Fauna — Restaurant in Ottawa

I have been going to Fauna since 2017, and it’s always been really, really good. But for my most current visit with a good friend (Feb. 1, 2024), I was so, so disappointed.

Cocktail menu exclusively gin-based. While I do like my gin, my friend is not a fan. So strike number one. We are told it’s the “chef’s thing”. (For the record: this was not the case when I was there in April 2023).

Takes about 20 minutes to get drinks, kind of long to wait (the restaurant was not slammed, it was just past 6:30). Then the food comes 5 minutes later. Um, what? This is not lunchtime. Do you want us to eat and leave ASAP? Not cool.

The wine. Sigh. Extensive wine list (yes, granted) but not ONE New Zealand wine? For the price you guys charge for wine, at least give me one choice of something I like (and I understand you need to make money on beverages). New Zealand – it’s not like I wanted some obscure vintage from some exotic location.

I order the elk tartare (which I had back in April and absolutely loved). No bread. No croutes. No chips. No vehicle for eating said tartare. I ask our server for some bread and am told, and I quote: “There is no bread in the restaurant”. I ask why. I am told the chef is celiac and has recently decreed : “No Bread In Fauna”. Sorry, not my problem. He doesn’t have to eat the bread, just serve it. And our server, bless her heart, tells me to (and I quote) “just use your fork”. Thanks a lot Sydney - I always appreciate a little dose of condescending snark with my meal.

I ask if I could have an order of fries, as an exception, even though it says on the menu that fries (and a few other options) are only available after 9 pm. Can’t hurt to ask – some restaurants I have been to will serve you a side order of fries if they have them, even if they are not listed on the menu. Nope, no can do. Fries only come out after 9 pm. No exceptions.

We now come to the WORST part of the evening.

This pair of entitled, self-absorbed “food blogger influencers” sitting at the table right beside us keep taking photos of their food. We're talking an entire Hollywood production. She has this extremely bright, hand-held spotlight that she hold way up high over her head to light up their food (and our quadrant of the restaurant) for about 20-30 seconds AT A TIME (I am honestly not making this up), while he manipulates the shot this way and that, moving the food, clicking the camera, trying to take the perfect shot. And this goes on and on throughout the meal, seemingly without end. Even the couple on our other side are starting to look at them, and then at us, like what the..? Indeed.

Why couldn’t they have arranged to come in during the afternoon to do this, when the restaurant is relatively empty? And why did the restaurant care more about some possible promotion from an “influencer” over the experience of its other customers? You, Fauna, are in the service industry. You should care about the client experience even if the client is not an "influencer".

Please also remember, Fauna is not inexpensive, and part of what you pay for is the ambiance. Thanks to these two “influencers” who imagined themselves to be the center of the universe, there was no ambiance to speak of that night for my friend and I. Likely not for the other couple either.

I did mention this to the person at reception as I was leaving about this and was told (and again I quote): “Oh they are from a magazine” like this is a valid excuse. At least pretend! Give me some lame lip service about how sorry you are and how you didn’t know they would be at it for so long.

So at that point (I am a bit embarrassed to say), I was at the end of my rope. So I said (and I quote) “I don’t give a s**t” and left with my friend.

We actually went to another restaurant downtown and had some FRIES and 2 glasses of New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc - and so in the end the evening was salvaged.

I will not be going...

Food is fine, but service was terrible. Was also overcharged for food and it wasn't rectified when we highlighted it to the server and we ended up paying the overcharged price.

I went here on Oct 23 for some apps and cocktails with two friends. We chose this spot because the patio looked beautiful, and we saw an article that highlighted their chef as the "best in Ottawa".

The night started off odd - I asked a server if I should wait inside or outside to be seated (because of COVID). Instead of responding, she rudely responded with "just wait." I waited for 5 minutes before going to the patio directly myself and meeting my friend that was already there. Not great, but not a big deal.

It took a while to get our order in, but that also wasn't a big deal since the 3 of us were just chatting and catching up. One of my friends asked the bartender for a recommendation for a cocktail, but she wasn't super friendly about it. That's fine, it could have just been a personality thing...but I mention it so you can see how all these odd interactions began to stack up. We ordered a few plates of wings and oysters. The oysters were really great. The wings were too spicy for my taste but that's my own fault - the menu did warn me that they were spicy. The cocktails were mostly fine, except for one of them which we didn't end up touching at all.

