Ottawa Foodies

1

What can I say about "The Buzz" except.. absolutely one of the best dining experiences I have had in Ottawa since moving here. The atmosphere was warm, inviting, funky and not pretentious. The service was attentive, quick yet without feeling rushed to finish your apps. Now the food..... oh yes the food. If it would of been socially correct I would of licked the plate. The combination of slightly deep fried goat cheese, roasted garlic and a lovely chutney that I apologize to you all as I forgot the name still lingers in my foodie dreams. The portions were more then adequate. The coconut shrimp I could of eaten a plate by myself and the calamari was a nice portion. Now for the mains we had the flat iron steak and frites and the lovely Curry dish. I kept stealing my husbands curry and even though I like things really spicy the combinations and flavors were unlike anything I have ever had which made up for the lack of heat I normally want. They have now converted me to sweet potato fries. The wines chosen by my friends complemented everything perfectly. The creme brule and carrot cake were enough to come back for by themselves. I haven't written or felt like writing a review until now and I'm incredibly surprised to see that the place wasn't packed as I've been to others that didn't live up to their names. HIGHLY recommend.

Went to The Buzz for dinner couple of weeks ago on a Monday. Service was fast and efficient and very friendly. The food was delicious as well. I had the Buzz Steak Frites. It is a sliced 6oz flat iron steak, which for some may be small, but was perfect for me. It came served with outstanding sweet potato fries and the best aioli I have had in the city. My companion had the Warm Blackened Tenderloin Salad, which was fresh and very tasty. Overall, an excellent meal for a reasonable price. Also, we could have brought our own bottle and paid a $5 corkage fee, which is great. Instead we went with a couple of wines we knew, the Kim Crawford Pinot Noir and the Cline Zinfandel. Will definitely be back!

I've been here mostly for delicious martinis and fantastic brunch, but the one time I went for dinner, I got an overcooked steak which was already sliced without having been rested on what appeared to be frozen diced vegetables.

Other than that experience, I've enjoyed the food, but that one time was ridiculously awful.

Definite agreement on the veggie burger: too few places do their own and the two times i tried the Buzz's, it was both unique and v. tasty.

So the Buzz,

Well I have to say i am a bit bias about the Buzz because I was the Chef there and some of my dishes are on the menu now but I'm going to talk anyway. If your looking for a quaint local bistro, this is a good place. The atmosphere is great, the staff if friendly and most of the food is good. I would opt for the specials and tapas which are usually great.

The current chef Jishnu, is fantastic. He was my protégé but is doing quite well for himself now, always coming up with new ideas. His curry that is on the menu is great but the rice it's served with was not the best the last time i had it. I have to claim the braised lamb which is fall off the bone tender and the flavor is wonderful with just the right amount of aromatics as well as my duck dish with the espresso infused apple cider reduction. Both a guaranteed palette pleaser but i would have liked the duck confit to be paired with some breast but that's his choice to make now.

Most of the food at the buzz is made in-house with the exception of a few apps but i can forgive this for now. In time Jishnu I'm going to come for you on that one. The pecan veggie burger is awesome. So few places have the balls to make these in-house and they have been doing it for years. It's not my recipe but be sure I'll use it again.

The desserts are great and always made fresh in-house which is a great change from the usual Ottawa restaurants I've been to. Even some of the ones that say it's made in house aren't but let me review them and I'll tell you what i think about that.

All in all i have to say that I love the Buzz and would recommend it to my friends

8/10

Was at the Buzz recently for their 666 Thursdays.
My girlfriend and I thoroughly enjoyed the service and the 6$ mojitos.
We didn't have any of the main courses, as we had already eaten.. but the tapas we did have were delicious. Coffee infused mushrooms = awesome.

We shall meet again, Buzz restaurant.

I had brunch here last weekend, and the food was awesome! In my opinion, this place serves one of the best brunches in the city. I had the huevos rancheros with sausages, and it was excellent! The sausages were juicy, and there were huge chunks of potatoes in my huevos. If you don't like spicy, the salsa they serve on top is spicy..they definitely weren't shy about that at all. My sister had the eggs florentine, and loved it. They also make great cappuccinos...the coffee was very fresh.

After spending a late summer afternoon downtown, we decided to pop in her for a light dinner. As all the tables at the front of the restaurant were busy we decided to sit at one of the high-tops in the bar area. “The Man” ordered an Ambroise Blonde Beer while I decided to wait awhile. We perused the menu, and thought we might just get a salad and the sharing platter.

