Ottawa Foodies

On one of the beautiful days last week, we were trying to think of a nice patio that would not be too busy (I can’t imagine what the Mill Street patio was like!). Well we found it here – we were the only ones looking out onto Dow’s Lake around 6pm mid-week (when we left two other tables had patrons on this very large patio).

Although the atmosphere delivered in spades, the food was so-so.

For an appetizer, we chose to share the mediterranean skewers – two skewers each with one baby tomato, two pieces of crispy polenta and a ribbon of roasted zucchini. The plate was finished with a small salad of baby greens topped with a nice mix of grilled red onion. The menu said there was also kalamata olive tapenade, but I don’t remember any. The plate was pleasing to the eye but the taste was rather bland.

Mains were:
- 2 large pieces of Arctic Char balanced on a bed of bean mixture, some very large broccolini spears and a smear of lemon saffron aioli topping it off – again the comment on the dish was it was bland
- a bowl of gnocchi with pieces of baby squash and little dallops of tomato and basil pesto – the baby squash was a nice touch but the pesto did not have a very strong flavour

Although the prices were in line with other higher end restaurants in the city, the taste was not. We did enjoy the atmosphere and would probably return for drinks and appetizers on another summer afternoon.

pej daddy lobster radar homed in on this lobster bisque.

very nice temp contrast: cold lobster on crostini floating on this hot lake of a cognac chive cream soup. kinda like what you see at dows lake.... goes good with their beau's on tap!

wild & local shroom fazzoletti with whole roasted garlic + black truffle cream. outstanding and interesting pasta dish. shrooms and truffles draw me to your establishment, baby. mondo portions for the price. each fazz pocket was loaded with wild shrooms and cheese. there were pan friend morels and brown local shrooms and the selection i've been told keeps changing.

110% RE-ORDER for those that love the humble mushroom.

stilton risotto. love this cheese which made for a very nice rice dish. mmmm got some cool flavaz goin' on....

house chips amuse bouche! foodie laser targeting homed in on the menu for a side request of their wasabi lime aioli and you're in for a treat. love the flavorific combo of wasabi and lime.

14 oz angus beef ribeye + lobster mashed potatoes + maple apple bbq sauce. new menu item with lobster that caught my attention. rich and delish and had to take half of this home as the portions are humungous.

lago's patio is da bomb... best place to enjoy ottawa's sunny dayz, drinks on the best patio with the best scenery: boats, water, and babes.

popsicles!

Ate here for the first time a couple of days ago and left completely underwhelmed and with a large bill. The food is overpriced for what it is and lacks creativity. Pretty standard fare, but with non-standard prices with most mains over $30. We were here with a large group. No one was served water and we had to repeatedly ask for it. I ordered two apps for my meal because I could not find anything I wanted to try off the main menu. It says right on the menu that there is a $5 "supplement" for ordering an appetizer as a main and although I did not see this fee on my bill, something like this leaves a bad taste in your mouth right off the bat. Why charge an extra fee for bringing out the same plate of food 15 minutes later than normally?
I had a salad to start and crab cakes as my main. Did not enjoy the sides that came with the crab cakes - a red cabbage slaw smothered in a wasabi sauce. The salad was good but nothing exciting. We did enjoy thoroughly my husband's squash soup with creme fraiche and cranberries and he thought his main of bacon-wrapped pork was just okay.
Drinks are at least $9 a piece and the wine menu only has Canadian wines. Interesting thought, but doesn't leave you much choice, especially with reds. We had an 18% gratuity tacked onto our bill, which is fine because we were a large group, however, both my husband and I agreed that the service we received wasn't worth 18%. I don't like having to chase after my waiter for water, the bill etc etc. Overall, rather boring, unimaginative food, mediocre service and overpriced menu leads me to conclude that I will definitely not be coming back.

Had dinner here Saturday. This was my second Lago experience, the first time had been on a week night. Completely different vibe. Saturday was loud, lots of people (not a surprise), lots of large groups. I actually preferred to less busy, more subdued weeknight but that is neither here or there.

We were seated for at least 10 or 15 minutes before I spoke with a hostess about no one coming to see us. She apologized and quickly got the situation addressed. Our server was very pleasant and kept apologizing that we had been kept waiting. When he brought us our drinks, he informed us that they were on the house and also gave us a cone of freshly cut potato chips - very yummy and seasoned with sea salt and pepper (I couldn't keep my paws off them!).

We shared a starter: calamari. I've had it before and it is still yummy.

For my main, I ordered the fish stew. It came with mussels, squid, white fish, salmon, and scallops. There was nothing special about it. Everything was cooked fine but the meal lacked taste and any 'pizzazz'.

My friend ordered the pesto alfredo tagliatelle and had a similar comment - lack of flavour.

Lago is certainly a fun-to-go place but I think I'll stick with ordering all apps, as I had the first time.

Had a great first experience at Lago last night. The food was quite good, and the service was exceptional. Here is my tale …

We made reservations but the resto had plenty of room. We did wait a while for a hostess to finally come and seat us but we were seated outside on the patio, as per our request.

My friend and I both started with virgin pina coladas - very good! Non-alcoholic drinks are not on the menu but you can basically order whatever you want, or suggest your own creations.

We decided to make a meal out of appetizers which was brilliant - LOL! We ordered:

- Navajo spiced calamari - delicious and very decent portion!

- Philly cheese steak spring rolls - a palate-pleasing hit with me, my friend is not a fan of peppers so it was less to her liking

- Rare ahi tuna - the tuna wasn't that rare, many pieces were more seared rather than being that lovely raspberry toned raw pink, but this dish is delicious!!! It comes with grilled baby vegetables and the tuna simply melts in your mouth.

- Rideau slammers (mini beef burgers @ 2.74 each) - fun to try but not very good. This dish was our least favourite by far - there was too much bread and the meat was dry and lacked flavour. Even so the price was right to try one each.

- Carpaccio of Alberta beef - yum yum yum!!! The beef (which is supposed to be raw) was sliced so thinly and didn’t taste or appear all that raw. It was paired with lovely shavings of parmigiano reggiano and pickled artichokes. This dish is a must try!

We were eyeing these gigantic brownie fudge sundaes that were being ordered by other tables right, left and centre but we held back. The sundaes looked like a perfect blend of comfort food and pure decadence. Instead, we finished the meal off with a cappuccino and tea.

Our server was great! So sweet and chatty. He went beyond the call of duty when he asked the manager whether he could remove the cappuccino from my bill (something that was completely unnecessary) since the beverage turned out to be more of a latte than a cappuccino. Even without this gesture, I would still rave about the service we received last night.

Great service … indeed a dying art.

I will definitely return to Lago. Am eager to sample their other offerings.

As a parting thought, for those who enjoy sitting on the patio but can't deal with the mosquitoes, you may want to bring bug spray. We (as well as a dozen other women) made our way inside to avoid (further) being feasted upon. The décor and ambiance inside was very pleasant (couches and coffee tables) and the venue change added another fun element to our night.

P.S. Pej Daddy, thanks for always posting photos of your meals. I love the visuals!