Amberwood Lounge & Eatery
54 Springbrook Dr., Stittsville, 613-831-2442, aleottawa.ca
Open: Weekdays 11 a.m. to 10 p.m., Saturday and Sunday 9 a.m. to 10 p.m.
Prices: mains $18 to $34
Access: no steps to front door or washrooms
From what I’ve seen, Jason Potvin, the chef at the Amberwood Lounge & Eatery in Stittsville, knows how to write an alluring menu to tempt all kinds of eaters.
For trendier palates, the signifiers of cosmopolitan culinary savvy pop out, from tuna poke (Hawaii’s raw-fish salad) to halloumi (the squeaky, salty Cypriot cheese that takes so well to the grill) to kimchi, which is supposed to add its funky tang to ALE’s meatloaf and pork chop. The restaurant inside the Amberwood Golf and Country Club, which has been open since April 2016, also offers less worldly snacks to the post-golf crowd. For main courses, older or less adventurous diners might also favour a steak, burger or pork chop.
But given what I’ve eaten during my three visits, I wish that ALE’s kitchen had generally done a better job and turned out better-tasting and even better-looking food. Granted, its prices for main courses — think short ribs or lamb shanks for under $25 — were significantly cheaper than comparable dishes in downtown Ottawa. But those cheaper plates were also not nearly as well-made or enjoyable.
I first visited ALE in January. Its winter menu was in effect, and I’ll be brief in discussing dishes that are no longer available. There was a lamb shank, with an undistinguished sauce that hid so-so, flavour-deprived meat. No more impressive was the wan, boneless short rib. A sirloin steak was fine, but its shiny, thickened brown sauce, mashed potatoes and a massive, breaded, deep-fried mushroom appealed less. Some candied bacon garnish was better than the pedestrian maple-mustard salmon and rice that it came with.
Lamb shank at Amberwood Lounge and Eatery
Short rib at Amberwood Lounge and Eatery-
Baseball sirloin steak with deep-fried portobello mushroom at Amberwood Lounge and Eatery
Maple-mustard salmon with candied bacon at Amberwood Lounge and Eatery
What worked much better for us were most items on a platter of snacks and starters — more simple indulgences such as plump, tender shrimp, bites of sausage wrapped in glazed bacon, more of that candied bacon and a small bowl of mussels in a lightly garlicky cream sauce. The only flops on the platter were some crab spring rolls that were oily and very short on crab.
Sharing platter of appetizers at Amberwood Lounge and Eatery in Stittsville
Hardly enthused, I didn’t return to Amberwood until last week. Then, the summer menu raised hopes but the execution of dishes too often left something to be desired.
ALE’s poke, with its chopped raw tuna, avocado and tomato, was not bad, but the mix definitely needed the citrus-soy dressing on the side, which even then could have been brighter and more punchy. Halloumi arrived deep-fried rather than simply grilled, which did not strike us as an improvement. Seafood chowder featured a nicely cooked shrimp dangling from its rim, but its mussels tasted strong and fishy, its broth was neither rich nor pleasant and its heft came from an excess of tasteless crab-stick shards.
Tuna poke at Amberwood Lounge and Eatery
Halloumi at Amberwood Lounge and Eatery
Seafood chowder at Amberwood Lounge and Eatery
A sirloin steak had a bit of liveriness to it, and its “crispy mushrooms” were all crunch and very little mushroom. Fries on the side were just OK, but better than lumpy mashed potatoes had been in January. A pork chop was admirably hefty, but the Asian chili glaze left nothing but a little bitterness to the meat and the so-called kimchi-mango salsa, regardless of whether it was a desirable combination, was all mango, no kimchi.
Sirloin topped with red pepper, gorgonzola and “crispy” mushrooms at Amberwood Lounge and Eatery
Pork chop with mango salsa at Amberwood Lounge and Eatery
Fish and seafood on the summer menu are mix-and-match affairs. You pick an item, choose how it’s to be cooked and how it’s to be sauced. I ordered grilled shrimp with a pineapple-Szechuan sauce. The shrimp were on the overcooked side, and their sauce was, if anything, simply sweet, and not very pineapple-y and definitely not potently spicy or even tingly as Szechuan-flavoured things ought to be.
Shrimp with pineapple Szechuan sauce at Amberwood Lounge and Eatery
For all of the condiments and toppings that graced the proteins at ALE, I came to wish simply for meats that were juicy and tasted of themselves and simple seasoning.
My last meal at ALE was a lunch. Then, the restaurant was at its most busy, almost filled seemingly with golfers and Stittsville neighbours alike. (The restaurant is open to all, not just to club members.)
Our servers then had a bit more snap and attentiveness to them, but the food again was so-so at best. The so-called shrimp ceviche Cobb salad was nicely sized and had a range of well-combined ingredients including avocado, egg, goat cheese and arugula, although it lacked a Cobb salad’s usual orderliness. It also surprised with wee shrimp that had none of a ceviche’s sharp, acidic brightness. The crispy cod was oily.
Shrimp ceviche Cobb salad at Amberwood Lounge and Eatery
Crispy Cod and potato-leek soup at Amberwood Lounge and Eatery
Desserts — most were available both in winter and now — were unremarkable. S’Mores Dip (toasted marshmallows and graham crackers served with melted chocolate, and nothing more) was a low-effort dessert. While a big, chili-spiked brownie showed off more cooking, it was devoid of heat. A crepe filled with apple crisp seemed old, cold and tired. The plating of these and other dishes seemed thrown-together and virtually finesse-free.
S’mores Dip at Amberwood Lounge and Eatery.
Chili Brownie at Amberwood Lounge and Eatery
Apple crisp crepe at Amberwood Lounge and Eatery- pix by Peter Hum Ottawa Citizen Photo Email
True to its acronym, ALE does rotate local craft beers onto taps. Given the shortcomings I’ve experienced, I’d suggest that taking in the view with some pints plus some shareable snacks or a salad might be the best way to go here.
phum@postmedia.com
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