MeNa Restaurant
276 Preston St., 613-233-6462, menarestaurant.com
Open: Tuesday to Saturday, 5 p.m. to closing
Prices: appetizers $11 to $14, mains $24 to $32, tasting menus
Access: One step to front door
A few weekends ago at MeNa, they sure knew how to properly kick off a birthday celebration.
We took our seats at the refined, intimate restaurant on Preston Street, and before you could say “More grey hair!” there was a complimentary round of sparkling wine, proactively poured for the four of us.
Furthermore, the gifts kept coming, although the other guests who filled MeNa’s cosy, 40-seat dining room, celebrating or not, also received these made-in-house, on-the-house treats.
We enjoyed our amuse bouche of espresso cups filled with clove-tinged pumpkin potage. Then came some freshly baked buns with crisp exteriors and bubbly crumbs. Not to make too much of this gesture, but it seems to me that good bread, free of charge, is in shorter supply at Ottawa restaurants nowadays.
Before too long, I was wondering: shouldn’t more nights out at restaurants feel like a gracious, but relaxed party?
The vibe at MeNa, which opened in February and was a contender for enRoute magazine’s 2014 list of Canada’s Top 10 new restaurants, mixes warm, upscale elegance with contemporary casualness.
On one hand, there are the young, apron- and jeans-clad servers, the rustic wood walls and the classic rock soundtrack that struck me as a little too plebeian. (Of course, for those servers, and for MeNa’s owner Bryan Livingston and chef James Bratsberg, both in their late 20s, maybe listening to vintage Eagles, Queen and Rod Stewart is ironic.)
On the other, those servers are astute, attentive and impeccably mannered, in keeping with the feel of James Bratsberg’s refined dishes.
MeNa restaurant’s chef is James Bratsberg, in charge of his first kitchen after stints at Restaurant E18hteen and Social.
From MeNa’s very concise menu of five appetizers and five main courses, came plate after attractive plate — or from what I could see at other tables, in the case of cauliflower soup: a pitcher, poured with a tableside flourish to a guest’s bowl. Bratsberg’s food looked alluring but not ostentatious — although a bit more light from the Edison lights overhead would have made it easier to appreciate their charms.
We tried two seafood appetizers that stressed technique and deftly arranged components.
Seared Scallops ($14) combined the shellfish with a posse of provocateurs. Along with the three scallops in the bowl were “noodles” and purée of celeriac, a bundle of wilted angel’s hair pasta tinted green by the addition of wilted spinach and a poached egg. The appetizer’s flavours were mild but clear, and its unctuous, comforting textures were its talking points.
Seared scallops at MeNa restaurant
Tuna tartare ($13) was enjoyable, although a bit more acid or brightness would have made it even better. Garnishes elevated the dish considerably, including crisp-fried chips of fingerling potatoes atop the tuna, a precisely dressed “potato salad” fanned out to the left of the fish and a fine dice of tomatoes and vegetables to the right.
Tuna Tartare at MeNa restaurant
Poultry profited too from time spent with Bratsberg. A starter of quail, seasoned with cinnamon and cloves, stood out as memorable. A duck breast main course ($32), perfectly pink and served with a peppery jus, quinoa, endives, sweet Nantes carrots and orange demi-glace was one of our table’s favourites, topping the roasted Cornish hen ($25) that was a bit dry and wanting of sauce.
At MeNa restaurant, one of the best main courses was duck breast with carrots and quinoa.
The menu’s only red-meat option was a flank steak ($32) with good, robust flavour. I thought the demi-glace was a touch too salty, but other elements — cubes of confit potato, a classy crab croquette and especially a rich tomatillo-based condiment — more than compensated.
Flank steak at MeNa restaurant
Although MeNa’s wine list includes only bottles, wine by the glass is available. I asked for something to match with the steak and was very pleased with a big pour of Château Musar Hochar Père et Fils, a lovely and surprising Lebanese blend of red varietals.
For the table’s last diner, gnocchi ($24), made Parisian-style with pâte à choux rather than potatoes, were light and airy, and bolstered with oyster mushrooms, chanterelles, roasted squash and beets.
Parisian gnocchi at MeNa restaurant.
Like the gnocchi and bavette steak in particular, the peach Melba ($10) on the menu nodded to MeNa’s French-cuisine roots, which Bratsberg has run with and personalized. This dessert was another balanced success, with light sponge toffee, whipped cream and a potent raspberry sorbet complimenting the cooked fruit. Of course, a birthday candle adorned the bowl.
A more modern dessert paired a stick of chocolate ganache with caramelized banana and blueberry ice cream ($10). The chocolate’s texture struck me as just a little odd, with more resistance than I expected, but we still polished off this sweet plate with gusto.
Chocolate and Bananas dessert at MeNa restaurant.
MeNa also offers four-, five- and seven-course tasting menus, ranging in price from $55 to $85 without wine and providing a parade of smaller-portioned menu items. For fans of sophisticated and well-crafted food, these splurges should appeal.
Their course counts would not include the final freebie that we received before we put our coats on — some bites of dense lemon olive oil cake, scented with thyme. One last parting gift sent us into the cold, further strengthening the desire to return.
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