MEATY DELIGHTS MINGLE WITH SUMPTUOUS PLEASURES
The Albion Rooms recently got considerably roomier.
When the Novotel Ottawa’s latest restaurant opened almost four years ago, it was a cluster of smaller spaces a stone’s throw from the lobby, including a cosy bar-side lounge, a bright patio and a tucked-away dining room. But in late March, the hotel added, just a few steps behind and up from the bar, a expansive 86-seat dining room that it calls the Heritage Room Gastropub. It’s a handsome, clubby place with a view of chef Jesse Bell’s kitchen, and its woody tables, plush banquettes and leather chairs markedly raise the comfort level beyond what the Albion Rooms had provided.
With the dining room’s opening, Bell launched a new menu that expands the kitchen’s offerings from about 15 to 20 items, adding a few more main courses while retaining a farm-to-table focus. All of the changes represent a chance to step up for Bell, who has cooked at the Albion Rooms since its first day, and who was promoted from sous chef to executive chef when his predecessor, Stephen La Salle, moved almost a year ago to the Andaz Ottawa ByWard Market boutique hotel.
I liked quite a bit what La Salle served when I reviewed the Albion Rooms in July 2013. I’ve liked Bell’s dishes during several visits, although some items were executed better than others, and I think that the service lagged behind the food.
Let’s start with the starters that the Albion Rooms did impeccably, in the past and the present. Charcuterie here was a solid choice four years ago, and my recent sampling was even better. While I haven’t tried all eight of the available meats, the house-made pork-and-duck terrine, foie gras torchon and boar rillettes ($27 for three meats) were intensely satisfying and generously supported by superior pickled veg, dried fruit, perky condiments and assorted seeds. As charcuterie boards go, the Albion Rooms serves one of the city’s best.
Another holdover from back in the day is the Scotch egg ($13), a guilty pleasure that appealed with its still-runny yolk, crisp and savoury chorizo coating and potent smoked paprika aioli.
Of the new appetizers, mushrooms on toast ($14), nicely offset by kale pesto, was a big winner. Elk tartare ($15) was sumptuous and interesting, spiked as it was with pickled blueberries.
The vegetarian-friendly caramelized leek appetizer ($12) had nice hits of savouriness, bitterness and saltiness going for it, but was not as bold as other appetizers. Grilled mackerel ($13) were tasty, although the sea asparagus with them were limp and overcooked.
The mains here have been hit and miss.
We’ve no complaints at all for the sturdy Enright Cattle rib-eye steak topped with horseradish butter ($36), which was a massive piece of meat with good juiciness, charring and character. Oversized, “thrice-cooked” chips were textural treats and tasty too. Two similarly pleasing staples were the fish and chips ($19), which paired its cod with an irresistible oyster-spiked tartar sauce, and the elk burger ($19), which was as good as it was hearty and drippy.
Of two fancier and pricier seafood choices, I much preferred the “West Coast seafood boil” ($32), even if its name was arguably a bit of a stretch. More of an assemblage than a seafood boil, the bowl’s star was an ample portion of blackened tuna, with Manila clams, toothsome butterpoached shrimp and chunks of punchy chorizo as flanking proteins that swam with charred cippolinis in a likable vegetable stock.
Seared ling cod ($32), though, was overcooked on a plate that otherwise had interesting items going for it. On another promising plate, duck confit ($26) also lacked for moistness.
The sous-vide short rib ($32) was massive and tender, but I wished for more cooked-in flavour. Of its accompaniments, the carrots were too crunchy. A pasta carbonara had the right indulgent feel to it, but could have been more exciting in terms of flavour.
Of the desserts (all $6), dark chocolate panna cotta hit the spot, while a piece of ginger cake seemed just a bit chalky in terms of its texture.
The wine list consists of about two dozen bottles by and large in the $50 to $60 range, with bythe-glass prices $13 or $14. I’ve been more tempted by the local craft beers on tap, and by the interesting signature cocktails.
If anything needs an immediate tweak at the Albion Rooms, I’d say it’s the service, which over four visits seemed a little too run-of-the-mill, inattentive, short on details regarding dishes and so on for a restaurant where many mains are in excess of $30.
A little bit more training on the front-of-house side would make me think the Albion Rooms was not just bigger, but better too.