Foods from Foundation
Comments
2008 Apr 28
I went to Foundation for the first time Saturday night. I knew the place had a scene that was a-typical for Ottawa since we don't have too many hip and trendy resto/lounges. The resto turns into a lounge/club around 11 and from what I observed, the clientele is mostly attractive and 30-something-ish which is nice.
Unfortunately, my first impression was not very positive when I first tried to make reservations. I guess the resto is too "hip" to take phone reservations so I had to leave a voicemail message and wait for someone to get back to me and confirm. Four days after I left a message, I had not yet received a confirmation so I reserved by e-mail at which time I received a reply.
When we arrived at the resto, my reservation was no where to be found … this is when things started to get interesting. The hostesses were incredibly sweet and apologetic. I hadn't expected this since I thought it was going to be a very hoity-toity experience. They scrambled around and seated my friend and I in the upper VIP section of the restaurant. The area was by the DJ booth and was outfitted with a sofa, chairs and a coffee table. They initially set up the coffee table for our dinner but it was quite obvious that arrangement was not going to work out. One super nice server fetched a new table and chairs to accommodate us. The area gave us a somewhat aerial view of the restaurant which was pretty cool.
To begin … the service was excellent! From the start, the hostesses were very sweet. During our meal, we had four male servers who were very attentive. As a bonus, on Saturday nights, there is a singer who walks around with a cordless mic singing and serenading patrons. He sang a number of well-known R&B/hip hop songs which I greatly enjoyed.
Now to the important stuff … the food. We started with the Mingler Platter for Two which came with two crab cakes, a wild game Vietnamese spring roll and brie cheese in phyllo. The crab cake was good but tasted more of bread crumbs than of crab. The spring roll was pretty sparse -- most vermicelli noodles and only specks of actual meat (no dipping sauce). The phyllo had a tiny piece of brie cheese but was quite delicious and came with a huckleberry balsamic sauce.
For our mains, my friend ordered the chicken and ribs plate; I ordered the sea scallops. Her meal was impressive in quantity but not in quality. She had a massive chicken breast with a generous portion of ribs -- both were slathered in a peppery BBQ sauce which was too much. The buttermilk mashed potatos were the best part of the dish. My dish had four (3.5) jumbo sea scallops with some fettuccine in sesame oil covered with cilantro. I wasn't crazy about the cilantro but the scallops were pretty yummy. Overall, the dishes were not overly impressive but we were enjoying the overall vibe of the place. I did very much enjoy my virgin caesars though.
For dessert, we ordered the chocolate fondue. The chocolate was of the darker variety (rather than milk) and came with fruits, brownies (wow!), marshmallows and pound cake. It was quite yummy and hit the spot. I should mention that the melted chocolate wasn't very warm, which was a bit off-putting since we had expected it to be warm.
All in all, the food was not that impressive but Foundation is still a fun place to just hang with friends. Perhaps I'll go for drinks and dessert next time. The service definitely outshone the food but the overall experience was extremely enjoyable.
Unfortunately, my first impression was not very positive when I first tried to make reservations. I guess the resto is too "hip" to take phone reservations so I had to leave a voicemail message and wait for someone to get back to me and confirm. Four days after I left a message, I had not yet received a confirmation so I reserved by e-mail at which time I received a reply.
When we arrived at the resto, my reservation was no where to be found … this is when things started to get interesting. The hostesses were incredibly sweet and apologetic. I hadn't expected this since I thought it was going to be a very hoity-toity experience. They scrambled around and seated my friend and I in the upper VIP section of the restaurant. The area was by the DJ booth and was outfitted with a sofa, chairs and a coffee table. They initially set up the coffee table for our dinner but it was quite obvious that arrangement was not going to work out. One super nice server fetched a new table and chairs to accommodate us. The area gave us a somewhat aerial view of the restaurant which was pretty cool.
To begin … the service was excellent! From the start, the hostesses were very sweet. During our meal, we had four male servers who were very attentive. As a bonus, on Saturday nights, there is a singer who walks around with a cordless mic singing and serenading patrons. He sang a number of well-known R&B/hip hop songs which I greatly enjoyed.
Now to the important stuff … the food. We started with the Mingler Platter for Two which came with two crab cakes, a wild game Vietnamese spring roll and brie cheese in phyllo. The crab cake was good but tasted more of bread crumbs than of crab. The spring roll was pretty sparse -- most vermicelli noodles and only specks of actual meat (no dipping sauce). The phyllo had a tiny piece of brie cheese but was quite delicious and came with a huckleberry balsamic sauce.
