Ottawa Foodies

Yup. But to be fair, I believe their sangria includes Triple Sec and a few other liqueurs, so it's a bit stronger than the typical wine-and-juice sangria you would find at Fox & Feather, for example.

Sangria was $9/glass? Wowzers...

I paid a second visit to 222 Lyon last night and I'm happy to report they now take reservations!
However, I wasn't as pleased with the food as I was last time. Regardless, this place still ranks as one of my faves.
Two dishes came up short. The tortilla de patata seemed extra thin this time, almost just like a regular omelette. As well, I found the garlic shrimps a little boring, although my table mates loved them.
On the positive side, I really enjoyed the spicy, fried chorizo, although I would have preferred a little more spice. It was pretty reminiscent of Spain.
As well, the pork and fig croquettas were nice -- meaty with a little bit of sweetness and well cooked. However, the carne (beef) croquetta seemed to overpower the fig entirely.
Sad to say, I didn't have dessert, but the wine was good (I always like Red Guitar) and the Sangria, although a little pricey at $9/glass, was totally delicious.
I'm happy to see a Spanish restaurant doing so well. It's always busy in there.

I've tried about a dozen things on the menu, including several of the items that often change - ie. the preparation of scallops and croquettes change frequently (daily? never been two consecutive days, so can't say).

My husband is a huge fan of the fried smelts, and often in the debate about where to go, that's the craving that serves as the swing vote. I am not a fan of fried or smelts, so I can't say anything about how good they are relative to other fried smelts, but if you like fried smelts, apparently this is a good place to go.

I can honestly say that every other thing I've tried on the tapas menu, I've enjoyed. What I order depends on what I'm in the mood for, but things that sound like they will be spicy are indeed spicy. Things that sound like comfort food are hearty and comforting (the Spanish meatballs, or anything with the word cream in the description). Everything is flavorful. We typically wipe the serving dishes clean with our bread, so as to be sure we sop up every drop of sauce.

I like the atmosphere - casual, comfortable and friendly. It's not a large spot, and they do take reservations, so I'd advise that you make one if it matters to you what time you eat. There's a nice bar to keep you occupied while you wait for a table, although it appears to often be entirely full.

My only caution about this establishment is that the wine list is exclusively Spanish, and relatively limited. The wine that I drink when I dine out is a big part of the experience for me, and I haven't found any on the standard list that I particularly enjoy. That said, often there are additional wines to those on the menu, and some of those have been okay. It may just be that I am learning that I am not a big fan of Spanish wine, I suppose. I might broach the subject of bringing along a bottle and see whether that is encouraged.

Doesn't change my bottom line, though, which is that this is a great place for a comfortable, casual evening of good food.

Their tortilla de patata is more delicious than the one my Spanish grandmother taught me how to make.
This gives me mixed emotions. :)

The food here is great. Been once, tried nearly everything -- yeah, I was hungry -- and it was all fantastic.

Even the small stuff, like olives stuffed with anchovies, were a flashback from Spain. A delight.

Finally made our way to 222 Lyon Tapas. The inside is quite small and if it is busy~you will be pretty close to the next person. Not sure why they made the bar area so huge unless that is a big part of their business, seems to make more sense to have more tables, then 1/3 of your whole restaurant being a bar. The wine menu is very reasonable, with most bottles around 30-35$. We started with fried squid, it was not chewy and the dipping sauce was tasty too.(there are no tentacles though). Went on to have the 'spanish meatballs, not sure what meat, but not beef, nice light tomato sauce, maybe 7.5/10. Based on other reviews I didn't want the shrimp in oily garlic sauce, so opted for the other version they offer in more of a tomato sauce, it also has a few little slices of their sausage in the sauce. 8/10. Didn't opt for any desserts. The bill for bottle of wine and the three tapas plus olives to end with came to $80. The waitress has her own homey style although to some ~it might be what they are used to.

Minor quibble, but why would a Spanish restaurant use prosciutto when Serrano ham is available :)

My favourite Spanish restaurant in Ottawa is 222 Lyon Tapas Bar. I am tapas crazy, and the food here is really good.

