Ottawa Food Adventures at Zen Kitchen

As I mentioned in my previous post, one of our many activities during our Ottawa Long Weekend included having dinner at Zen Kitchen. This fantastic restaurant is completely vegan, as well as GMO-, preservative- and chemical-free. They also make it a priority to source their ingredients as locally and organically as possible. This initiative was certainly seen in the quality of their food, which I’ll describe below.

Shortly after we were seated, our server came over with a few complimentary starters from the kitchen. The first was a cashew cheese spread, sprinkled with sesame seeds on a homemade tortilla chip. This bite was very good and I was impressed with the flavour of the cashew cheese as well as the texture of the homemade tortilla.

Our next starter was a navy bean & sun-dried tomato dip with fresh bread. The dip was really flavourful and is something I definitely want to try to recreate at home.

In addition to the complimentary starters, Mac and I couldn’t help but order another appetizer. The Lettuce Wraps with Mango-Mushroom filling and Pad Thai Sauce caught our eyes and they did not disappoint. I was half expecting the mushrooms to be sauteed, but they were raw. Aside from that, the wraps were really good and had an abundance of different textures that all complimented one another.

While we waited for our entrees, we were treated to some live jazz music. This is a regular Sunday night treat featuring guitarist Tim Bedner with guest Tom Denison on the upright bass. This duet totally added to the cozy atmosphere.

Along with the appetizers, our entrees did not disappoint. Mac went with the Thai Style Curry: With Kafir-scented rice, seasonal vegetables, vegetable pakora, chutney, & cashews. He let me have a bite (or two), and I really liked it. Definitely not a traditional heavy curry, but tasty all the same.

I ordered the Royal Zen Burger: Crispy Mushrooms, smoked onions, house relish, veg. With hand cut fries with house ketchup, & seasonal slaw. Oh wow. This was fantastic. The burger patty was a lentil & mushroom combo that was coated in cornmeal. The hand cut fries were a bit cold, but the flavour of the homemade ketchup made up for it.

I really enjoyed dining at Zen Kitchen. Not only was the food superb, but the atmosphere was so welcoming and comfortable. The chef even came over to introduce himself and asked how we liked our meals! Unfortunately we were too stuffed for dessert, but I guess that means that we’ll just have to go back again!