Le St. Laurent

My wife and I arrived to celebrate our 29th wedding anniversary. From the moment we arrived it was a great experience. Staff greeted us by our names and showed us to a table. The food was excellent. The service was also fantastic. The only thing I had issues with was the parking. Besides that I would still give it a 5 star experience.

My spouse and I went to Le St Laurent the other evening for an 8pm reservation and we were a bit sceptical because the location was very different from anywhere we’d been before. We found the place easily and there was parking. The restaurant is beautiful inside and the atmosphere is on the quieter and lowly lit side, though there was background music at just the right level. This was perfect for an intimate dinner. We were seated next to the wall of windows with the most glorious westward view.

We started with a drink and were brought some bread. My wife ordered the steak frites and I ordered the beef short rib. We had an appetiser each. I had the beet salad which was wonderful and she had something I cannot remember but she said it was very tasty. There was no rushing and plenty of time between courses was appreciated. The meals arrived and I could not believe the flavour and tenderness of the beef short rib. I had never had this before and I won’t ever be the same. The steak frites was also very good though I only had some of the frites. If there was a downside to the whole meal it was that I didn’t have any room for the sticky toffee pudding that I had overheard as one of the dessert options.

We will definitely be returning to try some of the other menu options (although the beef short rib would be difficult to surpass) and to see the view during the daylight. The atmosphere was great and it was a very relaxing experience.

A real gem in Ottawa. Off the beaten path, but always appreciated. The place, the service, the food, all excellent. I wouldn’t say the atmosphere is exciting, but it usually means a nice and quiet meal. A nice location for a business lunch or supper, or romantic gateway. Plenty of parking (including across the street). Rather expensive, but so is everything else nowadays. Highly recommended.

GET THE WINDOW SEATS FOR THE SUNSET VIEW!
The view along was worth the $.

We got all small plates and some of the most popular mains. Everything is cooked perfectly. They did not overlook the supporting roles – the green beans in the steak, the croquet cubes in the salad, the pickled apple on top of the scallops… were all very tasty.

I can’t believe this place has been hiding in our neighbourhood all this time! Stumbled across it by chance and tried it out for the first time this week. It was a 10/10! The atmosphere is chic, the view from penthouse is beautiful, the food was delicious, and the service is genuinely excellent.

The menu is French cuisine—beautifully prepared with attention to detail. The portions were big and left us feeling very satisfied. We ordered the frisee salad with scallops to start. They offer complimentary bread and salted butter. Then we had the smoked trout, and my husband had the steak frites. Everything was perfectly cooked and paired well with the accompaniments. We had a glass of Pinot noir and finished the evening with their strawberry Posset dessert.

A true hidden gem- it deserves all the hype and recognition.