ottawa foodies

Always a good option.

My spouse and I split a beet salad app along with a lightly breaded cauliflower cooked in chicken grease with some sort of cheese sauce. The salad was good, but the cauliflower was outstanding. Unique and simply amazing.

Mains

She had scallops, I a fettuccine in a soupy tomatoey sauce with mushrooms. Hers better than mine, which was a tad bland.

Outstanding beer selection and the ability to order a flight of 6 to try a bunch is awesome. Consensus best was the Beau's Cherry.

Overall a wonderful experience though a bit disappointing on my main course. Maybe just a bad selection on my part.

Dammit warby foodie.... the Carben pic was bad enough .... but that burger... THAT BURGER.

My lunch leftovers taste like ashes and hopelessness. I hope you're happy.

We came for lunch on a Friday and it was surprisingly not super busy. Four of us had the Burger + Fries ($15, with porcini mayo, lettuce, cheddar, pickles). The burger was very good, much like one you'd get for a similar price at a local brewpub. The fries were thick-cut and absolutely wonderful.

My wife and I also shared the lunch scallop plate, which was excellent but very small for the price.

We were thrilled to get a complimentary plate of excellent bread (one piece per person) with our meal. It's so rare to see that these days. If I tell myself that the bread service was subsidized by the scallop plate's price I feel good about it all. :-)

After a disappointing experience down the street involving a lack of service, we wandered down here, and went in. The difference between the two was night and day.

One of my party had mentioned to the host our experience, and they sat us immediately. After we had a few minutes to peruse the menu, he arrived with a complimentary glass of sparkling wine for us. Our servers, even though the place was packed, was attentive to us, and I noticed to the other patrons.

The food, of course, was beyond compare. I had the Pork Terrine, and the Braised short rib. Both of which were sublime.

So, in short, great food, great service, will definitely come back.

Lunch is far quieter and later dining hour around 8 or 8:30pm is also slower than 6 or 7pm.

Ashley

If you enjoy the food at Wellington Gastropub, maybe try lunch instead of dinner?

I enjoy lunch here, less busy than edinner service and I didn't really notice loud noise at lunch time.

My second time to try this place and I don't think I will go back in the near future. Don't get me wrong. The food was good. It's the environment not fit for quiet dining or conversation (we had to yell to be heard). When we left, the bar was full of young customers waiting for tables. I told my son that we went to a restaurant to eat and the place was too loud and my son said that "then this is good since they like that kind of atmosphere for dining".

This place is definitely a favorite place for young customers. We went on a Wednesday and the dining area was already full at 6:30 PM. When we (4 of us) were seated, two ladies were also seated beside us. That two ladies looked at the menu and sat about 5 minutes and stood up to leave (they said sorry to the server). Hmmmm. I looked at the menu and didn't find it interesting (compared to my first time's experience few years ago). The place was so noisy and I wonder if I picked the right place to meet our friends to get some update while enjoying good food.

The food was tasty. No complaint about it. But the place was full and we were seated near the kitchen. My hubby's T-shirt was soaked.

When we finished and left the restaurant, we felt so much better (better air and my brain functioned better). I don't think pub environment is good for us any more.

Again, the food was quite good. It's the loud noise that we didn't like (noise also got bounced back from the brick wall easily, I think). My friends live in Westborogh and told us that this place is also not for them. But at least they tried it.

I took my nephew to lunch at Wellington Gastro Pub a couple of weeks ago to make up for a less than stellar bday lunch at Urban Pear.

He really enjoyed the lunch at Wellington Gastro Pub. He had a freshly made lemonade and I had a blood orange soda to start while we looked over the menus.

Wanting to try different things, he ordered the salad starter and the halibut main with side of fingerling potatoes and corn/beans. I ordered a burger and soup (potato and zucchini) special and little phyllo parcels stuffed with cheese assorted good things. Everything was excellent and the only thing that I might improve is to ask for the sauce for the phyllo parcels on the side.

Very attentive but laid back service.

I had lunch here before and also appetizers with beer before early evening.

Decided to come here for lunch again. Admitted this was not the first choice off the top of my head for this outing but given Monday at 11:30 window and needing a location near the Heart Institute, really glad I did.

First you get some Art-Is-In dynamite white and multigrain and fennel bagette slices with dipping oil on a little board. Nice and fresh bread but have to say fig and walnut remain my favourite.