For our mains, my friend ordered the chicken and ribs plate; I ordered the sea scallops. Her meal was impressive in quantity but not in quality. She had a massive chicken breast with a generous portion of ribs -- both were slathered in a peppery BBQ sauce which was too much. The buttermilk mashed potatos were the best part of the dish. My dish had four (3.5) jumbo sea scallops with some fettuccine in sesame oil covered with cilantro. I wasn't crazy about the cilantro but the scallops were pretty yummy. Overall, the dishes were not overly impressive but we were enjoying the overall vibe of the place. I did very much enjoy my virgin caesars though.
For dessert, we ordered the chocolate fondue. The chocolate was of the darker variety (rather than milk) and came with fruits, brownies (wow!), marshmallows and pound cake. It was quite yummy and hit the spot. I should mention that the melted chocolate wasn't very warm, which was a bit off-putting since we had expected it to be warm.
All in all, the food was not that impressive but Foundation is still a fun place to just hang with friends. Perhaps I'll go for drinks and dessert next time. The service definitely outshone the food but the overall experience was extremely enjoyable.
2007 Feb 18
I was at a friends birthday dinner party. Had a horrible experience. Our order was not sent on time. It took them 2 hours to bring our food and by the time the food arrived people were dancing around us. Some people ordered the fondue and because we were rushed they forgot certain ingredients. The sense of a dining room was lost! Poor service and poor attitude. Do they want to focus on the bar or the restaurant? This experience has put a poor taste in my mouth. All in all after speaking with different individuals they seem to have shared the same experience.
2006 Nov 14
Was there last Friday night. Didn't have dinner but shared a few apps. The Crab Cake Brulé was to die for! Perfectly moist and delicatly flavoured. The trio dip was a little boring and the Mingler Platter was satisfactory. They both suffered by having followed those wonderful crab cakes. Danced late into the evening and was pleasantly surprised by the variety of age groups there (not all 22 yr-olds!)
2006 Oct 24
I love the atmosphere at Foundation, but the service has never been good. I usually have to flag down wait staff, as they have a hard time noticing patrons while they huddle together chatting. In fact, the last time I dined there, on a Friday night, our group had to order drinks two at a time due to their inattentiveness. Blamed on another party they were serving in the back. Unacceptable. It was Friday night and the restaurant was empty, save for our group and the other birthday party.
On a positive note: the seafood fondue is excellent, and a great deal. It comes with salmon, shrimp and scallops, a fantastic Asian inspired risotto and a micro greens salad. Another recommendation, if you're with a group for drinks, get the bottle service. A bottle of vodka for roughly $100 and all the mixers you need, and you don't have to rely on the wait staff.
On a positive note: the seafood fondue is excellent, and a great deal. It comes with salmon, shrimp and scallops, a fantastic Asian inspired risotto and a micro greens salad. Another recommendation, if you're with a group for drinks, get the bottle service. A bottle of vodka for roughly $100 and all the mixers you need, and you don't have to rely on the wait staff.
2006 Sep 26
I've only dined here once and it was for a full dinner, steak and drinks, courtesy of a good friend. Despite the fact I wasn't paying, I recall thinking it was somewhat overpriced. But given their location in the Market and proximity to the old stone buildings of power, the Chateau etc. I'm sure they get along just fine. The food was good but not memorable.
2007 Mar 27
I went to Foundation with a friend not long after the restaurant first opened. Although the restaurant was empty save for two people out on the patio, the service was painfully slow. That could have been forgiven had the cheese fondue we ordered been even close to worth its price. The cheese was grainy, watery, and salty. Anyone who's ever had real fondue before would have been insulted- hell, anybody who has bloody well eaten melted cheese before would have been upset. Fondue is simple. cheese, wine, kirsch, cornstarch, a little heat. How in the hell a restaurant can charge what they do and somehow ruin such a simple meal is beyond my comprehension. Perhaps they should have spent a little less on decor and snob appeal and a little more on a trained chef and decent ingredients.
Ian
We dropped $230 on dinner for two and got:
-to wait for 10 minutes before they brought menus
over cooked lobster
-cold ribs (fridge cold)
-missing shrimp
-a cheaper substitute for the wine we ordered
-Caesars missing the Worcestershire sauce, Tabasco and garnish
They also informed us that we would have to move at 10:30 for the dancing which is nice. Who doesn't like to be rushed?
Don't go, avoid like the plague.
To their credit the discount the meal by 20% and the host added the missing elements of our Caesars.
The waitress wasn't that bad but if you are going to sling $100 entrees, at least know what comes with them and simple things like what soup you are serving.