Town — Restaurant in Ottawa

Location: Downtown Ottawa. Street parking is available however good luck finding a spot. The night I was here, there was absolutely nothing available and we had to use a paid lot a few blocks away.

The place: Very small and dimly lit. I can't find better descriptives to tell you about the place because I found it to be lacking in vibage.

The goods: Well, I'm going to go against to majority here and tell you that I was really disappointed. The primary issue for myself and my friend was the sheer lack of flavour in everything we had. I wanted to love this place, really, but I'd be lying if I used three stars to rate my personal experience because it doesn't fall under the category of 'A-okay'. So, we started with the BBQ shrimp and octopus tostada; first, the term 'BBQ' lead me to believe that at the very least, the shrimp and octopus would be served hot. That wasn't the case. The shrimp was OK but the octopus was tough and chewy. My friend and I both agreed that the ingredients topping the tostado would be better served in a bun or something that could hold it all together because the tostada broke easily so things tended to fall off. Anyway, despite the various ingredients (avocado, cilantro etc), we were underwhelmed by the lack of, well, taste.

My main included the seared scallops with white beans and pancetta (and greens - I forget what). In terms of size, I'd say it was on the small side. The scallops were well seared and had a good consistency but again, they, and the rest of the items on the dish, lacked flavour. I mean, I'm not one to encourage an excessive use of salt but give me something here - herbs - spices - anything?! The roasted cauliflower that my friend had was the same. Additionally, I tried it and felt that it wasn't cooked enough.

Finally, when we ordered dessert, we were told they were out of the chocolate tart. I don't get it - how do you run out of dessert on a Friday night? Before we left, we overheard the waitress telling other patrons that they had run out of something else as well. Anyway, since nothing else appealed, we left.

Service: OK. Most of the staff just seemed so neutral. No other way to describe it.

Price point: considering all of the above and the overall experience, I personally find this place to be overpriced. With tip it cost me $67 (including a glass of wine). For about the same price, I would have better eats and dessert...

Hmm... tried it last night... won't go back, 3 strikes: had a reservation, asked to sit close to front opening, but told that table would be converted for a reservation for 6... but upon being seating deeper inside (very warm inside), that table was seated by a couple 5mins later :( we ordered 2 appetizers; Eggpant & gorgonzola, it was a flat ravioli almost void of eggplant and a hint of gorgonzola swimming in tomatoe sauce; and the BBQ'd octopus, which had very little flavour except for a dominant lemon taste, which tried to mask the over-cooked (rubbery) past-its-prime fishy tasking octopus :( finally, I ordered the (large plate) seared scallops with pancetta and large beans; while this dish was very tasty, it was too light (maybe 6 scallops) for the $31 price tag :/ Overall, not being seated where we preferred + 1 avg app, 1 app that could not be finished + 1 main dish that needed a bit more value = a failing mark. On the plus side: the tight ambiance is intimate the waitress tried hard to over-compensate for the failed appetizer; she did comp the BBQ octopus (admitting it was a "new batch" and the cook may have over-cooked it), and she comp'd our one glass each of vino, for a failed experience. nice wine selection, but again bring your...

We made a reservation and arrived right on time. I had noted that it was my birthday, but that seemed to go unnoticed. Not a big deal. I wasn’t expecting anything.

Our server sat us and then we waited to be offered anything while she cleared other tables. She did offer us drinks after we ordered food.

The bread was cold. Maybe that’s how they serve it, but warm focaccia is pretty standard.

The food arrived fast. My meatballs were hot in the middle, but the pile of cheese on top was cold, and the pasta itself was just lukewarm. My wife’s chowder was barely room temperature, but she didn’t say anything because she didn’t want to ruin the moment.

We ate everything, so it was fine, but honestly, it was far below expectations. The food here used to be incredible, so this was disappointing.

To top it off, after finishing our meal, we sat with empty plates in front of us for ten minutes while our server focused on setting up other tables.

Overall, it was underwhelming. Definitely not the level of quality or service we were used to...