Luxe Bistro, Ottawa

It was my friend P’s bday last week, and we celebrated with a dinner at Luxe Bistro. P is one of my oldest friends. We’ve known each other since we were 7 years old, and I remember our childhood together clearly. We used to steal our mom's clothes and play fashion show in the summer time. During the winter months, we built snow forts together. I even remember spending an entire day playing secretary where we just answered make-belief phone calls and scheduled appointments in a book. How we kept ourselves busy taking pretend phone calls for a full day is beyond me.

Those childhood days may be over, but one thing we always enjoy together, no matter what our age is, is good food. That is exactly what we did at Luxe Bistro

To start, I had 4 Colville Bay oysters on ice. P had always been afraid to try raw oysters so I made her have one. She didn’t find it all that bad but she still couldn’t get over the psychological barrier and refused to stomach another. The oysters were delicious.

Colville Bay Oysters

The oysters came with a mini platter of condiments that included horseradish, shallot mignonette, wasabi mayo, worchestire sauce, hot chili sauce, and lemon juice.

Oyster Condiments

I absolutely love beets, so when I saw the roasted beet carpaccio salad on the menu, I ordered it. The salad had heaps of yellow and red beets. Also in the salad were greens, candied pecans, grapes, and a dollop of goat cheese. The entire salad was mixed with a generous slather of tangy sherry vinaigrette. I really enjoyed the vinaigrette, but next time, I would ask for a little less dressing.

Beet Carpaccio Salad

A ordered the soup du jour which was a garlic and Yukon gold potato with chives soup. She really enjoyed it.

Garlic and Yukon Potato Soup with Chives

My main was the roast duck breast served with braised nappa cabbage and roasted root vegetables. This was topped with a mango hollandaise. The presentation was lovely, and the portion again was quite generous. I asked for my duck medium rare.

Roast Duck Breast

P ordered the roasted shrimp and seared scallops plate. This was served with tempura asparagus, and caper & red onion sautéed fingerling potatoes. The shrimp and scallops were cooked well, and luckily for me, she didn’t mind me picking off her plate.

Roasted Shrimp and Seared Scallops

A ordered the deluxe bistro burger which had aged cheddar, double smoked bacon, lettuce, tomato, and the Chef’s 1000 Island dressing.

Deluxe Bistro Burger

M ordered the olive oil poached salmon. The salmon had a flavorful dried kalamata crumble, and it was served with sweet corn puree, asparagus, and brussel leaves. The fish was cooked very nicely.

Olive Oil Poached Salmon

For dessert, Exec Chef Duane Keats made us a to-die-for flourless chocolate sponge cake topped with a thick dark chocolate ganache. He was nice enough to personalize the cake for P, and she was very appreciative of that. He also came out to greet us in time for the less than stellar happy birthday singing.

Flourless Chocolate Birthday Cake

After the singing, the staff brought the cake back into the kitchen where they cut it into nice pieces and plated it with fresh berries and vanilla gelato.

Flourless Chocolate Cake with Vanilla Gelato and Berries

Duane also made us some super awesome lychee & raspberry granitas, which I happily slurped down.

Lychee and Raspberry Granitas

The service at Luxe was excellent and you definitely won’t leave this restaurant hungry. The restaurant has a nice casual yet upscale feel to it. It was a great place to host a birthday dinner.

Luxe Bistro
47 York Street
Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
Telephone: 613-241-8805
Dinner Menu