Ottawa Foodies

6

We went out to Taylor's over the weekend for a celebatory dinner and were sadly disappointed in our experience. It wasn't terrible by any means but it failed to live up to our expectations.

APPS:
- Endive Salad: My boyfriend said it was OK, I thought the bitterness of the endive made the dish inedible but that's more personal preference. However, it was essentially sliced endive and not much else...for $15, it was way overpriced.
- Beef Tostadas: Very good. Some might consider it a small portion, but to me it was decent.

MAINS:
- Duck breast: Served medium rare, this was okay but not great. A little tough and the fat was not crispy at all.
- Braised Beef: Really liked this. Super moist and tender.

DESSERT:
- Elvis Tart: Peanut butter, banana, and bacon tart...yummm, I would go back and order the dessert and nothing else.

WINE:
- We had the Tollgate Sauvignon Blanc. The wine list was a lot smaller than I would have expected.

SERVICE:
- I was not a fan of the server at all. We felt extremely rushed. We had an 8pm reservation and paid our bill by 9:15. The server was also not very attentive or helpful with food or wine recommendations however the table next to us recieved amazing service and was given several samples of things. Felt a little unwelcome after seeing that.

VALUE:
- My biggest complaint about Taylor's is the value. The food was okay/good, but the portions are way too small in relation to the price. Before tip, our bill was $160 for 2 apps, 2 mains, 1 dessert, and a bottle of wine. Not a cheap meal, it wasn't horrible but neither of us left full. I don't think we'll be back and I would have a hard time recommending this restaurant to anyone based on the fact that you can get much better food at many other restaurants at a more reasonable price with significantly better service.

4

I had a lunch with my friend at Taylor's.

I ordered House Smoked Trout $22
Warm potato salad, lemon truffle aioli, market vegetables, and poached egg.

Trout had a hint of smoked flavour which I liked so much. Broke the yolk and it drizzled down the meal like sauce. Very tasty! I found potato was bit salty, but I think it would goes well with fresh dry white wine...I couldn't drink wine because I was the driver.

Server was very friendly. It was also fun to be able see chefs cooking my meal.

I will come back soon!

2

My companion and I were looking for something in the area that was a little on the nicer side, but was still accessible for a quick, casual dinner.
So we went to Taylor's last week after about a year hiatus.

I have to say this most recent dinner was pretty much perfect.

I had a craving for the lamb shank, but wanted it with the delicious sounding garnish on the duck plate (blue-cheese mash and spaghetti squash).
So I did something I rarely do and requested the swap. Not a problem!
Lamb was tender, fall off the bone, and not overly "gamey". Blue Cheese Mash had flavour without being over powering.
My companion had the Arctic Char which she said may have been the best prepared fish dish she's had in an Ottawa restaurant, although it was definitely the whitest char I had ever seen.

Not a lot of specifics or technicalities to comment on.
Good, well-paced service, excellent wine and beer selection for the venue size, and a well prepared, delicious dinner.

I think Taylor's has nudged it's way onto my top 10 list with this past experience.

1

Beer Braised Ontario Beef Shortrib with a honey glaze. Our server was on the mark when she reccomended it even with my anti sweet and meat preferances. I had to order anything that came with house made onion rings. House Kimchi, King Eryngii Mushrooms, and onion rings topped with the house ketchup that added a whole other dimension to the dish meshing with the richness of the beef to make this one memorable main. Sorry about the pic lighting was just dimmed.

1

On to the Beef Tri Tip Tostadas all I can say is yummy! O’Brien farms tri tip steak, mole sauce, micha goat cheese, turmeric pickled onion. No overly swwet flavors or chocolate taste to the mole a nice blend of flavors. This should be served as a main on a larger scale I would be there every week.

1

Finally got here for dinner. The Seed to Sausage lomo was wonderfully spicy. Salsa added a bit of acidity and chutney cut the heat. Some like it hot and this is a dish for us heat seekers.

1

Heading down Bank for lunch this place jumped out with a parking spot just waiting to be had.Early Summer Pappadelle with Mill Creek Sweet Peas, Seed to Sausage Bacon, Bekings Farms Poached Egg and Micha Goat Cheese sounded tasty. The egg was cooked perfect as a slight poke and it and let all that yellow goodness shower the pasta for a nice rich treat. The dish could have used a tad more parm but that is just my personal preference. Pasta was cooked just past dente and went well with the bacon and egg combination. I would definitely order this one again. Surprisingly it was not as heavy as I thought it would be out on the patio there was even room for some gelato at Stella.

1

There are several chef-owned restaurants around town these days but it is not often that you get to see them in action (exceptions that come to mind are Kevin Mathieson at Art-is-in and Ross & Simon Fraser at Fraser Café). I was therefore surprised and delighted the other night when John Taylor appeared in full chef’s gear and prepared our Arctic Char dish in the open kitchen as we sat close by at the bar. An extra wonderful unexpected part of an already very satisfying evening.

1

Went for lunch this afternoon and had a really pleasant experience. I had the ploughman's lunch, which included goat cheese, a few pickled/antipasto-ish items, elk salami, pork (pâté? wrong word), smoked arctic char, greens, and more deliciousness that I am sure I'm leaving out. And alongside this spread, Beau's stout. Super great. Encouraged to relax and stay around by the server. Casual, relaxing, comfortable atmosphere. Spent around $35.

2

Went there on Thursday and food was good!
But the 4 item charcutrerie plate was $25 for 4 items and I found that a bit much.

-the bread slices were all too crisp and it would have been nice to have some softer bread too.
the bread was fresh though.

I has one Canadian cheese (forget the name),smoked trout ,sable fish smoked,prosciutto.
My only small peeve was the waiter made a very big deal of how prosciutto was pronounced..to me that is very annoying.

Guest had the tofu curry dish, that was good-but was $22 for that and would have looked nicer if there was a small side like a few fresh veggies to add more interest to the dish (or maybe some fresh bread to mop up the curry sauce?).

The only desserts I was told there was that day was Strawberry sorbet,raspberry sorbet,blueberry sorbet and those were $10 at this time.

Did not really want sorbet for dessert,so got ice cream at another store down the street that also has homemade ice creams.

It was also the birthday of one of the people there and the staff did nothing for that at all-not even a free tiny scoop of ice cream.
-did not expect anything big,but a little disappointed by that.

Maybe I will go back for brunch sometime, but not too sure as there is another place on Bank st I want to try.

Sold on the “Genuine" burger served here (had it the last 2 visits!) – the combination of beef, Grey Owl cheese, bacon and house-made ketchup is fantastic.

It is served with roasted fingerling potatoes and a salad. For $16 this is a great well rounded, filling lunch.