Aiana Ottawa and seasonal tasting menus
It has become a classic tale from a few years ago when you talk to restaurateurs: a new restaurant opens – and then almost immediately Covid-19 hits.
“We developed the Aiana concept, and we set our opening date. Literally the next week was when the pandemic hit. So for our first two years, it was open, close, open, close, like switching multiple teams, everything. And crazy,” says Aiana chef-owner Raghav Chaudhary.
Since then, Aiana has refined and honed its concept and the way it cooks, but Chaudhary and team, he says, stayed true to their values when it comes to the classic tasting menu.
“It forced to me to learn and helped with the way we work with the products and just get a better understanding of the entire process — though we have always focussed on our tasting menu.”
Aiana goes through a few menu changes throughout the seasons where they highlight the produce of the moment and sourcing from premium producers and ones as local as they can find.
I had a chance to return to the O’Connor Street restaurant to venture into the spring menu — “Wildflowers and Wine,” an eight-course tasting experience. It was delicious and intriguing and obviously celebrates spring and the first growth.
For Chaudhary, that’s “the baby growth.”
“I get a lot of inspiration from the land and terroir of Canada. Just drive in the countryside and the greenbelt and all the wildflowers are there. It’s just such a colourful time. We’ve tried to incorporate that.”
Bison tartare is Middle Eastern inspired and prepared in-house and seasoned with zhoug, a chimichurri-like Yemeni green sauce created from charred jalapenos, limes and cilantro oil that is folded into pine nuts and pistachio.
The emerald caviar is the excellent product from Acadian Sturgeon and Caviar of St. John, NB, along with smoked belly for a pâté featuring sour cream, chives and lemon. It’s mighty satisfying.
The menu I enjoyed also featured Italian summer truffles and a more humble local dish — but quite tasty — focussed on corn in the form of a half-dozen or so variations.
The influences and inspiration from around the world blend with the local, what Chaudhary describes as multicultural touches throughout the menu representing the cultures of Canada.
Muscovy duck, dried for three days, is inspired by his visit to Eight Tables San Francisco, its crispy skin accented with orange, thyme garlic and garlic accompanied by a taro croquette with a Dijonnaise for some gentle heat. The plate includes cauliflower puree and nasturtium for pepperiness.
The maple and pine season now at end, crème brûlée includes toasted marshmallow redolent of a “springtime campfire,” he says, with pine buds and a tuile of burnt maple sugar. It captured the season.
“We have our compressed strawberries in maple syrup,” Chaudhary adds. “We’re saving all that compressed strawberry maple liquid for our next menu, and we have ordered green strawberries for a green-strawberry summer salad as a dessert.”
Sounds interesting too. Just like the birch ice cream made in-house and which is served with a dessert cocktail made with cedar tea locally foraged.
Wines at Aiana are interesting, unique pairings that I found quite satisfying and offering different flavour profiles — that is the purview of sommelier Robert Lemieux.
“Wine at the table is like an extra ingredient. It will add to the dining experience created by the chef by complementing or contrasting the flavours and aromas coming from the plate,” according to Lemieux.
Five or so years in, look to Aiana for a fine dining experience that evolves as the seasons do, Chaudhary says.
“We’re planning on doing a slight menu switch for the first week of summer. That will be about July 23,” says Chaudhary. “Not a 100% flip, but three or four dishes. We’ll change to create a new feeling as we move with the seasons.”
