Ottawa Foodies

Renamed this from Roses Cafe to Diwali Indian Cuisine.

Some time ago - maybe as long as a year ago - my wife noticed on a local real estate site that the Wellington location was for sale, but the notice said that the name was not for sale. And there was some business in the notice as well about the staff not even knowing about it or some such. Sounded very odd in any case. So my money is certainly on "new management", at very least.

The sign at the Wellington locale suggests its undergoing a name (and perhaps management) change to Diwali. The invoice still reads Roses and the menu seemed familiar, so perhaps there's an affinity between the two?

Whatever the case, i took away two curries last night, a rich & mild Potato / Mushroom curry and Jalfrezi, a drier mix-veggie curry. The owner/mgr also handed me a complimentary Dal (lentil soup) b/c they were out of a different soup (veggie / hot pepper) i had wanted ... very thoughtful of him, i thought.

All were v. tasty. The Jalfrezi was quite spicy, a bit too much for my partner, so i ended up w/ the lion share (and only a couple spoonfuls of the mushroom curry). Worked for me: i really enjoyed the combined heat, tomato-infused tanginess and medley of other flavours, including hints of fennel (or anise?). The other curry was quite thick with a touch of smokiness to it: not quite as much to my personal taste, but it didn't last long either. A nice $22 meal for two.

Didn't see Heritage on tap, but it looks like they are serving Beau's.

We went to the Wellington location for lunch on a Saturday afternoon. It was quiet and clean and had a soothing feel to it with it's lush burgundy and cream colours.

We ordered the Chicken Korma, some Garlic Naan, vegetable Hot Pepper Soup and a chickpea filled crepe (Dosa?) Everything was fresh, plentiful and delicious. To top it all off it was extremely affordable coming in under 40.00 for the two of us and that included beer.

Sometimes Indian food in restaurants can be spiced so that all of the dishes have the same flavour. Not the case here. The soup was particularly good. We will definitely go back and try more dishes.

Their supper-time buffet for just over 10 bucks is one of the most intense eating experiences you will ever encounter. The spread is generally very good with tandoori chicken, rack-of-lamb and more.

I quite like the Gladstone location but was glad to see recently that the Dalhousie location has closed in favour of the one on Wellington. I've ordered from the menu and eaten from the buffet, but it's been a while since I was there last. My impression has always been that the food is tasty; though, the buffet gets a little crusty and short on selection if you go at an off peak time. There are always lots of vegetarian and vegan choices.

To add an amusing anecdote, for our first date, my boyfriend and I were going to go to Cafe Shafali, but when we arrived (after being told no reservation was necessary), we couldn't get a table for a half an hour. I suggested that we walk up to Roses Cafe which we did. After somewhat awkward conversation and ordering, we received our food relatively quickly but were suddenly accosted by blaring music. We were both nervous as it was, but when the half naked belly dancer started making the rounds and pulling men up to dance with her, we were both squirming in our seats. Boyfriend kept his eyes on his plate as she made her way over to our table and then, when asked if he was going to get up and dance or keep ignoring her, he replied, "Keep ignorning you." We left the restaurant amazed and amused and are still able to laugh about it.

Their supper-time buffet for about 12 bucks usually has some excellent tandoori chicken.

Locally-brewed Heritage Light and Dark on tap - both are great beers that are nice and hoppy which goes well with spicy food.