absinthe

i always go for the cornerstone burger at absinthe and it never disappoints. it's $16 during lunch time and $24 (!!!) for dinner. you get a double decker burger with two thick, juicy, and rich patties smothered with cheese and sitting on an artisinal bun. it comes with salad and fries. this is arguably the best burger in ottawa. extremely fulfilling and delicious. only possible knock is that it might be a little too greasy for some people. service isexcellentat absinthe and i would not hesitate to recommend it.

anexcellentdestination. the cafe absinthe offers an appealing menu with a limited number of very fine choices. the presentation is very good. the staff is attentive without being overbearing. the atmosphere is very convivial and, most important, it is possible to have a pleasant conversation over a relaxed meal.

my mom and i came here for dinner (both of our first times) on mother's day for dinner. the food was phenomenal, as was the service. we each had the three course table d'hôte, which was very reasonably priced, and they were amazing. i would highly recommend absinthe (and already have) to anyone...excellent food,excellentdining experience!

great restaurant! food was above all expectations, service wasexcellentand atmosphere itself was very lively. i just want to emphasis again that food (taste, presentation, freshness) was exceeding any expectations that we had. thank you for beautiful evening at your restaurant!

one of our favourite restaurants.  the menu isn't extensive but covers all the key areas (vegetarian, beef, fish, pork, pasta...) and seems to change regularly. the food is always amazing - the flavours, presentation, combinations.  we usually get the 3 course meal combo with wine pairing ($45 - $55 for 3 courses plus $40 for 3 wine selections.)  the service isexcellent- friendly and efficient (no trying to get a waiter's attention.)  decor is pleasant, perhaps the only slight downside is it can be noisy when busy and the tables are fairly close together.  definitely need to book on popular nights. last night we both had steak frites, i had an amazing tuna salad (one of the best appetizers i've had in a long time!) and butternut squash soup first and my wife had a beet salad and an arugula salad.  with a cocktail before and a dessert after for both of us the bill was a little over $200 for 2.

great experience! we went to celebrate our son's engagement and are happy we chose this place. we were greeted with complementary champagne. each starter was terrific and the quail egg on the steak tartar was a very nice touch. the mains were even better. the duck was perfectly prepared. the braised rabbit ravioli is highly recommended. the sampler dessert was anexcellentway to try several types of desserts. the service was impecable: polite, very knowledgable, and timely. there was never an empty glass and it was nice to get fresh cutlery with every course. we ordered absinthe to end the meal and it was nicely presented with clear, unpretentious instructions on how to let the water drip to dissolve the sugar cube on the slotted spoon. definitely a "go-to" place if you want to impress someone!

ho this is a wow restaurant the food was so good and tasty and i say very tasty from the porc to the steak and the famous burger/poutine. the appetizer again very good the charcuterie wasexcellent. ok for desert i had the cheese plate and again well presented so was the sugar pie and the profiteroles . not often i give a high rating they deserve it and thank you mike for theexcellentservice

highly recommend

great food,excellentwine pairings.. y wife and i have been to absinthe a half-dozen times now, and it has quickly become our favorite restaurant in the city. the atmosphere is great the food is excellent, but it's the wine pairings above all that keep us coming back. the sommelier is second to none. if you haven't been already, it's definitely worth your time to check it out.

the tuna fin ceviche is a mexican twist of a peruvian staple - fresh with a nice touch of sweetness, prominent cumin flavour, and spicy from the pico de gallo and candied jalapeños. the addition of rice crackers give a perfect balance of texture to the overall dish. anexcellentstarter to get your palate going. the charcuterie platter is quite generous for the price one pays for. everything on this board is house-made, a great selection of meat, sides and sauces that will keep your palate entertained. the mini-bread, crisp outside and soft inside, is something cute to stare at. now for the mains. the purchase of the benevolent burger will go to a good cause. for each bu

disappointed. went for dinner on a tuesday night -excellentservice! we were on a tight timeline and were out ahead of schedule (although it wasn't very busy!). the disappointment was with our main - the hedgehog and pine mushroom tortellini in a rosé sauce. for $27 / plate we were expecting spectacular but got bland. the sauce was bland, the stuffing undefinable and the mixed veggie / kale ragout also bland. as a side note (and usually not required), there was no pepper offered at table. while we appreciate that absinthe is premium priced and have frequently dined there - this main was not worth the price.

