My friends and I recently had lunch at the re-vamped Le Cordon Bleu Bistro. Their quality 3-course lunch for $25, in my opinion, is a steal. It was a bit of a challenge trying to get a reservation (lots of phone tag), but we finally managed.
A new lunch menu is offered each week, and you get a choice of one appetizer, one main, and one dessert. Luckily, we had enough people to try out their whole menu. Here is the menu from the week of Nov 10th - 13th:
Their appetizers/entrées were a choice between the chicken liver terrine or lobster bisque.
I chose the chicken liver terrine with a layer of jelly of Porto on top.
Chicken Liver Terrine
This was served with frisee and a pickled onion. The pickled onion was especially tasty.
Frisee and Pickled Onion
The terrine was smooth and super creamy. I enjoyed it.
Chicken Liver Terrine
The other appetizer was the lobster bisque served with a lobster, smoked salmon and tarragon cake.
Lobster Bisque
Their mains/plat principal were a choice between steak or fish.
I had the flank steak emincé served with Jerez juice, roasted garlic, paprika potatoes, carrots and crispy shallots. I thought the sauce was going to be spicy from the looks of it, but it was on the sweeter side. This dish was quite good overall.
Flank Steak Emince
The fish was filet of pike-perch baked with basil and fennel. The fish was served with roasted vegetables and a creamy fennel puree.
Filet of Pike-Perch
Dessert was a choice between chocolate or creme brulee.
I chose the chocolate in different textures. It was a chocolate biscuit served with hazelnut & chocolate sauce. On top of the biscuit was a chocolate disk, and white chocolate ice cream. This dessert was very rich, and is perfect for any chocolate lover.
Chocolate in Different Textures
The crème brûlée was also nice. It was served with citrus madeleines and fruit compote. The madeleine was perfect and I couldn't get enough of their fresh fruit compote.
Creme Brulee
Overall, I really enjoyed my meal. It was well worth the $25. I love the concept of having the students prepare the food, and I was impressed by their abilities.
Qster, I read on Ottawa Foodies that you had the same meal that same week. Curious to see what you thought.
Le Cordon Bleu Bistro at Signatures
453 Laurier Avenue East
Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
Telephone: 613-236-2499
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5 comments:
Nice place for fancy brunch but still affordable. They should open these across CAnada.
This is the place you recently spoke of? That I want to take Jacques to one day?
Your photographs alone make me want to go..I think I would love to add a Porto gelée to my Jana Mousse:)
I really like it when you take us out to lunch..or dinner..Thanks so much.
I was actually going to leave a comment along the lines of "Hey, I was there too!" until I read your last line :)
It was indeed a really good meal and definitely a steal! I had the lobster bisque which I thought was delicious; the smoked salmon cake was great as well, but near the end, it definitely overdid the richness factor for me.
The flank steak was good; I ended up enjoying the garnishes and sides a bit more than the steak itself (cubed potatoe? cute! crispy shallots? mmm!) because I found the cut had a few extra-chewy, tendon-y areas. It was however, a perfectly done medium-rare steak.
The crème brûlée was delicious, as were the perfect madeleines and fruit compote - a great finish. Overall, a great meal for a spectacular price :)
My only serious complaint - the phone tag for reservations, but hopefully they'll get that figured out as everyone settles in. Oh! And the fact that I can't take too many hour-long weekday lunch breaks to take advantage of this!
La Table De Nana,
Yes! This is the restaurant you wanted to take Jacques to. Their lunches, as I said, are a bargain. Thanks for your comment.
The Kuster,
I agree about your richness comment. This is not the kind of meal you can eat on a regular basis. Our lunch took about 2 hours in total so that is another reason why I can't eat here on a regular basis. Yes, the phone reservation was a pain. I really hope they improve that process.
$25 is a steal! I'm strangely drawn to the lobster bisque. I just want to grab a spoon and go for it!
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