Hum: Elise, which serves French-inspired fare in cosy Westboro digs, is on the right track

Share this Story : Hum: Elise, which serves French-inspired fare in cosy Westboro digs, is on the right track Copy Link Email X Reddit Pinterest LinkedIn Tumblr Breadcrumb Trail Links Travel Ottawa Life Food Local Food Reviews Hum: Elise, which serves French-inspired fare in cosy Westboro digs, is on the right track Since opening in December, the Ottawa restaurant has put a sharper focus on technique and flavour, especially in dishes like steak frites with brown butter béarnaise, seared scallops with beurre blanc, and black cod in bouillabaisse jus. Get the latest from Peter Hum straight to your inbox Sign Up Author of the article: Peter Hum Published Mar 20, 2025 • Last updated 5 minutes ago • 5 minute read Join the conversation You can save this article by registering for free here . Or sign-in if you have an account.

John Thomas, owner of Elise restaurant in Ottawa. Photo by Jean Levac / Postmedia Reviews and recommendations are unbiased and products are independently selected. Postmedia may earn an affiliate commission from purchases made through links on this page.



Article content Elise 381B Winona Ave., 613-792-9690, eliseottawa.ca Elise restaurant in Ottawa.

Photo by Jean Levac / Postmedia Open: Tuesday to Sunday 11 a.m. to 11 p.

m., closed Monday Prices: starters $14 to $22, mains $26 to $43 Access: wheelchair-accessible John Thomas, the managing director of Azure Urban Developments, knew he wanted a French restaurant on the ground floor of his company’s new Posthouse Westboro apartment building. Advertisement 2 Story continues below This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.

THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Exclusive articles from Elizabeth Payne, David Pugliese, Andrew Duffy, Bruce Deachman and others. Plus, food reviews and event listings in the weekly newsletter, Ottawa, Out of Office.

Unlimited online access to Ottawa Citizen and 15 news sites with one account. Ottawa Citizen ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition to view on any device, share and comment on. Daily puzzles, including the New York Times Crossword.

Support local journalism. SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Exclusive articles from Elizabeth Payne, David Pugliese, Andrew Duffy, Bruce Deachman and others.

Plus, food reviews and event listings in the weekly newsletter, Ottawa, Out of Office. Unlimited online access to Ottawa Citizen and 15 news sites with one account. Ottawa Citizen ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition to view on any device, share and comment on.

Daily puzzles, including the New York Times Crossword. Support local journalism. REGISTER / SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience.

Access articles from across Canada with one account. Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments. Enjoy additional articles per month.

Get email updates from your favourite authors. THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK. Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience.

Access articles from across Canada with one account Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments Enjoy additional articles per month Get email updates from your favourite authors Sign In or Create an Account Email Address Continue or View more offers If you are a Home delivery print subscriber, online access is included in your subscription. Activate your Online Access Now Article content Just not too French. When a design firm came back with plans for a dining room that were overly authentic, Thomas knew they weren’t right.

“We were getting a very typical French (ambience), with the little curtains and stuff,” Thomas says. “(But) we’re going for a New York aesthetic. This is a cool, funky restaurant that serves French food as opposed to a French restaurant that you find in Paris.

” That sounds about right to me. Elise restaurant in Ottawa. Photo by Jean Levac / Postmedia Elise, which opened in December, is more French-inspired than French in terms of not just ambience but the food on its plates.

The same goes for the Ottawa restaurants Chez Lionel , Cocotte Bistro , Gitanes and Vain in Versailles . You could also contrast these modern takes on French culinary flair and feeling with Le Pied de Cochon , arguably the last of the Ottawa area’s old-school, undeniably French restaurants, which was owned by a French expat chef in Gatineau’s Hull sector and which closed last summer after nearly five decades. This year, I’ve eaten at Elise more times than I would have liked (I’ll explain why momentarily).

It was almost always busy, no doubt attracting guests with its two sleek, comfortable dining areas. Advertisement 3 Story continues below This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Article content A guest enters to see a room of 10 tables, if that, and an impressive, well-stocked bar.

Around the corner is a similarly sized room, that faces a semi-hidden, but at times noisy, kitchen. That’s the room I’d chose to be in, flanked by an eye-catching, three-panel, Art Nouveau mural and a mirror-covered brick wall. In a nod to Westboro history, the wall reclaims bricks from the home of William Lowry, Westboro’s postmaster in the early 1900s, whose house sat where Azure’s building now stands.

The restaurant’s name is a French hat-tip to Lowry’s wife, who was named Eliza. Salade Nicoise at Elise in Westboro. Photo by Peter Hum / Postmedia.

When I first visited Elise in January, its chef de cuisine was Kathryn Ferries, previously the chef de cuisine at Stofa Restaurant . Also, in 2019, Ferries stood out as an Ottawa chef to watch when she was one of 10 chefs who took part in the S. Pellegrino Young Chef Competition in New York .

