The Seafood Grill — Restaurant in Ottawa

My wife and I along with our friends had dinner at the Seafood Grill on the recommendation of Revello an online foodie influencer. This was our first but certainly won't be our last time visiting this wonderful restaurant. Upon walking in you might be taken aback because it's quite understated as a resturant. But right away the service was with a smile which made us all feel as if we were having dinner at any mom's home. You could feel the love and attention placed in preparing our meal. Ravello recommended several items on the menu however we were only able to have a few given our smaller appetite as we get older. We started with the calamari and the shrimp and crab springroll as appetizers. I'm a little more picky than my wife and our friends because I do most of the cooking at home and my wife does all the baking. I found the calamari exceptionally tender without being chewy. I have had poorly prepared calamari before and this was as far from that as you could get. The calamari melted in your mouth and was a effortless chew. I did find the shrimp and crab spring roll underwhelming. The wrapping was very crisp and flakey. However, I found it lacking taste of either the crab or shrimp. They used what looked like canned shrimp and imitation crab. This is only an assumption on my part since it lacked any real tatse. But with that said everyone else at the table just loved the springroll and we all loved the calamari. By the way one order of the calamari was sufficient for 4 and we split 2 springroll between the four of us. This was plenty as a starter because we planned on having a meal as well. We then moved onto our main coarse I had the octopus and my wife had the salmon cakes. I will comment on these two because I also able to taste my wife's salmon cakes aswell (get your mind out of the gutter). I have had octopus in Spain and Portugal which was not just fantastic but exceptionally so. I am comparing the octopus we had at the Seafood Grill to those and this stands up to the test. I suspected that if I left the octopus in my mouth long enough it would devolve on its own. The braised octopus was the best I have ever tasted in the Ottawa area. I would highly recommend the octopus to anyone even if you don't eat octopus go with someone that does and try a bite. I can't recommend this dish more to everyone who loves octopus. The taste I had of the salmon cake I found it very good and my wife just loved it based on her comments during dinner. The two pieces were large so she took one home for later. Our friends also enjoyed their meal immensely. All I can say is that if you are a Seafood lover I would go to the resturant hungry and try as many of the items as you can to see what hits your palate. Our appetite only allowed us the luxury of having the calamari, springroll, braised octopus and salmon cakes. On our next visit I will expand our meal to include these items we missed this time around. I also count the service as part of the meal experience which was fantastic we were cared for like we were eating at a Michelin star resturant. 🌟 This made the meal that much more delicious and made me want to go back. All I can tell you is that to fully enjoy your meal show up to your dining experience hungry otherwise you will miss out on a fully enjoying a fantastic meal. Finally, the bill was presented in an innovative manner where innovation is used all too frequently. I have not seen another resturant that presents the bill laying it out in the following manner. Wine $50 Food $120 Beers $20 This gives me a clear idea what I spent our money on during the evening. I consider this innovation at it best. As you can tell I would highly recommend the Seafood Grill to anyone but specifically to those that are seafood lovers. Thank you for a Wonderful dinner and a...

Update November 6th, 2024

Merivale Fish Market is back after a devastating fire and is better than ever! (If that is even possible). Enjoyed a delicious lunch of Tony's Bouillabaise. Try it and see if you notice the new upgrade! Perhaps the new photo will give you a clue. It was always amazing and now it's super amazing! I love this place where you are greeted like family and the food is consistently incredible. Kudos to Joe, Tony and Anthony for this great eatery conveniently located on Merivale road. Never had a disappointing meal here. I wish them many more years of success.

Updated review January 2024. This restaurant focuses on seafood and although the menu is somewhat short, I see this as a sign of the attention they pay to detail. Everything I have eaten there from the crab cakes to the spring rolls, Tony's bouillabaise and the fish & chips as well as daily specials is always, without fail, consistently excellent. Today my mother and I enjoyed the bouillabaise for lunch. We'll be back! Thank you so much to the wonderful waiter who took such excellent care of us. And thank you for another great meal. Nice to see some local people working hard and doing well.

Previous reviews:

Excellent food. Nice restaurant, friendly staff and owners. Definitely going back for the delicious food. Tony's bouillabaise is consistently wonderful. I took food photos but I don't see any place where I can attach them to this review.

March 13, 2021 So glad to be able to dine in again and what a perfect start with the best meal I have probably had in the past year. We had excellent calamari, light and crispy and absolutely delicious. The portion sizes were very generous. We shared crab cakes with a mango sauce. The crab cakes were light and flaky and clearly made with excellent crab. They just melted in your mouth. We follow that with some excellent fish-and-chips. The fish was crispy on the outside and light and flaky on the inside. We opted for they half fries half salad option. The fries were perfectly cooked, crispy and golden brown. We opted for Caesar salad which was generously coated with dressing and included excellent croutons. The most perfect meal which we both enjoyed with some glasses of wine and beer. Everything was perfect and I can't...

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I find myself in the Nepean area of Ottawa often when searching for value eats, or for the huge variety of bubble tea available in this area, and have always wanted to try Merivale Seafood Grill!

I've purchased their fresh seafood products before (sushi-grade salmon/tuna, as well as their oysters), and found them very fresh and fairly priced. So I finally dropped by to dine-in on their outdoor patio on a gorgeous day! . I actually went on two different occasions recently, and will share all the dishes I tried! . Appetizer - Calamari ($17): I kept seeing the calamari in their Google reviews, and had to get it. I was not disappointed - it was a good amount, tender, and the batter was light and not thick. . Soups - Tony's Bouillabaisse ($22): This was so good, I had it TWICE on two separate days. The broth is rich but light and tomato-based, with a generous amount of seafood (fish, mussels, shrimp). The portion was a good size, and was so comforting. . Mains - Pescatore ($35) Linguine, shrimp, scallops, mussels, clams, rosé sauce: This REALLY hit the spot for seafood pasta. The sauce was flavourful, and it had a good amount of seafood. I'd say portions here are good value overall, and the seafood is SUPER fresh. . Mains - Lobster Poutine (~$18?) This was one of the recent Blackboard specials, and if you know me, you know I LOVE poutine, so I HAD to try this, as I love lobster as well. It was a really interesting take on a poutine, with a lighter sauce, well-cooked fries, and chunks of lobster. So good, I finished it all in one go on my own!

Pro tip: make sure to check their Blackboard specials on the inside of the restaurant, as they'll often have unique dishes not on their regular menu! The dipping sauce had a nice kick as well. . I recommend dining on their outdoor patio if it's a nice day, as it is covered, and cooler than the interiors. . Next time, I want to try their crab cakes, Paella, and...