The Urban Pear

Six of us went for Sunday brunch. All six of us really enjoyed our food. I had the crepes which were to die for. The restaurant is quite nice inside and there is ample parking. The service was outstanding — very attentive. In fact one of the girls didn’t think there would be any parking so she parked two blocks away. Our server Nick went and got her car and brought it to the parking lot. My friend, who is visually impaired, wanted me to comment on the service as she was so impressed. The waitress knew to tell her the placement of her food, nick not only walked her to her seat but also took her out to the car. They were very personable. We all agreed that we would go back.

I have loved the Urban Pear since they opened. It’s a small, local restaurant with an ever changing menu, lovely atmosphere, and very dedicated owner.
The walls of the restaurant boast beautiful paintings by local artists that are available for sale should anything catch your eye. It is beautifully decorated with a section for coats, clean and spacious bathrooms, and am open-​concept modern bar at the back.
The menu features seasonable dishes cooked to perfection. My latest meal began with Tuna Tartare, followed by a Beef Tenderloin Steak with Roasted Vegetables, and a fantastic slice of rich Chocolate Cake to finish. The wine was a beautiful red bend from Chile that really matched the meal. There were four of us at dinner and we all thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. It’s a bit pricey but this restaurant is a great example of ‘you get what you pay for’. We will absolutely be back.

Ordered the cheese plate and the waiter had no idea what the chese were that came with this.
For almost $ 20 I would hope to have some idea beforehand. Ok, was hungry, so still ordered cheese plate. There was blue cheese as one of the choices… and I HATE blue cheese.
Would have sub something else if the waiter would have told me.
Cheese portions were good, so at least that.
I used to get the antipasti plate here before, but now that the price has gone up so much for that-I’m not too sure.
Food is good, cute restaurant-​the art for sale changes all the time too!

Using a groupon to dine at the urban pear led to mediocre results. The main dishes’ proteins (Beef tenderloin and Rabbit Leg with foie gras) were excellent, though the potatoes were bland and the tenderloin could have used more sauce. The appetizers (Caesar salad and avocado stack) were split between excellent and frustrating. The bacon/​pancetta in the salad was rock hard and painful to chew. Meanwhile, the avocado in the avocado stack was bland, but the red quinoa was delightful and the presentation excellent. Wine (Merlot) was fine if unremarkable, but the carrot cake desert was sub-​par, dry, with what tasted like a Hershey’s chocolate sauce and out-​of-​place sugar decorations that were hard to remove and added a strange crunchy texture to the cake.
Overall, knowing that this was a special groupon menu probably helped — as their regular menu is supposedly excellent– but the first impression with this menu was disappointing.

