ottawa foodies

More details on the closing of the Kent St location and the opening of their new location on Elgin.

m.obj.ca

I just figured they have it sweet at the Kent location, for what it is. Whereas that spot on Elgin has no parking lot (which matters much less for a restaurant), no truck access to the back for deliveries (that I'm aware of). They'd be closer to both of the Centretown grocery stores, which might poach some of their sales for less-discerning customers. The brown-bag lunches would make a killing, though, if Johnny Farina's lunch counter is any indication.

Personally I'd love to see something other than another restaurant open on Elgin, I guess we'll find out closer to spring.

Totally agree, but what I posted is what I heard from someone close to the business. It could be totally wrong, or totally right, or half right, or none of the above. I have no reason to doubt what I heard, but I understand if you do. :)

The Kent location is the 'supply' arm of the business, it would make zero sense on Elgin. Whereas the oyster house would be (will be) quadrupling its dining space. At least.

I believe it's the Kent St location that's moving to Elgin.

Looks like they're moving to 231 Elgin in the new year. The papered-up windows of the former @HOME shop are festooned with 'Spring 2016' Whalesbone imagery.

$18 for a pretty minuscule and bland steak sandwich and side salad.

The steak is advertised as a seared steak, but it is really crunchy small pieces of stew like beef, smothered in an unrecognizable broth they called chimichurri, which it totally is not. There is nothing else in the bun. The steak had no semblance of being grilled and was not juicy at all.

My friend's fish also priced in that neighbourhood was a tiny portion also with a salad.

Overpriced lunch, underwhelming in flavour, originality, quantity, overall value.

Will not be back.

Also, if you're going with W'bone i'd strongly suggest calling for a rez like yesterday.

Cardamom - If you have kids in tow, I would lean towards S&D. It's a very friendly, realxed atmostphere. And the food is wonderful.

Thanks FoodTravel! Totally forgot about the crawl. Would love to join except we're bidding adieu to a friend who's leaving the country and will also have kids in tow. Will watch to see if anyone posts more recent reviews today. If we do end up at Whalesbone, I'll be sure to stop by and say hello. They might not have room for us now though, in any event....

FINALLY went and tried not only oysters for the first time, but caught Vardy on his last night in Ottawa!
I asked the server which oysters I should try being my first time and she suggested one from the east coast (PEI) and one from the west. The bigger one on the left in the pic is west and the smaller east. I tried the east first and it was smooth and the texture creamy almost. Then I tried the west and it was completely different than the PEI oyster. West was 'fishy' tasting and had a grainy texture. Both were good but I definitely preferred the east coast oyster.

I can't comment on their oysters, but I had their angus steak in a pepper sauce last week. It was about $35 and fantastic. Much more flavourful than the the pepper steak at Hy's, presented in a more appealing way, and at 2/3s the price.

This was my main dish. "Hot filicetti sausage, organic king eryngii mushrooms, pickled ramps and warm crushed heirloom tomatoes"
This was absolutely delicious!! The sauce, heirloom tomatoes, was so perfectly flavoured I wished I had some bread at the end of it so I could soak it up! I did find the scallops to be a touch overdone but nonetheless was still very good. The little sausages added a nice texture to every bite.

My bf ordered the Potato Crusted Red Spring Salmon which was described as "Organic young beets, pea shoots, "broken" soy-chevre-truffle sauce". The server asked how he would like it done and suggested that it should be medium rare but my bf not eating fish/seafood alot opted to have it done medium. He totally LOVED it! He couldn't stop saying how good it was and him being a lover of beets just couldn't get over how delicious it all was. I tried a bite of the salmon and yes, delciousness! The potato crust was perfect.

I chose the fish and chips for my lunch, as it is a kind of gold standard for any seafood restaurant. In keeping with the rustic style of this restaurant, it was served in a beaten up metal dog bowl of a plate -- a little too whacky for my taste considering the $17 price point.

I had high expectations for the fish and WOW did it deliver! Incredibly moist and succulent, with a perfect shell of crispy tangy batter. Certainly some of the best fried fish I've encountered anywhere. The only downside is that there were just three tiny fingers of it on my plate.

As for the chips, they were not my thing. Thick wedges of potato, fried to a dark brown on the outside, but tasting like oven-roasted potato on the inside. It's probably just personal preference but I didn't see this as an improvement over pub-style chips. I even left some on my plate, which is something I never do! The smear of tartar sauce was totally unnecessary for the delicious fish, but it did help moisten the potatoes. The sweet pickled onions are also a nice touch if you're into sweet pickles (I'm not).

So overall, I'd go somewhere else for my fish and chips. But if you want to see how perfectly fried fish can be simultaneously moist and crunchy, this dish is worth a shot!