Foods from Fleur de Sel
Comments
2010 May 21
My first clue should have been the fact that it is a Friday evening on Laval St with clear blue skies and perfect weather -- every other restaurant within a 3 block radius is packed but here at Fleur de Seul the restaurant is empty and I am sitting outside with only 4 other tables seated (on what is admittedly a very pleasant terrace).
Table 1 gets their food a few minutes after I arrive and within mere minutes a very irate gentleman has gone inside to tell the chef what he can do with his undercooked lamb; within 5 minutes this table leaves. Meanwhile, some chippy of a waitress slams plastic cups of water on our table and haughtily turns her back to us before we can order. Looking around, I realize that everyone else has been there longer than us (20 minutes by now) and they too are sitting around with nothing more than cups of tepid water and menus.
It's a beautiful evening to be sitting outside but enough is enough -- clearly serving customers isn't part of the mission statement here so we get up to leave. On my way out I pass by the door to the (empty) kitchen and pop my head in to let the waitress know that she has one less table to ignore. Explaining that I have been waiting for 20 minutes and will be waiting no longer, the chef overhears me and jumps in out of nowhere to snap that it's fine with him, get out of his restaurant, goodnight and good riddance. I in turn bid him adieu and wish him all the best with his few remaining customers. "Au revoir!" he screams and then he runs over and slams the door!
(Note to Fleur de Sel: time to unplug the TV -- only Gordon Ramsay gets away with treating customers like s**t while still making a living.) Such rude, arrogant people... if this sort of hospitality is par for course then I am unsurprised to learn that L'Argoat was unable to make a go of things on their own and had to merge into Fleur de Sel. From what I saw tonight it is only a matter of time before this nut job of a chef brings down Fleur de Sel as well.
Table 1 gets their food a few minutes after I arrive and within mere minutes a very irate gentleman has gone inside to tell the chef what he can do with his undercooked lamb; within 5 minutes this table leaves. Meanwhile, some chippy of a waitress slams plastic cups of water on our table and haughtily turns her back to us before we can order. Looking around, I realize that everyone else has been there longer than us (20 minutes by now) and they too are sitting around with nothing more than cups of tepid water and menus.
It's a beautiful evening to be sitting outside but enough is enough -- clearly serving customers isn't part of the mission statement here so we get up to leave. On my way out I pass by the door to the (empty) kitchen and pop my head in to let the waitress know that she has one less table to ignore. Explaining that I have been waiting for 20 minutes and will be waiting no longer, the chef overhears me and jumps in out of nowhere to snap that it's fine with him, get out of his restaurant, goodnight and good riddance. I in turn bid him adieu and wish him all the best with his few remaining customers. "Au revoir!" he screams and then he runs over and slams the door!
(Note to Fleur de Sel: time to unplug the TV -- only Gordon Ramsay gets away with treating customers like s**t while still making a living.) Such rude, arrogant people... if this sort of hospitality is par for course then I am unsurprised to learn that L'Argoat was unable to make a go of things on their own and had to merge into Fleur de Sel. From what I saw tonight it is only a matter of time before this nut job of a chef brings down Fleur de Sel as well.
2008 May 4
Since my first review, I've been back w/ my SO twice and can (continue to) echo everything Marno describes, including the hope that their business picks up. Not everything is uniformly good (or perhaps universally appealing), but their willingness to experiment and bring together different influences is commendable. And like Marno mentions, the bread is great!
One other thing to add is that its a nice date place, intimate-chic, relatively inexpensive ... in that style Quebec bistros can pull off so well.
One other thing to add is that its a nice date place, intimate-chic, relatively inexpensive ... in that style Quebec bistros can pull off so well.
2008 May 3
We had dinner here last night. Everything about the experience was fantastic. The decor was modern yet cozy. The service was excellent -- the (sole) waitress even brought a little hook which she attached to the table for me to hang my purse on. The restaurant had lovely dinnerware, which I appreciated.
On to the food. We were each brought a freshly baked mini-loaf of multi-grain bread to start, which was nice. I had the table d'hote, and my husband ordered a la carte. I started with a two-cheese (parmesan and emmenthal) souffle, which was served with micro greens. My husband started with the smoked salmon mousse, which I did not try but he rather enjoyed. For mains, I had swordfish with a blueberry-rum sauce. It sounded like an odd combination, but it really worked. My husband had tilapia, which was served over couscous, and was topped with a lemon sauce and three very large, plump shrimp. Both of our mains were served with a gorgeous array of fresh and perfectly cooked veggies -- carrot, Peruvian potato, broccoli, baby onions, etc.
For dessert, I had a poached pair, which seemed to be coated in ricotta and then lightly breaded and fried. It was in a red wine sauce. (It was more artfully described than this, but some of it was lost in translation). My husband had a milk chocolate souffle, which he raved about.
All of this, including tax and a liter of wine, came in under $100, before tip.
Outstanding value, excellent food. The restaurant was only about half full throughout the night, so hopefully business will pick up, as we definitely want to return.
On to the food. We were each brought a freshly baked mini-loaf of multi-grain bread to start, which was nice. I had the table d'hote, and my husband ordered a la carte. I started with a two-cheese (parmesan and emmenthal) souffle, which was served with micro greens. My husband started with the smoked salmon mousse, which I did not try but he rather enjoyed. For mains, I had swordfish with a blueberry-rum sauce. It sounded like an odd combination, but it really worked. My husband had tilapia, which was served over couscous, and was topped with a lemon sauce and three very large, plump shrimp. Both of our mains were served with a gorgeous array of fresh and perfectly cooked veggies -- carrot, Peruvian potato, broccoli, baby onions, etc.
For dessert, I had a poached pair, which seemed to be coated in ricotta and then lightly breaded and fried. It was in a red wine sauce. (It was more artfully described than this, but some of it was lost in translation). My husband had a milk chocolate souffle, which he raved about.
All of this, including tax and a liter of wine, came in under $100, before tip.
Outstanding value, excellent food. The restaurant was only about half full throughout the night, so hopefully business will pick up, as we definitely want to return.
2008 Jan 29
I was going to attempt a review of Fleur, but this xpress review (and the attached comments) encapsulates several of my impressions:
www.ottawaxpress.ca
To add to the above, we (inc. 3 companions) were impressed w/ the ambiance, the decor, the beer / wine selections, and the food (interesting veggie & non-veggie options).
As one small example, on the menu is a "hijiki" salad: its actually Kombu (not hijiki seaweed), sliced and stretched very thinly (almost like vermicelli) and served with a complement of delicate greens. Perhaps not to everyone's liking, but i luv seaweed and appreciate the innovation (at very reasonable prices).
Finally, its a good place to brush up on your "survival" French (but no worries, you'll make it through w/ English only).
www.ottawaxpress.ca
To add to the above, we (inc. 3 companions) were impressed w/ the ambiance, the decor, the beer / wine selections, and the food (interesting veggie & non-veggie options).
As one small example, on the menu is a "hijiki" salad: its actually Kombu (not hijiki seaweed), sliced and stretched very thinly (almost like vermicelli) and served with a complement of delicate greens. Perhaps not to everyone's liking, but i luv seaweed and appreciate the innovation (at very reasonable prices).
Finally, its a good place to brush up on your "survival" French (but no worries, you'll make it through w/ English only).
Isabelle
I'll miss the crêpes... I guess I'll go buy a bottle of Kerisac and cook some crêpes on the weekend. Hopefully I can achieve something vaguely similar to the "Bretonne" :-/