Walking into the gorgeous long wood-​paneled dining room, you get the sense of being in an chic eatery for sure. Tuesday night so it wasn’t very busy and we were seated immediately. Cream leathery sofas and black/​chrome chairs with black linen table cloths with sparkling white cloth knapkins and shining glassware complete the urban bistro look. The walls have wonderful black and white photographs framed tastefully in black frames with white mattes.
Our waiter poured water and handed us the menus, both of which, the food and the drinks menu, are encased in a brown leathery cover, again a nice little touch to add to the urban and upscale feel. He took our cocktail orders. I decided on a Kimchi Ceasar, and my companions had a regular Ceasar, and an Old Fashioned. The Kimchi ceasar was very interesting and good; the spicy-​salty-​vinegaryness of the pickled cabbage marries together with the robust clamato and vodka very well. Who knew? I was picking bits of Kimchi out of my glass, so perhaps something to aid that process might be good? I had to resort to using my fingers which worked well but not for an upscale eatery! The Old Fashioned took some time to get to us as the waiter had not made one before, and actually had to come back to ask how it was made! It was an ok rendition of it except it didn’t have the orange slice, just a lemon wedge, and I don’t think there was any sugar in it. An Old Fashioned is Bourbon or Rye, Angostura bitters, a sugar cube and a couple of dashes of still mineral water, served with a good wedge of orange to complement the whisky and bitters.
Our waiter was very attentive and friendly and answered any questions we had. I ordered the pan-​seared duck foie Gras ($ 13) and the roast rack of lamb ($ 35). My companions ordered ceasar salad ($ 13), insalata Caprese ($ 12) and also foie gras for starters and veal Caravatta ($ 26), St. Paul filet mignon ($ 35) and seafood linguine ($ 35). The foie gras was seared nicely, and served with lovely sweet caramelized onions, thick-​orange-​sliced marmalade and black truffle oil. A little overcooked to my preference but my companion diner loved it this way so it is a matter of personal taste. The ceasar was very good, not overly drenched in dressing, the perfect way to serve it. The insalata Caprese (tomatoes, olive tapenade, roasted garlic, basil leaves balsamic) was a new twist on one of my favourite salads of all time. The roasted garlic seemed out of place on the plate though, just whole roasted cloves thrown on the plate.
Mains came next, and I wasn’t disappointed with my lamb itself. Ordered medium rare, it was a little underdone (make that raw) when it got to the bone, I’m ok with that. the main part of the meat was nicely red and medium rare. Served with shaved roasted potatoes parsnips carrots and a cranberry compote. The very crisp, almost raw, roasted potatoes were overly oily and greasy, and that’s all I could really taste and it wasn’t pleasant after awhile to have all that greasiness especially with the fattyness of the lamb. The cranberry compote could have done with something, they were basically just halved cranberries thrown on the lamb. A touch of sauce would have brought it together. The Filet mignon was again undercooked, ordered medium rare (which, by the way, is the most a steak should EVER be cooked, another reviewer ordered a steak medium-​well done, I would refuse to cook any steak more than medium rare if I was the chef, and suggest the diner have a hamburger instead… anyhoo, I digress…). I love my steaks blue to rare so I would be ok with that but it should have had 2 minutes more cooking. Served with a great side of wild mushrooms and mushroom roasted potatoes and a Béarnaise Sauce this was a good dish. Seafood linguine was so-​so; it had a lot of different seafood, Squid, Clams, Mussels, Scallops, Shrimps, Lobster Tail cooked in white wine sauce. The sauce was a little runny and the lobster tail was overcooked. Then we get to the veal, oh dear. Very disappointing dish, bland, mushy, the white wine had curdled the sauce a little and it was overly wine tasting, it should have been reduced further to allow the wine to evaporate off before adding the cream element. And the side was just spaghetti thrown on the plate, a very uninspiring dish altogether with no thought of presentation. It was almost as though they threw the dish together a the last minute.
I skipped desert, the other two diners had coffee cake from the limited 3-​item desert menu. It was a little dry and bland and the fondant was oily. It seemed as though it was not made in house, which is ok, but choose a pastry vendor with a little more style and panache than this one.
This is a pricey restaurant although I hear the prices dropped recently. I’ve savoured Chef Paul Vanderpools cooking before at the Bridge Street Café so I know he is capable of good things. Kitchen consistency needs tweaking a bit, especially at this price point. I would go back.

Went here on a whim with the bf, we were headed in the same direction and thought we would try something new. I googled quiche and their menu came up… I didn’t have the quiche — I digress.
Small chic resto, clean cut, table cloths and napkins (always prefer that to paper and sticky tables). Our server was super friendly, bilingual (which is fantastic as my bf is francophone). Felt a little under dressed for the occasion but server out us at ease.
Portions were huge! Had the breakfast burger with pork patty, avocado, tomato and lettuce on a bun served with light salad and I added hash browns — no ketchup but an awesome salsa Dealio.
Bf had the Quattro which for eggs Bennie one with crab, lobster, pork and lastly with steak. Salad on the side and hashbrowns.
So only downside was we waited a little long for our meals (time measured by my three cups of awesome coffee).
Price was on point everything was fresh and made in house (from what I could tell). Will venture back again to this establishment and try out their other menus soon enough!

DO NOT GO THERE! My husband and I both agree: we may have had tonight one of the worst meal we have ever had. Very disappointing. We used to go to Urban Pear a few years back. We now understand that their is a new owner and chef. This is no more the Urban Pear we used to go to. The Ahi tuna appetizer was very unappealing. The tuna tasted fishy and was brown. The presentation was not good. The entre was sea bass. The presentation in this case was ok but the fish tasted fishy, was rubbery and slimy. For the first time ever, we actually left our main course barely touched in our plates, told the server we did not like it and asked for the bill. They did not charge us for the entre which we appreciated and did ask for our feedback, which we gave, but we will never go back again.

We were recently in Ottawa and stopped in at The Urban Pear for lunch. As we pulled into the parking lot I wasn’t sure if they were open as I could see that there was no one inside. We figured we’d give it a try and they were open. Odd, there was no one else there which makes you feel strange right off. Either the manager or owner sat us at a table and then proceeded to talk to someone in the back. We had to wait to get menus when we were literally the only people there.
Once we got the menus the guy decided to tell us his life story and was off again. Ambiance was awful and we felt very strange. You would think being the only people in the place that we would get great service. We never stayed. Won’t be back.

