Beechwood Gastropub
18 Beechwood Ave., 613-744-6509, facebook.com/beechwoodgastropub
Open: Tuesday to Sunday 11 a.m. to 10 p.m., closed Monday
Prices: small plates from $6 to $17
Access: wheelchair ramp to front door
In one of Ottawa’s most notable and quickest restaurant turnovers last year, Farbs Kitchen & Wine Bar closed in October, on the Saturday before Thanksgiving. About a month later, at the same New Edinburgh address, the Beechwood Gastropub opened, with a length of barn board added to the dining room’s longest wall, some fresh teal paint on a wall or two, and monogrammed mirrors as renovations.
The new business is the third within a three-block stretch of Beechwood Avenue for the young entrepreneur Andre Cloutier, who opened the Italian eatery Arturo’s Market in 2007 and in 2013 bought the venerable Spanish restaurant El Meson.
How has the transition gone from wine bar to gastropub? Apparently well, based on the many guests that kept the place busy when I was there. But more choppily, I’d add, given the inconsistent food I’ve sampled. That said, the meals did improve with each of my three visits, as I, perhaps like the fledgling restaurant, homed in on what worked best and what didn’t.
The Beechwood Gastropub, which is not connected to the Wellington Gastropub on Wellington Street West, is yet another new Ottawa restaurant dedicated to small plates. Its smartly written, sassy menu talks a good game, raising expectations for elevated fare.
But here the food usually felt more like small portions than small plates. What I mean is that the dishes generally struck a less refined note, with dishes eating more like comfort food or lightly tweaked pub food rather than tautly crafted, artier dishes. Apart from that, when dishes fell short, they were often too bland or a little too sweet.
On the restaurant’s Facebook page, it says that a new menu is due Feb. 3. If it’s not too late, here’s my feedback on what to keep, adjust and lose.
House-made gnocchi ($15), pillowy, lightly browned, twice hit the mark, although they were a little lost beneath much kale, fried cauliflower and a bit of Brussel sprouts.
Gnocchi with kale and cauliflower at Beechwood Gastropub.
This dish seemed better composed and executed than the house-made perogies ($11), which were massive — two to an order — and not so exciting. I expected more cheesy and bacony goodness.
Perogies at Beechwood Gastropub
Crispy calamari ($15) were well made and served with a bit of flair, nestled with some mussels and chorizo in a snappy, smokey sauce.
Calamari at Beechwood Gastropub
A sizeable chunk of pork belly ($14) was nicely crispy and then unctuous, and received a flavour boost from a balanced, sweet-savoury sauce. A quibble: the huge mound of slaw needed more zip, though.
Pork belly at Beechwood Gastropub.
A plate of chicken and waffles ($16) simplified the Southern classic, but was still enjoyable, consisting of three moist and nicely sauced deep-fried boneless thighs plus crisp sections of waffles.
Chicken and waffles at Beechwood Gastropub.
Albacore tuna crudo ($15) had the right elements — some citrus, cilantro, puffed kasha for crunch — but would have been better with thicker cuts of fish and more vivid flavours.
At one lunch, I had some fine hot smoked trout ($13), unfortunately offset with rosti that were burnt and black on the bottom.
Hot-smoked trout with slaw, greens and rosti at Beechwood Gastropub
The flank steak ($17) needs a re-think. Our order was too chewy, and short on flavour, and it needed a better condiment than the too-sweet red pepper jelly. Plus, the meat was served over its fries, ensuring soggy fries.
Flank steak at Beechwood Gastropub
Mushrooms ($12) cooked with balsamic and served on flatbread with goat cheese and caramelized onions amounted to a large, ungainly plate that ate too messily and too sweetly.
Baked cauliflower ($12) was on a mid-December dinner menu, but absent a month later, which was no great loss, because the dish was lacklustre. Coq au vin ($15) too was similarly cut, and that was another good call. What we had tasted like a shortcut version of the great French dish, with little cooked-in flavour to the chicken.
Homemade pogos ($8) were made with large, local sausages, but weren’t much of an improvement over the concession-stand staple.
Desserts tended be the sweet and basic. I liked the arborio rice pudding ($7) with poached pear and candied walnuts more than the single-note, sticky toffee pudding ($8) with a brown sugar molasses sauce.
Arborio rice pudding with candied walnuts, red wine poached pear at Beechwood Gastropub.
Sticky toffee pudding with brown sugar molasses sauce at Beechwood Gastropub.
Also pretty basic has been the selection of beers, which I hope will grow as this place leaves its wine-bar beginnings behind.
Service, like the food, improved with each of my visits. When I ate here in mid-December, servers, while friendly and well-intentioned, said that dishes were to be shared and that two or three items per person was about right. Given the portion sizes, three seems like over-doing it to me. Also, many items came in bowls, which made sharing harder, and we had to ask for sharing plates and cutlery. This month, service has felt more proactive and clear on the concept.
Overall, it seems like the eatery is meeting a need, and that neighbours have embraced it. But I’d bet that they would like it even more if the kitchen adds more vibrancy and consistent highs to the food.
phum@ottawacitizen.com
twitter.com/peterhum
ottawacitizen.com/tags/dining-out