There, her signature dish was forest-glazed rabbit ballotine with fennel, chanterelles, coco blanco and mustard greens, which I mention because her dishes at Elise were not nearly as interesting or delicious. Instead, my meals in January at Elise were not bad but also felt reined in and lacking pizzazz. Advertisement 4 Story continues below This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.

Article content But I’m glossing over my early visits to Elise because Ferries left the restaurant in early February. “I’m spending some much-needed time with my family,” Ferries messaged me. After her departure, Elise’s young sous chef Nouk Couturier-Bernard took over the kitchen.

His menu debuted earlier this month and I’ve been by twice for dinner. His dishes, I found, were better than what came before in terms of design, flavours and execution. It feels like Couturier-Bernard is cooking as if he has something to prove.

Striploin steak frites at Elise in Westboro. Photo by Peter Hum / Postmedia From the new menu, I’ve had two of four appetizers: beef tartare ($22) and salade niçoise ($21). (Elise is French enough that its menu identifies its dishes in French before listing their ingredients in English.

) While the tartare was amply portioned and classically and reassuringly seasoned, its umami levels were dialed up with slices of white anchovy, some grated cured egg yolk and a side dollop of truffled aioli. Normally a substantial main course, Elise’s smaller plate of salade niçoise pared things back to the essentials. Its seared tuna was the dish’s hero, but other components (frisee, quail’s egg, olives) were impactful and easy to appreciate.

The salad’s fantastic closer was its generous glug of Aurelius olive oil, which prompted me to order some house-baked bread ($7, with butter and fennel pollen-topped compote) for sopping. Advertisement 5 Story continues below This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Article content We’ve also had four of Couturier-Bernard’s mains.

While the steak frites ($43) atypically featured a striploin cut (Ferries served a flat iron cut), it was properly cooked, appealingly seared and directly appealing, with crisp, herbed fries and a rich brown butter béarnaise sauce that made everything better. It must tick off a box for Thomas, who told me that steak frites was among the “ untouchables, the things we need to have, I want to have.” Seared scallops with sunchokes, cherry tomatoes, beurre blanc and almond crumble at Elise in Westboro.

Photo by Peter Hum / Postmedia Three other mains were more modern, creative and well-composed, if also marred by the occasional imperfection. Best was a plate of perfectly cooked grilled black cod ($39) in a winning bouillabaisse jus, augmented with shiitakes and charred radishes, even if the dish’s shiitake espuma had failed to foam and just a runny, unsightly puddle. While slices of duck breast ($42) were overcooked, the dish’s other components (caramelized cauliflower purée, charred treviso, coconut barley risotto) were redemptive.

Seared scallops ($38 for four) were given the lightest of sears and complemented with some fine beurre blanc, roasted sunchokes, charred broccolini and an almond crumble. Advertisement 6 Story continues below This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Article content While dessert choices here were limited, the dark chocolate mousse with milk chocolate Cointreau anglaise and shards of meringue ($15) was both shareable and enjoyable, although its brown butter sable had been omitted.

In all, we enjoyed our dinners despite their small fumbles and Couturier-Bernard could well bloom as he grows into his role. Dark chocolate mousse with milk chocolate cointreau anglaise and meringue at Elise in Westboro. Photo by Peter Hum / Postmedia Service was pleasant and attentive.

Eight mostly French-themed cocktails here ($13 to $18) were straightforward but appealing. The wine list is admirably French-forward and includes four whites, four reds, and one sparkling wine available as five-ounce pours ($12 to $16). However, the list also skimps on information that a newcomer to French wines and wines in general might appreciate.

After four months and two chefs, Elise appears to be on the right track. Couturier-Bernard even told me that he would like Elise to be worthy one day of Canada’s 100 Best Restaurants nod. That’s aiming high and Elise would have to step things up considerably, but it also isn’t out of the question.

Want to stay in the know about what’s happening in Ottawa? Sign up for the Ottawa Citizen’s arts and life newsletter — Ottawa, Out of Office — our weekly guide to eating, listening, reading, watching, playing, hanging, learning and living well in the capital. [email protected] Article content Share this article in your social network Share this Story : Hum: Elise, which serves French-inspired fare in cosy Westboro digs, is on the right track Copy Link Email X Reddit Pinterest LinkedIn Tumblr Comments You must be logged in to join the discussion or read more comments.

Create an Account Sign in Join the Conversation Postmedia is committed to maintaining a lively but civil forum for discussion. Please keep comments relevant and respectful. Comments may take up to an hour to appear on the site.

You will receive an email if there is a reply to your comment, an update to a thread you follow or if a user you follow comments. Visit our Community Guidelines for more information. Trending U.

S. could block Canadian attempts to buy new fighter jets to replace F-35s, warn analysts Defence Watch Feds partner with Australia on $6-billion Arctic radar project in 'slap in the face' to Canadian company Defence Watch Senators captain Brady Tkachuk won't be scoreboard-watching: 'We control our destiny' Ottawa Senators Why hundreds of Ottawa residents donated their $200 rebate cheques to charity Local News So, where, exactly, is home for our newest prime minister? News Read Next Latest National Stories Featured Local Savings.