Play Food And Wine

The reviews missed it on this one.
Gnocchi was overly salty. So salty I sent it back and they made me a new one. The 2^nd time around was much better. Pricey. Yes it’s tapas. $ 14 for 5 gnocchi is steep.
Hangar Steak was the worst. The marinade is basic, no depth or complexity. Sugar and soy. 2^nd the portion once again is tiny. Maybe 4 ounces of hangar steak which is a cheap cut. The steak is served precut. Would have worked except the didn’t cut against the grain. Which made this chewy cut even chewier. The best thing of the night was the fries lol.
I passed on dessert since the earlier dishes weren’t great.
Tapas food at full entrée prices.
Allium and atelier have been the highlights of this trip. Eat at one of those two!
I’ve loved Ottawa food and this is the first to miss.

I’ve been a little slow in getting to Play. It’s been around for a few years now and while I always heard good things, I never made a point of checking it out in person. That was a mistake. The food was uniformly excellent. Each sharing plate is created with a lot of care and the end result is a menu full of items that will leave food lovers smiling. I’ll go back sooner rather than later.
I was there for lunch recently and was able to take advantage of their lunch deal — 2 sharing plates for $ 22. The four of us at the table each picked two plates and that gave us a nice sampling of what was available. Two sharing plates apiece was enough to satisfy us for lunch without leaving us feeling over-​stuffed. I would probably want to add a third sharing plate per person for dinner.
Ad their selection of wines (and beer) offers a nice complement to the meal.
This is not a place to rush in for a quick meal. It’s a place where you will want to take your time to spend an hour or two with friends, savouring the multitude of flavours in each dish. For that reason, it’s not for everyone, but it’s definitely a restaurant that will satisfy the pickiest foodie.

Well, if there’s anything I can say about this place, it’s that it’s consistent, I’ve been in and out over the past 6 years and the service has stayed quite good, the wine list is quite good, and the décor hasn’t really changed.
The food also continues to be a bit meh (depending on what you get) but in the Market you don’t really have a lot of good options.

Perfect for a lunch date or first date because there’s enough going on but still quiet enough to hear your dining partner. Very knowledgable staff.

The food is great! The dishes are unique and tasty. The portions are just about right, not too much and not too little. There is a huge selection of wines, which is not surprising considering that it’s a restaurant that specializes in wine accompaniment. The service is outstanding! The waitresses are cheerful and the food is served quickly. The dining area is cozy and spacious. Overall, this restaurant nails every rating category. Despite its upscale prices, it’s still an amazing experience that will leave you feeling full and happy.

Uh. Maze. Ing.
We ordered just about everything! Favorites were mixed charcuterie and the selection of cheeses but we did the 2 for $ 22/​person for lunch. The hangar steak, grilled pork tenderloin (with root beer gel-​YUM), grilled romain, apple salad, beef tar tar and the baked Alaska and apple… something…for dessert. Everything was wonderful. The ambiance is very cozy and contemporary and I love their dishes. GREAT PLACE!

I rarely give a restaurant 5 stars but here goes …
I was in town for work and had planned to go solo given the great Unilocal reviews. But I ended up going with a group from work. Let’s just say everyone was pleased with my choice of restaurant!
First, the reservation process was amazing. I called to reserve a table for 8 the morning of. Given how popular the place is I thought we would be out of luck but it was no problem. The person taking the reservation was super friendly and also noted down that we would be needing separate cheques.
Thirty minutes before our reservation, we were still at the lighting ceremony at the Hill. Called up the restaurant to see if they could push our reservation by an hour which they graciously did without any attitude!
When we arrived, we were led to the second floor where they have the long tables. The décor was casual but nice. The waitress described how their menu worked. Small dishes, recommended getting 2 – 3.
I got 2 dishes. First was the mussels with chorizo and fennel. The mussels were cooked to perfection, tender not chewy. Sooo flavourful. I had to sop up the amazing broth with bread.
The second dish, and one of the tastiest dishes I have ever eaten was the pork belly. Melt-​in-​your-​mouth goodness! Perfect portion … keeps you wanting more. One of my co-​workers couldn’t stop going on about how good it was and that for dessert he wanted more pork belly!
I ordered the wines paired with the dishes which went quite well.
For dessert, I had the white & dark chocolate mousse, but I could have done without. Really was not very good. Service was top notch except that dessert took 20 mins to come out. I should knock down a star for the dessert situation but I’m not, because that’s how good the rest of the food and service was.
If you are in Ottawa, you must go to Play!

