erling's variety

good, could be great. the biggest problem was how large the plates were and the fact they all came at once. there were four of us and we ordered about 8 sharing plates. we felt rushed as the food was getting cold and felt like like gluttons because of all of the plates. any tapas stylerestaurantusually staggers the serving of dishes, even if it isn't tapas style. it was just weird. food was good...definitely 10 ten better restaurants in ottawa

good, but not great. i would definitely say that thisrestaurantis definitely a slight notch above average. but definitely several notches below the well-known top dogs in the city. the food was below average to very good. the prices were definitely, however, very high.
beef tenderloin: tasty but not amazing. and with a lack of anything on the side with it the dish looked underwhelming and felt very overpriced. yes, i understand tenderloin is expensive. but i would rather see a slightly cheaper cut on the plate with a side of some frites or a little salad or something.
duck breast: cooked well although i found the dish lacked balance, too many sweet notes.
scallops: very good - a well composed plate.
beet salad: good, but a little unoriginal.
crab cakes: very good and fairly priced.
prawns: very disappointing. overcooked and tough. sauce was nice but not enough to save the dish. also, the prawns were one of the smaller count shrimps. would have liked to see some bigger shrimps on the plate to get that wow factor.
frites: good but definitely way overpriced. at $7, even for a decent portion is a huge amount for potato. likewise for the scalloped potato which i wanted to order but couldn't justify paying $10 for what would basically be considered a side dish.
wine list was kind of blah to be honest. but not terrible by any means. there should be more interesting selections on the menu but maybe that's something that comes with time.
service was teetering between average and below average. not a lot of table touches from our server. we waited too long, it felt, for drinks. and the pace felt generally slow - many times it felt like we waited for food. therestaurantitself is small but handsomely appointed. service overall felt more like order taking than service that provides part of the experience. open concept kitchen is great, always love seeing the work that goes in to making each dish.
overall, i'd like to see more interesting elements incorporated in to dishes if the chef wants to stay with classical compositions and pairings. service could definitely stand to improve. and the pricing either needs to be justified with the plates or reduced.

my friends and i had lunch recently and we were all impressed with the whole dining experience. the ambiance and décor is warm and interesting. the menu choices were plentiful. we all ordered different dishes and we all enjoyed them. the chef is very creative and catered to our needs as one friend is celiac. the wait staff was excellent. i would highly recommend thisrestaurantand have already made reservations for my next visit bringing new friends.

the food was good, i really like tapas type restaurants. the service was relatively quick considering therestaurantwas full. i would go back, but it's not my go to restaurant

my friends and i had been here once before and absolutely loved it, small plates for sharing and tasting is right up our alley. we decided to return again last night, but just one fact had changed, i am a fairly new vegan. i emailed therestaurantdirectly to see what menu items could easily be made vegan for me. they told me that while none of their current menu items were vegan they would be happy to come up with a few items for me! when i arrived at the restaurant, they presented me with a personalized printed menu (that’s right, with my name on it!) with four vegan options to choose from! i was floored. more than that, they seemed happy to do it. i was able to try their tempura battered veggies (yellow zucchini and oyster mushrooms) which were crispy, juicy and delicious, they came with a spicy mustard for dipping; and the entrée which was a coconut yam puree with lentils, mushrooms and greens, amazing! our table also had fries to share which were crispy and perfectly salted. my tablemates ordered from the standard menu and were thrilled with their choices too, a beautifully presented build-your-own charcuterie board and a gnocchi pasta. i couldn’t believe they went above and beyond for me the way they did, i was expecting to order a salad without the cheese! i loved this place before i was vegan and now i love it even more. i will be returning the next chance i get!

agree that it's about time that a really goodrestaurantopened in the glebe! everything we had was well prepared and delicious, including the cocktail. the service was attentive without being overbearing. i could quibble with the smallish selection of wines by the glass, but i really enjoyed the experience- we sat at the bar. i should add that we'd been once before on a friday night and it was really noisy- this time was early on a tuesday, and it was fine.

