As usual, i'm reporting on a meal the DCFD's had a few weeks ago. Eight eager souls attended Aroma Meze on Nepean St., almost directly across Ottawa's famous Bekta. I'm not sure of any affiliation, but their websites look very similar...
Anywho, i'll try to summarize how i felt about the meal in list form, as is the style these days.
1) Service - not very good. Our waitress was eager, but thoroughly overworked. We sat down shortly before our reservation, and waited at least 20 minutes to before we were asked about drinks. Not cool. When the food started coming it was swift, but the service was not very attentive throughout.
2) System - the small plate system while good and very interesting, caught most of us off guard. While we may claim to be ridiculously easy going drunks, sometimes amicable splits of meals are difficult. When we were told we should each order two things, then double the portions to feed the large group, this seemed excessive even to a lush philanthropist such as myself. We ended up each ordering 2 or 3 things, not doubling the portions, and this worked out pretty good. Most people got to try what they wanted, but certainly everyone didn't get to try everything.
3) Prices - as you can probably guess, this place was pretty pricey for what you get... i can't poopoo this, but its worth noting. The ribs dish was 16 bux and you get 4 ribs. The flakes of veal carpaccio was in the 20$ range too and my guess is there was only about 3oz of meat on the plate.
4) The food - well, everything was damn tasty, but not blowing me away tasty. The divinity came from the mix of items, and thats clearly where this place would/can shine. Getting to eat ostrich, crispy prosciutto and melon ice cream, alligator, ribs, fries, etc., all in the same meal is pretty sweet. The ostrich was likely my favorite flavour of the evening, with the lima bean and tomato stacks being very very tasty veggies.
5) Setting - we had eight to a table in the back portion of the restaurant, and i was stuffed like a sausage in a comfortable but 4 deep booth seat. Not sure how one less limber than me would've put up with this. I liked the fake pillars in the front and the tiling in the bathroom, although the real cloth towels in the bathroom seemed unsustainable but worth a shot (when i went in there was only 2 left!).
6) Aftertaste - great but expensive food, didn't really feel like my money was well spent, although i'm certainly happy about all the great food i did try... i think i was perhaps in a bit of a funk, and if i was better prepared for the experience i likely would've enjoyed it more.
Bottom line for me - great theme, go with people that all have money and love to try different things and it'll be a massive hit. I wouldn't ever go on a whim or with picky, funky, or cash strapped eaters.
