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| - Otto has its home in the W Hotel in Montreal, and despite the chic lobby, bar and restaurant, Otto, for the most part, delivers good food without frills.
I've dined at the restaurant four times in four years, and since 2004, the kitchen has matured and the menu has freshened a couple of times (not counting seasonal shifts). Chef Nick D'Onofrio took over the kitchen in 2006, and since then, the restaurant shifted from a menu of Italian fusion, to something more traditional.
The core is now firmly Italian cuisine - respectable pastas, Osso Bucco, several fish dishes, rack of lamb. The starters are fine - tuna tartare, beef tartare, salads, tempura seafood.
One doesn't expect to be dazzled by hotel dining, and one can certainly note the higher prices typical of hotel restaurants, but Otto gives a reputable meal, with a wine list that represents France and Italy nicely, but features little in the way of California wines beyond commodity brands like Mondavi, Kendall Jackson, and Sebastiani. (You'll find this often in Montreal restaurants.)
If you're staying at the W Hotel or nearby, or you've had enough to drink in the cool W bar and you'd rather crawl a short distance to dinner (we appreciate both circumstances), you're more than likely to be pleased with the results.
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