EkBar - Upscale Indian Restaurant — Restaurant in Ottawa

My first trip to this place. Seeing the other reviews makes me wonder whether they are biased or I don’t know much about dishes. So first look, the place was nice, welcoming and well lit. The server was very nice and was very accommodating and did everything she could to get us seated comfortably since there were 6 of us with a 1 year old. We ordered quite a few dishes which were good. The Makhan Chicken Tikka was nicely presented and was good and tasty and the chicken was succulent. We ordered few naans which were soft and tasty. My friend ordered Lamb Shank Nihari which was tender fall off the bone and the sauce was tasty. My other friend ordered the Dal Makhani and naan which was good as well. She really loved the Dal Makhni. One might wonder then, why did I give 3 stars on the food and service. No complains about the food, but a restaurant whose name has the word “Bar” in it , one would expect the drinks should be presentable. Just having fancy names to drinks doesn’t make it fancy. Me and my friend ordered 1 drink each. I ordered coconut and lemongrass - a $21 drink. The server even raved about it, claiming it to be one of her favourite drink. One would expect that at least they would have some form of a decent presentation. Please see the pic below in what appears a cheap wine glass. I would like people to tell me from which angle does it seem a classy drink. It appeared that the bar tender just hastily concocted this drink out off a single bottle. Thoroughly disappointed. Zero marks to the server for highly suggesting that or she doesn’t know her drinks. Second my friend ordered another fancy named drink Tamarind and Honeycomb. I think the restaurant was pulling a practice joke on us. My friend who has an amazing taste for drinks was stunned when the drink was served. Throughout his worldly travels he has never been presented such an awfully presented drink. I’ll let the readers of this post make the judgement. Like it appeared another zero effort drink. Please I would sincerely request the owners and chef to work on the presentation of the drinks like they gave their effort on the food presentation. Now why did I give service 3 stars, that’s because she mixed up our bills. All 3 of our bills were wrong. Even though she repeated our orders correctly when she took, but the our 3 bills were all mixed up. Training, focus and attention to details are very important for the owner to stay alive in this cutthroat industry. In my 40 years in Ottawa, I have witnessed several high end restaurants shutdown because of their substandard service. It’s a great thought to have nice Indian Fusion restaurant in Ottawa but the owners and the chef need to step up their game cause it’s just not about treating white Canadians, Indian food with fancy names, it’s about making sure people of different color also appreciate and say wow when they enjoy Indian food and drink at their place. This is not a dissing review but an honest review. So I apologize if my review is not as per the restaurant’s liking. Thanks and...

We were there last night. Unfortunately the service was terrible. Our server was busy polishing glasses while we waited almost an hour for her to come back and take away our main course dishes. Seems like she just forgot about us. As soon as we arrived she asked if we want still or sparkling water, but without informing us that the still water would show up on the bill as an $8 charge. Ridiculous. I've never seen this happen in high end restaurants. Then she took away my cocktail without even confirming that it was finished. I didn’t like that I couldn't even finish my drink. She didn't clean up the other dirty dishes, but took my unfinished drink. It's too loud to hear yourself, others on the table sitting next to you, or even the server. Cocktail selection is too small and needs to have more variety. Drinks are too sweet. They have gone overboard with the fusion aspect - its neither here nor there. I think the former Katha had just the right balance of fusion and creativity. Some of the menu items - like combining pomegranate seeds on lamb just didn't go well. Come on - that’s not how nihari is done. It's the same story with every other dish except perhaps the dal that they have kept as is, but it's considered a side. They have sides and toppings included as part of some main dishes and appetizers, but expect you to order rice or Naan separately to properly eat a $30 or $40 main dish. You will have to pay extra to properly eat a main course. In other restaurants when you order a main course you can actually eat it how it is without having to order and pay even more for rice or bread to eat it with. They were out of biryani on a Friday night. If you looked past the theatrics, the dessert was just a giant messy globule. Washrooms are good and clean. Over $200 for two people - not worth it at all. I was rooting for this place to succeed but it needs a lot of...

We had the absolute pleasure of dining at EK Bar Ottawa, the newest gem on Preston Street, and what an experience it was. • Ek Bar, which has beautifully taken over the space that once housed Vivaan and Katha, offers elevated Indian street food with a menu full of vibrant, whimsical small plates made for smapling and sharing. • The space itself is bright, modern, and inviting, simple yet thoughtfully decorated, creating the perfect atmosphere to enjoy such creative cuisine. • From the moment we arrived, the service was warm and welcoming. The cocktails were well crafted, and every single dish that came to the table was a burst of colour, flavour, and texture. There is no smoke and mirrors here, just pure, exciting, and delicious food that delivers on every level. • What made the evening even more special was that Head Chef Teegavarapu Sarath Mohan, the genius behind the menu and a familiar face from Vivaan & Katha, recognized us, came out of the kitchen to personally welcome us, and graciously walked us through the new concept. You can see and taste the pride and care in every single plate. • We also had the pleasure of meeting the new owner, restauranteur Hemant Bhagwani, whose vision is clearly adding something fresh and experimental to Ottawa’s Indian cuisine scene. • All in all, exceptional food, exceptional people, exceptional evening. We will...