Mati — Restaurant in Ottawa

I had a very mixed experience at Mati. I originally tried to make a reservation for 9 people to celebrate my birthday. Their online reservation system does not allow for you to make a reservation for 8+ people so you have to call or email them. I emailed them on May 2nd to make my reservation for May 20, they did not get back to me until May 11th. Between this time I sent a follow up email on May 4th and called them several time to tell them I had received no response. I was told that their reservation manager was not in yet but would check their emails soon. They told me the time they had available and asked me for my phone number to add to the reservation. After providing my phone number there was no response so I assumed the reservation had been made.

Fast forward to May 20, I arrive at the restaurant just to be told my reservation had never been made! I showed the email correspondence as proof of me making the reservation and the hostess at the front asks me if I received an email confirmation to which I reply no. She tells me that I need an email confirmation to confirm the reservation as if its my job to make sure a confirmation has been sent out. This was my very first time even coming to this restaurant. I don't see the point of having a reservation manager if they can't be bothered to promptly answer emails or do their job correctly. I asked to speak to the manager and thankfully she was very kind and sorry for the mix up and took full responsibility. I cannot remember her name but she had red hair. She assured me she would make sure I still have a great birthday. She allows use to use a table from 6 pm to 8 pm but we would have to move to the cocktail area because a big party was coming at 8 pm. Luckily later in the night another group cancelled their reservation and we are able to move to that table.

To make up for the mix up we are provided with free appetizers and drinks which were very tasty. The server Taylor was very kind and attentive. She also gave me an amazing drink recommendation. Unfortunately there was another issue with a different server and the kitchen where one of my friends asked for one of the appetizers to be remade without cheese because of a dairy allergy but it was clear that the dish she came back with just had the cheese scraped off instead of being remade so it was sent back to the kitchen. There was another issue an order she had cancelled because its batter had milk still being sent to the table. The staff here needs to be way more conscious of food allergies or there could have been a big issues. Taylor was a real standout as she did her best to fix the issues caused by her colleagues but unfortunately the rest of the staff seem somewhat incompetent.

Aside from these issues the food was really tasty! The lobster pasta I ordered was incredible and the cheesecake that was served as a birthday treat was also amazing. Throughout the meal the manager would come and check on us just to make sure everything was going smoothly.

Overall the food here is great and the service from Taylor and the manager as well did help to alleviate some of the stress caused. Because of those two I decided to give 3 stars instead of 2. Unfortunately the rest of the service leaves much to be desired and I suggest the staff be retrained to avoid future issues. Personally due to the stress that came out of not only the mix up but the effort I had to put in to even make a reservation, I do not believe I will be returning to this...

We went for dinner and we had a fantastic waitress! We started with raw oysters that were so well prepared, cleaned perfectly no shell, completely detached from shell and fresh. The mignonettes were balanced and flavourful, our favourite was the blue one! Our waitress helped us choose white wine and we made choices based on her ability to describe wine (smokey, buttery) and we were happy with our choices. We had the seafood tower with expertly cooked lobster, scallops and shrimp all with a bbq wood smoke that was to die for. The smoke really knocked it out of the park. The calamari was the best I have ever eaten. The addition of hot little red peppers to the calamari was fun because it changed up the mouthfeel and cleansed the palate. We decided to start the cold tray with the lobster tacos simply because we don’t ever like fish tacos, and ohmygosh they were amazing, the crunch of the shell was the perfect contrast to the soft well seasoned filling. The sushi was dangerous, we could have had 100 pieces. The shrimp were enormous and obviously so gently cooked because they were tender and sweet. I don’t know who they have preparing their seafood and cooking it like that, but they need to keep him/her. The little tuna chunks were so lovingly prepared with mini garnishes but the bite packed a flavour bomb. Our dessert was a burrata salad (we are low/no carb) and we switched to red wine for dessert. A huge beautiful salad arrived with the prettiest flowers and micro greens garnished also with nuts! So smart to put the crunch of nuts as a garnish, I would have loved to eat the salad with the amazing looking grilled bread but we can’t afford to eat bread. The tomatoes tasted like tomatoes! You don’t often get a tomato that tastes like a tomato so that was fun too. I told our waitress about my cilantro allergy and asked if the chef could accommodate (and they did!). It really is an allergy not a preference, so a big thank you to them for taking the request seriously! Thank you for staff who are welcoming to LGBTQ, knowledgeable about their menus and accommodating with...

Mati is the epitome of an Instagram-worthy restaurant. With gorgeous décor, large windows and unique finishings; beautifully plated food; and not to mention a PATIO (#patioseason), it makes sense why it's everywhere I look on social media. I'll admit it definitely made it on my list of "Places To Try" for one (or all) of those reasons.

And I wasn't wrong. The place was indeed very Instagram-worthy and I saw plenty of potential influencers taking photos inside and outside the restaurant. The food (we ordered Braised Beef Cheek, Steak & Eggs, and Lobster Grilled Cheese) was well-executed at a reasonable-for-a-fancy-brunch-place price.

The damper came from the service. When we were trying to walk into the restaurant, the door was somehow locked on the outside. We went around to the patio side to ask a waitress and she told us it shouldn't be locked and to try again, continuing with what she was doing. We tried it again for another minute (having had 3 people try it) before a departing guest let us in. When we finally got into the restaurant, we found a hostess standing at the door smirking at us. It would seem as if she'd seen our struggle? We let her know about the door and she said it shouldn't be locked. Ok, sure.

She led us to our table where it took a while before we were offered water. When one of my friends asked for a new glass due to the large particles floating in his water, she ROLLED HER EYES, and said it was probably just due to it being hard water [unlikely since nobody else had the same problem], did he still want to change the glass? Yes, yes, he did.

The rest of the meal was, for the most part, uneventful. She did once come to ask us how the food was but also left before we could even finish our sentence. We did not see her again until we asked for our check, having to flag down another waitress to go find her.

Unfortunately, while picture-perfect, the service at Mati made the entire experience very disappointing for me. It is unlikely I...