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The Village Café
March 27, 2008
Old friends of ours, Allen and Liz, have lived in Westboro for years now. Liz in particular has been suggesting various local spots for us to try on our date night. She has tried most of them and has an impressively long list of places in Westboro that she recommends. At her and Allen’s urging we decided to head for The Village Café, on the north side of Richmond Road just east of Churchill.
Parking is always an issue in this part of town but with a little patience you can find a spot.
We are always surprised whenever we venture into Westboro, which is only a few times a year. The area keeps changing in subtle ways and has a comfortable, neighbourly sense of spirit to it. There always seems to be a new store front popping up that artfully and subtly entices that you come in and browse.
Ignoring the big box Loblaws monstrosity, this western end of the city is an established and growing destination for people to eat and shop.
The Village Café was an early pioneer in the transformation of Westboro. Since the Cafe first opened their doors 20 years ago it has reportedly offered local residents good lunches, dinners and good times throughout their history.
The décor is a bit dated and thrown together like your first apartment. There are interior designer type fabric art pieces on the wall and some of them are even under lights. The room is long and narrow with a bar in the middle. And that is basically it. Nothing particularly jumps out at you but nothing offends either. It is haphazard that works.
The menu is actually a tome that contains everything the Café has to offer from brunch to dinner and desserts. They also have a very adequate wine list with a good number available by the glass.
March 27, 2008
Old friends of ours, Allen and Liz, have lived in Westboro for years now. Liz in particular has been suggesting various local spots for us to try on our date night. She has tried most of them and has an impressively long list of places in Westboro that she recommends. At her and Allen’s urging we decided to head for The Village Café, on the north side of Richmond Road just east of Churchill.
Parking is always an issue in this part of town but with a little patience you can find a spot.
We are always surprised whenever we venture into Westboro, which is only a few times a year. The area keeps changing in subtle ways and has a comfortable, neighbourly sense of spirit to it. There always seems to be a new store front popping up that artfully and subtly entices that you come in and browse.
Ignoring the big box Loblaws monstrosity, this western end of the city is an established and growing destination for people to eat and shop.
The Village Café was an early pioneer in the transformation of Westboro. Since the Cafe first opened their doors 20 years ago it has reportedly offered local residents good lunches, dinners and good times throughout their history.
The décor is a bit dated and thrown together like your first apartment. There are interior designer type fabric art pieces on the wall and some of them are even under lights. The room is long and narrow with a bar in the middle. And that is basically it. Nothing particularly jumps out at you but nothing offends either. It is haphazard that works.
The menu is actually a tome that contains everything the Café has to offer from brunch to dinner and desserts. They also have a very adequate wine list with a good number available by the glass.
The menu options vary from simple Salads to Mussels and a great sounding Mediterranean Plate while the dinner menu has a full compliment offering the usual choices from pasta, fish and meats.
We chose to share a Grilled Romaine Hearts salad with a house Caesar dressing. This was a great take on the traditional Caesar salad. Whole leaves of romaine were very lightly grilled until just barely warmed and then served with pancetta and shaves of parmesan cheese. (11)
The dressing was a tab sweet for my taste but to be fair it is almost impossible to find a good Caesar dressing anywhere these days since chefs abandoned making the real thing with raw egg yolks.
Lynn ordered the Pasta Pomodoro Secchi which was Linguine dish with pan seared caramelized chicken and toasted pecans in a sun-dried tomato pesto cream reduction. (19)
The dish was large, the chicken succulent and the pecans were an excellent compliment. I thought the sauce was a little sweet – again with the sweet.
I ordered the stuffed pork tenderloin which came with terrific mashed leek and potatoes and seasonal vegetables. The tenderloin was a perfect pink and moist tender. The stuffing was basic, cheesy and a great companion to the meat. (23)
We felt more than fed and continued to talk for awhile before we were approached and asked if we would want dessert. Against my best intentions and Lynn’s advice I ordered a slice of chocolate cheese cake. Big mistake. The cake was delicious and dangerous to one’s health.
Someone once said to me the every neighbourhood needs a spot like The Village Café. I agreed then and would agree even more today.
The reason Lynn and I are out on these dates is to spend more time with each other doing new things, to discover the best that Ottawa has to offer, from the 5 star to no star. We search for places where one can bring a date or a good book and feel appreciated and well fed.
While certainly not a no star place The Village Café is the kind of place you would want to spend time in, with someone you want to spend time with.
The Village Café
295 Richmond Road
Ottawa
613-728-2162
www.thevillagecafe.net
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