Meatings Barbecue — Restaurant in Ottawa

After reading all the reviews on here, my wife and I decided to make the drive out to Orleans to try this place (August timeframe). After trying it, I have to say the reviews on here of an almost perfect 5 out of 5, are perplexing to say the least. I get there is not much competition in Orleans, but wow. I’m going to guess some reviews are planted because anyone I speak to has echoed my review of this place.

Here’s what I tried and its star rating

Back Ribs 3.5/5 – First, you need to like dry rub ribs, this is what they served. Very edible and medium tenderness. They were good but average in flavor Pulled Pork 3.5/5 – Decent pulled pork but like the ribs, nothing out of the ordinary. My wife didn’t like it because of lack of sauce and flavour but I still enjoyed it Brisket 4.5/5 – The best out of the 3 meats. Good tenderness and flavour. Smallest serving out of the 3 we got though, which was disappointing Mac’n Chees 1/5 – This was the major disappointment of it all. The staple of a good BBQ place is that epic thick and creamy Mac’n Cheese side. I don’t know what this was, but one thing for sure, it was awful. It’s almost like there was no cheese in it. They use some kind breading to thicken it up and there is almost no cheese flavour. We bought 4 orders of it to have extra and threw most of it out.

If I was going to some chain restaurant I’d consider most of what Meetings BBQ serve to be above average. Unfortunately, this is a specialty place and for the price I expect better food. If I lived in Orleans I might visit again, but not worth the drive out there.

One other aspect outside of the food that I found lacking class, was with the setup with service. The place has one big table and is not a dine in restaurant. You order your food from the individual behind the counter and you grab it from them and take it home. When we ordered our food, we payed when we ordered and the debit machine asks for a tip amount. Gratuity is intended to be measured through the service you received during the time spent. Why am I being asked to pay 15 or 20% for food I have not ate or service I have not received. What’s next, tip the gas bar attendant? Put a tip jar in if you want to milk some more money, but never ask for a tip before you receive...

Our group of friends wanted to hire the team at Meatings to create the highest end, high-quality meats experience they could imagine. We gave them carte-Blanche over the menu and they did not disappoint. What they delivered will have all 20 of us telling the tales for years. It cannot be understated how phenomenal this meal was. Mat and Nick not only delivered the most incredible meal, their service and friendliness was off the charts. We’re already positive we want to do this with them annually, it was worth every single penny, AND more. “Quick” run down of the meal below:

1. They sourced A5 Japanese Kobe Wine Beef. This beef is at the top of the pyramid, only 18 cattle a month are distributed for the entire globe. The cows only eat the Lees from a Kobe Winery. Only 1 butchery in Canada held these and meatings was on top of it. Part of the pieces were used to create the most incredible tartare ive ever tasted (by far), the other half were cooked over food fire to perfection and were a true melt-in-your-mouth experience

2. Duck Confit egg rolls - need I say more? WoW

3. 12-hour wood-smoked A5 Wagyu Brisket - there are truly no words to describe how incredible this brisket was. The flavor was heavenly. The home made Chimichurri On top was absolutely phenomenal. These came with fries which were a nice touch

4. Smoked & Braised Organic Beef Cheek Tacos - hands down the best tacos I’ve ever had, the meat was mind numbingly tender and juicy and flavorful

5. Ibérico Pork - they call this the “Wagyu of Pork”. It’s tender and juiciness was unparalleled. Combined With whatever they marinated it in was incredible, it made it hard to compare it to any other pork EVER lol

6. 6-cheese, smoked rib tip Mac and cheese - with 6 incredible cheeses, Asparagus, chorizo and a bit of mushrooms this was undoubtedly the most insane Mac and cheese ever

7. Grand marnier dipped fruits and donuts with home made cream - uhhhh WOW

Thank you again to the team at Meatings, you folks are honestly incredible on and off the grill!!! See...

The decor in this place is fantastic, the owners really poured their heart and soul into the restaurant...looks amazing. I ordered the personal sampler which is 3 meats, 2 sides and a dessert. I asked for the corn bread instead of the dessert which they had no problem doing for me. The two sides were mac n cheese and smoked beans. For the meat; the ribs were really tender, not fall off the bone (which means they weren't over cooked), the meat pulled off the bone gently and had a nice subtle smokiness to them. They do come dry, however, you have your choice of two sauces on the table to choose from if you want. The brisket was offered as lean or fatty, I opted for half of each. The flavour was excellent, nice subtle smokiness again with a great smoke ring. Lastly the pulled pork. It came with a drizzle of sauce on it, which is nice as the pitmaster allowed you to taste the pork. It was nice and juicy and tender. The mac n cheese was awesome, really enjoyed that, as well as the beans. The beans were on the sweet side, but offered some nice chunks of meat in it. The cornbread was equally delicious, all in all, the personal platter was a perfect size for 1 hungry person. Really happy to see a new BBQ spot in Ottawa that offers quality food. It's clear the pitmaster knows how to operate his smoker and the food isn't overly smoky, but treats the smoke as an ingredient. Highly recommend Meatings! I asked to see the smoker, which they were gracious enough to allow me to do so. It's a true southern smoker, using hard wood (cherry, maple...