ottawa foodies

Tomorrow I will have officially graduated, and my parents are in town for the occassion. They suggested going somewhere nice, which usually to me means a place like Mezzanotte, or Savanah Cafe; both nice, up-scale restaurants. But, I think they were thinking like Beckta, Domus, Juniper, et cetera.

I am only familiar with one of these, Domus, which I loved. But I want to use this as an opportunity to stretch my wings out a bit.

On my "to-try" list are:

The Gastropub - located nice and close by. Totally my first pick, but my mom can't do stairs (uses a walker)...are there seats on the main level?

Beckta

Murray Street

Does anyone have thoughts about any/all of these? I'm really indecisive and rely a lot on other people's opinions (a blessing and a curse, really).

If you want close by (to you) I'd recommend Juniper. There are no stairs, and the food and service are always top notch. Bectka is of course always high on a list, but as I've never been there, I can only lament how I've not had the chance to try it yet. If you would like to be downtown, Murray Street, other than being a nice restaraunt has a very nice patio. If you are in the mood to sample food and wine for a couple hours while basking in your summa cum laude glow (as opposed to just ordering a simple meal, eating and moving on) I would also recommend Play downtown as a Beckta alternative. Remember to reserve a spot on the first floor to make sure you're not put on the second floor (more stairs).

Juniper is out for personal reasons (long story short, Andrew won't be joining us and it would feel awkward to be only a two minute walk away from him).

Pete, are you confirming my suspiscions about WGP's stairs?

Play is definitely a cool concept, I'm not sure how my parents are with sharing though (seriously).

The washrooms at Beckta are upstairs. They might have something on the main floor for people unable to manage the stairs but you'd definitely want to ask if you were making a reservation. What about Les Fougeres? That's all on a single level (maybe a couple of steps at the entrance).

As much as I love the place, Murray Street would pose accessibility problems due to the stairs leading up to the entrance and the washrooms being down another flight of stairs.

If you go to Play, even if people don't share, I think you could build a good meal out of a couple of dishes each. Just means that there'd be some repetition.

The WGP does have a room downstairs, and it's got washrooms close by, but I believe it's usually reserved for private functions and not for regular folk like you and me. It may be worth calling them first, though, to see if they can accomodate you anyway.

I went to Amber Garden myself, however I believe there are stairs which would prevent that.

Beckta! Beckta!!

Or, hello - Atelier :)

OK, I'm editing to add more. Five word posts are so annoying. I've been to Beckta twice and both experiences have been nothing short of perfect in terms of food, wine and service. I'm sure they have a staff washroom on the main floor that your mom could use - if you called ahead and asked they would be more than happy to make arrangements...Beckta always goes above and beyond to make their patrons happy.

Atelier has a few stairs leading up into the restaurant, but nothing too crazy, and the washrooms are on the main floor. However, the restaurant is small - not a lot of room to maneuver a walker - although again, I'm sure it would not even be an issue due to the caliber of service there.

I like Beckta and Atelier way more than Domus and Gastropub. Never been to Murray St.

I would have recommended Murray St as well, it's probably one of my fav Ottawa restaurants, but as Momo said, there are some accessibility problems.

So, after much deliberation, and thinking, and time in my pensive space (no, I don't have a pensive space. Maybe when I start grad school), we/I decided on Play, because I love the concept of small lates, even though I wasn't sure how my parents would be with it.

Me: "Well, y'know the portions are well priced, but_they're_small"
Mom: "That's okay, I don't eat much" (true. My father on the other hand...)

Anyway, what really sold me, and something I wanted to point out, was how well the girl on the phone handled our conversation:

(call to Play #1):
Me: Hi, do you have any reservations for 3 for sometime between 6:30 and 7:30? (in many more words than this, I'm much classier and less succinct than this).
Play Guy: No, unfortunately our earliest is 9.
Me: Okay, I'll call Beckta.

(call to Beckta):
Me: Hi, do you have any reservations for 3 for sometime between 6:30 and 7:30?
Person @ Beckta: We can do 5 or 9 (argh. why didn't I call earlier???) We do, however, have a waiting list, and we might have a few cancellations tomorrow
Me: Oh. Does Play have a waiting list?
Person @ Beckta: I'm not sure let me check
time passes
I just called Play and they said they have space for three at 6.
Me: Oh. Well, maybe I'll call Play and reserve that time, and try and get on the waiting list. Thanks!

(call to Play #2):
Me: Hi, I just called a few minutes ago, and asked about a reservation, and you didn't have any space, but then I called Beckta and Beckta said that you have a waiting list and possibly a table at 6pm, is this all true (again, much less succint, with a lot of understanding sounds from the other end).
Girl @ Play: Well, um, no. But since that's what you were told, I'll just overbook then.
Me: Oh. Well, I was actually hoping to be put on the waiting list for 7, because we're coming from a convocation.
Girl @ Play: Oh. You're coming from a convocation. Congratulations. Well, if you want, I can overbook the 7pm time slot instead.
Me: Oh, that'd be great.
(takes name, number)
Me: Oh, wait. One more thing. My mother uses a walker, is it possible to...
Girl @ Play: You'll be on the main floor. Don't worry about it. We wouldn't make her walk up the stairs.

Followed by a very long sigh of relief. Apparently getting a table at Play for Friday at 7, on Thursday at 5 was more work than actually getting my degree *cough_cough*.

Anyway, I'm grateful for your suggestions, and incredibly delighted and amused by the pre-service I got from Play.

LWB - "Hopefully" the overbooking part won't also entail "over waiting". Do come back with feedback after your dinner.

Congratulations on your graduation, lady who brunches! My accolades also to your parents who no doubt had a role in your success. Enjoy your convocation and celebration tomorrow and I wish you much good luck and success in grad school.

Congratulations LWB! Enjoy your dinner! I've had a very good experience at Play; I'm sure you'll have a great evening.

Congratulations! As the parent of 3 children still in university I admire your success and your parents support. I really hope you had a beautiful, celebratory dinner. You all deserve it.

I don't think the gastropub has anything on the first level. The previous establishment did though - the room to the left of the main door.

GP has a private dining room on the main floor for special or private events - but you still have stairs leading into the establishment and restrooms on the second level.

Thanks for the well wishes and suggestions everyone! Play was wonderful and I will post my review as soon as my dad emailed me the photos (my camera battery was dead).