Ottawa Foodies

This review is long overdue...and I was previously a BIG fan of Ei8hteen, but am not such a big fan any longer.

Here is the reason why: Back in May I went out with a bunch of gals for a movie then to Ei8hteen to meet up with other folks for drinks and dinner. The organizer of this evening called the restaurant a few days before to make a reservation for the 12 people. She proceeded to tell them that we were going to have drinks then most of us would have dinner and some would have appetizers. The manager said they would seat us in the bar at first for drinks because all the dinner tables were booked, then give us a proper table to eat once everyone arrived around 9:30. This plan was fine with our group.

When the gals arrived first at the restaurant decked out in our finery, the waiter seated us at two of the high top tables (separate and not comfortable in heels and dresses) and stated that would be our place for the night. The organizer then recounted the conversation she had earlier on the phone with the manager (who happened to be there and interrupted the conversation) about how we wanted to have dinner and that we were to be moved to a regular table later. The manager flatly denied the conversation with the organizer then proceeded to tell us that there is a $75 minimum per person for the table and that is why we couldn’t have the proper dining table. The organizer convinced them that there was no problem on spending the minimum per person averaged over the table (many bottles of wine, champagne cocktails and expensive mains were had) and that we didn’t want to eat dinner at the bar tables. The manager, finally after much persuasion agreed to seat us at a proper table (already set, not reserved and empty at the time of arrival I might add).

I wasn’t impressed with the attitude of the manager and then to top it all off the server was not attentive in the slightest and we waited 45 minutes at the end to pay the bill. The food was mostly good but after fighting with the manager, I am not inclined to go back there again. The dinner cost my husband and I around $200 for the two of us and I much rather spend my money at other restaurants that are interested in taking it.

Also, the music after 9:00 pm gets cranked up and it is difficult to have a conversation (even though I enjoy the lounge music they play). I wish this place would figure out an identity for itself and decide whether it is a high-end restaurant with good service and fine food, or whether they are a martini bar for the 20-something set.

My husband and I went last night for our first wedding anniversary.
We started off with salad, I had the tomatoe salad with c'est bon goat cheese, and my husband had the green bean ceasar salad. Both were GREAT. We ordered a bottle of CVS chardonnay to match our mains. I had the trout, and my husband had the hen, both were great, though the trout was a little too salty for my taste...

We then had the Creme Brule for desert, which was AMAZING!!

The price was decent, came up to 200$ for both of us, including the tip.

Great service, great atmosphere... I recommend it, and I would go again!

My family and a friend went for dinner this Saturday, which made for a table of six in total. Now, I am nowhere near as "experienced" as some foodies on this site, but I like good food for a decent price tag.

Eighteen offered me, for the first time, excellent food for a decent price. To start, we had the Crab squared, the BBQ peking duck soup, the Steak tartare and the Green bean salad. Since I tasted them all I can honestly say everything was beyond excellent.

For mains, we had two Cowboy cut steaks, the Cod, the Salmon, the Ostrich, and the Chicken - pretty much the entire menu! Again, these were met with nothing but praise from the entire group.

Dessert was delicious as well. The only disappointment for me was the service. I found it to be sporadic, especially for a restaurant of this caliber. Other than that, it was an excellent evening!

The appetizers were excellent. Very delicious. Everything from the beet salad to the crab to the prawns. Full of flavor. And in general well priced.

The mains were okay. Not worth the price tag.

But overall a nice night out. Atmosphere is phenomenal. And the service was pretty good.

Four of us went here last night and had the winterlude menu.
We all had the seared white tuna with watermelon and pickled ginger appetizer. For dinner I had the scallops with a raisin caper compote and jerusalem artichoke puree. I was worried about the compote as I don't do raisins (they're satans candy) but the server assured me that he also does not like raisins but thinks the compote is, "beautiful". He was right! Everything worked very well together! My friends had the steak with blue cheese butter and mashed potatoes and vidalia onion puree. They all finished their plates. For dessert we all had the pineapple crumble with coconut gelato - mmmm Hmmmm! Service was extraordinary. Twas tasty!