Several good items on the menu but the Crispy Pork Sarnie with the soup special of black bean, tomatoes and corn caught my eye. It is a pork schnitzel sandwich on a white bun / roll with sesame seeds and a little bit of slaw on top of the sandwich. I think a bit of hot or grainy mustard would be a nice option personally. The soup was interesting too and both were seasoned but not salty.

The homemade ice cream sounded really good but the rhubarb one was not tempered so it was substituted with coconut. Other flavours were cookies and cream and raspberry cheesecake. The coconut tasted well on first try before other flavours but was a little pale in flavour after tasting the other 2. Favourite of the 3 is the raspberry cheesecake but I tend to favour fruit or chocolate or nuts.

Asked if they had any Beyond the Pale cask beer left from the tap takeover on Sunday but those were all gone but they had some Bell Hope Porter so had a small glass of that. Pretty tasty but a bit heavy for a nice summer day.

Service was excellent throughout and they offered to comp the drink for substituting the rhubarb ice cream with coconut. Considering it is Rhubarb season, was looking forward to sampling that since that is an unusual and hard to find flavour. It was nice of them to comp the drink and it was great customer relations but they did not have to since I had a good meal.

Need to do this more often for lunch and do full dinner here.

Stopped by this past Saturday as part of a Wellington end snack/bar crawl. Received excellent service and Ontario craft beers sitting at the bar.

I sampled a glass of the Shingleback Shiraz (South Australia) and enjoyed its sweetness and complex fruitiness. I'm generally one to sip my wine between courses rather than with the food, so this worked out well. Unlike most wines it even went well with dessert. Anyways, I have yet to meet an Australian Shiraz I don't like.

They have an extensive selection of wines by the glass here, so if you like to sample a few different ones it's a great place to be!

The Wellington Gastropub now has their own nanobrewry on site - Stock Pot Ales! (www.ottawabeerevents.ca)

Ottawa's own beer finally, Kichesippi on tap. Full aroma and a tad on the spicy side...highly recommended!

I particularily enjoy saddling up to the bar at the WGP. The service is always friendly and helpful.

Trying a flight of beer is a nice little journey into the Ontario breweries and a comparison of the tastes and smells and sensations of each one.

I have enjoyed plenty of great discussion about local products and sipped a few new beers whilst doing so at the WGP.

Highly enjoyable from my perspective!

The beer I chose was an ale from the Robert Simpson Brewing Company out of Barrie, ON which is one of the many beer microbrewed beers they serve. I like the fact that they serve beers from local Ontario small breweries and in being a gastropub, compliment the food you eat as well.

We ordered beers with our meals and this was the bf's choice. St. Peter's English Ale which is brewed in Suffolk, England and is organic. The bottle was the coolest bit....we were allowed to keep it! Very good beer.

While not really a comment on beer from this vendor, I just had to respond to FF's comments on Guinness. If you don't like the relative harshness of Guinness, you should head over to Ireland. The Irish all swear it doesn't travel well, and I thought they were full of it. But it's true. Guinness in Ireland is as you describe: heavy, dark, but smooooooooth and creamy. It's just the perfect drink. Though "perfect" is a dangerous word when talking about taste.

The really big Irish fans insist it has to be sampled in Dublin, near the brewery, as even trucking it to the outer counties reduces the quality. This might be going a little too far, so to speak.

I really enjoyed the Amsterdam Two-Fisted Stout (presumably from Toronto's Amsterdam brewing company). Although the waiter "warned" me that it's dark like Guinness, this beer is the way Guinness *should* be. Heavy and dark, but with a smooth and delicious flavour. No overpowering bitter burnt flavours like Guinness... A pint of Guinness is too much (hence the existence of Black and Tan). A pint of this Two-Fisted Stout is spot on!

The only downside of their beer selection is that the other four draught choices tonight were all yellow beers: three lagers and one pale ale. The beers I love most always seem to be red (or at least orange).

The owners took a broad range of input when coming up with the beer menu, including the opinion of some local craft brewers. They serve an excellent selection of Ontario Micro Brews and British Ales which attracts beer geeks from all around the Ottawa Valley. Definitely go here for the beer.

