Flora Hall – how I wanted to like you….but it wasn’t meant to be.
I love the idea of renovating an old garage into a brewery and restaurant. The beautifully restored building caught my eye one night when driving on Bank St. (situated just west of Bank on Flora St.)
We arrived around 7pm on Friday to a very busy, very loud room. Décor is industrial with little colour – but it works. Windows allow you to see some of the large beer storage tanks, which I liked.
Immediately there was confusion as to how to get seated. There was no sign, neither did there seem to be a host/hostess. The servers whizzing by us were deliberately diverting their eyes as was the bartender. After a few minutes we saw a woman who seemed to be the hostess – she was having a disagreement with a customer at the back of the room. We wandered back there, more people started coming in – they were also confused about the seating arrangement. We eventually got the hostess’ attention but only after she seated a number of people who had come in after us at the few open spaces. She told us she would try and find us a table upstairs. We awkwardly stood against a wall behind the bar. Eventually she sat us at one of the three communal tables on the main floor. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t mind communal tables, they can work very well, unfortunately when you have bench seats (like a picnic table) it is very difficult to get in and out if you are not on the end.
Despite all this we sat down for some food and drink. They have a number of their beers on tap as well as some ciders and a few wines. I enjoyed my oatmeal stout very much. The food on the other hand was another story. The two of us shared:
- Skillet pizza with jerk chicken and mozzarella – the crust was a little underdone, the chicken had a lot of flavour/spice
- Meatball sliders (three) – meatballs and tomato sauce were bland, buns had a great texture and the side lettuce salad on the plate was nicely dressed
- Fennel and green apple salad – a pile of fennel and green apples cut as matchsticks, again bland
It was very, very loud which made it difficult to have a proper conversation – maybe it is not that type of place. All to say, I won’t be back.
They change their menu weekly but I can see the wings staying on. I think they are among the best I’ve had in Ottawa, and I’ve had a lot. Meaty, perfectly cooked, spicy szechuan sauce, finished with scallions and black sesame seeds.
lemontart
I love the idea of renovating an old garage into a brewery and restaurant. The beautifully restored building caught my eye one night when driving on Bank St. (situated just west of Bank on Flora St.)
We arrived around 7pm on Friday to a very busy, very loud room. Décor is industrial with little colour – but it works. Windows allow you to see some of the large beer storage tanks, which I liked.
Immediately there was confusion as to how to get seated. There was no sign, neither did there seem to be a host/hostess. The servers whizzing by us were deliberately diverting their eyes as was the bartender. After a few minutes we saw a woman who seemed to be the hostess – she was having a disagreement with a customer at the back of the room. We wandered back there, more people started coming in – they were also confused about the seating arrangement. We eventually got the hostess’ attention but only after she seated a number of people who had come in after us at the few open spaces. She told us she would try and find us a table upstairs. We awkwardly stood against a wall behind the bar. Eventually she sat us at one of the three communal tables on the main floor. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t mind communal tables, they can work very well, unfortunately when you have bench seats (like a picnic table) it is very difficult to get in and out if you are not on the end.
Despite all this we sat down for some food and drink. They have a number of their beers on tap as well as some ciders and a few wines. I enjoyed my oatmeal stout very much. The food on the other hand was another story. The two of us shared:
- Skillet pizza with jerk chicken and mozzarella – the crust was a little underdone, the chicken had a lot of flavour/spice
- Meatball sliders (three) – meatballs and tomato sauce were bland, buns had a great texture and the side lettuce salad on the plate was nicely dressed
- Fennel and green apple salad – a pile of fennel and green apples cut as matchsticks, again bland
It was very, very loud which made it difficult to have a proper conversation – maybe it is not that type of place. All to say, I won’t be back.