Oh, what a banner year for Edmonton restaurants! Woodwork, Rge Rd and North 53 gave us something to cheer about by all grabbing a toehold on the long list for enRoute’s Best New Restaurants 2014. Rge Rd carried though by securing position number 4. It appears that mediocrity finally over-stayed its welcome—here’s hoping, at least.
Edmonton’s food community cheered again when news hit the street that Nathin Bye was opening Ampersand 27 in the old Murrieta’s on Whyte Ave. Nathin previously ran the show at the Wildflower Grill and Lazia but more notably, he’s a two-time Medal Gold Plates winner—commendable in this city of talented chefs.
Ampersand 27, or &27, as you will see it appear, is unfortunately named. It is cumbersome on the tongue, hard to remember and has no connection whatsoever to the food. The space though, makes up for it: the dark and dreary past gives way to a new lighter, brighter, and elegant look thanks to a nature-inspired palette and drop-dead gorgeous lighting. Everything in that room is stunning, save for the battle-scarred chairs that remain in the dining area. The large space, divided as half restaurant, half lounge, has lots of tables to fill. With Whyte Avenue real estate fetching a premium dollar, those tables are going to have to turn over big time if Ampersand 27 is going to survive and not become like its namesake – the 27th letter of the alphabet that no longer remains.
Ampersand 27 dining room, photo credit: Cindy from www.letsomnom.com
Lounge area
There’s no doubt that Bye has the chops to carry this out. His dishes are creative, complex and interesting. He supports local, small producers; he prepares the restaurant’s condiments, pickles and preserves; he even procures pottery, serving boards and artwork from local craftsmen. I like this about Bye. So, the day that I dined at Ampersand 27 left me a bit unsettled, which is not what I expected.
It started with the casually clad Bye greeting us and seating us. I assumed he’d be where chefs usually are — in the kitchen. Next up, a tag team of servers led by a woman with a most abrasive manner told us that: a) Nathin seats people when it’s not busy, b) three of them would be taking care of us b) it was incredibly busy but we’d all get along providing we didn’t snap our fingers at her, and, d) we can’t have tap water because they serve Q water for a fee of $1 per guest because, “that’s the rule.”
I wanted a do-over. I wanted to walk in, be greeted and seated by a host/hostess; I wanted to know the chef was in the kitchen, and I wanted a server—one server—who acted less like a prison matron and more like she was happy to have me as a guest.
Regardless, we were hungry and the lunch menu looked fantastic: lots of plates to share, some great looking flatbreads, sandwiches and pastas. You can count on spending $16 on average for a dish, and that’s fair.
Shares:
Pressured octopus with sea salt crusted potato, fennel, tomato, chorizo.
Kale & spinach salad with barley, mint, apricot, cranberry, ricotta, Italian dressing
Pastrami pork cheeks on braised red cabbage, rye spaetzle, sauerkraut creme
Individual plates:
Drake & Hen Clubhouse: marinated chicken and duck confit, bacon, lettuce, tomato & aioli, on ancient grain bread
Honey chipotle albacore tuna bánh mi with cilantro, cucumber, carrot, with nuoc mam cham (fish sauce).
Ravioi – carrot & smoked cheddar, brown butter & honey, sage cheese fonduta & arugula
Bye serves up dishes that you have never seen and will never see anywhere else in Edmonton. That’s a plus. The downside is that unless each dish, each time, is presented like its a contender in the Gold Medal Plates, people are soon going to tire of missteps and mistakes.
A word on the cocktails: Yes—and more, please. Concoctions invented by Janice Bochon is what will fill many of those seats. She’s a fan of plant-based elixirs and can combine ingredients like a rare few in this city. Eleven dollars for an inventive libation with two ounces of booze is a very good deal.
Crisp breeze: gin, ginger cilantro shrub, soda, cucumber ribbon
Overall, there are enough interesting cocktails and items on the menu that make me curious enough to return. The pork cheeks were beautiful, the kale salad, divine. The sandwiches need a fine tuning, as does the accompanying anemic Caesar salad; the ravioli was exquisite, but for five razor-thin discs, $17 overpriced. The service…well, a little scratchy. Ampersand 27 is entirely capable of catching enRoute’s eye for 2015 but they need to find their groove, and fast.
To listen to my review of &27 on CBC Edmonton Am with Mark Connolly, click here.