5. E18hteen

Every time we have been to E18hteen we have been extremely sastified with the food. We have tried just about everything on the menu and everything has been excellent!!! I even ventured to try the ostrich and it is ABSOLUTELY AMAZING. One of the best restaurants in Ottawa.

The ambiance and service were above average. My appetizer (crab cake) was fine. My entree of the seared diver scallops was a big disappointment. There were four average sized scallops served with a citrus sauce. The scallops had a strange chemical after-taste, bitter and unpleasant as though they had been soaked in a preservative. I eat scallops regularly, and I've never had any that tasted like these. I spoke with the chef who told me that Asian people experience a metallic taste when they eat scallops. That's why they use soy sauce on scallops! There were non-Asians at the table who experienced the same bad taste, and I explained this phenomena to the chef. I admit, the chef had a name for this condition. The chef did say that he would taste the scallops, but I did not hear from him after the meal. He did offer more scallops but I was not interested in having more unless, of course, I could have them smothered with soy sauce! I received a dessert free of charge, and dinner for two was $141.00 including tip and tax. An expensive bad experience.

The ambiance was wonderful, albeit somewhat noisy, particularly toward 10:30 pm when the music volume increases. At this time, it's far more suited to a bar atmosphere and not considerate of those who may want a more quiet dinner. The food was amazing. My partner's halibut was, according to him, "the best fish he has ever eaten", and his calamari as an appetizer was generous and wonderful. Instead of choosing an entree (as my waitress said they were ample servings and considering the size of my partner's appetizer), I chose two appetizers: an aragula salad, with the most wonderful gorgonzola cheese, and sadly, the shrimp in a ravioli. There was ONE SHRIMP surrounded by a few mushrooms for $14.00. I was not impressed! The desserts were reasonably priced. I chose the flourless chocolate cake which was rich and chocolaty, and filled the void from the main part of the dinner. I probably won't go back as I felt I could probably find similar quality and value elsewhere.