wow!. tonight was our second visit to absinthe and it reiterated our first terrific experience. the cocktails were interesting and delicious. and while the food - beet salad, chacuterie, and mushroom tortellini may sound like regular fare, each offered its own unique twist and was superb. the unexpected delight was the"burger and poutine" that puts to shame anything else that tries to use these terms. on top of all theexcellentcuisine was our first rate server whose attention, expertise and friendliness rounded out a fabulous meal.

awesome again!. some friends and i went there for my birthday and once again it was fabulous! a big bravo for the top notch service. the server informed us that the mains might take a while to come out of the kitchen and proceeded to offer each of us an appetizer on the house. some had food sensitivities and they had no problems substituting menu items. food wasexcellentyet again - nobody was disappointed. the crème brûlée was delicious!!! this is quickly becoming one of my ottawa favourites.


-----17 jul, 2012-----

excellent service!. went for the first time last weekend. i had the table d'hôte and chose the tuna tartare, arugula salad and duck duo. my husband had the steak. everything had a wonderful taste. steak was cooked perfectly. my only complaint is that the duck breast was overcooked for my taste (i like mine more on the medium-rare to rare side and this was definetly medium). service was exceptional. the waiter was friendly and was very attentive without being annoying or overbearing. probably best service i've had in ottawa. he was also fully bilingual which is rare for that neighbourhood. not sure what his name was but if his boss is reading this, it was the gentleman with the red hair :-). i will be going back for sure and will try the crème-brûlée...always a big test for me!

love the food, questionable service. i have gone to absinthe many times and was actually surprised to see i had never written a review as i really like their food. i've had their duck salad (at lunch time, which was the most amazing salad i ever had), their famous burger, their korean style quail, beet salad and the duck and a few other dishes i forget! needles to say i like this place and their food! all of these dishes were delicious and cooked perfectly. i was recently there in november and again a couple weeks ago for my birthday, unfortunately we had the same waiter both times. the first time he ended up giving my friend and i 20% off of our bills as he knew he wasn't being a great waiter, forgetting our drink orders, never bringing us bread and plain just not being an attentive server. needless to say i was a little worried when i saw he was our server for my party of 11 on my birthday. he wasexcellentwith me as he knew i was the "birthday girl", giving me a nice glass of wine on the house and a complimentary dessert. as for my guests, it was the same thing again- forgetting drinks, over charging on certain bills, checking his phone instead of serving us etc... and it was even worst for my friend who had been with me back in november. i love the food at absinthe, but feel service is just as important as the food especially in these types of restaurant. i will be taking a break from absinthe and hopefully on my next visit i will get better service.

consistently excellent. whenever my sister offers to babysit we put absinthe on the list of places to go for dinner. we know we should try other spots but absinthe is so consistentlyexcellentit's hard to take a chance on going elsewhere in the neighbourhood. i have had lunch there - excellent. i hosted a corporate event there, an absinthe tasting, also excellent. although the liqueur was not to everyone's taste, the appies and service were a great way to start our evening.

good food and atmosphere. went for dinner last night and was pleasantly surprised with the service, food and atmosphere. the menu was very reasonably priced considering the style of food and fresh ingredients and the price point pushed my girlfriend and i to each order the three-course table d'hote.
we started with the korean bbq quail duo. we enjoyed the kimchi and quail combination; however, i felt that the seared quail breast went much better with the rest of the dish than the simple fried quail legs.
our next course was the butternut squash soup and the arugula salad with lemon thyme vinaigrette. the soup was fantastic and had tremendous balance to it. the salad could have used a little more balance as the vinaigrette was quite acidic and when combined with the arugula was quite bitter on the palate.
for main courses we chose the steak frites and the shrimp/scallop dish. the steak was very nice but a little tough to chew since it was hanger steak. i guess that's expected with that cut of meat. however they did a great job with the marinade on the steak which tasted of some kind of vinegar base. the only thing i would comment about this dish is that the green beans seem to be a very disappointing choice to pair with the rest of the plate.
the shrimp and scallops was a lovely dish that was almost perfect. the shrimps and scallops were cooked beautifully and seasoned very nicely. the rest of the plate was a little bit of a letdown by comparison. the filling in the agnelotti wasn't that great and they didn't really seem to fit the rest of the dish in terms of flavor and texture. overall, a very nice effort for the mains but certain details kept them from being exceptional.
we finished with the apple tart which wasexcellentand had a big scoop of delicious house made ice cream. very nice way to finish dinner.
the service was very good and certainly added to a pleasant experience. water glasses were never left empty and every server who dropped off food explained each component of the dishes. overall, we really enjoyed our experience there and definitely look forward to going back.