Foods from Bistro Boréal
Comments
2012 Dec 9
I assume that because it hasn't been approved, I can't add the restaurant's website (which includes menus): www.civilization.ca
2012 Dec 8
Decided to try this place after reading the review in the Ottawa Magazine. We visited one Friday night a couple of weeks ago and although we were aware that the restaurant does not have the view it could (it is in the space where the souvenir shop used to be, so it overlooks the museum entrance instead of the river), we had high hopes. Unfortunately, the room is very cold, although the changing lights in the ceiling cut out are an interesting touch, there is not much else in the space. The whole place is white including the table tops with little accents of a very light blue. The museum was closed and although the restaurant is not large it was very quiet as only three other tables were occupied.
The service was pleasant but a bit quick for my liking. We tried:
- arugula salad with goat cheese and dried cranberries intermixed and a raspberry vinaigrette – tasted fine but nothing special
- a piece of pickerel with braised fennel, leeks and vegetables on the side – pleasant
- steak frites with a red wine sauce and caramelized onions, fries came with a herbed mayonnaise – tasty and well cooked
We also tried two glasses of wine. In my opinion, there are lots of good reasonably priced Canadian wines available these days so I was surprised that a national institution would not offer more of these on their wine list.
There wasn’t anything particularly wrong with the food and maybe it was the lack of ambience that is preventing me from being overly enthusiastic about this place. Perhaps it is better at lunch when the museum is open and there are more people around.
The service was pleasant but a bit quick for my liking. We tried:
- arugula salad with goat cheese and dried cranberries intermixed and a raspberry vinaigrette – tasted fine but nothing special
- a piece of pickerel with braised fennel, leeks and vegetables on the side – pleasant
- steak frites with a red wine sauce and caramelized onions, fries came with a herbed mayonnaise – tasty and well cooked
We also tried two glasses of wine. In my opinion, there are lots of good reasonably priced Canadian wines available these days so I was surprised that a national institution would not offer more of these on their wine list.
There wasn’t anything particularly wrong with the food and maybe it was the lack of ambience that is preventing me from being overly enthusiastic about this place. Perhaps it is better at lunch when the museum is open and there are more people around.
RiceLover
The kids' plate came with choice of drink and a scoop of ice cream for $8.
It was a very enjoyable, healthy lunch. Totally recommend if you are at the museum. Worth paying a couple more dollars instead of going to the generic food court in the other building!