really nice place!. erling's is a really nice place, wich i would call a modern bistro with canadian/french food and spanish service style (tapas).
the food is really good. we had black cod, tempura broccoli, brussel sprouts, beet salat and the charcuterie/cheese plate. as i'm a cook/chef myself, everything was made really well with good to very good taste. therestaurantis an open concept. you can watch the chefs preparing your food, wich i find is really entertaining. the atmosphere is very lively, like in a real french bistro. i read that people find it too loud by times. yes, it is not your personal romantic candle light dinner place...
service was friendly! no complaints! wine/ beer selection is good (remember: it is not a 3 michelin star restaurant). the food comes as it is prepared. my system ( for small plates) is to order several times..first two items...eat..another two items...etc.
at the moment i'm trying to find things i could say bad about the restaurant..for me the evening was really nice and we had a really fun time...so there is nothing bad i could tell you! sorry!
erling's..keep up the good work..we will be back soon!

tons of promise. stunning atmosphere. finally arestaurantin the glebe that brings some montreal / new york ambiance. well done! the food is quite good, if not particularly innovative. somewhat reliant on butter, salt and demi glace to flavour just about every dish on the menu, but the results are tasty and well cooked/presented. i expect more experimentation and refinement with time. the portion size to cost ratio is out of whack, meaning if you want to get full here be prepared to pay, but this is pretty typical of the ottawa scene - it's expensive relative to other cities. also disappointing is the wine list, at least half of which are generic "vintage essentials" like liberty school cabernet. if i am going to pay a 3x mark-up on a bottle of wine, it should at least be something that someone has spent some time sourcing and pairing with the cuisine. that said, the pinot was pretty good. lastly, service - it's friendly but somewhat lacking in refinement ... little things like wine service rituals, pacing etc. hopefully this will get tweaked over time. this is the longest review i've ever written and only because i am really excited about what erling's variety might bring to the glebe ... hopefully the start of a trend.

best newrestaurantin town!. wow, we were in last night for dinner....cod was sooooo good! wine list is a little small but well priced and nice. this is my favourite new hang-out, can't wait to try the weekend late night menu.

great food!. i've been to earling's a few times and will keep coming back for the same reasons: excellent food, great service, and the overall feeling of the place.
let's start with the food: this is what impressed me the most! every single plate i ever ordered (brunch, lunch or dinner) was simply excuisite. ingredients are fresh and combined together masterfully. it's really a thing of beauty to see the chefs in action! i love that plates are affordable and yet in very satisfying portions. you can share and sample every delicious plate which really is a fun and unique dining experience.
i read over a review here that mentions bad service....no idea where that is coming from because that is my next favorite thing about this place: the super friendly service. staff is fast and efficient and we have always felt well taken care of when at earling's. there's a certain charm and just good feeling to the place.
this brings me to the decor: just like the food, elegant yet not overly complicated. when you read some of the history behind how some items were put together, it really helps explain that indescribable fuzzy good feeling you get when you dine at earling's.
but seriously: the food is amazing! i reeeeally hope thisrestaurantsticks around it's one of my favorites for sure!!

excellent. i find it difficult when people sit behind their keyboards with so much to say but do not address any of their issues with therestaurantat the time of service. you can not sit here and bash a place publicly without giving them chance to recover themselves first. i have been to erling's 3 times. the first visit was excellent from beginning to end. the food is priced correctly, their open kitchen allows you to see their cleanliness and service practices, the food is presented well and the flavours left us wanting to come back for more. in the second visit we had a slight hiccup with one of the dishes, the sauce on the tuna was not the way that we had remembered in the first visit. this was disappointing since we had been craving it all day. it was a beurre blanc with a bit too much beurre. we spoke up and the server dealt with this issue immediately. the chef had remade the sauce and gave us an extra 2 pieces of tuna, this was the sauce we had returned for! they recognized and recovered. if quality control was an issue i would not return but i have since been back a 3rd time for the lunch menu and had a phenomenal experience once again. i see a lot of potential in this restaurant. good vibe, great food in a great location.

when i'm traveling in a cool city and see this type ofrestaurant(beautiful, bright, edgy, delicious, not too expensive) i always wish for something like it in ottawa. well here it is! i cannot say enough nice things about my lunch there yesterday. i had the pasta, my companion had the pickerel--both were fantastic. the service was fast and friendly and they were all equipped for my toddler (but without the vibe-killing "family restaurant" ambiance).

can't bother to come to our table within 15 minutes of sitting down? a big fail even if you're a newrestauranttrying to get the kinks out. servers attended the tables around us more than once. way to make guests feel completely ignored.
a server managed to find out the supplier of eggs for the table next to us, but couldn't ask us if we wanted to order anything... even just drinks.