It's a cozy hole-in-the-wall sort of place, all painted up in warm yellows, oranges and reds. It's very charming and reminds me of all of the little restaurants I used to frequent in Montreal when I lived there.

The service is very friendly and attentive, too. I have been lucky to always get the blond waitress with the sunny personality.

The last time S and I went, we ordered four tapas dishes. In the photo, clockwise from the top, they are shrimp Mona Lisa (in a brandy cream sauce with mushrooms and peppers), chicken al Ajillo (made with prosciutto, garlic, wine and chilli), artichokes in a vinaigrette and a ratatouille of eggplant and zucchini.

The tapas dishes are pretty big here. They recommended two per person and also give you unlimited bread for scooping up the delicious juices.

My favourite dish was the shrimp, so juicy and tasty. The artichokes were great, too. Artichokes are so intimidating to make at home — how do you get inside that vegetable, anyway? But they taste so good, and the sauce here does not overpower the wonderful natural artichoke flavour.

These four tapases, a small dish of olives, a glass of wine and beer, and a dessert that we shared, all came to $72.75 plus tip.

I've never had tapas, and was craving something different so I went there on my lunch hour. A word of advice - don't go there alone if you are craving tapas! As other reviewers have mentioned, the portions are large and so, to get a taste of a few items (which is the point of having tapas) you'll need to spend a lot and will get too much food. They have "specials" which would be suitable for one person (eg. chicken dish, fish dish) but I wanted tapas!

So I ordered three plates - shrimps in some kind of oily sauce with peppers, fried smelts, and the tortilla patata (an omelette with thin slices of potato). A plate piled high with smelts came out first, and were quite tasty with lemon and salt. But then I was waiting and waiting and waiting for the other items... By then I wasn't hungry, as I had filled myself up on bread and smelts (half the plate of smelts. no woman can eat a whole plate of smelts!) but it was tedious waiting there, watching other people get their food while I was waiting for something else to eat. So I stared at my plate of smelts and the bread...

Finally the other items came out. The shrimps were tasty and the bread was great for sopping up the sauce, but the omelette was huge and I could only eat a little bit. It was kind of boring but I think if I'd been there with a group and had a number of other items its blandness would have been a good counter balance.

The bill for three items, plus a cup of tea, came to $35 ($40 once I added a tip). So an expensive lunch, and a bit of a disappointing experience.

I think to enjoy oneself here one needs to go with a group of about 4 people in order to sample a variety of items. A few glasses of wine and some sparkling conversation would also have made it that much more fun!

I'm a huge fan of tapas - getting to try a bunch of different things in one sitting is just about the best idea ever. 222 Lyon definitely doesn't disappoint in this area.

I enjoyed everything I tried and the service was wonderful. The dishes that stood our for me were the marinated mushrooms and the chorizo sausage.

It's a bit small so I recommend calling ahead or getting there when they open.

Don't miss this one!

There's a variety of tapas to choose from here and everything sounds wonderful - and they are very reasonably priced ranging from $8-14. The waitress let us know that two of the tapas plates there are equal to a regular sized meal. So my date chose the grilled shrimp and I chose the chicken al pajillo (or al parillo?).

The grilled shrimp was succulent, not rubbery. They were perfectly flavored with garlic lemon and salt. The shrimp comes with the shell on and if I hadn't been using my table manners I would've eaten the shell too - it was that good! I think there were about 6 large shrimps which I think was a great value for $8.

The chicken was excellent too. It was like it melted in my mouth lol. I don't remember the main ingredients, I know there was prosciutto ham and...oh damn I dont remember. I do know there was no peppers in it b/c my date didn't like peppers. And the sauce is perfect for dipping your bread in. yumm

Next time I will try one of the squid tapas and the shrimp with peppers.

Recalling a visit a few months ago... the food was great and the service very friendly. I remember, though, wanting to suggest to them replacing light fixtures as, particularly at the bar, the lighting is overhead and harsh. A visit to Home Depot would improve ambiance.