erling's variety

food & service were exceptional. i've been to erling's 4 times now as i live and work in the neighborhood. every time, i've been very impressed with the food, the service and the ambiance. a few highlights:

- amazing service: i went with a friend who was on a special diet where she couldn't eat, among other things, meat, dairy, sugar, soya, gluten and salt. naturally there wasn't a lot on the menu that fit all of these restrictions. we asked the waiter for a suggestion; he went to the chef and brought him right to our table where my friend then explained her restrictions and the chef himself offered to make a special salmon dish that she could eat. i call that going above and beyond my expectations.

- the food was irresistible eachtimei went. the tuna takaki was lightly seared on the outside and fresh and salty on the inside, almost like sushi. it was so good, i had to order a second helping. the fries were delectable; i don't know why they were so good, but i would consider going there just to eat fries (and i'm not even really a fries fan). the cheese plate was a perfect late night snack, and split between two people you still get a good amount of cheese and munchies for only $15. the brunch was so well-prepared. i had the california benny; the poached eggs were so soft and perfectly cooked ( i wish i could do that at home). the guacamole was made with perfectly ripe avocadoes and the lime hollandaise sauce was a really cool twist on the normal. i think it was the best eggs benedict i've ever had.

- all around good vibes. the colour palette of the place is very carefully chosen; the light wood tables and countertop make for a calm and soothing atmosphere. i love the open concept kitchen and the bar counter is gorgeous. the staff are all young, enthusiastic and seem to have a natural way with people. i felt welcomed there and i want to go back as soon as i can!

excellent menu, diverse but cohesive. lots of vegetarian dishes, super creative, subtle, artful presentation. meat dishes superbly prepared. the gnocchi, omg! plates just right size for sharing- or not! cool atmosphere, cozy but lively, kitchen in plain view. we were 4 and we shared 6 plates, plus 3 lovely desserts. the plates come out in order prepared. if you like to take yourtimeand enjoy the conversation, it’s perfect. nice friendly laid back service, and great value for the quality. . we live in the glebe, but took us a while to discover the spot because it’s just off bank.

consistently delicious and interesting cuisine. i am delighted everytimei dine here. wait staff is exceptional and accommodating. you won't be disappointed. i love this place!

agree that it's abouttimethat a really good restaurant opened 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- thistimewas early on a tuesday, and it was fine.

luv!. went to erlings a while back but have not had the chance to comment. from thetimei stepped into the restaurant, i fell in love. the open kitchen and decor provided a wonderful ambience. the service and food was great. my only negative comment were some of the plates were a little pricier compared to the ingredients and size. overall a great experience!

i should start by saying my expectations may have been unrealistically high as my first experience with erling's was unreal. this time, not so much. i was sad to see they removed some of my favorites from the dinner menu, such is life in "the biz" however their replacements were not nearly as appetizing. after reading the menu i immediately contemplated putting on my coat and leaving. it was a struggle to order three dishes when we had to cap it at 6 last time. the wine menu was blah as well. we chose some of the safer bets. the oysters took an eternity to arrive... with the strangest mignonettes. my advice would be to prime the guests since the menu description is vague. the waitress was seemingly offended by our request for something spicy and didn't return to bring us our next dish: their famous fries, but thistimethe aioli was under seasoned, thick and buttery. tasted like a weird pizza dipping sauce. the pork chop was really good. waitress made some snide excuse for a check in. she was knowledgeable but lacked people skills and not inclined to help a young couple in a sea of well established looking 50 somethings with their new porches parked outside. overall not impressed, really disappointed that something i loved has taken a turn for the worse.

tons of promise. stunning atmosphere. finally a restaurant in 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 sometimesourcing 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.

my firsttimein this week and the place looks like it belongs either in toronto or montreal. tried a bit of everything with a friend of mine, and although the items on the menu seemed basic, the taste and flavours of each dish left us wanting more. we sat at thé bar with a direct view of the open concept kitchen . it was like dinner and a show! thé staff worked together as if they have been doing it for years. overall extremely impressed!! ps. i recommend the pimm's cup and a seat at the bar!!!

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 the restaurant at thetimeof 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 3rdtimefor 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.

thank you for taking thetimeto write your review. everyone needs to be kept on their toes. we pride ourselves on our excellent service and i am so sorry your experience at erling's variety didn't live up to your expectations. if you would be willing to give us another chance we would love to make this up to you. please contact me personally if you have the time, liam vainola.
earlsvariety@gmail.com

ok food, poor service - skip earl as there are better options. we ate at earls or erling’s last night and were disappointed with the dinner, but more from the service than the quality of food. my friend and i walked through the glebe to eat at earls because we heard about their legal issues on the radio rather than stop at the staple bank street restaurants. when we arrived, it was partially packed and we spoke with the head waiter to see the vegetarian options on the menu and were informed that one side was completely vegetarian so we waited to be seated. this took a bit oftimeas there was a severe lack of coordination on the front of house staff as all the servers thought we were being handled by the other. finally the head waiter told us a table was clearing up and we could wait at the bar and so we waited. this lasted over 10 minutes and the table did not vacate so we were finally given menus and once again ignored. after 20 minutes from entering earls, a waitress came by and asked if we wanted drinks and declined so she disappeared again. when we finally ordered 30 minutes after arriving, i picked the duck from the meat side and beet salad from the veggie side; my friend picked the butternut soup, and wild mushroom from the vegetarian side. we had to order all these dishes as earls is small plates only ($12-14 each), and even with two dishes and dessert each we left hungry.

the wild mushrooms were a mistake as the mushroom were drenched in demi - a meat stock made from veal bones, the worst thing you could possibly feed a vegetarian. my friend was informed too late as we had finished our meal when the waitress quickly came over to informed us that the sauce was meat based then proceed to make several questionable jokes which left my friend very uncomfortable.

we had the chocolate tart which was nice but very small once again and i lived in europe last year so i am familiar with non-american size portions. we paid, tipped, and left but won’t be returning or recommending it as there are many better options for fine dining in ottawa. i’ll quote the previous comment: “if you're looking for an excellent meal or good value, you won't find either at erling's.