Good was good, service ok. My pet peeve is waiting too long for food and bring served my food after guests who arrived 10 minutes after me.

Nice ambience and waitstaff. I ordered the filet mignon. It was not cooked as requested (I like it medium well), as it was a thick cut and very pink on the inside. It was not hot either, and had a strange soft texture to it.
Probably won’t return as the quality was underwhelming given the price point.

the crab cake benny was brilliant! crab cakes in place of english muffins. excellent hollandaise. lovely sunny atmosphere!

Excellent food– several entrees on menu, changes every few days. My cousins live in Ottawa and are regulars here! Oh yeah– as a side note, the flavor of the butter that comes with the bread changes as well. This time it was lemon coriander and delicious!

I had a lovely lunch here a couple of weeks ago. I would knock it down one star for being way overpriced (the food is good — but not that good) and another star for the atmosphere, which I found fairly bland and unappealing.
The menu is very good — small but diverse. Unfortunately they got my order wrong and brought me entirely the wrong dish, but I can’t even fault the server for that one. I’m sure she would have been gracious and apologetic if I’d mentioned it, but the salad that she brought me instead looked really good, and was much healthier, so I just rolled with it.
Fantastic coffee and teas.

Overall, the food is above is average, but this establishment seems entirely out of place in Ottawa (even in the Glebe), and is very overpriced for what you get. The antipasto appetizer platter has some tasty morsels, but it is small and sorely lacking on what should be the main ingredients. The salads are OK but the descriptions on the menu are misleading so be sure to ask your server clarify what’s actually in the salad and what makes up the dressing. Finally, the main courses are filled with all sorts of «wonderful» ingredients, but the meat portions are tiny and severely overpriced. It’s not that people shouldn’t try this place, but they should be prepared to spend a lot of money and maybe leave a little hungry.

Had a very pleasant brunch experience here. The quality of the food is outstanding and the service is top notch. My only complaint is with the uninspired and limited wine selection. Otherwise, everything was perfect. I’ll be back.

Yum. Went for dinner with friends recently and was treated to a wonderful meal. The food was amazing. Great wine list! The service was attentive but and yes there is a but, the seating sucks. They need to improve the comfort level of their seating. They have quick lunch sitting in a restaurant that promotes their ‘dinner/​wine’ menu. There is also the odd car headlight from the adjacent parking lot a few feet away that shines in your eyes directly.
I would still frequent despite those few small items. I will simply BYOP — ‘bring my own pillow’ for my bottom. They still won my loyalty! I will be back.

Pros: Great flavors, some very delicate, some bold and strong.
Cons: Small portion sizes, bad cuts of meat, so-​so service and high prices.
We’ve had anitpasti platter in the past, and they’ve always been fun and exciting. They almost set the tone for the main courses, so when the platter at Urban Pear didn’t mean expectations, we were a bit disappointed. But figured, with the entrées costing between $ 30-​$ 40, they were saving the best for last.
Antipasti platter: Almost everything was pickled, and left a very salty taste in the mouth. The only meat on the platter, and the best part was the ‘home made’ chorizo sausage, but there were barely 6 thinly shaved bits. Roasted garlic — meh! Pickled shallots — meh! Big hunks of Canadian Bree — meh!
The best anitpasti platter we’ve had so far has been at The Fusion Bistro… very interesting items and tons of fun.
The main courses were a bit of a let down as well. We shared a short rib roast and the Duck.
Short Rib Roast: looked great when it arrived, but boy was the meat fatty. Whenever we did find the real meat, it was delicious and very tender. The rest of the platter was excellent. The broth, the celery purée, and the veggies were very well crafted, and complimented each other.
The Duck: Medium Rare like the staff suggested, on a bed of red cabbage, in a delicious and delicate wine reduction sauce. But there was something missing, some protein or starch because the taste of duck and cabbage got boring very quickly. The meat also was a bit tough, and fatty. Again, we had very high expectations since the plate cost $ 36.
The flavors were very well crafted but the choices of meat really let the dishes down.
The waiting staff were alright, none of them were in the mood to smile very much, or converse about the food.
The menu on the website isn’t up-​to-​date, so don’t make up your mind about what you’d like to eat before see the menu at the restaurant.

