Ottawa Foodies

I had an amazing lunch here on Monday with my boyfriend.

He had the fish special of the day which was a seared ling cod on top of wild mushrooms with a fish cake on the side and it looked as though there was pesto and small pickled pearl onions on the plate. The elements of the dish worked impressively well together. My boyfriend has not had the food experiences that I have, so I was a little worried that he wouldn't enjoy himself. He really enjoyed the food.

The boyfriend doesn't like wine, so I told him to try the Beau's Lugtread ale as many people here rave about it. He loved it and had a second pint. I had the Organized Crime Pinot Gris which was amazing- I am presently trying to hunt a bottle down- as well as some Beau's. The LCBO we were at was out of Beau's.

I had gravlox with a mixed green salad- I loved the vinaigrette on the salad and the gravlox was delish. There were purple pickled onions on the plate as well as a grainy mustard type tartar sauce. I must make some purple pickled onions- they are simple to make and tasty.

The house made breads were good- they seemed to be both sourdough based- one was a type of sourdough rye, I think. These were served with an olive oil and I think fig dip.

Portions weren't overwhelming, just right and nicely paced. Service was excellent.

I will definately have to try brunch sometime.

I've only been here for lunch, and both times I had pancakes with pear chutney, and both times they were probably the best pancakes I've ever had. Full and fluffy with the perfect toppings.
I'd go back more often but for the price and their apparent unavailability the last couple times I've checked in on the menu.

Went to Domus last night for a friend's birthday and I can honestly say that it is the best meal I have had in Ottawa. Scallops were beautifully cooked and paired with a herb salad and bacon bits that complemented the shellfish perfectly.

The highlight was the main course though, a special of wild salmon fillet served with a carrot puree that was sensational. The food wasn't particularly complex, but it was so well balanced, cooked and served that it put many more expensive restaurants I've eaten at to shame. My wife was equally as effusive about her steak.

Service was OK. Our waiter was unobtrusive and knowledgeable without us feeling like we were being sold to, but it was quite slow. It may have been better had we been a smaller group than our nine, but if I'd waited that long as a couple I'd have been a little annoyed. The restaurant ambience is perfect, it feels upmarket without being snotty, and atmospheric without being loud or overbearing.

Domus isn't the cheapest restaurant you'll ever go to - budget on $70 a head for three courses and another $50 per bottle of wine and you'll not be far wrong - but I'd rather go to Domus once than go twice to somewhere that costs half as much.

Went here for a birthday treat. Sorry to report that the service was verging on snotty (insisting that I should order wine and repeatedly asking if we didn't want apps or desserts, which felt like a thinly-veiled attempt at upselling). Scant bread served in advance of the meal--server brought 1 slice after asking if we wanted bread. Kitchen messed up the order so that the two plates had to be re-plated. The plates finally arrived and were noticeably cold, from meat to potatoes. My steak which was ordered medium came medium rare, and the medium rare bison came super rare. "Seasonal" veggies were not in season--for summer, I don't consider potatoes and other root veg to count as seasonal. Also 8.50 for a pint of local beer seems a little steep. On top of that, the flavours were bland and the whole place could have used a bit of a dusting. I have had far superior meals at Wellington Gastro Pub and Fraser Cafe for the same, or less, and was hugely disappointed that I wasted my night here. I will not go back.

Domus is a great place to eat well and eat clean. You know where the food is coming from, you see what the chefs are doing to it, and you eat it without once thinking of the film Food Inc.

Pros:
Dim lights, great for a romantic date.
Buys local produce directly from farm.

Cons:
Sometimes the food is not as savory as you would have wanted. Or not as ambitious as you would have desired it to be.
The waiters are slightly amateurish, nice, but not what you would expect for the prices.

Food is Fun!, I'm glad you had a good experience at Domus. As for parking, if there are no mobility issues, you can find 3 hour parking off Dalhousie on the side streets to the north of the market.

Just in case anyone else was wondering.

I went with two friends to Domus for lunch this week and was thrilled to enjoy the good food in such a sunny, bustling location. Nice ambiance. We were near the front window so we didn't get to see any of the action at the open kitchen.

Two of us had the smoked trout dish and it was well prepared and plated. It looked as good as it tasted.

The third lunch was Berkshire chorizo sausage with polenta. My friend didn't know what chorizo sausage was so was pretty disappointed when it was so spicy. I wished I had known that she wasn't familiar with the name. She was feeling so keen on going to Domus so in some ways it was a double disappointment.

The bread they gave us to start was fresh and they provided oil and balsamic for dipping. The cutest little dish and little spoon! I have mixed feelings about bread at a meal. It is filling but when it is so tasty, it is hard to resist it!

