Chez Lionel - Kanata — Restaurant in Ottawa

My companion and I both ordered the same items from the brunch menu on a quiet, rainy Saturday morning. We were greeted warmly and shown to a large table in a quiet corner, as requested. The place is tastefully decorated and the ambience casual yet elegant. Our server Desiray was pleasant and did not rush us, for she likely and correctly guessed that we were two old friends in need of a good catch-up. She brought us our smoothies first, which we found tasty and generous. The homemade salmon gravlax, delivered some time later, however, was disappointing. The menu described the dish as "served with marinated beets, goat cheese mousse, pickled onions, capers, and country bread." The ingredients were so sparse that we had to lift the tiny portion of salmon to verify that the beets, goat cheese, and capers were actually there. The beets did not seem marinated and were thinly sliced and sparingly placed; the remaining ingredients were almost non-existent. At $18 a plate, there should have been a decent amount of each. Regrettably, I forgot to take a photo to illustrate. The toasted "country bread" didn't seem fresh and had to be sawed to be eaten. Not wanting to interrupt our conversation, we didn't complain. Besides, not much could have been done to rectify anyhow, other than comping our meal or trying again. That would have ruined the visit for all. Despite the disappointing food, the service was wonderful: polite and attentive, yet not intrusive. And because the place was nearly empty, we were not forced to vacate our quiet table after two hours, per the restaurant's published policy, which we found off-putting and nearly made us consider going elsewhere. Although the service and ambience were excellent, three stars seem appropriate because of the food quality, as it is the main reason...

We were a little disappointed with our meal at Chez Lionel. We had heard such great things but we were let down.

Cons: -I ordered the duck breast. My duck was uncooked, the rice side was burnt to a crisp, and the meal overall tasteless. My replacement meal of the risotto was a 5/10 with it being overcooked but it was still edible. -There were many malts that were listed on the menu but the server let us know only one was actually available. -it took our poor server (and eventually the manager) 11 times to take our payment as their POS system was not working with multiple efforts from multiple machines.

Pros: -We arrived for our reservation right on time and the hostess was sweet and guided us right to our table. No wait. It was not overly full but still busy enough. They placed us in a corner near the bar that was perfect for as we wanted some quiet. -Our server was an older gentleman who definitely look tired but experienced. He had shared he had a few late evenings with some sports, which as sports fans we understood, but he did come off a bit direct (which we were okay with but some may not have enjoyed his personality). He was quick to get us some drinks and answer our questions on the menu. -The manager was quick to replace my uncooked meal, she was understanding and took my feedback kindly and respectfully. -My replacement meal came out quickly and was met with the manager confirming it was to satisfaction. -Drinks were yummy.

We wouldn’t rush back to Chez Lionel, I think if you wanted an app, or a drink it would be a great spot. When I asked about the chef I was told they had been through approximately 4 chefs since open, and many staffer, so I would think some things across the board are being changed...

Overall, we did not have a good experience at Chez Lionel and won’t be coming back again. To give credit where it’s due, the food was decent. Not exceptional, but certainly not bad. Would have been nice to see more vegetarian options on the menu.

The service was awful though. The waiter hardly paid attention to us and then kicked up a fuss when we didn’t provide a tip to his liking. He then asked us if we were “new to Canada” and tried to go on to explain that in Canada substantial tips are required at all restaurants. The comment was made in a condescending and derogatory way which my wife and I found offensive. We did have a bit of a chuckle after though as we were both raised in Canada while the waiter seemed to have a fairly thick accent (the judgement seems to have been made based on our skin colour).

Look, at the end of the day I get that it’s a tough industry and tips are helpful for restaurant staff. But customers should be free to tip how they wish based on how they feel about the service and food and according to what they can afford. They shouldn’t be subject to offensive comments if they don’t tip according to the preference/expectation of restaurant staff. If this is such a major issue for Chez Lionel then perhaps they should consider including the gratuity rate they want from customers in the bill rather than deriding them when they don’t get what they want.

The food may have been alright but we ultimately left with a bad taste...