The sharing platter was something we had enjoyed on our last visit, and were not disappointed this time either. The combination of Coconut Shrimp (fantastic flavour), Satay Chicken, Calamari and Mini Spring Rolls with their accompanying sauces (Hot – Tzaki – Creamy – Plum Mango) were delicious. Unfortunately, the Caesar Salad was a downer. The salad was just too wet, way too much dressing… which of course made the romaine limp and unappetizing… we only ate a small portion. Along with our food we ordered a bottle of Seaview Sparkling Wine (as we enjoyed it so much our last visit). Our server came by often enough to check on us, brought us dinner rolls and poured some wine.

Overall our second visit was not as good as our first, but not enough to not visit again in the future... figure everyone can have an off day. One thing that did strike us strange though, was while “The Man” sipped his beer (before our food came), one of the tables at the front near the window became available, we immediately asked our server if we could move there… she said she believed it was reserved but would check. Well she went off to the bar area, we assumed to ask… when the server at the table next to us (who had also been at the bar with our server at the same time) came by and offered it to her guests… and they quickly took her up on the offer and moved. Our server came back, no explanation, no apology, nothing. We were a little p-d off about it, not enough to complain, but it didn’t sit right with us… especially when we figured out that the patrons that moved up to the better location obviously were “friends” with some of those who worked there. Oh well… there is always the next time… I figure we’ll give them one more try before we make a final decision on this spot.

A tiny deceptive frontage on Bank Street that gives way to a modern spacious interior. A wonderful bar that curves through the room, tables for two and banquette seating for larger groups, gives the room chic “New York” style.

There were 5 of us on this Friday Night, and so we were shown to one of the curved high-back banquettes covered in tan suede. The seating was comfortable as well as attractive.

Our server was friendly and knowledgeable, she was quick to greet us and bring bread, water and the Drink Menus (martinis and majitos) as well as the wine list. Three of us decided to share a bottle of bubbly from Australia (sorry don’t recall the name), while two of the Gents went with cocktails. The menus were not extensive, but offered a good variety of starters, salads and mains. The specials for the night were either a seafood or venison dish. While we were deciding, the 5 of us shared two of their sharing platters. Each came with Chicken Satay Skewers, Mini Spring Rolls, Calamari, and Coconut Shrimp along with 4 dipping sauces – something sweet, something sour, something hot, and something creamy. All the nibbles were delightful, the Calamari was perfectly cooked and the Coconut Shrimp had a wonderful flavour.

Next up was the wine order. “The Man” and I chose a Jackson-Triggs Gewurztraminer from Niagara, as we had both decided to order lighter meat courses, while the others at the table shared a Red Wine. The server was perfect in her ability to open and serve wine (including the sparkling earlier) and brought a chiller for the white wine, and came by several times during dinner to make sure that our glasses were refilled.

“The Man” ordered the Pork Tenderloin which was pan seared and flamed with Pear Liqueur, and finished in a 5 Peppercorn Sauce. It was served with Rosemary Roasted Potatoes and Veggies. While I had the oven roasted Atlantic Salmon which had a Caramelized Sesame Crust and was topped with Maple Soy Ginger Sauce, served with the Roasted Potatoes and Veggies. The Salmon was delicious, the Potatoes yummy, and the Veggies a nice mix of broccoli, cauliflower, red peppers and snow peas.

Two others in our group ordered the house specialty – “Buzz Steak Frites” (with Sweet Potato Fries) they both opted to upgrade their dish to the Filet Mignon. Their steaks were done perfectly (including a rare) and the dish also came with Veggies, Garlic Butter and Aioli. The last member of our group ordered the Seafood Linguini.

No one had room for dessert. But we enjoyed coffees and cappucinnos. Used our Entertainment Card (and saved $ 16 per couple). Overall a good experience, and we would go back, even without the discount.

Thanks for the compliment on the ostrich. I'm sorry if your experience wasn't perfect and if you read my profile it explains the changes going on. I hope to see all of you at the restaurant in the future now that the food quality is changing so much for the better.

Thanx

The combination of berries and vanilla cream cheese makes the result taste a lot like cheesecake. Yum!

As of May 25, 2008 (See Restaurant Review of that date) Seaview (Australian) available by the bottle.

I LOVE LOVE LOVE brunch at The Buzz. They serve real maple syrup (surprisingly a rarity in Ottawa, unless you hit a foodie joint like most of those listed here). The menu is brief yet varied, the food fantastic and chef-like (as opposed to 'line'-cooked) and the service is delightful...always. Crepes, home-made sausages/banana bread/granola...