Groupe Grandio’s Expanding Culinary Reach
Groupe Grandio made its biggest headlines in recent years with the acquisition of iconic steakhouses Moishes and Gibbys. But the highly successful culinary operation has a host of other dining establishments in its stable, and that includes the French brasserie Chez Lionel, which presently has five locations and a sixth on the way this spring.
While in Ottawa, we enjoyed our first experience at the new Kanata location. Chez Lionel was purchased by Groupe Grandio in 2022, and this locale marks its first outside of Quebec. The intention is to expand across the country. The others are in Boucherville, Brossard, Sainte-Thérèse, and Laval (presently being renovated after flooding last summer). In March, the sixth Chez Lionel will debut in downtown Montreal at 1259 René-Lévesque Ouest.
The Kanata location has 96 seats in the dining room, 25 more at the bar, and a seasonal patio that can accommodate 58, notes General Manager James Denis. It is located directly off Highway 417 at ground level of a Holiday Inn. There is ample free parking. The interior is very attractive, with large chandeliers and mirrors.
Chez Lionel made its debut in Boucherville in 2013. Frédéric Dufort has been the executive chef for Chez Lionel since it first opened.
Our server Rebecca made several menu recommendations. We started off with some drinks — two Seville in Blooms and one Lady Marmalade mocktail.
There is a nice array of appetizers. While I enjoyed a piping hot and absolutely delicious cream of butternut squash soup, with an “L” appearing in the broth, the other two members of our party shared the bluefin tataki, prepared with a wild caraway crust, pickled carrots, orange supreme, sesame carrot purée, and carrot chips, and the duck confit arancini, served with black garlic aioli, pickled mushrooms, grana padano, parmesan, and watercress. I happily split the 12 oysters with them.
For the main course, I jumped at the opportunity to have the duck breast à l’orange. It cut like butter and had a pink peppercorn crust, coming with butternut squash purée, kumquat, marmalade, Grand Marnier gastrique, and puffed wild rice. The others shared the seafood risotto and the braised beef cheek. The former contained lobster bisque, Argentine shrimp, bay scallops, green peas, garlic bread croutons, and saffron mayonnaise; the latter was prepared with red wine sauce, roasted Nantes carrots, confit cipollini onions, chanterelles, and truffled celeriac purée.
For dessert, we shared the tarte tatin, a pastry in which apples are caramelized in butter and sugar before being baked and served with a scoop of vanilla ice cream, along with an irresistible macaron platter of six.
Other popular items on the menu include the ricotta ravioli with duck confit and truffles, tomahawk steaks, salmon and beef tartare, pan-seared Icelandic cod, and butternut squash gnocchi. I can hardly wait to go back to one of the Montreal-area locations closer to home.
Chez Lionel is located at 101 Kanata Ave., Suite 100. For reservations, please call 613-518-2113, email kanata@chezlionel.ca, or visit www.chezlionel.ca.
Mike’s Ottawa Resto Notes: Ember, Red Lobster, Cindy’s, and Dinty’s in Aylmer
One of Ottawa’s newest restaurants is Ember, which opened at 92 Clarence Street in the ByWard Market last June. It can accommodate 105 people in the multi-level dining room, with a front patio for 44 and another on the side set to debut next summer. Both will be handicapped accessible.
At Ember, it’s all about sharing — and that’s precisely what we did. After some drinks, including a couple of Match Milk Punches and a Chardonnay, we ordered a half-dozen Quebec/New Brunswick oysters, some delicious beef tartare with roasted marrow, spicy crispy tuna, charcoal-kissed salmon crudo, wood-fired halloumi, zucchini pesto pizza, a 12-ounce char-grilled striploin, and for dessert, the Turkish lokma — leavened and deep-fried dough balls soaked in syrup and coated with cinnamon. Info: www.emberottawa.com
Our “go-to” Red Lobster location at 1499 St. Laurent Blvd. continues to bring in the crowds. We had a fabulous meal in the spacious dining room, feasting on freshly boiled Maritime lobsters and savoring the freshly baked cheddar bay biscuits, with lobster bisque and clam chowder to start. One member of our party opted for a shrimp dinner with lobster tail as an add-on. For cocktails, we enjoyed the spiked strawberry lemonades. We had just enough room to share the decadent Chocolate Wave dessert and vanilla ice cream. Info: www.redlobster.ca
One of the things I love about the Ottawa dining scene is the wide choice of diner-style restaurants that serve up good old-fashioned breakfasts. On this trip, I discovered Cindy’s Restaurant, located in a strip shopping center in an industrial sector of the Ottawa suburb of Nepean. Owner Cindy Shields welcomes all the customers personally, works the cash, and serves the meals. My friend Jack and I were impressed with the exceptionally large servings. I went for the Hungry Special, which included three eggs over easy, two slices of bacon, two sausages, ham, home fries, toast, two slices of tomato, and a cup of tea. Jack chose the veggie omelette. Breakfast service ends at 11 a.m., and lunch is then served until 2 p.m., featuring m
