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The latest arrival on the constantly shifting Holland Avenue restaurant strip, Canvas is newly installed in the place where Absinthe used to be. (Absinthe has moved south to larger digs on Wellington.)

A beige and black awning announces the restaurant. Inside, the petite space is slightly more posh than it was during Absinthe's tenure. All black and white, Canvas offers a dozen tables, a bistro bar, long mirrors and a wall of windows, framed with wispy drapes, black metal candelabras, some elegant lights. Pumpkin coloured napkins brighten the bare black tables. And there is one rogue chair, painted brilliant yellow, in a roomful of black ones.

This is the third Ottawa restaurant for Craig Pedersen of the Preston Street 'Il' twins - Il Primo, Il Piccolino - and it marks a split from a red-sauce menu. No stracciatella, no pizza, no veal Parmigiano. Rather, Canvas presents a short menu of eclectic dishes - coconut shrimp, beef tartar, seared Ahi tuna, lamb, halibut, veal with apple Wellington.

The libero chair, the yellow one, is a fun quirk at Canvas. You might say the space - a reclaimed auto shop - is another. The name might be considered a third. Canvas is not an art gallery. It's a "Resto-Bar-Etc.," (I still don't know exactly what that means?) named in honour of the artistic temperament of its neighbourhood. It's surrounded by art galleries - Cube Gallery, Gallery 3, the Parkdale Gallery, Pukka Gallery - as well as the new home of the Great Canadian Theatre Company.

Canvas' first act is impressive. Art-is-in bread comes with butter and also with a pot of whipped goat cheese infused with ground toasted pine nuts, sweet with a drizzle of maple syrup. The amuse bouche is a golden cube of grilled polenta, rosemary-scented, creamy inside, butter-crusted out, topped with a thumbnail-sized scoop of herbed goat cheese and a wee garnish of lightly dressed broccoli sprouts. To follow, celery root soup is perfectly seasoned, its surface speckled with chives and with beads of truffle oil - kept in check. Truffle oil can be lustrous but it needs to be kept wisely in its place as a gentle escort, not a big fat bully.

Bulghur, onions, and coarse sea salt are the simple pleasures in a mound of raw beef. The tartar is topped with a deep fried wonton, inside of which is a raw egg. Clever, but the egg yolk within turns out to be hard boiled - we want it to ooze all over the raw meat. I like very much the gentle, clean flavours in a starter dish of zucchini strips, assembled with a mascarpone and ricotta mix, and set in a light tomato bouillon.

Canvas earns praise for the freshness and integrity of its ingredients, though the execution of some of the main dishes is weak. Lamb is ordered medium rare and arrives medium-well, the meat unseasoned, the flavour in need of a boost. The meat comes with under-roasted parsnips and carrots. Chicken has a crisp skin, but the flesh is dry and slightly rubbery, and the maple syrup-boosted sauce is on the just-too-sweet side. Halibut, however, hits the spot, moist and meaty, in a gentle citrus sauce, with a side of roasted brussel sprouts.

The elements of a good tiramisu are here - boozy cake, rich mascarpone custard, quality chocolate, plus the added pleasure of a drizzle of thick caramel. Coffee is taken seriously.

I've enjoyed much about the new Canvas. Its missteps speak more of a kitchen finding its stride than of a restaurant off course. There is a lot to like, though I find the price of a Canvas meal a bit high - better suited to the patrons than to the artists. Charging a tad less would feel more neighbourly and would fit more comfortably with what Canvas ought to charge for a restaurant still finding its stride.

Cuisine: Eclectic
Cost: $$$: Starters, $12 to $14; main dishes, $21 to $36.

Hours: Lunch, Tuesday to Friday; dinner Tuesday to Saturday

Accessibility: easy access into Canvas, small lip into small wash.

65 Holland Avenue, Ottawa, ON
613-729-1991
website

Dorothy is our waiter. He's a burly fellow with a scruffy beard. 'Dorothy' doesn't leap to mind when you size him up, but it is the name embroidered on his bowling shirt. And this is the Oz Kafé, where you might expect to find a Dorothy, but where otherwise, things are not at all as you might expect.

One of a few eateries found beneath the Kensington Apartments, this casual, quirky, L-shaped café with its wine glass mobile and dark brown walls covered with eye-catching art, stands out well enough in the Elgin Street assembly of superficially indistinguishable eateries. It also stands out because the food is good.

Dorothy knows well the menu of the Oz Kafé and he agrees with us that it's a bit bizarre for an Elgin Street eatery. You can begin with corn on the cob, for one. At least you could during corn on the cob season. Roasted and drizzled with a spicy elixir of lime zest, brown butter and chilies, it turns out to be a delicious way to begin. You could also start with scalloped potatoes. Though you may end there. A gratin of Yukon golds, with celery root, apples, caramelized onion, and smoked gouda, the average Joe appetite will be hard-pressed to follow that yummy, rich dish with much other than a salad. There are worse fates: salads too are different. Wasabi nuts and nori crisps are pitched into the bowl with soft avocado, shredded carrot, strips of pepper and cucumber, ingredients that come together beautifully well, united in an energetic ginger dressing.

The cast iron skillet is used in this kitchen - for the Korean-style sirloin steak, the marinated squid, the seared tuna - to good effect. The tuna starter is served with pickled ginger, more of those wasabi nuts, and a little gingery salad of grated vegetables, seared up hard and fast, its surface crisp and peppery, its flesh blue-rare.

Some starter dishes are less successful. The potato and mushroom soup (with blue cheese) has a floury finish, and comes with dull bread, and the house meze plate, while satisfying, and generously served, is forever missing its featured highlight: "Mom's dolmas" described in lip-smacking language, seem never to be available. I've tried three times, on three occasions, over three weeks to snag some, and I've heard three excuses why they aren't available. May I suggest you either get Mom to make more, or take them off the menu.

The "Market inspiration" wild rice stir-fry is a wild and weighty dish of many fresh things: rice and noodles and peanuts and loads of crisp vegetables in a sprightly dressing. To this toss you add any one of tuna, squid, sirloin or chicken. Or leave it vegetarian. Another vegetarian treat is the house ratatouille, the tomatoes grilled to bring out their flavour, the basil fresh and the addition of goat cheese welcome.

Duck in excellent form comes on a warm bed of Swiss chard and squash, furnished with a lovely apple chutney. For $18, there is a six ounce steak, cast-iron-seared, well flavoured, and served with a zesty little sauce, a decent Caesar, and some of those killer scalloped potatoes.

The chocolate torte and the carrot cake are good endings.

Service at Oz is friendly and conscientious, though Dorothy could use a sidekick during busy times, which are often, and for good reason.

The wine list includes many bottles that won't bust the bank. Neither will dinner at Oz. There is good value here.

Warning: I'm coming back for Mom's dolmas.

Cuisine: Eclectic
Cost: $$: Starters, $3 to $13; Main dishes, $12 to $23.

Hours: Tuesday to Sunday from 5pm to 2am.

Features: Late dining.
Accessibility: Restaurant is accessible, though washrooms are cra.

361 Elgin Street, Ottawa, ON
613-234-0907