The Belmont
1169 Bank St., 613-979-3663, belmontottawa.com
Open:
Tuesday to Sunday, 5 to 9 p.m., plus Saturday and Sunday, 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., closed Monday
Prices:
dishes $14 to $45, combo and family dinners $70 to $130
Access:
steps to restaurant, steps to upper level with washrooms
I’ve always thought of dim sum, the Cantonese parade of dumplings, rolls and other snack-sized treats washed down with tea, as a Sunday morning thing. That is, until I had dim sum from the Belmont for dinner on a recent Sunday night.
The last year has been filled with so many flipped expectations and oddities — why not have traditional Chinese brunch items for dinner, and while we we’re at it, from an eatery that’s not afraid to globetrot to find inspirations for its eclectic fare? I’ll give the Belmont, and its chef, Phil Denny, a pass regarding cultural appropriation (or if you prefer, misappropriation) because what we ordered was both very good and respectful of its origins.
Our family night order of dim sum ($80) was heavy with commendable dumplings. Pork and coriander shumai were toothsome, shrimp and radish pot-stickers were tasty, albeit over-seared, and dense beef momos were intriguing, even if those Tibetan dumplings might spark political outrage as part of a dim sum spread in the country that gave us dim sum. Each kind of dumpling came with its respective and appealing dipping sauce, as if to highlight that this dim sum had come from Old Ottawa South, not from Somerset Street West.
Also included in the meal were some of the best pork belly morsels I can recall eating in pandemic times, including the slabs I’ve braised and barbecued myself at home. The roasting of Belmont’s five-spice-flavoured pork belly cubes was utterly on-point, rendering both flesh and fat delectable, and the pork’s crispy skin reminded us how crackling ought to be, but seldom is.
The meal’s Chinese broccoli with cashews was more enjoyable than its stir-fry of edamame beans in their pods, as extricating the beans from their saucy husks made for messy eating.
Before that dinner, it had been more than five years since I had had food from the Belmont, which opened in late 2014. Then, another chef ran its kitchen. Denny, whose résumé includes stints at the Elmdale Oyster House and Tavern and Jak’s Kitchen, has been at the Belmont since March 2015. Dim sum has been on his menu since at least mid-2016.
Last weekend, we ordered again from the Belmont, but this time on a non-dim sum night. Our meal, which consisted of Denny’s vegetarian dinner for two, plus some meaty add-ons, was more uneven.
Denny has also been serving his take on the Trinidadian flatbreads called “doubles” since at least mid-2016, and we liked the ones we brought home with us, which swaddled a mild chickpea curry accessorized with some well-made condiments, not the least of which was a fiery hot sauce.
Other vegetarian dishes were hit and miss. The citrus fennel salad was packed with many good things — blood orange, grapefruit , pistachio, a yuzu honey vinaigrette. Japanese eggplants were a little under-seared, but their lemony yogurt and Egyptian seasonings were redemptive. But baked broccoli spaetzle was a dud, insufficiently creamy and over-cooked.
Beef tartare leaned persuasively toward Asia with its Korean pear, pickled daikon, soy-marinated peanuts and kimchi mayo. We only wished there had been more meat for $21. The same went for the Belmont’s braised beef main course, which was robust, homey and nicely accompanied by carrot purée and Brussel sprouts, but which also seemed shy of what we should get for $40.
The evening’s big letdown was an order of chicken liver mousse ($14), which for all of us was over-salted to the point of being inedible.
Fortunately, desserts — a brownie, panna cotta, a very cinnamon-y apple crumble-type concoction, each $10 — buoyed our mood.
Before dinner, a jar’s worth of the Belmont’s bourbon- and apple cider-based Gatineau Stroll cocktail ($40) was easy to like, although we would have loved a stronger ginger-y note.
Based on my two meals, I felt as if it would be better if every night were dim sum night from the Belmont. Or, next time I would order a little more judiciously from the à la carte menu. Despite its imperfections and inconsistencies, the Belmont remains a place to root for, all the more so because it lacks a meaningful patio to assist in its pandemic pivoting.