This is a general comment on veg options here: this is gourmet food at mid-range restaurant prices. Every time I've got the veg main here, my expectations have been surpassed. Taste and texture are first and foremost, presentation is always fun and there is guarunteed to be a lovely wine or beer pairing with the meal. It's different every day, which is also neat, and usually utilizing seasonal and local ingredients. Try it sometime!

My friend ordered their Date square with vanilla ice cream and toffee sauce. I tried a bite and told my friend that I like her Queen's date cake more.

This is the Chocolate terrine with raspberry sauce ($6). My hubby enjoyed it very much!

Two of our friends ordered their Angus ribeye ($30) with brown butter cheddar potato puree. The menu states that the dish accompaniment includes Le Coprin mushrooms. But I don't see any mushrooms in the photo. I think it would be nice to add some vegetables on the side to accompany the big steak (very good portion!). My friends told me that the steak they had was tasty.

Sea scallops are always our favorite dish, so delicate. However, scallops are often overcooked and become a rubbery dish. Our sea scaloops were cooked to perfection. The accompaniment (lentils, Nagano bacon, savoy cabbage, overnight tomatoes, corn relish) was also very delicious.

Note: We didn't order this as our main. Instead, we ordered this dish ($25) as our appetizer for the group to share (since many of us ordered the soup of the day). My girl friend who went here for dinner the next day also ordered the scallops as her main. She said the same thing - "the scallops are cooked perfectly!"

This is the Nagano pork loin that my husband and one of our friends ordered. The meat was very tender and juicy. The meat does not have the texture like the typical Canadian pork. My friend (used to be an expat in Japan) told my husband that when you eat the Nagano pork meat, you have to cut it in a smaller portion, put the small piece in your mouth and detect the fine texture to enjoy this type of meat. Then you will see the difference. Nagano pork does not taste like pork at all. So, when you order this dish, try to eat it slowly to enjoy the taste and fine texture.

I told my another friend about this dish. She brought her husband with her to try our recommended dish the next day. Her husband also likes it.

This is the tuna tartare ($12) that my friend ordered. Tuna mixed with spicy yuzu mayo. My friend is a picky diner and she told me that the tuna was good, but didn't blow her away though.

Note: Talking about yuzu, have you ever picked up a glass jar of Korean yuzu (called yuja in Korean) from any Chinese grocery stores (e.g., New 168, Kowloon Market, or T&T)? It looks like orange jam. In the winter time, I use about 1 or 2 tablespoon of yuzu syrup to stir in a cup of hot water (sometimes I add small amount of honey) to soothe my throat. I remember that few years ago, a popular Korean TV series (called Dae Jang Geum) was aired in Hong Kong and the drama series has fascinated many Asian TV audience as well. The story talks about the first female Royal Physician in Korean history. About every episode involves making delicious food presented to the king and the stress of herbal medicine.

The bread is warm and served with canola oil. It continues to a welcome appetizer, especially when very hungry!

We all like this baguette-type bread. I was told that the bread is supplied by their neighbor Harvest Loaf, Harvest Loaf . I wish that I also live next to a bakery so that I can have fresh bread daily.

However, I am extremely surprised and disappointed that they don't have balsamic vinegar when I asked for it!

My bf's second course was the parpadelle pasta which is similar to lasagna noodles but half the size. It was served with roasted red peppers, oyster mushrooms, and padano cheese. I'm sure there were other bits and bites in it but these were the main items. Very delish and the portion size was just right.

Sorry this pic isn't the best since it was getting darker and the table was only lit by a small candle. Quite romantic, really!

When it came to order our second courses, I was hemming and hawing between the walleye and the chicken. Our server noticed this, and asked what I was trying to decide...when I told him, he immediately said the walleye. And wow, was I glad! Although I'm sure the chicken would have been just as good but he had said that this was the right season to have walleye since it takes a few years before the fish are good to eat again from the lakes. Or should I say, BEST to eat again. This fish (we call it pickerel mainly in SK) is not 'fishy' tasting at all and flaky. It was served on a bed of duck sausage (delish) potatoes, and beets. Sooooo goooood!!

This was the bf's 1st course...chicken fricasee with corn,oyster mushrooms, and truffle oil served on a herbed crepe. I'm sure there was other goodies in here but I'm recalling from my memory a few das later. I had a bite of it and it was served warm (I thought it'd be cool, don't know why) but wow, this was amazing! Even though my tuna was excellent as well, I was wishing I had ordered this instead!

