashed sweet potato) . The server said the chef changes the appetizer every day. Taste was okay. I preferred the western style potsticker I tried last time.

This is the dessert table. Pick as many as you want, but watch out for your calories!