I’m a big fan of the Beckta family and eat at Play as often as I can. It’s friendly, casual and the food: wine is always good. With their recent menu they’ve really upped their game.
Today for lunch: Smoked salmon rillette and grilled romaine.
The salmon was just mildly smoked – I’m guessing hot-​smoked – but it was served on an perfectly executed gribiche, with pickled fennel stalks (!) and mustard, topped with cripsy, ricey shards that turned out to be black rice flakes. All of these disparate elements somehow came together perfectly. And if you cook, steal their idea for the pickled fennel – you were going to throw those stalk away anyway. The wine pairing – a French Muscadet– was perfect. You’ll want a bottle.
If you were Thomas Keller, you would name the grilled romaine «Caesar Salad,» which indeed he does @ the French Laundry. This version is simpler and, I think, better. The grilled romaine is served on «Caesar aioli,» –which is a fancy way of saying «a really, really good Caesar dressing,» with fried smelt (excellent!) and croutons. I don’t eat meat, so i skipped the pork belly which normally comes with it, but if the pork belly comes out anything like bacon, it would be perfect. (Chew the smelt carefully to make sure you don’t get a bone stuck in your throat…)
+ They have Amaro.
Like all Beckta restaurants, the service at Play is outstanding.
Play’s been around a while and it’s really nice to see that their edge is still sharp.
Go.

Went here with a friend the other night… he chose the resto! Staff were extremely engaging and efficient, the space is minimalist, clean, and great space.
Food — was good, tiny plates, minimalist theme carried through for the whole experience. Had the corndog, hanger steak, cheese and a charcuterie board. All very good combinations of flavours and matched with the right wine.
Price wise… this place is pricey and found it to be exorbitant for the quantity of food and wine. While everything was extremely tastey, this is definitely what I would call a destination resto — good for bdays, parties and anniversaries, but definitely not a weekly event.
I gave this review a three as after dropping a hefty quantity of moolah I went to subway afterwards.

I’ve been to Play several times and have never ever been disappointed. The hanger steak is my favourite. Their seasonal dishes are always a hit with me too!

Fast, delicious and a great undercover patio. Glad we stopped by in the middle of a rainstorm.

Great food. Great service. Great ambience
Definitely recommended. Slightly on the edge of the market near Sussex so it’s more relaxing.

We had dinner at Play during our short stay in Ottawa after reading good reviews. It did not disappoint! First of all, the service was absolutely phenomenal. They made sure our water glasses were filled, asked us if we wanted refills on bread, and provided us with clean dishes and cutlery each time a new course was served.
We started with a cheese platter. The Lankaaster was fantastic; we went with the choices recommended by the server and they were all great. We also ordered the octopus and pickerel as well as the beef laab. We really enjoyed the last two. The octopus was not quite what we expected but still tasted fine. Overall I’m super satisfied with the meal.

Play. Doesn’t really sound like a restaurant, does it? Well, when I say this place deserves five stars, I’m not playing.
A group of five of us went here for dinner and sat at the bar, where Miranda gave us five star service.
The concept here is rather brilliant. The small plates, neither overpriced nor underpriced, incentivize you to order at least two. Then the suggested wine pairings are a no-​brainer since they are priced lower than the price by the glass on the regular wine menu (ie. if you get the 5 oz. Pinot Noir pairing with the octopus, it’s $ 10 versus $ 12 on its own.)
As for food, I didn’t really know where to start, but the mixed chractuerie ($ 21) caught my eye. Rabbit terrine, sauerkraut, soppressata, and some other cured meat, date purée, smoked salmon, coarse mustard and spicy mustard, pickled vegetables and toasted baguette. Delicious, but not quite filling. I would have preferred some cheese, but since there’s no description in the menu of what the mixed charcuterie entails, I sense this dish changes depending on what they have in inventory, which presumably feeds into the restaurant’s title.
Next round: Octopus with fingerling potatoes, jalapeño and crème fraîche ($ 16). Perhaps the most tender octopus I’ve ever had. Nice and light, yet refreshing, but I didn’t care for the Pinot Noir Staete Landt pairing. Perhaps this place should play with a white pairing instead.
I was nice enough to share, as were the others in my group, so I also got to try the fig and goat cheese salad, the gnocchi, and the hanger steak with fries. The gnocchi had a nice dumpling texture and was surprisingly light whereas the hanger steak was nicely marinated and perfectly tender. I found the hand cut fries to be unseasoned, but it didn’t matter once dipped into what I think was a garlic truffle mayonnaise aioli.
Not really full from dinner, which reiterates the brilliance of the concept here, I had to try to dessert. I went with the salted caramel chocolate tart with a chantilly cream and currant with the port pairing. The tart itself didn’t blow me away; the chantilly cream was the best part. It was so good, the wait staff brought me some more to eat on its own. For dessert, the best bang for your Loonie seems to be the gelato. One person in my party got this. It came in a nice size bowl with three different flavors.
My only real gripe is with the wine list itself. A 5 oz. pour on a glass of the Organized Crime, for example, is $ 11 whereas a full bottle is $ 55. A standard wine bottle is 25 ounces, so where’s the incentive to buy the bottle if it’s the same price as buying 5 glasses?
The complimentary truffle popcorn is a nice gesture, but the subtlety of the truffle oil didn’t really do it for me.
This is an example of high end casual at its best.

