ottawa foodies

Wonderfully delicious experience here the other night. They offer a set menu with a choice of appetizer, main course and dessert served with coffee or tea for $55 as well as a Discovery Menu that offers six small tasting courses selected by the chef. Based on previous experiences of having a difficult time being able to complete and enjoy a meal of so many courses, we opted for the three course meal and were delighted.

One meal:
- Red endive salad with pistachio dressing in a bowl made out of cucumber strips, sitting on top was a spring roll
- Seared magret duck served on a very flavourful Le Coprin mushroom mixture
- Apple doughnuts with vanilla ice cream that had little piece of nougat in it

The other:
- Trout sitting on a perfectly cooked rectangle of squash and topped with a few beet chips
- Grilled Canadian beef tenderloin with a celery root and thyme mousseline, roasted brussel sprouts and a nicely flavoured reduction
- Dark chocolate cake with a runny middle with a black cherry sauce and a scoop of homemade honey ice cream

They offer quite an extensive wine list to accompany their menu. The portions were just the right size and we left aptly full but not overly stuffed.

Wakefield is one of my favorite destinations in our region. Not just because my family comes from this area, but for the views, the people and the skiing.

After finding out that a new restaurant and hotel was taking over the old Mill, I had some misgivings. Hearing that the lookout beside the waterfall would be cutoff from the public cemented my view of the new project.

Many years have passed since then and many times have I driven over the McLaren bridge that over looks the hotel and glass gazebo covered dinng room and quietly whispered assholes under my breath....

Then last fall, after a day spent lounging at Le Nordics' pools, I decided on not going back to the city and press on to Wakefield for dinner and try Le Moulin. It turned out to be a very good foray.

Upon arriving we decided to try The Decouverte Menu(Discovery Menu). A blind 9 course serving. Some came with wine or beer pairings. We even tried fois gras for the first time. It was admittedly better than I'd ever imagined and so was The Mill.

I'd recommend this for a excellent dining experience, romantic evening or both.

And I don't look from the bridge with distain anymore, I just lookforward to the next time I will be sitting under the falls sipping and tasting.

Cheers

For a relaxing getaway out of the city, we sometimes drive into Wakefield for an afternoon of serenity. Wakefield has that “something” that you can almost taste in the air as soon as you reach the lake surrounded by a mountainous landscape and small town feel.

The Moulin INN personifies Wakefield perfectly. The rustic nature of this place really makes you feel cozy as soon as you step in.

We arrived at a “middle” time – not lunch anymore and not yet dinner so we opted for the tapas menu…REALLY glad we did because it had a lot of variety and was really tasty.

They offer a 5 for $25 option which we jumped at with hungry eyes. Here’s what we chose:
(To be honest I don’t really remember the absolute details of each dish, but each was delicious)

Spring rolls – Lamb confit spring roll with a carrot-ginger coulis and a beet chutney.

Salmon tartar

Smoked salmon

Crab cakes

Smoked trout

“Micha” – Papineauville goat cheese flan served with eggplant and smoked garlic caviar, cheddar and sun dried tomatoes crisp, pumpkin coulis.

We were really hungry and when we received our tapas style dishes our smiles slid down to frowns…The portions were tiny! But as we sat and talked, munched and gazed out the window at the playful waterfall that was running right under our window – we realized that we were stuffed and we literally could not even finish all of our bite sized potions. The Mill definitely has French style cooking that fills you up in an instant. Needless to say, we left VERY satisfied!

I really recommend this place for an afternoon away from…life.

Bon Appetit!

XoXoX

For what I paid, I felt as though I received good value for money. I agree that mybluestar's deal doesn't sound as good....who'd of thought getting older would be a good thing?! And retired too...that's what lets the weekday thing happen.

I also live half time in the northeast US and so my "value-metre" (note the Canadian spelling...) may not be properly calibrated.

Sounds like advice to those considering would be to ask lots of questions, be clear about what is and is not included in their package, and consider the "ambiance" - it is rustic, and that may not appeal to all tastes.

I think we agree that the food was very good.

That's the difference....

Your price is for 55 + and only Sunday to Thursday.

For what you paid it is a good deal, but for what I paid it is a bit expensive, don't you think?

From the website:

Fantastic 55+
For ages 55 and over

Package includes:

1 night stay
Table d'hôte dinner
Full country breakfast
Gratuities on the meals
Use of outdoor hot tub

From $138.00 per person

The room upgrade brought the cost to $168pp. Same package as above if you are under 55 starts at $152.

Not sure if the tasting menu is a different situation - might be an added cost. Also, we were there on a weeknight, which might make a difference.

I think we had the same experience, but just different expectations. I admit that I am biased against "rustic" and I am urban to a fault.

We also had an upgraded room on the third floor. The room was large and we had a hot tub as well. Is is very clean, but I did not find it very attractively finished, like the service, they meant well but not very polished. The bathroom was less than attractive, almost verging on ugly.

