Prohibition Public House
337 Somerset St. W., 613-565-2704, prohibitionhouse.com
Open: Tuesday and Wednesday 5 p.m. to 1 a.m., Thursday to Saturday 4 p.m. to 2 a.m., Sunday 5 p.m. to midnight, closed Monday
Prices: mains $18 to $29
Access: stairs to front door, washrooms upstairs
In Montreal, there’s been a restaurant called Prohibition for several years. In Toronto, an eatery of the same name has been in business for longer still. Why shouldn’t Ottawa have a Prohibition too?
To be clear: Surprisingly, given the prevalence of premium casual chains and franchises, the three identically named restaurants are unrelated business-wise. Still, there must be something about the name’s connotations. While I’ve not been to the Montreal or Toronto Prohibitions, they, and the Ottawa Prohibition, seem not that different, conceptually.
In Montreal, Prohibition is a casual bistro. In Toronto, it’s a gastropub. In Ottawa, Prohibition Public House, which opened in mid-June on Somerset Street West, east of Bank Street, is also a gastropub. It’s a large and attractive one, occupying the two-storey space where the restaurant Fare Blend was, in a heritage building that retains some of its old-time charm even though its been handsomely renovated.
Between them, the Ottawa Prohibition’s owners, Gregg McCabe, Steve Halucha, and Matt Loudon, have worked at or had a stake in some of Ottawa’s most popular pubs, including Grace O’Malley’s on Merivale Road, Crazy Horse in Kanata and Hooley’s Pub on Elgin Street. At Prohibition, their chef is Daniel Guerra, who previously cooked at Santé on Rideau Street.
His menu is a taut one-pager that appeals with about a half-dozen starters, that many mains, and three desserts. Locavores will approve of the menu citing Mariposa Farms, Juniper Farms and Trillium Farms as some of the restaurant’s producers. Indeed, vegetables were often scene-stealers on main-course plates.
I’ve eaten here twice, once on its porch and once in its private room, at a thick, wood-slab table with large, cushy chairs. In all, it’s struck me as a middle-of-the-pack place with prices that aren’t too alarming (most main courses are under $25). We had some respectable and good-looking dishes and some that needed some tweaking. In some cases, a little salt or assertive seasoning would have made a dish sparkle a bit more. At least one item was questionably sweet.
For nibblers, there’s a charcuterie and cheese board that can be sized to taste and appetite, with up to seven cheeses from unspecified producers and seven meats, of which two — thin slices of pork belly and duck “bacon” — were made in the kitchen. Add-ons such as candied nuts and dabs of fruit gels bolstered the board, but the store-bought cured meat outshone the unremarkable house-made stuff.
Charcuterie and cheese board at Prohibition Public House
Gazpacho, that perfect hot-weather starter of chilled tomato and vegetable soup, was somewhere in between rustically chunky and smoothly puréed. It could have popped with more flavour, but it was adequately refreshing.
Gazpacho at Prohibition Public House
Slabs of seared, sunflower seed-crusted tuna were lovely to look at, but could have used a finishing hit of salt. With its blobs of berry gel, this appetizer skewed to the sweet side.
Sunflower seed-crusted tuna with berry gel at Prohibition Public House
The teens at our table saw poutine tacos on the menu and couldn’t resist. They liked the mashup of fries, curds, pulled chicken and gravy in soft tacos, and thought just as highly of beef sliders on egg bread.
Poutine tacos at Prohibition Public House
Beef sliders at Prohibition Public House
Among the main courses, a special of lamb chops, sufficiently juicy and bettered by its sauce, was much appreciated. Its risotto and assortment of veg satisfied, although the rice, while nicely textured, could have used more brothy depth of flavour in addition to its cheesiness.
Lamb rack with risotto, fennel at Prohibition Public House
Striploin steak was a bit pricey at $29, but otherwise commendable. Meanwhile, the so-called “big meatball” had good flavour and a vegetable-loaded tomato sauce with some character, but it fell short because it was much too dry.
Striploin steak at Prohibition Public House
Duck confit by itself was sizeable and alright. It definitely pleased much more than the pink, too-sweet berry risotto. Rainbow trout was fine, but underseasoned, and the sweet-and-sour glaze mentioned on the menu was hard to discern. Chicken ballotine — here, chicken stuffed with ricotta — was overcooked and dry and lacked the peach component mentioned on the menu. With both of these dishes, some nicely cooked vegetables, and in the case of the chicken, a jus with some richness to it, were notably redeeming.
Duck confit at Prohibition Public House
Chicken Ballotine at Prohibition Public House
Chocolate mousse, served in a jar and topped with coffee-infused cream and crumbled cookies, was very dense, but still a good pick for the chocolate fans. Less good was a lemon tart with honey custard that was much more sweet than bright and lemony. Above all, it was too cold, requiring efforts akin to chiselling to break.
Chocolate mousse dessert at Prohibition Public House
As for Prohibition’s drinks, about two dozen craft beers enjoy pride of place. Like the kitchen’s food, most of the beer choices are mainstream and easy-drinking, and a few are more interesting.
At this point, Prohibition isn’t bad, but neither is it as exciting food-wise as its neighbours Union 613 or Fairouz. Still, on this block, there could be room and demand too for a less adventurous, slightly more affordable eatery, especially if the kitchen here raises its game a bit more.
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Peter Hum’s previous restaurant reviews
