Fresh meat

Indulge the flesh with steak as it’s meant to be done, at suitably named Steak
Ottawa XPress

Article By: Colleen Johnson
Photo By: Ben Welland

It can be hard to get a decent steak in this town. Too many places overcharge for tough, leathery cuts of meat that are served blue, charred beyond recognition or lazily underseasoned. Thankfully, there’s a new place in town that does it right. Steak is a stylish restaurant on Clarence Street in the Byward Market that serves updated steakhouse classics.

It’s hard not to be impressed with Steak’s decor. Their lighting is incredibly artful, with coloured lights bathing a series of textured panels near the entrance and groupings of glowing orbs toward the back of the restaurant. The lighting changes colours from night to night – it was a gorgeous vibrant red on the night I visited. Music, comfy booths and oversized furniture complete the restaurant’s loungy feel.

My date and I started the evening off with the steak platter, featuring four appetizers. Given its size and the $23 price tag, I was bit surprised to see that the plate wasn’t built for sharing. It had only one spring roll, two pieces of shrimp cake, three pieces of steak sushi and four pieces of the mushroom and ricotta flatbread. Though the steak sushi and the short rib spring roll were tasty enough, it was the flatbread and the shrimp cakes that I’d order again. The thick, round shrimp cakes were coated in almond flakes, making for an unusual but winning combination. The crispy flatbread was loaded up with thickly sliced cremini mushrooms that had been sautéed in a creamy sauce and topped with soft ricotta cheese.

The steak that my date ordered made our day. Thick, juicy and cooked to a perfect medium-rare, this may just be the best sirloin outside of Saslove’s. The steak comes with your choice of delectable sides, including wasabi mashed potatoes, parmesan pepper frites, smashed sweet potatoes or twice-baked potatoes. Add a sauce for an extra toonie or, as we did, go all-out with a side of rich macaroni for an extra six dollars.

My burger was also satisfying, even with its plain-Jane toppings. The lettuce, tomato and havarti were pretty standard, but the homemade ketchup improved the situation substantially.

Though I’d been eying the molten chocolate lava cake for dessert, I couldn’t have eaten one more bite. No doubt I’ll be back to Steak soon to try it.

Steak Modern Steakhouse Lounge
87 Clarence St.
(613) 695-8787

Appetizers: $8-$23
Mains: $15-$36