We were there on a Saturday night and I think it cost me $180 plus taxes per person for the room and breakfast (Dinner was not included in that price). So figure around $400 with taxes for two. I ordered the dinner with my reservations and it was around $50 more per person. We are now up to $500. The tasters menu with wine pairing was extra (I do not remember how much -$30 to 50 per person). Add a around $120 for a spa treatment for my wife and I think it cost me over $700 for our over night stay. Not outrageous, but it was not special either.

I think both the Chef and Sous chef are young and extremely talented and I expect that we will be hearing more about them in the future.

Are you sure your room included your dinner? I just checked the website and the package includes room, breakfast and use of the outdoor hot-tub.

It sounds as though pzind had a bit of a different experience than I did - in the interests of letting readers decide whether they'd like to give it a try, I'll add the following to my earlier commentary. We paid $168 per person, which included a "waterfall side upgrade room" (room 201 if anyone wants to get that specific), dinner and breakfast. I've already related my dinner experience - highly satisfactory - although I would agree that the service is less sophisticated than many other dining spots. The table d'haute dinner is $47 per person if purchased separately. I don't know whether breakfast can be purchased or whether it only comes with the rooms, but I'd say with full continental buffet (fruit, cereal, yogurt, juices etc) plus your choice of hot breakfast (eggs benedict, omlettes, etc), it's probably worth $15pp or so. That leaves a little over $200 for the room. We had a very comfortable large queen bed, sitting area with love seat, coffee table, etc. Large bathroom with a soaker tub that accommodates 2 people. The room was immaculate. With the windows open, we were lulled to sleep by the sound of the falls. I suspect the summer offers more ambiance than the winter, as we were also able to spend a few relaxing hours sitting in the sun by the waterfall.

I don't know whether the $200 is a good price or not - I don't typically stay in hotels in the region as I have a home here. However, we routinely stay in inns and B&B's in the northeast US (DC, Baltimore, NY, Boston etc) and are quite accustomed to spending $300+ for a room and breakfast - no dinner. I'm sure that this region has a lower price point - I'll leave readers to decide whether $200 is reasonable or not.

I guess my advice to those considering the overnight option would be to ask a lot of questions about the specific room, and consider whether you would get more out of the experience at a time of year when you can sit outside. If you plan to take advantage of the spa, that of course adds another very nice dimension. If you don't, there may be less overall appeal to this destination.

Hope this is helpful.

My wife and I had dinner this last March. We had the tasters menu and were pleasantly surprised. The pairings worked well and the portions were large. We also had the the Foie Gras brule which was interesting but not worthy of being a signature dish (which I think it is).

On the down side the dining room is crude and the service is enthusiastic but amateur.

For the price, the rooms are sad, so if you go for dinner don't spend the night.

The bad news - apparently the menu changes every 3 or 4 months, and today is the day for a new menu to be introduced, which means my experience on Tuesday may not be helpful to prospective customers. However, if the quality of Tuesday's dinner is any indication of what you can expect on the new menu, you have a very pleasant evening to look forward to.

The setting is lovely, and only about 35 minutes from downtown, so not a terrible drive. Staying overnight is an option and there are some very good packages that let you do so, including both dinner and breakfast, so it's a nice option for a mini getaway.

As to the food...my husband started with an absolutely fantastic foie gras "creme brulee". We weren't sure what to expect. What arrived had a creamy texture somewhere between a mousse and a pate, sitting atop a chutney made from pearl onions and blood oranges. It had all of the flavour of foie gras, without the texture issues that some might have. I would describe this as the perfect "foie gras beginner" dish. Apparently this will be replaced with a new foie gras offering that involves 3 different preparations. I'm sure it will also be wonderful, but I would have made the trip back just for this one item.

I started with the Micha, which was a seasoned ball of goat cheese, deep fried, and served with chiabatta crisps and salad greens. It was also delicious, although I think my husband won the contest on the appetizer round.

For dinner I had the rack of lamb, which was cooked to a perfect medium rare, and crusted with a salsa verde. I've had more interesting preparations, but this was still very good. My husband had a special, mahi mahi with shrimps and scallops, which he thoroughly enjoyed.

Neither of us are dessert eaters, but in hindsight, I think we should have gone that route. Dessert is included in the table d'haute, so he ordered the sorbet/ice cream offering, and I had a cheese plate. Both were okay, but nothing special. Meanwhile, I watched some pretty spectacular looking desserts go by. My advice would be to go for it and try one of those.

Service was very attentive, fairly informal but certainly well trained and friendly.

I'll go back, and probably do the same thing - go for dinner and stay overnight. By the way, there is a spa on sight, and I had a very nice massage. If you wanted to celebrate a special occassion and make a bit of a mini holiday of it, it's a nice, hassle free and close to home destination.