UP had been recommended to us by others who really know their food. Despite a few small missteps, it did not disappoint.
Wine list is good but they need to throw a bone to the under $ 30 a bottle crowd. (Although they will bundle up your leftovers and send them home with you if you don’t finish the bottle.)
We had a nice Sandbanks Baco Noir and had no trouble finishing…
In the appetizer round, my husband had the grilled scallops and I had the calamari. His scallops were perfectly seared and nestled in a great sauce of miso, anise, maybe some coconut milk and something that turned it a wine colour (maybe wine?). Better even better than the scallops was the fresh corn and hazlenut crêpe on the side. We could have eaten a plate of just these.
My calamari was nicely grilled and crunchy on a a white bean and garlic purée with a salsa of heirloom tomatoes and peaches, as well as a dribble of (wait for it) nasturtium pesto.
What spared this good appetizer from being great was the chill on the purée which cooled off the calamari on top pretty effectively and dulled the flavors of the dish. It did not have to be heated but even room temperature purée would have made this a stand out.
Round 2 mains were medium-​rare lamb loin with tzatziki, grilled patty pan squash and a very interesting grilled polenta cake. Everything went together very well in this dish — and the polenta cake was especially tasty.
For Round 2, my husband had a great grilled salmon (crispy skin and outer flesh, but moist and buttery inside). It was served with some good grilled green beans and a decadent roasted potato and chevre mix. Both of us thought we won this round so high fives around the table.
Round 3, my husband went experimental and tried the nut perogies with ground cherries and vanilla ice cream. The nut filling was great, as were the cherries and the ice cream but the perogies were just too noodley (I know, what do you expect from perogies?) This dish would have been more successful if the filling had been baked into a short crust empanada style or fried like a samosa (mmm).
My dessert was what I understand to be an urban pear classic — chai tea, blueberry crème brule with spiced cream and a tiny, perfect, homemade ginger cookie. It was sublime. The brule is kind of a funky grey colour because of the blueberries but it’s not hard to get past this. The only thing that saved this dish from perfection was (again) the chill on the brule — warm where the crust had been carmelized but chilly down below.
Excellent meal. We will go back again. Like that the chef pushes the envelope and even if he/​she doesn’t always hit 100 percent, the 90 percent dishes are still pretty good.

Went here based on numerous positive reviews, both online and from colleagues. Was expecting something really special, but instead got something just rather decent. The décor is nice, kinda cosy. The service the night I went was just ok, the lady serving us wasn’t rude or anything, but she certainly wasn’t really helpful either. Gave us the menus, came back asked what we wanted to drink, then came back a bit later and asked if we were ready to order — took our orders and left.
Didn’t ask if we had questions, talked about specials, recommendations, didn’t chat us up at all… Basically felt like diner service and not fine dining service.
The food itself was unfortunately just meh. Yes the ingredients all seemed very fresh and made in house (homemade pickles, etc.), but having good, local, organic ingredients alone doesn’t ensure a great dish. You still need to put everything together creatively and in a way that makes sense. I ordered beef and it was essentially a grilled piece of sliced beef sitting on what felt like a vegetarian dish. It didn’t feel like one, harmonious dish.

It is here that I ate one of the tastiest vegetarian meals I have ever had. It was fairly simply (a tomato stuffed with quinoa topped with brie cheese on a bed of spinach, mushroom and garlic) but the quality, freshness, and especially the presentation were outstanding. But carnivores don’t fear, the vegetarian option was only one of the five choices that were available for dinner that night and the salmon and pork were thoroughly enjoyed by others in my group.
But don’t go and expect to see the dish described above, this restaurant has a seasonal menu and so changes fairly often. The art inside the simple, small, yet cozy interior also changes with different artists being featured every couple of months.
The only downside was that kitchen was behind on our night causing a delay of our food. But our lovely waitress picked up the tab for our teas/​coffees making this wait forgivable. However don’t expect all this to come cheap, you will be putting down a pretty penny here, but it should be well worth it.

The Urban Pear is one of the most delicious and inventive restaurants in the Glebe. They have an ever changing menu with creative dishes made by well respected chefs using all local ingredients when possible. The atmosphere is usually cheery and a bit romantic at night. They also have an open patio during appropriate seasons. Unfortunately, the location is at the tail end of a dance studio, Canadian Tire and bakery off Bank Street and it doesn’t really have a good view of anything but a parking lot and the Loeb. It’s not quite the location you’d hope for when splurging on a pricey meal.
Oh yes, the prices are pretty high and the portions aren’t enormous. The set hours are also very sporadic, so it’s frustrating to show up and realize they’re closed for some reason that day when they were open at the same time the day before. However, in the end, this place is usually worth the trip. I’d especially recommend this as a place to go for a one on one supper.