Chez Eric Café & Bistro
28 Valley Dr., Wakefield, Que., 819-459-3747, chezeric.ca
Open: Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday 5 to 9 p.m., Saturday 10 a.m. to 9 p.m., Sunday 10 a.m. to 8 p.m., closed Wednesday
Price: Main dishes $15 to $26
Access: Steps into restaurant, washrooms upstairs
From my fourth birthday party to a family reunion in Vancouver a few weeks ago, some of my most convivial and memorable meals have been served in someone’s backyard.
The closest that a restaurant has come to evoking that kind of casual al fresco contentment was a dinner earlier this summer at Chez Eric Café & Bistro in Wakefield.
They have relaxed, rustic charm down pat there. Sure, the garden patio’s tables and chairs are plastic. But there’s something about the unfussy, leafy setting, complete with a naive artwork, a sandbox for the kids and disco and reggae on the sound system, that really clicks, much more than the perfunctory, concrete vibe of some urban Ottawa patios.
I only wish that I could have told you sooner of Chez Eric’s country allure. Indeed, some dishes mentioned below have been tweaked since I ate there. This review was delayed somewhat as otherwise I would have missed that family reunion.
Of course, our enjoyment of Chez Eric wasn’t limited to the ambience. Chef-owners Chris Taché and Joe O’Shaughnessy, who took over two years ago, dole out appealing, comforting dishes. They nicely extend the legacy of their previous boss, chef-owner Che Chartrand, who moved in the fall of 2012 to the Ottawa side and Stephen Beckta’s Gezellig restaurant, but who recently returned to his West Quebec stomping ground to be the Wakefield Mill’s executive chef.
From Chez Eric’s one-page dinner menu, it was an everyman dish that took top marks. The bacon-topped cheeseburger ($15) was exceptional, imposingly large and bursting with beefiness, served with a side of coleslaw.
Chez Eric’s bacon-topped cheeseburger is a reputation maker.
It’s a reputation-maker for the restaurant, our server said, and a few bites showed why. Ottawa’s many aspiring gourmet burger purveyors are lucky that Chez Eric isn’t just down the road rather than down the highway.
Our table’s runner-up dish was a satisfying plate of crisp-skinned duck confit ($26), topped with red onion jam and complemented by roasted root vegetables and a loose, bacon-y potato galette.
Duck confit at Chez Eric.
With two other main courses, we had small complaints.
The pork tenderloin ($16) was a touch dry, but its flavour was good and the bowl’s pillowy gnocchi and the play between artichoke, cherry tomatoes and sun-dried tomatoes had their own merits.
Pork tenderloin main course at Chez Eric
A big, potent lamb meatball ($26) wrapped in phyllo hit the mark, as did the plate’s seasonal vegetables, but some very plain rice was a surprisingly lacklustre starch.
Lamb meatball in phyllo at Chez Eric
Modestly sized starters — a salad of beet morsels, fennel shavings and goat cheese ($12) and small, Parmesan-crusted scallops and more cherry tomatoes paired with cauliflower purée ($12) — eased us into dinner.
Scallops with cauliflower puree appetizer at Chez Eric
Desserts — a Mason jar filled with chocolate mousse and decadently topped with whipped cream, fruits and caramel and a not-as-strong slice of pecan pie — were direct, unrepentantly sweet and, at $7, reasonably priced.
Chocolate mousse at Chez Eric
Pecan pie at Chez Eric
We later returned to Chez Eric, which by the way is named after a goldfish, for a weekend brunch. Lousy weather forced us to eat inside in the woody, country-style dining room beside its tiny kitchen. Fortunately friendly service and, best of all, indulgent eggs Benedict topped with pulled pork ($16) that stood up to their hearty sauce, made up for the lack of a warm, swirling breeze and sun overhead.
Chez Eric’s pulled pork eggs Benny
