Had supper last night at the much anticipated new John Taylor resto in Old Ottawa South. I called for a reso around 430 for 2 people at 815. She said she would “probably have room at the bar” I love sitting at the bar, so that was fine, other than the “probably” part, which was questionable, but I took the reso and said the bar would be perfect.
Upon arrival I was greeted by a friendly hostess in what looked like the first few days of a new resto. She didn’t have anywhere to put her reso book except a chair and was awkwardly juggling her various bits and pieces. I’m sure they’ll work out these little things stat. She apologetically let me know that there was only room at the bar, and offered me a choice of spots. For a small resto, they have about 8 seats at the bar, which is great. I ended up sitting next to Walter Krepski (owner of the Mayflower & part owner of Excellent eateries group), who was obviously also out to check out the new place.
The hostess took the time to explain the various menus, and the bartender brought water in a short delay and did a great job of keeping it coming (I had just gone for a run). No one seemed to mind my slightly bedraggled look (did I mention I had just gone for a run, and it was raining?). I ordered a charcuterie plate and bottle of wine to start (and while I was waiting for my friend to join me). The charcuterie menu was quite extensive. you can choose your size (sm – $20, med – $30, lg – $40) and you can pick 4 items for your plate (regardless of size) the small plate was plenty for the two of us, and also came with fresh bread, an onion jam, and a beet & mustard chutney. I picked one charcuterie from each section (fish, meat, meat & cheese), but wished in the end I had gone double on the cheese part (what was I thinking) they have a great selection of patés and smoked meats and cured meats and some interesting cheeses.
The wine list is organized in Whites & Reds, Internationals & Locals, Glasses & bottles. They have a good selection of by the glass options (about 15), and the price rang tops out at 14$ for An Oakanagan Sangiovese. We went with a Crozes-Hemitage Syrah, which was beautiful, smooth and slightly peppery.
I must admit I was expecting a larger selection and perhaps a few more creative choices. Other than a California Malvasia, all the grapes were quite common. I did enjoy their approximately 50% local selection, although nothing inspired to order me so I ended up ordering old-world.
Once my friend arrived (just as the charcuterie plate was being set down), we set out to analyzing the menu. I’m not a vegetarian, but I do tend to make vegetarian selections, and I generally cook vegetarian, so I’m always on the lookout. Almost all the apps were veg, but none of the mains. The menu is short, 4 apps, 4 mains, and I assume they will be changing it frequently.
We ate and ate and ate, and were in good company with the kitchen and bartender both conversing (the cool thing about the bar here is that you can see much of the action happening in the grill section of the kitchen). The kitchen was well-humored and it was great to see everything going on around and behind the bar.
It’s obviously a new resto, with delivery of food descriptions etc not going as smoothly as I’m sure they will in a few days, but the service was excellent. Friendly and casual, and I look forward to seeing what will be appearing on the menu in the future.
Service is Central 