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Ottawa: Le Cafe

53 Elgin Street , Phone: 613-5945127
www.nac-cna.ca
Closing day: Sunday

Reviewed by: Jeannew from PA, review #3269

When: 2009

Excellent dining in the center of town. Also good for a casual canal side lunch.

Directions: The restaurant is on the lower level of the National Arts Center facing the Rideau Canal

We celebrated our anniversary here while visiting Ottawa. It was a quiet Monday night and we had to poke around the National Arts Center to find the main entrance to the restaurant. Plan B would have been to simply come in their canal side door. The decor and staff seem to be designed to provide a comfortably elegant backdrop to showcase the food. Our server had a sincere interest in his craft and a good knowledge of the menu and kitchen.

Having had a good sized lunch elsewhere we opted to skip the appetizers and go straight for the main courses. Hubby thoroughly enjoyed his grilled New Brunswick salmon with dill remoulade. ($29 Canadian) I was pleased to take advantage of the special menu chef Michael Blackie had available at the time which showcased the stars of the culinary B.C. scene. (It took me a second or two to realize that B.C. stood for British Comumbia not early Roman). I was drawn to the dish from Robert Clark's C Restaurant in Vancouver, Birch syrup glazed "Sena II" sablefish with celery root puree, potato skins, arugula, beets & toasted walnuts. ($34 Canadian) I had never heard of Birch syrup so just had to try it. The mild fish and spicy, slightly sweet glaze was an excellent combination. Roasted yellow beets on a generous serving of celery root puree were wonderful. Our server had the menu copied for me, along with a little bio about each B.C. chef. I was delighted to see how Robert Clark's interest in sustainable seafood and fresh, local ingredients mirrored mine. I also thought Chef's Blackie's tributes to other regional chefs showed a generous maturity. (OTOH I do not frequent this level of restaurant often, so maybe it isn't all that unusual).

We shared our yummy desserts, Niagara ice wine creme brulee and house made B.C. raspberry sorbet. ($8 & 7 Canadian).

All in all it was a lovely evening with wonderful food. I would say well worth the price for a special occasion or go for the less expensive lunch.

This review is the opinion of a Slow Travel member and not of slowtrav.com.

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