Lago And Grill - Ottawa

I reserved a table for 4 to celebrate a best friends Birthday at the Lago last night. I AM SO GLAD I MADE THAT RESERVATION!!! To Start: There was a miscommunication, and minutes before we arrived our group grew to 7 which the Lago accommodated without a single issue.<br/ <br/ The food was fantastic, the restaurant is beautiful, and the service was just out of this world! I cannot say enough great things. The starters (we ordered the fried perch, scallops, soup and Caesar salads) all arrived promptly and beautifully plated! Followed by our mains (the salmon, the stuffed chicken, and steaks), all of which received glowing reviews from my friends at the table, and I can say for myself the Steak was not only cooked to perfection, but the sauce and pairings were also phenomenal! The desserts, tea and coffee finished the evening off on a sweet, warm note. It was the perfect setting for great conversation, over a beautiful meal!<br/ <br/  I'm still smiling and raving about last nights dinner to everyone! I can't wait to go back, we are already planning our next dinner at The Lago.

We used the Groupon which I would suggest. If not using Groupon, maybe not. Here's why:<br/ <br/ The good: We hoped for a fun, fancy date night and that's what we got. The location is incredible, nothing is more romantic than looking out on the Dows Lake. The service was exceptional, they brought me free non-alcoholic mixed drinks because I'm pregnant and couldn't partake in the bottle of wine that comes with the Groupon! The scallops, lamb and crème brûlé were all really well seasoned and beautifully plated. <br/ <br/ The bad: All the food was a bit cold! It was the only distraction from the great meal. But at this price point it's a big distraction. Also if I hadn't used the Groupon it would have been very very expensive and no longer worth it. The Groupon is 90, and with tax and tip about 140$. The meal would have been over 200$ without Groupon at which point it would be unreasonable and I would have been far far less impressed. <br/ <br/ Would I go back? Maybe not since we don't go out for expensive dinners often. But it was fun while it lasted and a great Groupon try!

Good Experience Enjoyed the Food. I am huge fan of Groupons, for trying new places. We went to the restaurant, which is great because there is a GIANT parking lot (parking if free if you eat there too! . We walk in and the venu is beautiful, we had a lovely window seat and could look out at the water. The Groupon menu is small, and I was not in love with the options all I really wanted was a steak (I was in a weird mood and they had Tandoori flank steak, but I really don't like Tandoori. We asked if we could pay extra could we get a regular steak... and they were more then happy to do it for an extra $10.00. Boy was I happy I asked, because the steak was cooked perfectly, and very tender ... the sauce on it was a bit strong and had a lot of pepper, but I was a fan. For the appetizers we both had a the brie, which is a huge portion and so delicious. My husband had the Tandoori steak as he loves the spice and taste and was delighted he said the sauce on top was divine. It also didn't stop there we had the cheesecake for dessert as well. The piece, was HUGE! My piece should have been for four people instead of one. The only issue is that the cheesecake must of sat for a bit, as the bottom was a bit soggy from sitting in the sauce. However, this is a minor minor detail because it was really delicious. the wine choice is great, we ordered the rutherford Cabernet Sauvignon as we both had steak and we love deep rich red wines. I thought it was great that they had a selection of three for each. The servers were nice, but seemed slightly inexperienced. The person we had was very friendly and even chatted about his favourite dishes, which is always nice to hear because it shows they've tried the food and are passionate about it. We will certainly visit again, as the wine and food won us over!

Great dishes. Apps are huge and almost fill like an entree. Service was great. The restaurant is gorgeous and huge. Would be a great place for a private function, corporate party or birthday bash. Server also stamped our receipt and paid for our parking. Classy place.

Good Times. I have read many mixed reviews about Lago. I just got engaged and their venue looked ideal for a wedding reception, so we figured we might as well go and try out the food. I will admit at first, that I was worried when my fiance ordered a lemon drop that had 5 slices of lemon, no sugar and about a cup of ice cubes thrown in a martini glass. We generally don't return things at restaurants but it was undrinkable. The waiter was great about everything. He brought her a new (different) drink and gave here a complimentary drink as well. The food was delicious. I had the bacon wild mushroom chowder which was delicious and the Atlantic salmon which was great as well. My fiance had the maple salad an a mushroom frazetti pasta that she loved! We both split a dessert, a pumpkin creme brulee with pumpkin ice cream, which was amazing! We plan on getting married in the fall and if we choose Lago as a venue we will definitely be requesting that as one of the desserts on our menu. <br/ <br/ I've read alot of reviews saying that the drinks are weak. I ordered a rye and ginger to test it out and it seemed fine. Every drink my girlfriend got had plenty of alcohol. She even said when she drank the mojito that there was lots of alcohol in it and really enjoyed it, as well as the sangria. All in all it was a great evening. Our waiter was super friendly considering he was the only waiter due to an event upstairs and another waiter calling in sick. He felt bad that we had to wait a bit for desert (which we didn't even notice) and comp'd our desert. Other than the bogus drink (which was handled very professionally) at the start of the meal everything was fantastic! Will definitely go back again!