Then, things got strange. We struggled to get someone to take our second order of drinks - even when we waved someone down they kept walking and said someone else would be with us shortly. It took about 20 minutes. We finished eating, and no one cleared our plates for about 45 minutes, until we specifically asked.

We then ordered a glass of red wine (one of 2 options available by the glass), which ended up being strangely bubbly on top and smelled highly fermented. We were told it was organic wine - but it didn't say that anywhere on the menu so we had no way of knowing that. The server wasn't happy to bring us something else - we said we didn't mind paying for the glass, but the organic fermented wine just wasn't something we could stomach.

We decided to get our bills and head out. Again, it took a while. When we got our bills, we saw we were overcharged for the oysters by $2. Again, not a huge problem, but just wanted to know why. My friend raised it and the server said it was because she put the full dozen on one bill. Except we were both charged the higher price which would have meant we got 24 oysters...which we didn't. She then said (and this is a quote), "Well... no one else complained."

I don't care if no one else complained, I just want to know why I'm being overcharged. We even had the menu with us and compared the receipt with the menu item side-by-side. The server got rude and defensive, and told us the only way it could be fixed was if she went inside and reprinted the receipt. We said that's fine, we'll wait for it to be reprinted, but then she refused. We were polite the whole time, and at one point we did honestly say, "this isn't the way we expected you to react, when you saw the receipt printed incorrectly." We paid the incorrect price and started to head out. After that, she started apologizing, but it was too late. The whole experience had already been a bit sour, but that last part about "no one else complaining" about the wrong price really rubbed us the wrong way. We were excited about visiting the "best chef in Ottawa" and having a nice girl's night...unfortunately we won't be back to Fauna, nor will we be recommending this...

I wanted to share my wonderful experience with Fauna. I work in the restaurant industry, and I'm able to recognize how hard an establishment works to make the guest experience absolutely perfect. Fauna fell no short of that.

From the moment I walked in, I was greeted by the what I can assume to be a manager, he was smiley and sat me immediately after confirming my reservation. I was then greeted by the talented and welcoming Sydney. From then on, she expertly guided me through the various and impressive wine selections. It was my birthday dinner and they brought over several tasters until I found the perfect glass of white wine.

After looking over their seasonal and rotating menu, I decided on their: soft shell crab dish, fish cakes, and their truffle cacio e Pepe. Sydney got that in for me right away and in no time I was brought the first dish. Their soft shell crab was crunchy, crispy and flavourful. It had a crunchy and fresh daikon slaw. It was paired with a fish egg mayo that had such a lovely texture with the soft shell crab. The plate was practically clean.

Brought out next was Thai fish cakes. The curried lobster bisque was so spicy but in such a thoughtful way. It wasn't offensive but paired nicely with the texture of the fish cakes and the subtlety of the creme fraiche. I was starting to get full after two "appetizer" plates but I couldn't say no to their cassarecce pasta.

It came out and looked like it came out of a Michelin star restaurant. They did not skimp on the black truffle. You could tell the pasta was fresh. The heaviness of the Louis d'or was honestly so satisfying. I would come back just for this pasta alone. It was fulfilling and delicious. At this point I couldn't bear to think of dessert, though I really wanted to. Which means I'll have to come back for a second visit.

The chefs and creative team in the kitchen know exactly what they are doing. I have heard from MANY people in the restaurant industry that Fauna is by far the best restaurant in Ottawa, for Canadian and fine dining cuisine. I was not disappointed and am proud to say I wholeheartedly agree. They were utilizing local and seasonal ingredients throughout the meal. Not only was the food fantastic but the entire ambiance of the restaurant speaks for why Fauna deserves #1. The male bartender (didn't grab his name) and Sydney made me constantly feel special and like a welcome guest in the restaurant, even on a slower Sunday evening. The personalized attention in my conversations with them both were top notch. I cannot speak enough about how truly amazing this meal was. For a first time diner, but a forever fan now, Fauna you deserve accolades beyond belief. Thank you, for the best meal, in the city that fun forgot (but it wasn't forgotten at Fauna).

I spent roughly $110+ on the whole check but I would highly suggest coming with another person as I was indulgent, the two first plates could easily...