Beechwood Gastropub
18 Beechwood Ave. 613-744-6509, beechwoodgastropub.com
Open: Monday to Wednesday 11:30 a.m. to 9 p.m., Thursday and Friday 11:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. Saturday 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Sunday 10 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.
Prices: small plates $10 to $18, mains $22 to $30
Access: wheelchair ramp to front door
Over the last five years, I’ve had food made by Harriet Clunie in several settings and always left wanting to eat more of it.
When she was in her mid-20s, Clunie was René Rodriguez’s chef de cuisine at the now-shuttered and missed Navarra. A splendid meal that I ate there, when Rodriguez had the night off, must have benefitted from Clunie’s skills and attention to detail. Just a few years later, I enjoyed her food when she was in charge of Das Lokal’s kitchen when that Lowertown restaurant opened.
Like many a chef on Ottawa’s culinary scene, Clunie kept moving — and I couldn’t keep up. She was part of the Whalesbone family, cooking at the Elmdale Tavern, and then she moved to the Beechwood Gastropub, which opened about three years ago.
In the spring of 2017, Clunie, along with the eatery’s general manager Michelle Comeau, bought the gastropub from its owner, André Cloutier. But rather than rename the place Chez Harriet or something like that, they’ve kept the old name, which rightly stresses the restaurant’s neighbourhood roots.
I’ve eaten a few times this fall at the gastropub, and have liked what Clunie and Comeau have done with the place. I had mixed feelings about the venue when I reviewed it in early 2015, but think it’s now improved on all fronts. That said, some dishes have clearly been better than others.
Clunie’s menus have been concise, weighted toward smaller plates and appetites, and reliant upon from-scratch cooking and locally produced ingredients. Her best dishes have combined heartiness, breadth of flavours and refinement.
Passing on the cheese and charcuterie, which draws upon goods from Jacobsons Gourmet Concepts up the street and Seed to Sausage and house-made meats, we’ve been quite pleased by two appetizers.
Breaded and fried eggplant medallions, served with grilled zucchini, marinated tomatoes, feta and radish were spot-on, delivering a nice mix of fresh veg, salt, acid and crunch. Ceviche made with small, organic, Pacific shrimp boasted similar complexity and harmony. It had a lot of zestiness to it, good mouthfeel and the tostada provided for scooping and nipping was a nice touch.
Shrimp ceviche at Beechwood Gastropub
At another visit, however, I thought less of fried smelts with an unremarkable slaw, which in addition to being overly crisp and underly meaty needed a more acidic accent. Mussels and fries didn’t quite wow us too, mostly because the P.E.I. mussels were wee and the fries, while appealingly tossed in onion butter, were too mushy. Grilled bread, sopped in the mussels’ white wine sauce, was the highlight of the dish.
Mussels and fries at Beechwood Gastropub
Kudos to the kitchen for striking sears and juicy interiors on several proteins. I’m thinking of the ling cod and striploin steak, both available in small and large portions. The fine piece of fish came with some interesting vegetable accompaniments, but the steak, while superbly supported by red wine jus and bracing chimichurri, was let down by more of those less-than-crisp fries.
A small serving of ling cod at Beechwood Gastropub
Striploin steak (small serving) at Beechwood Gastropub
The house-made pasta here is always orecchiette, paired daily with what the kitchen sees fit. I’ve seen, and tasted, the little ears served with braised goat and a punchy tomato sauce that incorporated carrots, corn and cauliflower, and more recently with braised elk and a more stew-y sauce. Both dishes were winners.
Orecchiette with braised goat, carrots, corn and cauliflower at Beechwood Gastropub
Orecchiette with braised elk at Beechwood Gastropub
I’ve not tried the quail on Clunie’s menu, but I’ve stolen some bites from a Cornish hen special that recently subbed for the even smaller birds. It was fine, but didn’t knock me out as had the fish and steak. (The steak, by the way, also appears, but with eggs and home fries, on Beechwood’s weekend brunch menu, where, to my mind, it’s the best of the batch.)
Cornish hen at the Beechwood Gastropub
Of the comforting desserts here, I thought that the properly wobbly panna cotta, topped with a house-made compote and candied nuts, was better than the flourless chocolate cake.
Panna cotta at Beechwood Gastropub
Service here has varied a little bit. In one case, it was on the ball and very proactive with explanation, but on another visit, it felt more slack, and there was no mention of daily specials.
At each of my weekend dinner visits, the gastropub has thrummed with business, including walk-ins galore. Having had some solidly made and affordable plates and just a few items that were in need of tweaking, I can see what’s driving the gastropub’s neighbours through its doors.
phum@postmedia.com
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