absinthe

overrated !!!. the staff was rude and arrogant. almost walked out before eating and it was my anniversary ! did not like my table. mike the waiter was excellent. the food was ok. the wine pairing was not fantastic. i have had much better. therestaurantwas very loud and i found it difficult being heard. the menu has not changed in forever. i will not go back since there are other restaurants which i have found to be much more enjoyable.

my friend and i were at absinthe yesterday for dinner. we were seated at an outdoor table. it was the first time i have been to arestaurantsince march 2020. it was brilliant. we shared 4 appetizers - the lovely fresh tomatoes, the incredibly too tuna, superb salmon and exquisite duck pâté. our server (emilia) was terrific - friendly, sweet, competent. i was most impressed when a street person approached her and asked for some water - she didn’t hesitate and gave him a glass of water.

bravo to the staff. they made our first night out a highlight.

my wife and i took our son and girlfriend there for an early supper before the rush on sun dec 30th. this was not our first time at absinthe. we were greeted by the staff and taken to one of the few non-reserved tables. the staff asked if they could take our coats to their coat closet/room. they took all of our coats. after a lovely well served and delicious meal i paid and we were ready to leave. when my son and i went with the staff to collect our coats, the staff member was all flustered as to which cabinet the coats were in.

after being home my sons girlfriend was aware of missing her keys and wallet from her coat. my son made a phone call the next morning back to the restaurant. the answer had turned up nothing but the person that answered finally said that the key was there. my son and girlfriend went back torestaurantto pick up the keys and were greeted by who seemed like the chef. he was very abrupt and defensive. he said there is no wallet and that was the end of conversation.

 really it would just been nice to have had this issue dealt with by a sympathetic helpful staff and not an arrogant unapologetic person . 
the management has my sons contact number to rectify this issue.  

needless to say we will not be back to this restaurant.

ideal spot for a business dinner in ottawa.  the service was attentive, informative, and unique.  everyone enjoyed their meals, several of our group had the table d'hôte.  high ratings include the beet salad, the beef tartare 'with a bite',  the velvety roasted tomato soup, and the trout (although mine was slightly undercooked, the service made up for it).  very happy with ourrestaurantselection for our out of town guests.

our premiere visit to absinthe included wonderful, sumptuous cuisine and attentive, polite service in a lovely, subdued atmosphere. needless to say, we'll recommend thisrestaurantto all of our friends and we shall return, soon.

very average and super over priced. thisrestaurantseems to think they are gourmet and charge as if they are...but they are definitely not. portions are very small, flank steak was overcooked, salad was salty, fries are good, but the poutine is a major let down. burger was ok but terrible at $24. the desert was disappointing and it's priced at a premium but served at corner store quality. overall very expensive, menu is uninspiring, save your money there are much better places to eat in ottawa.

ho this is a wowrestaurantthe 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 was excellent . 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 the excellent service

highly recommend

i have frequented thisrestaurantnumerous times and for great reason! the food has always been stellar...from food to service!
regardless of the occasion - be it casual luncheon or a celebrating a special occasion, you can't go wrong with absinthe!

this was a very special day for our senior engineer pat who was retiring the next day.  we had a big crowd 50 people and it accommodated everyone without a problem.  the food was great, the service was awesome and everyone had a great time.  it was an awesome day and absinthe café is awesome.  i would recommend thisrestaurantto any one who is looking for fine dining.

absinthe review. had a brilliant meal at absinthe. the serving staff were great. the atmosphere was fun. the food was loaded with flavour. a great frenchrestaurantwith many token french flavours. will definitely go back - soon!

great food, excellent wine pairings.. y wife and i have been to absinthe a half-dozen times now, and it has quickly become our favoriterestaurantin 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.

lacks creativity and is heavy-handed on the salt!. we dined here last night as a group of six. the kitchen was quite slow with us waiting half an hour for mains to come out and with the house less than half full.

steak frites and hamburger mains were all extremely over-seasoned (too much salt). i found this to be the case when i dined here on my previous visit as well. the hamburger was cold and bun soggy. cod was the only dish that was actually under-seasoned. only good dishes were the pork tenderloin and duck, although the duck needed to be rendered more. all dishes were boring. chefs should take a look at what other restaurants are doing - they're being left in the dust in the creativity compartment.

yes, the prices are somewhat cheaper than other bistro restaurants in the neighbourhood but the quality and creativity is far below that of it's peer restaurants. save up a bit more and go to allium instead. i would put thisrestauranton par with wellington gastripub which i also don't like for similar reasons (lack of proper execution, creativity, and haphazard service). but if you like salty and safe (aka standard) food in a dim- lit place, you'd like it here.

i am undecided. our server was attentitive and friendly but by the final end of the last dish we were looking at a two and a half hour dining experience. this did not include the 20 minute wait time of getting seated when we had a reservation. now for the food. the charcuterie board was a major disappointment, yet the beef tartare and escargot were rather tasty. for my main dish i ordered the duck breast and the flavours were great but the portion was extremely small for the price. overall i would say that absinthe is an averagerestaurantwith high prices. i do not think i will be returning to this establishment as there are other restaurants i would like to try in the city.

went to absinthe for the first time on a dinner date with my girlfriend. the menu was interesting, however, nothing really popped out at me. don't get me wrong, what we ended up ordering was delicious, but upon first glance, nothing caught my attention. i really wanted the deep fried frogs legs, which were awesome, and the burger or steak sounded good, but something i could get anywhere. after reading the whole menu and not really liking the sound of the dishes, i went with the benevolent burger, which was essentially a gourmet version of a big mac and was amazing, so big i could barely eat it with my hands. it was very greasy though, a minus. it came with a mushroom bacon poutine and salad; very filling. my girlfriend got the broccoli cheddar soup and squid ink tortellini. the soup was good, i wasn't a fan of the latter, she enjoyed it. the service was great, however, the environment was a little noisy, so it was hard to hear each other talk, but that was ok. the only downside i would say is that absinthe only has one individual washroom for everyone, a little unpractical for arestaurantthat seats so many. overall, good experience, a little pricy, but the food is worth it. good place for a date or night out with friends, not the most romantic evening though due to the noise level. but still an enjoying and tasty experience.

amazing service. i went out to thisrestaurantwith a small group for a birthday party yesterday and i was absolutely blown away by the impeccable service, beautiful decor and delicious food. what really amazed me was that, as a vegan i was fully prepared to eat the basic house salad, but the server suggested the chef could prepare something special for me. the chef then whipped up a delicious vegan alternative for me. the entire experience was excellent. i will certainly be back!