Until now, I've held off posting a review of e18hteen because we had a bad experience (food and service) seven years ago. I believe restaurant reviews get out of date quickly and a seven year old opinion is therefore quite irrelevant.

We came to Restaurant 18 for an office Christmas dinner tonight. Wifey and I were happy, because we wanted to give this place another try after hearing good things recently. Service was comfortable, efficient, and generally very good. There were some awkward moments as they threatened us with delays if we ordered off the main menu (they have a group menu for 12 to 20 people, we were 13). The restaurant was FULL on a Wednesday night. Our group was given a nice curtained-off area at the back of the restaurant. A very nice touch and worth asking for.

Drinks were presented well and in good portion. Yet they still managed to screw things up a little. I ordered my usual Cinzano, and the waiter expertly confirmed three details: red, on the rocks, and with a twist. But instead of a twist of lemon, I received a wedge of orange. Weird, but fine, it was still good. My boss received an unexpected bonus in his Mojito. Nestled into the muddled mint was one of those pouring attachments bartenders stick onto their bottles! When he pointed this out, our server looked quite mortified. I half-expected a re-enactment of the famous "dirty fork" sketch (www.youtube.com).

Bread was all right, served with a caramelized butter that didn't do much for me (but I'm a purist when it comes to butter). Wine was decanted and presented admirably, with different glasses for different reds.

After some delay, the appetizers arrived. Everyone I heard from was quite thrilled with these! My soft shell crab (see monty's picture below) was fantastic, the accompanying crab cake not so much (a bit dry and boring). Wifey's seared Black Angus beef "Susur style" was awesome and made me think Susur's restaurant might be worth a visit some day. The boss asked me to point out that his Ice Bowl of beef tartar was really good.

Main dishes arrived soon after. These were not met with the same global praise as the appetizers. My honey ginger lacquered BC black cod was top notch and melted in my mouth. Wifey's Digby sea scallops were all right, but the sauce was runny and didn't give them much flavour. The rack of lamb was said to be excellent.

Wifey and I had to cancel our dessert orders at the last minute because they took way too long to arrive. We had a babysitter that needed to get home so we had to leave. We were there from 7:30 until 10:33, and did not have time for dessert! Maybe this restaurant was too full...

Overall, we enjoyed our meals, but we remain unconvinced that e18hteen represents exceptional quality or value relative to Ottawa's other offerings.

I'm surprised there's no comments about e18hteen?

I haven't been with their most recent chef but was impressed when I read he was trained under John Taylor of Domus, and more recently Susur Lee of Susur in Toronto.

The decor and ambience in this restaurant are incredible. Impressive plating, excellent choice of wine pairing, and impeccable service all put this restaurant on my hit-list for special occasions.

The photo I've included is a stock photo directly from their website. For anyone who hasn't had the dish - it's soft shell crab which is a crab that has been caught shortly after it molts it's hard shell, then completely deep fried in a tempura like batter. Tasty.

Pretty much all you have to do is walk to the bathroom and you can see all the wonderful awards that Eighteen has won for their wine list.
Outstanding to say the least, and all their menu items are paired very well, too.
I was very confused on whether to order by the bottle or glass seeing as I picked items randomly off the menu. Me and my date ended up with a bottle of pinot noir to match our main, and then received ON THE HOUSE, glasses of wine to accompany our other courses! Such great service and great wine knowledge as well. Those awards have come with a reason!

I just popped by tonight and had some drinks and the General Tao's Chicken. Not bad, but Chinese restaurants do it best. Their website has it listed as $6, but it was $9 - poor value for the portion size (in my opinion) but a good snack nonetheless.

I was however pleasantly surprised to see they have some Beau's on tap, as well as a few beers from the Mill Street Brewery in TO...

Never tried it but I see it's on their 'Bar Bites' menu which is reasonable priced with most apps between $6-$9. I'll have to drop by for a drink sometime soon...

I really like the General Tsao's at Eighteen. You can get it at the bar or the lounge. Have any of you guys had it there?