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Sign in to add a commentRestaurantThing review
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May 25
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.
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.
2007 Dec 6
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
Thanx
2007 Nov 12
Saturday, November the 10th. We had some great food at "The Buzz". The Ostrich with Double Bacon reduction is a big WOW. It is the house speciality and is easy to why as soon as you get a taste of it! We also enjoyed the Tortellini with Blue Cheese and the Pork Tenderloin was also very good. We were unimpressed with the Salmon as it was far too dry. It also would have been nice if they had a better wine selection.
The desserts were pretty good, the blueberry crumble was huge (and delicious) as was the Cheesecake and Banana, although the chocolate torte and creme brule were unremarkable. Unfortunately though, we were all finished our coffee and cappucino before the desserts even arrived at the table.
Our waitress was friendly and welcoming.
The fiasco of the evening was that we waited for nearly 45 minutes just to pay our bill! They were having "issues" with their POS machine but somehow overlooked letting us know this.
I would go back for the Ostrich anytime.
The desserts were pretty good, the blueberry crumble was huge (and delicious) as was the Cheesecake and Banana, although the chocolate torte and creme brule were unremarkable. Unfortunately though, we were all finished our coffee and cappucino before the desserts even arrived at the table.
Our waitress was friendly and welcoming.
The fiasco of the evening was that we waited for nearly 45 minutes just to pay our bill! They were having "issues" with their POS machine but somehow overlooked letting us know this.
I would go back for the Ostrich anytime.
2007 Apr 27
For the 5th instalment of our monthly Supper Club, we delved deep into our Entertainment Books and decided to try The Buzz.
I will admit entering with trepidation after reading a few bad reviews from restaurantthing. Sadly they were not unfounded.
Overall the experience was OK with a few good points and a few bad points but nothing outstanding.
Food:
Thursday night is $5 Tapas night. We were only going to order one to share to start but ended up going with two. Good thing. We ordered the wasabi crusted tuna and the lemon garlic shrimp. The piece of tuna was tasty but tiny and there was no other garnish on the plate to even attempt to make it look like more than it was. Just a tiny piece of tuna on an empty plate....strange. It got worse - the second one consisted of TWO shrimp. I kid you not. Two small shrimp on an empty plate with a small dish of the lemon garlic sauce to dip. Again - no other garnish, not even a bit of lettuce. It just didn't make sense. Everyone knows that you always give 4 of everything for Tapas. I just paid $5 for TWO shrimp!!!! NOT pleased. Stay away from the Tapas!
Thankfully the mains were slightly better. I had the pecan crusted chicken which was a generous portion with two discs of polenta with a spicy crust and some nicely crisp vegetables in what was supposed to be a coconut sauce but I did not detect any hint of coconut. But the sauce was still tasty. My bf had the pecan burger with a salad and pink grapefruit dressing. He quite enjoyed his burger.
As for the other 6 people at our table - no one was impressed with the Tapas but most were satisfied with their mains.
We did not have dessert.
Service: The service was extremely clumsy and unpolished. We could not figure out if she was being rude or not. She kept banging things on the table every time she brought them and elbowed one of our party at least 3 times on her way past. Her smile was not quite genuine, but she was smiling. She was also a bit sticky about how to divvy up our bills for the Entertainment coupon and then ended up doing what we wanted in the end. So like I said - not 100% sure if this was just her personality, or if she was being rude....hmmmm.
Final verdict? Glad I tried it, but WAY better places to spend my money in Ottawa such as Allium as soon as they are back up and running! For an extra $20 I would have had a spectacular meal there......
I will admit entering with trepidation after reading a few bad reviews from restaurantthing. Sadly they were not unfounded.
Overall the experience was OK with a few good points and a few bad points but nothing outstanding.
Food:
Thursday night is $5 Tapas night. We were only going to order one to share to start but ended up going with two. Good thing. We ordered the wasabi crusted tuna and the lemon garlic shrimp. The piece of tuna was tasty but tiny and there was no other garnish on the plate to even attempt to make it look like more than it was. Just a tiny piece of tuna on an empty plate....strange. It got worse - the second one consisted of TWO shrimp. I kid you not. Two small shrimp on an empty plate with a small dish of the lemon garlic sauce to dip. Again - no other garnish, not even a bit of lettuce. It just didn't make sense. Everyone knows that you always give 4 of everything for Tapas. I just paid $5 for TWO shrimp!!!! NOT pleased. Stay away from the Tapas!
Thankfully the mains were slightly better. I had the pecan crusted chicken which was a generous portion with two discs of polenta with a spicy crust and some nicely crisp vegetables in what was supposed to be a coconut sauce but I did not detect any hint of coconut. But the sauce was still tasty. My bf had the pecan burger with a salad and pink grapefruit dressing. He quite enjoyed his burger.
As for the other 6 people at our table - no one was impressed with the Tapas but most were satisfied with their mains.
We did not have dessert.
Service: The service was extremely clumsy and unpolished. We could not figure out if she was being rude or not. She kept banging things on the table every time she brought them and elbowed one of our party at least 3 times on her way past. Her smile was not quite genuine, but she was smiling. She was also a bit sticky about how to divvy up our bills for the Entertainment coupon and then ended up doing what we wanted in the end. So like I said - not 100% sure if this was just her personality, or if she was being rude....hmmmm.
Final verdict? Glad I tried it, but WAY better places to spend my money in Ottawa such as Allium as soon as they are back up and running! For an extra $20 I would have had a spectacular meal there......
2006 Oct 7
They changed the entire staff in October 2006, and there was a noticable drop in food quality.
Hopefully things will improve with time.
Hopefully things will improve with time.
Waffles [1]
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2006 Sep 25
The combination of berries and vanilla cream cheese makes the result taste a lot like cheesecake. Yum!
Sparkling Wines [1]
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Aug 6
As of May 25, 2008 (See Restaurant Review of that date) Seaview (Australian) available by the bottle.
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Weekend Brunch [0]
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Food&Think
gold
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.