Hotel dining is rarely special in Ottawa, and — depending on your personal opinion and tastes — fails to impress in the great majority of hotels in Canada. The Fairmont Chateau Laurier is taking a big swing with Akira Back, the newest dining option in the historic building.
It’s the latest outlet in the restaurant group headed by its titular chef, Akira Back. Back has previously won a Michelin star (for a restaurant in Seoul, Korea) and his group now has a couple of dozen dining rooms around the world, most under the same name as in Ottawa.
I was invited to a pre-opening dinner last week and our table of four enjoyed it immensely. Here are a few of the dishes we especially enjoyed, along with Japanese beer and sake (and rather a bit of wine).
Our meal began with tuna and eringi mushroom “pizzas.” These were wafer thin but somehow maintained their shape when picked up. Each pizza had umami aioli, micro shiso and white truffle oil. They were fresh and delicate, and unlike anything I’ve eaten before. (Thanks to the hotel for this photograph.)
Possibly the most delicious tartar I’ve ever tasted. Waygu beef so brimming with fat that it almost melts in your mouth, with dashi aioli and herb oil, and light-as-air rice crisps. (Peter Simpson photo)
A cucumber salad was just the thing to lighten the palate about an hour in to the meal. Paper-thin swirls with roasted sesame seeds and amazu. Another dish unlike anything in my experience for technique and delicacy. (Photo Peter Simpson)
Salmon tataki with mustard su-miso. Another dish that did not last long on our table of four. (Photo Peter Simpson)
The dinner stepped between beef and seafood, such as seared sea bass with soy beurre blanc that was both crispy and flaky. (Photo Peter Simpson)
Wagyu picanha with kizami wasabi butter. The perfection of the cook on this beef was another testament to the collective skills in Back’s kitchen. (Photo Peter Simpson)
Dessert courses began with an AB cigar, with miso caramel ice cream and cocoa nibs. The attention to detail throughout the evening was extraordinary. (Photo Peter Simpson
The evening concluded with apple haruma, with cinamon cream cheese, vanilla gelato and caramelized apple. Our table of four left not a crumb behind. (Photo Peter Simpson)
