"Chic but needs some Tweaking"   My Rating
4 Tabby	Posted on: Monday, September 21, 2009
	Review: We dined here twice this summer. I was more impressed with the food the first time. Both visits the staff was helpful and attentive. They served an amuse bouche which was a nice touch and set a welcoming and sophisticated tone to the dinner. For our first visit I ordered the Thai Curry. The flavour was balanced but they put the curry on top of rice and unfortunately by doing this it became starchy, heavy and thick. It would have been a better dish with the rice on the side. The second visit I ordered the Ceasar Salad and it was really overdressed, wilted and salty. The polenta croutons were thick, oily and hard making them inedible and really not appetizing at all. My husband had the Ravioli with Mushroom Sauce and he said it was delicious but the colour of the sauce (pureed mushrooms) was a real turn off. The best thing about the evening? The Mexican Chocolate Cake, a divine and light dark chocolate cake with chocolate sauce and with the addition of hot peppers it has a bit of a bite. Delicious.   Pros: Refined Cuisine * Formal * Location Cons: Price * Lighting * Some of the Dishes
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"Good food!"   My Rating
5 jedzen	Posted on: Monday, September 21, 2009
	Review: Ottawa needed a restaurant like that. We can get some good vegan food on the city, but a place like Zen kitchen definately make it a worthy vegan destination. Me and my boyfriend had a tapas of pink salt endamames, and we had, for free, two small salad/cabbage wraps to taste and house bread with organic olive oil. I had the seitan scallopines, everything was fine and subtile, and my boyfriend the ravioli who was stuffed with someting really flavorful. We tried 3 desserts. The peach cobbler was good, the lemon blueberry pie too, but my favorite was the coffee creme brulée ; it was perfect. The cocktails were ok, but not the best i had. And, really important, the service was impeccable ; everyone went to our table to talk to us. Two servers, the chef, the owner and one guy from the kitchen. It all worthed the price and the trip to Ottawa.   Pros: * * Cons: * *
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"Welcome addition"   My Rating
85 Petesternz	Posted on: Monday, August 31, 2009
	Review: We visit Ottawa frequently and were thrilled to see the addition of Zen Kitchen, an upscale dining experience that is entirely vegan. Keep in mind that it is upscale and priced accordingly! But the food was very good. The menu changes frequently, but it is hard to imagine you wouldn't find something yummy to eat. We enjoyed a wonderful tapas plate with scrumptious salad rolls wrapped in rice paper. I was less thrilled with the black bean cakes, which i found bland. My main was a delicious ravioli, and my friend had grilled seitan which was done to perfection, with a lovely sauce. I found the desserts a little disappointing, and I've definitely had better. The Mexican chocolate cake had a poor texture, and my lemon pie was uninspiring. The Peach cobbler was the best of the bunch. Overall, a very good experience. Loved the service which was helpful and attentive. I'd like to see better desserts and more interesting appetizers, but those were minor quibbles. Will definitely be coming back!!!   Pros: * * Cons: * *
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"fabulous find"   My Rating
19 veganstast ebetter	Posted on: Monday, July 20, 2009
	Review: Let me start by saying, my started out by driving 6 hours to quebec to bungee jump. Then we drove back to ottawa and found a hotel for the night. We were exhausted and dirty. I used happy cow on my phone to find a restaurant in the nieghborhood of our hotel. We didnt know what to expect when we walked into Zenkitchen. We were definetly underdressed and they seemed a little finicky about reservations. I thought it seemed it bit pricey but when we tried our food I realized it was worth every cent. We had a bit of everything and it was all fantastic. The service was exceptional, 2 hosts?, our waitress, and the chef, caroline, all checked up on us. I would drive all the way from Niagara to ottawa just to eat here again.   Pros: clean * friendly * excellent dining experience Cons: * *
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"Just what Ottawa needed!"   My Rating
7 jessienotj ames	Posted on: Wednesday, July 15, 2009
	Review: As a long time attendee of Caroline Ishii's Zen Kitchen dinners, I definitely made a point of attending opening weekend at her new restaurant! Unfortunately, I wasn't well that day, so I only got to try a few dishes. The menu will be based on what is seasonal – I don't yet know if that means that she'll be changing the menu daily, weekly, or seasonally, but I appreciate the variety. The menu was broken down into appetizers, mains, tapas platters for 2 or more to share, and desserts. Each section had 2-4 options in each, so there was a decent amount of selection. Our table shared all our food – we tried the new Caesar salad, a tapas platter with pickles, tofu skewers, homemade chips, and rice paper rolls; the creamy mushroom soup, and the sundried tomato pesto tartlet. We were served a lovely roasted red pepper dip and bread to start, and a complimentary amuse of rawvioli (yellow beet with pesto filling). Gotta be honest: we weren't entirely thrilled with this particular menu – the tart filling was delicious, but the crust was a little tough and dry. The soup was a little bland, and the tapas platter, while tasty, was a little underwhelming. The new caesar salad was definitely a hit, as were the amuse and roasted pepper dip. I believe that there was supposed to be a complimentary 'happy ending' dessert, but I think there were some difficulties with the heat that weekend. However, this was her opening weekend, and I have had many dinners served by Caroline which I have absolutely adored, and I look forward to more. The restaurant is beautifully renovated, and I would estimate that, with the patio, they could seat about 50 at a time. The wine menu is clearly very well planned, and the overall cost, while pricey for my wallet, was certainly reasonable. I will most definitely return again when I'm feeling 100%, and after they've had some time to settle into the new kitchen. I have a feeling that this will become a great restaurant – Ottawa desperately needed a classy, upscale place for vegans and the vegan-inclined to take a date, a non-vegan they're trying to win over, or themselves for a sophisticated night out, and I think this is going to be it.   Pros: * * Cons: * *
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