Went here for the first time on Sat. night for my birthday! This was my 1st course....I wanted to quote from the menu but since their menu changes regularly, they just have a sample menu on their website so I'll try as best I can.
Albacore tuna with pickled ginger, tiny pieces of watermelon, and roe. It was cooked nicely, leaving the middle a touch undercooked, which I believe is the best way to serve tuna in this manner. The roe was wonderful with this, and the ginger gave it an extra zing with the bits of watermelon adding cool freshness.

For lunch, yesterday's Ice cream selection was:

Cranberry sorbet, raspberry chocolate, and get ready for it, Banana caramel!

The cranberry sorbet would have been the perfect palate cleanser... a bit sour and very refreshing.

The raspberry chocolate was rich. I have never really enjoyed the chocolate/raspberry mix. But I ate all the ice cream in my bowl.

The chunky monkey carmel was the perfect mix for desert. Once again nice and rich, I could of had a full bowl of this ice cream only and would have been happy.

I love that they serve the ice cream in cold bowls. Pretty sure they put them in the freezer so that the ice cream won't melt while you eat! Very nice attention to detail.

Here is the photo showing "3 small scoops of exquisitely delicious gourmet ice cream" that zymurgist describes. I had raspberry, Tiramisu, and vanilla. They are creamy and yummy!

They do the ice cream in house but I no longer make it for them since February

We've had the ice cream from Wellington twice now...the first time was in late May; we had caramel, something forgettable and banana (the banana was lucious!). We went again last week and had strawberry-rhubarb sorbet that was a bit icy...black currrent ice cream and peanut butter ice cream; we also ordered a chocolate-caramel pot de creme; probably the best dessert course I have ever had. YUM!

She was making it. I'm not sure if she still is. I can ask on Sunday =)

I've heard that their ice cream is homemade, and I've also heard that Pascale's (now with the Piggy Market) was making it. Can someone verify this for me?

their homemade ice cream is amazing! well worth the price.

I hear they make the ice cream in house. Every time we've been there, we've lucked out since they made peanut butter ice cream on those occasions! Delicious!

For 7 bucks you get 3 small scoops of exquisitely delicious gourmet ice cream. Extremely yummy!

Everyone knows to try the Beef Tartare at the Gastropub. So if you haven't already done so, unless you are planning a visit to restaurants on Boulevard du Montparnasse in Paris, there are no other places in Ottawa that will offer the same (tasty) quality Tartare. A must!

Success!

I believe it was "beef tartare with crostini and truffle oil" on the menu.

Generous portion, marries well with their "house"-level Pinot. Were I to make it at home I'd probably boost the acidity a bit (maybe more capers?), but this was full of beefy goodness.

We've had the steak tartare here. We thought it was very tasty, and the portion was quite large (so large that, had I been eating it alone as a starter, I would have been too full for my main -- but, perfect for sharing).

I can't give unilateral "yay" or "nay" on the steak tartare here yet, because it wasn't available on the menu when I went. They did, however, make some up for me right special. It was good, but I'm not sure if it was the recipe they normally use.

I have probably always only ordered scallops at The Wellington Gastropub as far as I can remember because it is always good. I might have had a pork chop once. But see, I just came back from a trip to PEI so for the first time, I was not impressed by my scallop lunch. While the scallops were seared to perfection, I could taste the fishyness or lack of freshness. PEI ruined me!!

The scallops were also served on a bed of white beans in a tomatoey sauce with grilled squashes with a hint of spiciness. It wasn’t my favourite.

The lunchtime Sea Scallops ($19, on a bed of black beans, corn, red pepper, leek, poblano vinaigrette) were absolutely delicious and perfectly done, but surprisingly small and few (4) for the price. Considering you can get two tasty small plates at Gezellig for $20, a single small plate for $19 seems rather cheeky here. Worth ordering for sure but be forewarned about the price and portion.

I have to second this. I had the scallops there back in Feb and they were awesome.

Best scallops I've had so far has got to be at The Wellington Gastropub. They play around with this dish but on the night we were there, the perfectly seared scallops sat atop chorizo and beans. Absolute perfection! It has a great hipster vibe and an incredible beer selection (which won over my boyfriend).