Pure Kitchen
357 Richmond Rd., 613-680-5500, purekitchenottawa.com
Open: 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily
Prices: salads, wraps and bowls $11 to $16
Access: no steps into restaurant, accessible washroom on main floor
“I’m in love already,” my dining companion gushed. She was speaking, it must be said, not of me but of her first impression, seconds after sitting down, at Pure Kitchen.
It didn’t surprise me that the Westboro restaurant, which opened in late February where Milagro Grill used to be, would prompt such an immediate and emotional reaction. With its menu that caters to vegans, vegetarians, organic-food advocates and gluten-avoiders, its healthful juices and smoothies, its bright, clean ambience and a predominantly fit and female clientele, Pure Kitchen is something greater than just an eatery. It’s more like the culinary embodiment of a shiny, happy lifestyle, in sync with its neighbourhood’s cluster of yoga studios and upscale sporting gear stores.
In fact, among the restaurant’s five principals are the two co-owners of the Pure Yoga studio further west on Richmond Road. The yoga ethos is apparent in a menu with dishes with names such as “Transform” (kale salad), “Peaceful” (a wrap of falafel, tabbouleh and hummus), “Vibrant” (a punchily spiced wrap of curried chickpeas) or “Carefree” (black bean or squash tacos). Are these names uplifting or precious? I’m on the fence, although I do think the juice named “Flush” could be renamed.
Tranform salad and Vibrant wrap at Pure Kitchen
Carefree tacos at Pure Kitchen
Meanwhile, the motto on the dining room’s wall reads: “Pure nourishing food for the way we live today. Always fresh and always evolving.” Try to imagine a mission statement as earnest and high-minded at your neighbourhood sports bar.
And yet, even if you’re not a vegan yogi, you should give Pure Kitchen a go. The food and drinks that I’ve tried have been, for the most part, winningly flavourful and irreproachably fresh. Olivia Cruickshank, Pure Kitchen’s chef and one of its five co-owners, devises dishes with plenty of pizzazz, if not animal proteins. A self-taught cook who has studied holistic nutrition, Cruickshank, 34, has filled her menu with globally inspired flavour profiles and astutely combined ingredients that make for interesting as well as virtuous eating.
Among the very best dishes was the “Loved” salad ($12), a hearty, filling, sweet, tangy concoction in which cubes of squash, brown rice, greens, diced cranberries, pomegranate seeds, more nuts and seeds and a miso-rice vinaigrette playing together perfectly.
Loved salad at Pure Kitchen
The crisp, voluminous kale salad was assisted by not only a sharp Caesar dressing, but a faux-bacon crumble of smoked coconut.
I’ve stolen from the main-course bowls ($12 for a generous “small” portion, $16 or $17 for a large) of several dining companions. The “Fantastic” bowl lived up to its name thanks to its punchy peanut sauce and impeccable assorted greens, red pepper and rice noodles. Wedges of firm tofu (“tofu steaks,” the menu hopefully called them), bolstered with maple syrup and tamari, were a fine addition, although, on another bowl, I had too-dry, leathery tempeh.
Fantastic bowl at Pure Kitchen
Kudos too for the perky, Mexican-themed mix of the “Mystical” bowl (lime jalapeño tofu steaks, black beans, sweet potato, pico de gallo, avocado, chipotle avocado sauce, brown rice or quinoa) and the “Grateful” bowl’s faux-pho of shiitake mushroom-tofu dumplings and mushroom-miso broth. The “Warrior” bowl, consisting of grilled avocado, spiced chickpeas, carrot, beets, sprouts, greens and more, started strongly but became more of a bore to eat.
Mystical bowl at Pure Kitchen
Grateful bowl at Pure Kitchen
Warrior bowl at Pure Kitchen
The only notable disappointment was the “Awesome” burger ($15 including a side salad or fries). Its mushroom-walnut patty was just too mushy and smoky for my liking.
Awesome mushroom nut burger with kale salad at Pure Kitchen
For those who must have fried indulgences, there were fine french fries, even vegan poutine, and some jazzed-up onion rings ($11). The latter, battered in a chickpea flour and speckled with puffed quinoa, came with two zingy sauces and made a fine starter for four of us.
Playful onion rings at Pure Kitchen
Every sweet finish that I’ve had here was worth eating again, from the various juices and smoothies to the delectable “energy balls” made of dates, coconut, cranberry and chocolate and the pecan-and-date-and-chocolate clusters. If you’re lucky, the small but potent chocolate-salted caramel-nut tart will be offered.
Almond walnut salted caramel chocolate tart at Pure Kitchen
All menu items can be made to go and, at lunch, some salads, wraps and juices are pre-made and packaged at the front counter. But one incentive to linger is that Pure is licensed, and serves a small selection of local craft beers and Niagara and Prince Edward County wines.
The first time I went to Pure, I sat in its dining room, which when packed with guests was very loud. For a quieter time, choose the juice bar side of the restaurant, although the trade-off is having to sit on tall metal stools. Either way, service has been spot-on, with pleasant, knowledgeable and attentive staffers roaming the floor and checking in.
All in all, this is an appealing addition to Ottawa’s dining scene, hip rather than hippie as vegetarian restaurants go. The restaurant’s owners have already spoken about wanting to open a second Pure Kitchen in Centretown and an “express bistro” in the ByWard Market. Those neighbourhoods should be so lucky.
phum@ottawacitizen.com
twitter.com/peterhum
ottawacitizen.com/tag/dining-out