Then only two of us went for dessert. I had the Crème Brulée. I know I have had creamier but it was still really good. The top was just the right doneness and not too thick. There was a swish of rhubarb coulis on the plate beside the dessert which I quite liked. Anything rhubarb is okay by me.

The other dessert was the Domus House Classic “Mini” Truffle Cake. With all the chatting I forgot to ask about it and I missed sneaking a taste. Picture looks pretty!

Also, I quite like the cranberry spritzers we had to start. They looked so Spring-like and beautiful in the tall glasses. I am not sure I would have gone for them as I tend to just get water. The others had decided on them so I just followed suit. Glad I did.

Domus is not a cheap place to go for lunch. I like the idea that it is a bit dressy. And that it focuses on regional seasonal Canadian ingredients. It was lovely. I didn't have an eyeball rolling experience but I did like it and would love to go back.

Our waiter was thoughtful. I did notice another review that suggested that their waiter may have been too attentive and I do believe there is such a thing. I only say that as I think there are times that a table is so into themselves that there is no room for an 'extra'. And when a waiter notices those times, it is good to remain silent, no need for conversation, and go easy on the water refills.

I was lucky to find metered parking on the street that was for two hours. Lucky considering that is how long we were at lunch! So comfy and relaxed and lots to talk about.

For more details on the review to see pictures you may want to read my blog: ottawafood.blogspot.com

We went for lunch this week. For many years, Domus was our main go-to place for a good meal when we headed downtown, but in our last couple of visits, maybe 2-3 years ago, we were a tad disappointed, and felt that the quality had slipped a notch or two. Based on our recent lunch, however, I'm happy to report that Domus seems to be back on form.

I had the daily "sustainable fish" selection, "king" (chinook) salmon, with fingerling potatoes, beets, and greens. This description does not do the dish justice - it looked great, and tasted even better! It was good to the last morsel, and I was grateful to have some good bread on the side to sop up those last few molecules. My wife was equally pleased with her dish, house smoked trout and Yukon Gold potato rosti, with root veggie slaw, creme fraiche and beet/apple chutney. We also shared a very good pear meringue tart for dessert, accompanied by excellent coffee.

Domus has a very interesting, and fairly reasonably-priced, wine list, with heavy emphasis on Ontario VQA wines. I had a glass of excellent 07 Southbrook Triomphe Chardonnay, while my wife partook of the zippy and refreshing 08 Henry of Pelham Sibling Rivalry white blend.

Service was also exemplary. Domus is not inexpensive by any means (mains are around $20 at lunchtime, and $30-$35 at dinnertime), but I think the value is there. A lot of restaurants are on the localism bandwagon, but Domus is one of the few local establishments that also takes the sustainable seafood concept seriously - a big plus in my book. Kudos to John Taylor!

Finally went to Domus over the week end for a family celebration. Overall, we were pleased - but not wowed- with our mains and the wine. Service was efficient, rather unfriendly, and prompt. I was very surprised at how quickly food was served. I noticed that everyone had the same sides, regardless of what was ordered, so that might speed up service.

4 of us ordered the daily soup (butternut squash) and we unanimously did not like it as it was way too sweet. I didn't finish mine. For me, the soup ruined the experience a bit. I love squash and was really looking forward to taste a good squash soup. I could not taste the squash.

The bread was ok, but really not what I was expecting, and it was sliced way too thin. I must be a purist, but I don't quite understand why they would serve an sweet apple vinaigrette instead of butter. Again, that vinaigrette was extremely sweet and it really did not complement an already too-sweet soup. None of us understood how we were supposed to deal with the vinaigrette. We finally ordered butter and dismissed the vinaigrette.

The main is where things got more interesting. I had the fish: pickerel and scallop. The scallop was divine, the fish was really good. My favorite part of the dish was probably the mushrooms; I could have had just a bowl of those and would have been happy. The cale was good but too salty. It had to be eaten separately as the saltiness would completely hide the delicate fish. I was a bit puzzled as to why they would serve these two together - but then I noticed that we basically all had the same sides, regardless of what we ordered. My blue potatos were not cooked enough - they were really hard. My partner's potatos, on the other hand, were burnt. My plate also had two coulis and a green tomato "salsa". I could not eat either of those three because they were too sweet. A sweet couli on pickerel? Go figure.

My partner had the bison. The meat was delicious, cooked to perfection exactly as ordered. It was served with a blueberry sauce (I love blueberries, but this was also way too sweet). Other dinners had duck and lapin. I didn't try the lapin but other diners seemed to think it was the best of the mains. The duck was tender, flavourful, but it did not wow anyone.

No one had dessert.

We all thought that the red wine was too cold, but we could be wrong on that - none of us were wine experts. I'd be curious to know other people's opinion on the matter.

