ottawa foodies

@blubarry. When I checked their website before going the menu section was not available. This should have been a clue. The dishes you described or even anything similar creativity wise were no where to be seen. Could that the chef quit or is on vacation hence fried frozen foods easily prepared. 6pm on a Friday nigh and only three tables occupied including us. The signs were there should have followed my instincts and walked out after our drinks.

Thanks for the update Ken V. I have to say that The Lodge hasn't been a great experience lately either, mostly due to the service which remains ill informed. Haven't been in almost a month after going almost weekly at the start.

You know something is up when you enter a restaurant and there are no staff to be found. We seated ourselves and admired the pickled patrons at the bar along with two other tables of dinners. I noticed on their website that they had a special on a 32 oz Beaus for $6.99. Our server did not give up this information until I asked about it. This had to be one of the worst food experiences in Ottawa so far. I ordered the two piece fish and chips since there were no daily specials available. The menu states hand cut fries deceptive wording since they could be hand cut by some supplier and frozen to be cooked at a later date as these were. Fish also said it was hand battered in their house Rickards beer batter. This was the driest two pieces of fish I had ever had with a thick hard outer coating that you needed a steak knife to cut. My wife ordered a Caesar wrap with onion rings. The wrap came with breaded chicken pieces. Someone actually fried up some frozen chicken strips and put into her wrap. The onion rings were of the frozen battered variety you would get at a bad pizza joint. Our server asked how everything was and I enquired about all the frozen food she assured me it was fresh. With service like this I do not see this place open for to much longer. To top it off the both bathrooms smelled of urine. I remember this place way back when it was an O'Tools and I think this is what it will remain a drinking establishment with horrible food.

I have returned to The Lodge twice more since the last visit. Impressed that the daily specials change often, and also impressed that there seems to be more of an emphasis on getting the front of the house in shape.

Although the servers are still not 100% (Where is our chef from? I don't know, and you're the third person to ask me that!) they seem to be better able to discuss the menu items with the odd exception. One of the sandwiches on the menu was described as being served on a German sounding bread I had not heard of. When I asked the server what it was, she went and discussed with another server for a few minutes and returned and told me "It's just brown bread." So they are still not quite an asset to the chef's ambitions. But their skirts are still shorter than their aprons.

Other menu items I've sampled included a really nice pork burger on an artisanal bun with nice slaw and a house made apple relish. Fries were hot and crispy. Last night I had the pan fried walleye after asking the server first whether it was frozen or fresh. Her first response was "probably frozen. should I check?" and after checking she told me it was indeed fresh so I ordered it. Ample portion, cooked perfectly and served on about 2 cups of cubed carrots and turnips in a tasty broth. There was a pesto on top of the fish that was tasty, but I almost would have enjoyed the fish more au naturel. My companion had the ribs which were less successful. Slightly on the tough side, and the smoke flavour came, I believe, from the gnerous application of bbq sauce. The accompany potato salad, however was heaven! Very creamy with just the right amount of tang, and we would have liked to bring home a bucket of it. Dessert was chocolate pots de creme with a texture on the firm side which was luscious and appealing.

Considering The Lodge has only been open a week, I think they are trying to address some of the service inconsistencies and I can forgive that. I also believe some of their clientele are holdovers from the Grace O'Malley's days, and didn't see a lot of food being ordered at the bar. I do hope that more foodies will give the ambitious menu a try and provide feedback to the chef....whoever that might be. I am very selfish in wanting this place to succeed because they have a good bourbon selection and it's within walking distance of my house. :)

Stopped by last night expecting a bar with wings, burgers and club sandwiches and was pleasantly surprised. Our server told us that there will be live music on Friday and Saturday evenings (we were there too early) and that The Lodge is a gastropub.

The menu has some really interesting choices, including last night's special, which started with 4 oysters on the half shell with a tangy vinegar and cucumber sauce that was excellent. My main was braised beef on a potato/bacon/cabbage cake with crisp fried onions in a red wine reduction. Nice french green beans on the side. Dessert was a shortbread cookie stack with strawberries and whipped cream which was fine but not exceptional. Three courses were $32.
Partner had a wonderful smoky thick cut pork chop with spinach and cornbread.

I am excited about some of the interesting things on the menu and intend to go back and try the bison tartare, pan fried walleye and any of the interesting burgers - beef, pork, salmon. There is also a large range of bourbons on offer.

I hadn't been into Grace O Malley's in about ten years, so I'm not sure how much the decor has changed but our server tells me that there was a lot of new decor in a short period of time. The feeling is definitely pub with a large 4 sided fireplace in the center. TV screens aplenty and a small area for live entertainment towards the back.

Our server was very pleasant and well informed, and was familiar with many of the items on the menu and had tasted them. The servers are mostly young, pretty, female and clad in knee length boots, black mini skirts and tight t shirts. Our server was very good, but the hostess, clad similarly was not really an asset to the place. Very pretty, but comically inept. On entry she took us to the table and said "We have specials for tonight. The soup today is um....tee hee....ha ha....um....and the flatbread is.... um haha ....shortcake...cookie.. with um ...tee hee ...short rib.....oh and there's a 3 course special for $32..." as she hurriedly backed away from the table without really having told us anything. It really was kind of bizarre, and hopefully they'll get that issue ironed out.

It's nice to have pretty staff, but I really want people who know food and can tell me about the ambitious and interesting menu.

I'm looking forward to heading back here to try some of the other interesting things on offer, and am really optimistic about The Lodge.