Fauna Food + Bar
425 Bank St., 613-563-2862,
faunaottawa.ca
Open:
for lunch Monday to Friday 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m., for dinner Sunday to Thursday 5:30 to 10 p.m. (last seating 9 p.m.), Friday and Saturday 5:30 to 11 p.m. (last seating 10:30 p.m.), bar open late
Prices:
small plates $14 to $20, mains $30 to $37, plates for two $85 and $110
Access:
washrooms in basement
We went recently to Fauna Food + Bar on a whim, after a last-minute need for a nice dinner out caught us by surprise.
That Saturday morning, we tried to go to two other upscale and well-established Ottawa restaurants, but they were booked solid. Fortunately, Fauna in Centretown could still take us for an early evening reservation. Luckier still, our meal turned out to be a contender for my best restaurant dinner in Ottawa this year.
We did go to Fauna with high hopes, although the last time I’d eaten there was in late 2014, soon after its chef-owner Jon Svazas opened it.
Since 2014, there have been accolades and tweaks at Fauna. It cracked the Canada’s 100 Best Restaurants list in 2016, 2017 and this year. Given that Svazas opened Bar Laurel in Hintonburg in 2016, Fauna’s chef de cuisine Billy Khoo plays a greater role now, and next Tuesday, it will be Khoo rather than Svazas who will lead the kitchen crew from Fauna next Tuesday at Ottawa’s edition of Canada’s Great Kitchen Party, the regional qualifier for next year’s Canadian Culinary Championships.
In 2014, Fauna was all about small plates. Today, it serves mains and even big dishes for two or more, and I was curious to see what the restaurant would do with dishes of that scale. Ultimately, regardless of plate size, the way to go seems to be to share.
Our meal’s strong, cool start consisted of two raw dishes, although they arrived so quickly from the kitchen that they beat the well-made but lagging cocktails to our table.
Bison tartare ($19) wowed us with the quality of its finely chopped meat, its different gradations of acid, fat, sweetness and umami, its crisp potato chips and its striking plating. “I could eat that all night,” said one of my friends.
More delicate was the swordfish ceviche ($19), a distinct departure from the rustic, boldly flavoured, chunky, Peruvian-style ceviches that typically win me over. Fauna’s ceviche impressed with its finesse and calibration, its mild fish artfully wrapped in cucumber and nestled in a flavourful pool of coconut milk, chili and herb oil.
Two warm small plates continued the kitchen’s streak. Shishito peppers ($20) stuffed with scrumptious lamb played on chile rellenos, and came with a complex mole sauce that delivered lingering heat. A plump, whole soft shell crab ($20) received a marvellously crisp tempura treatment, while the seaweed aioli and a sprinkling of spice blend added punch to the crustacean’s already intense flavour.
Then, the four of us tackled mains that brimmed with concentrated flavours that made us want to gnaw on bones and scrape the plates for every speck of goodness.
Beef cheeks ($37) were braised to fall-apart tenderness, and were part of a cohesive plate that also included matsutake mushrooms, kale and squash.
For dessert, we had the contrasting pleasures of a unique chocolate cake ($14) accented with violet and confit fennel, and brown-butter cake ($12) offset by cherry sorbet, poached cherry and brown sugar crackers.
Five years ago, I called Fauna, which seats about 60 at its woody tables and wraparound bar, the loveliest new dining room in town. It still feels vibrant and au courant, with its textured walls, massive and funky art and fun lighting fixtures. Downstairs, a private dining room provides an alternate setting.
I also noted in 2014 that Fauna is a little darker than I like, and grows louder than I like, and these aspects of the ambience have remained constant. Being seated beside one of the huge windows looking onto Bank Street at my recent dinner did make for a slightly brighter and more isolated experience.
The bar’s offering of 10 craft cocktails is wide and intriguing, while the lengthy and discerning wine list here favours natural, biodynamic and organic bottles.
Overall, Fauna at five feels like a restaurant that can execute and serve its many strengths with easy, knowing confidence. The level it attained, in particular with its mains and big duck plate, made me feel like we’d hit the jackpot — and maybe even as if I’ve been a wee bit too kind to its competition.
phum@postmedia.com
twitter.com/peterhum
Peter Hum’s restaurant reviews