Looking at the pricelist, we were expecting a bit more originality and inventiveness with the flavours.

Run. Run as fast as you can to Domus and order the Braised Beef “Shortrib” and C’est Bon Goat Cheese Ravioli” before the menu changes.

I've reviewed Domus before. This time I've upped my rating (from 4 to 5 stars). The second I took my first bite of the ravioli starter I knew it would change. I haven't been in awe like this in a while. The flavour of the tender meat in each little pocket was so powerful that even with the goat cheese on top, you could clearly taste it. Each ingredient only complemented each other more and more with every morsel.

My husband ordered the “Memories of Manitou” Warm Summer Tomato Puff Pastry Tart served with yellow cherry tomato salad, green basil pesto and C’est Bon goat's cheese. Also very yummy.

Our mains were equally delicious. My husband went with the Cast Iron Crispy Skinned Barbarie Duck Breast and Ian's Brown Smoke served with yukon whipped potato, pan roasted sweet corn, cauliflower, swiss chard chutney and jus. I tried his duck, cooked rare, and it was fantastic.

My main, the special of the day, a rare cooked venison steak served with similar sides as my husband, as well as Le Coprin mushrooms, and bathing in a red wine and garlic jus was simply to die for.

The wine, 2007 Thirty Bench Red from Niagara Lake.

Every single food item on this menu is local. I would have to say that this is THE place to bring someone who is from another town in another country far away if you want them to experience local foods at their best. The service is also consistently impeccable. You are guaranteed to have an amazing evening.

We want to try their "Crazy Good" Warm Chocolate Cake originally. However, we were told that this will take about 20 minutes preparation time.

So, we changed our mind and tried their Carrot Cake ($10) instead. Delicious as it looks!

I'm still thinking about this chocolate truffle cake.

Sure. I posted it in the Forum.

Care to share that recipe with us? :)

I remeber being in charge of the desserts the first night I was there, and I must say that the Creme Brulee was hands-down the most popular item. It's almost as good as my Chocolate Banana Strawberry Creme Brulee ;)

Desserts here are made-to-order, as should be expected from a restaurant of this caliber. I ordered the vanilla creme brule, and my husband ordered a cranberry and white chocolate tarte. My creme brule had the perfect amount of 'crust' on top. His tarte had a lovely, flaky crust. Both were wonderful and beautifully presented.

I asked our waiter to recommend a robust red wine, and he immediately suggested a Cabernet Sauvignon. Well played, sir - it was absolutely to my taste (delicious!) and I thoroughly enjoyed every drop :) Next time I may order a bottle of something and just ask them to bring the food slowly throughout the night so I have a chance to finish it!

Domus offers one of the best Canadian wine list in Ottawa downtown. Here I realized that the quality of many Ontario white wines is improved a lot. I match my fish selection (scalopps + mushrooms+ spinachs) with a Canadian no-oaked Chardonnay from Niagara region. It was crisp, with a refreshing acidity, well balanced with hints of citrus and floral notes with a medium finish.
My girlfriend had a good Sauvignon Blanc from the same region. It was very complex with aromas of tropical fruits and grapefruit, full body and with a long finish. It was very crisp. Those wines were good choices for our fish selections. Even the ice-wines list was wide with many good labels.

Like a few other restaurants in Ottawa, Domus tries to focus on local and Canadian cuisine. This is also true with their wine list, which features some wonderful bottles from all over Canada, focusing most on Ontario (and therefore the Niagara region).

I drooled over the first page of the list, which was rare/'last call' bottles of various vintages. We might have been celebrating my birthday, but we also didn't want to drop $70+ on a single bottle of wine, no matter how delicious it might be. Instead, we turned the page over to the local reds choices, and went with a Stonechurch Cabernet Franc. It was a balanced wine with flavours of blackberry and fresh pepper, and a hint of vanilla. Probably not the best choice for my salmon dish, but paired nicely with the risotto and my husband's duck.

I can see why they have won wine awards.

The bread arrived on our table hot with smoke! Fabulous bread. I gave 5 stars for their bread! (I forgot what it was. But very filling and tasted like homemade.) Too bad that I didn't take the photo of their bread.

This was the Daily Market Soup I ordered. I forgot what it was. A little bit sour. Good to start! Isn't it beautiful!

The server also asked me if I wanted to have another slice of bread to go with my soup. No doubt about it.

This was the Endive Beet Salad ($14) my friend ordered.

Because we got a window seat, the picture turned out pretty nice with natural lighting. I think this is the best food photo I have taken.

This was their house chowder ($25). Not too rich and this was what my friend wanted.

This was their Warm House Smoked Ontario Rainbow Trout ($22).