NeXT: A Romantic Valentine’s Day Dinner

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, all restaurants in Ottawa are closed for dining-in. I will try to highlight local restaurants which are still open and offering take-out and delivery options in the meantime. NeXT has recently relaunched with a very enticing take-out menu. You can also get delivery via UberEats. For information on other restaurants which are still open for take-out and delivery, check out Local Eats Ottawa.

For Valentine’s day, Aaron and I went to NeXT for a memorable, romantic dinner. They had a special tasting menu that night and I was super excited. We have been here for their Sunday brunch. See our post from last week for our review of their brunch.

Location/Ambience

NeXT is located in Stittsville, west of Ottawa. The ambience at night was very different from during the day. They opened up another dimly-lit dining area with purple lights that evening – very romantic. 

Drinks

For drinks, I went with the wine flight with the meal. It was $45 for the wine pairings which included 3 4oz glasses of wine and a 2oz dessert wine. The meal also came with a complementary glass of prosecco. 

Food

This evening consisted of a 9-course menu at the price of $95 per person. 

We were welcomed with a glass of prosecco as well as Black Kalamata Olive and Garlic Confit Palmier. I loved it. Who would’ve thought a usually sweet pastry works so well with black kalamata olive paste. It was so unique and so good.

One: Acidulated Choggia Beets and Crisp Leeks with smoked feta and roasted shallot balm cider. This salad lovely mix of textures with the crispy leeks and the dressing was delicious. 

Two: Pulled Duck and Garlic Confit Turnovers with foie gras butter. This was a very rich dish.

These first two dishes were paired with Sauvignon Blanc from New Zealand which was very fruity and refreshing. I think I would’ve preferred the duck paired with a red wine, though.

Three: Lamb and Fennel Crispy Dumplings. I am not quite sure where the dumpling is but I’m just glad that the lamb was not gamy at all. Perhaps the dumpling was referring to the dumpling skin?

Four: Tuna Sashimi. The sashimi was good finished with XO sauce and crisp shallots. I loved the tempura fried sea asparagus on the side.

These items were paired with a Pinot Noir from Argentina. It was surprisingly not bad for a Pinot. I would’ve preferred the tuna sashimi with a white wine instead.

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Five: Smoked Haddock Chowder. The was a creamy chowder with corn, double smoked bacon and fingerling potato. It was a nice intermission between the starters and the mains.

Six: Beef Tenderloin. This was good but not spectacular beef. It had lovely sides though. I enjoyed the potato gratin, brussel leaf and white asparagus cranberry toss and green peppercorn redux.

Seven: Miso Lacquered Seared Pickerel with Flash Fried Sour Long Bean. I generally love miso cod at Japanese restaurants so I’m a fan of this dish.

This duo was paired with my go-to wine: Cabernet Sauvignon from California.

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Eight: Caramel Chocolate Peanut Parfait. I loved the chocolate moose like parfait, although I am not a fan of the rum soaked cherries. The crumble espresso meringue was ok as I am generally not a fan of meringue.

Nine: Lemon Sticky Pavlova – filled with blackberry candied ginger cream. Not a fan of ginger but not bad.

I had the choice to pair my desserts with a late harvest Riesling from Ontario vs. A Taylor Fladgate Port. I chose the port since I don’t usually drink this and it was lovely.

Service

The service was excellent. Our server was very attentive and courteous.

Overall

I loved my experience here. Their dinner definitely did not disappoint. I know Stittsville can be quite out of the way for most people but it’s totally worth the trek out if you can!

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NeXT
6400 Hazeldean Road, Stittsville, ON, K2S 1S4
613.836.8002
https://nextfood.ca/