Review: Otis Dining Hall

This Canberra restaurant has had some slaps on the back from critics. I can’t understand why. I give it 2 out of 5.

At meal’s end, along with a bill that doesn’t adequately reflect the experience, we get a feedback form. And sometimes, I really do wish my job was as simple as giving a score for various criteria, one to five, and moving on. (Careful what you wish for, I hear someone say from the wings.)

But you know, some restaurant experiences simply leave a feeling of emptiness; worse, some leave inconclusiveness, an inability to make definitive recommendations, and that’s a hollow feeling for someone whose job is to help you spend your dining dollar. Put ’em together and … the feedback form starts to look pretty good.

We’re at Otis in Canberra, a new restaurant that’s had some hearty slaps on the back in recent times, critically speaking. I’m just lost as to where they came from.

It’s lunch; they open for the midday meal, take your money and so forth, so it’s fair game to be here, one of only five “covers” on a sunny Wednesday. And no, the atmosphere at this former Belgian Beer Cafe is not rollicking. The flipside is that, presumably, the kitchen is working all for us and our waiter (singular) should have a chance to shine. This is an opportunity she fails to grasp. “Would you like the three course or the five course?” she asks as we stroll across the floor. Before we’ve even sat down and looked at the menu. Reminded me of the waiter who did the same thing the other day with water: “Still or sparkling?” as we walked to the table. Who’s teaching waitstaff this stuff?

So let’s do it their way.

Food: 3/5

Service: 1/5

Atmosphere: 2/5

Value: 2/5

Not enough? We’ll break it down a little, then …

Food: Otis has one of those menus that’s suggestive. “Burnt onion”, for example, suggests the flavour of a mayo-like emulsion that comes with a rather interesting cured wallaby dish, the meat inside pickled vine leaves that provide a clever, salty/acidic counterpoint to the meat. Sadly, they also indulge in cheffy hyperbole: run a macadamia nut or two over a Microplane and apparently you have “macadamia floss” in Canberra. Please.

Diced beef, tartare style, is good stuff — and perhaps because the smoked eel it’s with is fairly bland, the combination’s not nearly as odd as expected. A third starter, though — an over-liquored Armagnac chicken liver parfait — is metallic and unpleasant, and served alongside remarkably lifeless cornichons.

The rest is OK. Slightly doughy gnocchi with a very delicious mushroom paste, pickled diced chestnut mushrooms and taleggio; excellent lamb rump — perfectly cooked, I must say — with a baby tomato salad peppered with saltbush and a puree of spiced eggplant; an overly sweet dessert of jam-filled “Italian doughnuts” with Earl Grey tea ice cream, toasted pistachio crumble and fresh fig. The latter from a selection of five desserts, all of which include dairy.

Service: With just three diners remaining as we exited, somehow our waiter found herself unable to thank us and say goodbye. It speaks volumes. I’m just guessing, but a few more guys doing $170 lunches could maybe help pay her wage. Perhaps it was because I didn’t tip.

Atmosphere: With its baronial wood panelling and chandeliers, Otis still looks every bit the faux Euro beer hall of its predecessor. A full house and some interesting music would undoubtedly add something. But let me state it once and forever: New Orleans trad jazz has no place in a restaurant outside New Orleans.

Value: I had one of the nation’s great desserts in one of the nation’s great restaurants last week for less than Otis’s $19 affogato. I’m just saying. Otis’s price points are not egregious; merely incompatible with the “let me interrupt you” service the place provides, even when virtually empty. The value ain’t there.

Would you like to be added to our mailing list? Mmm, no thanks.

AT A GLANCE

Address: 29 Jardine St, Kingston, ACT Contact: [phone]; thisisotis.com.au Hours: Lunch, dinner daily Typical prices: Starters $18; mains $33; dessert $16 Summary: Hard to handle