Ottawa Foodies

Spent a wonderful Sunday afternoon here in July after a round of golf. This is for us one of those hidden gems in Ottawa, that if you didn’t know where it was, you might never find it. On River Road south of Manotick, Kelly’s Landing is a “mullet” of places, with its business in the front and party in the back. Roadside it is a gas bar / convenience store, river side it is a bar, restaurant and patio that overlooks the Rideau.

When we arrived the dinner crowd was just starting to wander in, and the afternoon patio people were beginning to leave. We started out at a table by the stairs, but were quickly offered a vacated seat by the rail. Our server was friendly and helpful, and a lot of fun. She brought us water with our menus and a cheery smile. And throughout our meal found time to come by to check on us and pour our wine, even though she was the only server on duty and every table was full.

Kelly’s Landing is deceptive in it’s appearance, although it looks like a casual eatery from the river, it really fulfills a wide variety of tastes, including some excellent meals at reasonable prices (the Daily Specials are always good and so is the Catch of the Day – which oftentimes is Salmon, Swordfish or Tuna).

We started out by ordering a Caesar Salad for two, and a bottle of White Wine – a Sauvignon Blanc “Domaine des Cassagoles” from France, which is quickly becoming a summer favourite that we discovered at the Fourth Avenue Wine Bar.

For Mains, “The Man” chose the Chicken Fettucine with Mushrooms in an Alfredo Sauce. And I ordered the Seafood Marinara, which featured Scallops, Shrimp and Mussels in a Rose Sauce (I had a choice between Rose or Alfredo) over a bed of pasta. The food was really really yummy. And the view exhilarating, we enjoyed watching the many boats that ran to and fro up and down the Rideau. There were power boats towing water skiers, pontoon boats, fishing boats, jet skis and the occasional small yacht. Many people waved as they went by, and others stopped in for a tank full of gas or an ice cream cone (Kelly’s also has an Ice Cream Bar). While others after a day on the water chose to come up onto the deck to have dinner.

After eating we sat and enjoyed the view, and drank in the late summer sunshine along with our wine. As the sun dipped lower in the sky, and the boats became less frequent, we decided to leave. It was only then that we noticed that we had never received our Caesar Salad. When we mentioned it to our server, she apologized and asked if we’d like it to go. We declined, and jokingly said we never really noticed that it had been overlooked due to all that was going on around us (so to be honest we felt is partially our fault for not remembering either). Besides, the food was so good and filling, that it was probably a good thing that we hadn’t ended up with a starter. Again she apologized, and generally left us with a good feeling, so to be honest we couldn’t slight her for the oversight. I hope to get back again before summer comes to a close.