It’s about time to try another new restaurant with a rooftop patio! Aaron suggested Atari, a video game inspired restaurant in the Byward Market. The decor is very unique, with video game characters found everywhere from the floor to the bar. The rooftop patio is a nice piece of gem in the busy Byward Market.
Their cocktails menu is very appropriate to their theme with drinks listed in different levels – just like in a video game. I had the “Sweetheart” which is a nice lychee flavoured cocktail. One of our friends had a cucumber cocktail where the cucumber puree came in a syringe to be injected to taste. So awesome!
With respect to their food menu, it looks like their specialty is tartar and they also have a bunch of small plates, salads and sides. I’m not a huge tartar enthusiast but since this is their specialty, I must try some. They have 4 meat choices (tuna, salmon, beef and duck) with 4 different styles (Asian, Mexican, French, Italian) and 2 different sizes (75 and 150g). The Mexican-style duck was recommended so we went with a large size of this choice, given we were sharing between the 2 of us. It was really good. The duck was so flavourful, yet I couldn’t tell it was raw duck – definitely a plus because I don’t know how I feel about tasting raw duck. It was nicely paired with some refreshing pico de gallo and tortilla chips. We ordered the truffle fries on the side and as expected, it was very tasty. We also tried their lobster roll and was told that they were probably too small to share so we ordered 2 and I was so glad we did! It was my favourite item for the night and one to share was definitely not enough! They used real lobster meat seasoned with a smooth sesame mayo with a side of arugula (my new favourite green). For dessert the 4 of us shared the “Deep Fried Oreos” and it was the perfect amount of indulgence. It came with 3 deep fried Oreos with a side of their milkshake for you to dip it in. Amazing.
I was very impressed by all their menu items and would definitely return to try their other tartar and small plates.
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