Tried the lunch deal 2 plates for $ 22/​person. What a great way to try a variety of dishes with my hub.
1. Red snapper ceviche-​tender fish though some pieces were a bit fishy. Liked the sweet yam to counterbalance the spicy thai chili.
2. Fig salad w honey and chevre cheese-​yum! Wish it came with more than 1 fig though.
3. Pickerel-​first time trying this fish. Tasted ok but a bit chewy in texture. Loved the stew with chickpeas and cauliflower and a type of green.
4. Quail-​good but I didnt like the mushroom sauce.
5. Boca negra dessert-​the texture of the chocolate portion reminded me of red bean paste. Very good w hazelnut ice cream and strawberries.

By far one of my favourite restaurants in Ottawa! The food is tapas-​style, so you can share and taste multiple dishes! The ambiance is still cheerful with great staff.
Seasonal and delicious menus, deserves the full five stars.

Love is an understatement.
I totally pigged out by myself and loved every minute of it. Go alone. Go with a date. Just go.
Here are my favorites:
Pork Rillette — a must
Cendrilion cheese
Tuna tar tar
Let the bartender recommend wine parings; they are super knowledgable and want you to leave happy!!!

Mmmm… steak tartar. If you like raw beef… order it!
If you like yummy expensive wine that is not available at the LCBO… go here!
Fun, trendy atmosphere with a great location! They have an upstairs dining area as well that can accommodate larger groups.
Save your money though, it’s not cheap.
#treatyourslef

Staff:
— Hostess asked if the birthday was a surprise so she knew what to do when the birthday girl arrived
— Waiter told us what to expect with portion sizes
Food:
— Octopus was extremely bland
— Hanger Steak was perfect, so much flavour, so tender, temperature was spot on
— Rabbit was pretty good
Complaints:
— I don’t understand why restaurants are starting to charge to serve a birthday cake (in our case, birthday cupcakes). I understand you want us to buy your desserts, but it’s a birthday, a birthday cake is a staple. Someone brought birthday cupcakes at $ 3 – 4 each, the restaurant charged us $ 3 per person, so our cupcakes are now $ 6-​$ 7 per person.
YOU ARE RUINING BIRTHDAYS !! WHY DO YOU HATE BIRTHDAYS???
Other than that, it was cool.

We made a reservation for lunch. They have a lunch special of two plates for $ 22. You have to get two plates per person, and it turned out to be a nice portion size for lunch as well as being able to get some variety.
After eating pretty heavily (think poutine, tons of bread and pastries, etc) on vacation the past few days, it was really refreshing to get something on the lighter side with fresh vegetables.
We did the following courses for the first course:
— Scallops with grilled corn, sweet pea purée, and yucca chips; perfectly cooked scallops, a very nice dish with good components
— (String) Bean salad with tomato and crunchy proscruitto with a side of gribiche (cold egg salad with capers and mustard); unique with the very tart gribiche, string beans were very fresh and had the perfect crisp, visually appealing dish with multi-​colored beans
The heavier second course was:
— Gnocchi with anchovy and caper and olive sauce with mushrooms and tomatoes; gnocchi was too soft for my liking, this is a different dish than what I’m accustomed to because I usually have gnocchi with a buttery cream sauce, this sauce was more brothy and a lot more tangy flavors from the capers and anchovies
— Pork belly with peach, pearl onions, and watercress in a brandy and vanilla sauce; by far the best dish of the meal, the pork belly was fatty and tender, the flavors tasted very Asian, and the peaches provided a nice sweet taste to cut across the pork belly fat
The service was fantastic and very attentive. Our waitress was very friendly and chatty, asking us about our plans for the day and providing us with menu recommendations. She was also very good about constantly refilling our water and coffee.
Play Food and Wine is conveniently located between Byward and Parliament, so assuming you found a good parking spot, you’ll be able to wander and explore both areas very easily.