Ottawa Foodies

It was my first visit to LTV and it was a GREAT experience!

The moment we walked in, the server/host (a lovely man from Hong Kong) greeted me by name. I had made reservations (although none were actually needed) so he made a good guess at who I was.

It was my first Turkish dining experience and it is very similar to Lebanese food. We ordered the Dinner for Two (something I normally wouldn't do) but after much hype from my friends and the recommendation of our server, the decision was very easy.

We started with the salad -- delicious crisp lettuce with olive oil and spices. There were tomatoes, pickles, chickpeas, red onions, cucumbers -- all very fresh. There was a small dollop of hummus (reddish in colour) where I couldn't identify the spice they had put in. It was all delicious!!!! We ordered an extra plate of that hummus.

The main dish came -- kabobs (skewers of meat) stuck out of a foil-wrapped half cabbage surrounded my rice and potatoes and some other garnishes. To give it that 'ta da' effect, it arrived with a sizzling sparkler! What adult doesn't still enjoy that!?!?! ( :

The kabobs consisted of chicken, shrimp, beef and lamb. What a GREAT sample platter!!! One bite was just as delicious as the other! The flavour was simply incredible! Everything was SO perfectly cooked and tender! The potatoes were quite yummy as well. They had an extra bite -- wonderful crispy exterior and soft interior. I wondered if they had been fried or just roasted that way.

To end our meal, we ordered a chocolate cake, a bird nest honey thing (similar to baklava but not) and a pudding thing. The cake was good. The bird nest thing was too sweet. I was only able to take a few bites. The pudding thing was made of rose water and vanilla so the taste was certainly different. I thought it would have had a pudding or custard consistency but it was more gelatinous. Still, it was good.

All in all, the combo of food and service made for a fabulous meal! I'm not sure what the final bill came to but for the Dinner for Two alone, I think it was $30-something which is incredible reasonable for the quantity but mostly the QUALITY!

There is no doubt I will be returning to LTV. Double thumbs up all the way!

It's been a couple of years, but I plan to go back to this restaurant the next time I need a massive dose of meat. They serve these incredible meat skewers arranged dramatically in what can only be described as a 'tower of meat'. They are savoury, delicious and fun to eat - you feel a bit like you're eating meat off a sword that was thrust into a fire by a Saracin warrior. Neat.