Foreign Cinéma
121 Clarence St., 613-627-8482, foreigncinema.ca
Open: Tuesday and Wednesday 5 p.m. to 2 a.m., Thursday 3 p.m. to 2 a.m., Friday to Sunday 11 a.m. to 2 a.m., closed Monday
Prices: most dishes under $20
Access: washrooms downstairs
Last weekend, when I visited Foreign Cinéma, which I should note is a ByWard Market restaurant and not a repertory movie house, its big flat-screen TV was tuned to Netflix and showing White House Down, in black and white and with the sound off.
A few nights before, while noshing on scallop ceviche, perogies and fried Cornish hen, I was able to watch Star Trek Beyond.
So much, then, for truth in restaurant naming. At least Foreign Cinéma’s website notes: “Groups can request in advance that a certain film be played during their experience and we will do our best to accommodate!”
Mind you, I enjoy restaurant meals as an escape from life’s ubiquitous screens, so it’s not that big a difference whether my dining experience comes with Federico Fellini or Michael Bay on the side.
What has mattered more was Foreign Cinéma’s food, which leans toward small plates and small mains, and is described as both “American contemporary cuisine” and “West Coast.” For what I ate last week, I would apply a range of different descriptions, from respectable and interesting to somewhat flawed to nearly inedible.
The 100-seat Clarence Street restaurant, which amps up its groove-based dinner music on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays after 10 p.m. when a live DJ begins spinning, replaces Ace Mercado, which was in business for three years until it closed in early November 2017.
That fancy Mexican restaurant gained some detractors in the fall of 2015 when it was pegged as contributing to the closure of its neighbour, the vintage diner Mellos on Dalhousie Street. Those who shunned Ace Mercado should know that Foreign Cinéma, which opened in early December 2017, is under different ownership. Foreign Cinéma’s chef, Barry Moore, was retained from Ace Mercado’s staff to run Foreign Cinéma’s kitchen.
Oddly, then, the worst thing that we had at Foreign Cinéma was a plate of fish tacos ($12), which we were told were holdovers from Ace Mercado’s menu. Made with trout, these tacos were punishingly salty. We told our server so, he took them away and we weren’t charged for them.
Trout tacos at Foreign Cinéma
Other smaller plates were far less objectionable, but still in need of improvement. Lamb sliders ($3) were promising, with house-made wafers of Dijon-spiked seaweed that intrigued us. Too bad the lamb was dry and under-seasoned. Scallop ceviche ($16) piqued our curiosity and taste buds with a sweet and bright hibiscus-perked dressing, but its scallops were haphazardly and overly minced, and also bland. Vegetarian flatbreads ($8) were no better than ordinary.
lamb sliders at Foreign Cinéma
Vegetarian flatbreads at Foreign Cinéma
Scallop ceviche at Foreign Cinéma
Better was a plate of well-made smoked salmon perogies ($10), enlivened by fried capers. Best of the appetizers that I tried was a seafood salad ($16), which in addition to its greens featured chilled shrimp, calamari, toasted coconut and a lemon ginger dressing. It was pretty appealing and free of gaffes.
Perogies at Foreign Cinéma
Seafood salad at Foreign Cinéma
Of Foreign Cinema’s larger and meatier items, a tuna poke bowl ($18) suffered from coconut rice that was a gloppy mess. On the whole, the bowl felt heavy when it should have been lighter and brighter. Markedly better was a properly cooked plate of pan-seared trout ($17) with butternut squash purée and broccolini.
Tuna poke bowl at Foreign Cinéma
Pan-seared trout at Foreign Cinéma
I’ve twice ordered the fried Cornish hen ($18) here — the second time to see if the bird would emerge from the kitchen, not just nicely battered and crisply fried, but also with more seasoning and moisture to its meat. Happily, the second hen improved on its dry predecessor, and each time grits and fried green tomatoes were pluses on the plate.
Cornish Hen at Foreign Cinéma
I’m a harsh judge of ribs at restaurants, where too often they are overcooked into mushy submission, boring, or both. But Foreign Cinéma’s ribs ($18) kept us interested with their hibiscus barbecue sauce and sesame seed crust, and were also sufficiently tender. Pucks of cornbread and dollops of slaw nicely completed the dish.
Ribs at Foreign Cinéma
While other dishes here seem properly and affordably priced to me, the 12-ounce ribeye steak ($36) strikes me as splurge that’s harder to get behind. It had an OK char and an interesting miso beurre blanc going for it, but the flavours on its plate seemed a little fuzzy, especially at twice the price of other mains.
Ribeye steak at Foreign Cinéma
Desserts were pleasant enough for $8 apiece. They included a strawberry shortbread crème brûlée that was a bit too pudding-y, and a trio of brownies (chocolate walnut, red velvet, ginger blondie).
Strawberry shortcake crème brûlée at Foreign Cinema
Brownies at Foreign Cinéma
Servers, who are, I’m told, all new hires, were personable, attentive and proactive, when it came to taking our orders and bringing our food.
However, we were less pleased when we went to sit down at a window-side banquette dirtied with food crumbs, and especially when we saw someone — not an employee, I’m inclined to think — who stood at the bar, playing at squirting whipped cream from a cannister directly into his mouth. Come on, bro! Sit down and watch the movie!
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Peter Hum’s restaurant reviews