ottawa foodies

I went to Foundation with a friend not long after the restaurant first opened. Although the restaurant was empty save for two people out on the patio, the service was painfully slow. That could have been forgiven had the cheese fondue we ordered been even close to worth its price. The cheese was grainy, watery, and salty. Anyone who's ever had real fondue before would have been insulted- hell, anybody who has bloody well eaten melted cheese before would have been upset. Fondue is simple. cheese, wine, kirsch, cornstarch, a little heat. How in the hell a restaurant can charge what they do and somehow ruin such a simple meal is beyond my comprehension. Perhaps they should have spent a little less on decor and snob appeal and a little more on a trained chef and decent ingredients.

The next person that goes should ask about the broth option and the reference on their homepage that says "a main course of meat cooked in a hot oil or broth at your table"

Went for the fondue last night, and I must say I was extremely impressed with the quality of the food and service.

Our server was very professional and friendly. We had a few technical difficulties with the fondue burner (it kept going out)but she quickly fixed the issue with a smile and sense of humour.

The cheese fondue was very good and we both loved the flavour of the cheeses used. Beef fondue was tasty but, and as others have commented, I think I would have preferred the broth option. The chocolate fondue was exquisite. The quality of the chocolate was top notch and the fruit was nice and fresh.

Will definitely return to have fondue again and try options from the regular menu

Went for the Monday fondue in late Dec 2013. I'll echo lemontart's post: Great food. Totally enjoyed the experience. Would have liked the broth option for the beef.

Service was excellent, wine pairing was spot on.

Nice to have a reasonably priced fondue option in Ottawa. Was pretty much limitted to Meule and Crquelon over in Gatineau and while i enjoy that place, it's way more family than fine dining.

Would go back, would send others.

A couple of months ago Absinthe introduced fondue nights on Mondays. I think this idea is innovative and a welcome addition to “single night special menus” which are offered at some restaurants around town. I was surprised to find out that their regular menu is also available so if you are not in the mood for fondue you do not have to avoid Absinthe on Mondays.

For $44/person you get:
- Cheese fondue served with baguette, broccoli, apples and pear. I liked this course the best – cheese sauce was very flavourful and the accompaniments were a perfect mixture
- Beef fondue with four (if I remember correctly) sauces. The beef was very tasty and we were appreciative of the tip from one of the waiters about how long to keep the beef in the oil so as not to overcook it. I was disappointed that the cooking liquid was oil and not a broth which also works and is a lot lower in calories (I see on their website that they reference a choice of oil or broth but this was not offered to us)
- Chocolate fondue with a mixture of fruits – enjoyable but a little difficult to finish - unfortunately the use of oil for the beef fondue made me feel very full after the second course so I didn’t enjoy the final course as much as I would have liked

I would try it again in a couple of months but request the broth instead of oil. Also, fondue to me is a winter-type meal so not sure if this is going to work in the summer months.