Comments on: Heirloom Cafe

By: Jez

Jez — Fri, 27 May 2011 20:05:51 +0000

If only more restaurants in Ottawa took the same care as Heirloom. Fresh produce, a genuinely interesting menu and knowledgeable waitstaff… what a treat!

Having moved to Ottawa six months ago from a land far, far away, I’m reeeeally starting to get sick of the usual fare… namely steak, shrimp, steak, more steak, and an $8 side of veggies (and 52 inch plasma at one end of the room with the game on!).

What everyone else said – it’s worth the drive.

By: Anne

Anne — Wed, 20 Oct 2010 00:03:24 +0000

Thanks for your thoughts on Heirloom, Mike. I haven’t been back since I reviewed it last year. So pleased to hear the cooking remains a draw. You’ll find Heirloom in my new edition of Capital Dining, a guide to Ottawa, Gatineau and the Valley’s best restaurants… at the printers now!

By: Mike

Mike — Tue, 19 Oct 2010 22:30:07 +0000

Four of us had dinner at the Heirloom last Sat. Oct. 16. Service was fine, no waiting for a table, we were seated immediately upon arrival by a friendly server who provided menus, a wine list and asked us if we would like a drink…no issues whatsoever.

The food was excellent, certainly the best to be found in the Almonte/Carleton Place/Stittsville area. Presentation, taste, quality, all perfect. The seared scallop appetizer was excellent with tender tasty and fresh scallops done to perfection. The mains and desserts were also great, all four of us enjoyed our meals and will certainly return. It is great to finally have a restaurant in the area that cares about the food and is a big, big step up from “big box” chain restaurants so prevalent in Kanata. The Heirloom Cafe is certainly worthy of support from the surrounding communities and worth the drive out from Ottawa too!

By: Elizabeth Struth

Elizabeth Struth — Thu, 03 Jun 2010 22:30:42 +0000

Our party of three had a pleasant lunch at Heirlooms mid-week in June; there were just enough other diners to reassure us, but we had our choice of tables in a most attractive dining room. Of our three meals, the pulled-pork, chorizo and grilled shrimp combo was interesting and tasty, the lamb burger was as advertised but undistinguished, and the vegetarian wrap was positively unpleasant; the desserts were excellent. The generic dry white wine was fine; the beer drinker was satisfied with Steamboat, but a choice of draughts or upscale brews would have been more welcome. The service was just right — attentive, but reserved. We wouldn’t have made the journey just for this restaurant, but as a rendez-vous point for a leisurely lunch in a pretty town with lots of vintage/antique shops, it was a cut above average.

By: Ruby C.

Ruby C. — Thu, 25 Mar 2010 16:34:25 +0000

I am not usually one to dine and then write, but after recommending Heirloom to a friend I had the other comment on this page brought to my attention. I believe that as there are two sides to every story, there are also two sides to every experience. I must say that after reading the comment posted above it elicited a response in me, so I chose to share a much different experience. After reading the wonderful review that Anne wrote I was also tempted to try Heirloom. I made an appearance at the restaurant on Valentine’s Day weekend. My assumption is that this is the busiest time of the year for a restaurant and still I was treated to vastly different experience than the one written above. If anyone was made to wait for a table, I am sure it was beyond the control of the establishment and certainly was not evident to me the night I was there. After being seated the first thing that I noticed was the way that the tables were dressed, each with crisp white table cloth and pink and red satin petals. The menu was set that evening and seemed to have something for everyone. I believe that the server referred to something as a “wine tour” in which a glass of wine was paired with the appetizer and main course to compliment the flavours of the meal. We also had a choice of a cappuccino, espresso or latte with dessert. It was a really lovely extra step that the restaurant took to enhance the meal.

From what I understand Richard and Brandy (sp?) have only owned Heirloom for a short time. I would take a wild guess that the two are extremely passionate about this endeavour, as it shows with the careful attention to detail that each plate displays as it leaves the kitchen. The meal in its entirety was extraordinary! I have a strong feeling that if any complaints were brought to the attention of the staff that night, these concerns would have been dealt with immediately.

I would strongly recommend Heirloom. I had a wonderful evening and look forward to many more returns.

By: a drummond

a drummond — Sun, 14 Feb 2010 14:42:45 +0000

On the strength of this review, I went to this restaurant.
I think the review was generous.
Food was good but not extraordinary.
Service was far from perfect.
The major problem was the unacceptable wait for a table. Reservation time was seemingly irrelevant being seated one hour after the designated time. Offered the opportunity to wait in comfort on some leather sofas, we found we were unable to have a cocktail (licence issues). Instead we stood at the bar for an hour watching as other diners waltzed in and were immediately seated.
This indifference, unfortunately, set the tone (the wrong tone) for the rest of the evening.
The wait continued for the bread and the wine.
The main meal was good and thankfully timely.
Of three desserts, two were inavailable by the time we finally got around to it. Dessert was in any event not a major item for us but when told by wait staff that it was included, we went ahead only to find it was ultimately listed as a separate item on the bill. No explanation.
The offer of an after dinner drink on the house to make up for the inconvenience was a nice gesture but frankly not enough to make up for an average dining experience.
Personally I won’t be back. I’m not prepared to travel such a long distance for a dining experience only to be treated in such a rather indifferent manner.