Centretown’s Fairouz will be going head-to-head with recently opened dining spots from across the country in a bid to earn acclaim as one of Canada’s “best new restaurants.”
Making its way onto the list began with a preliminary contest with other restaurants in Ottawa’s busy downtown.
Thirty-five Canadian locations that opened between June 2015 and June 2016 are competing for the title in Air Canada’s EnRoute magazine competition. Datsun, another Centretown restaurant, is also in the running.
They were chosen by a panel of leading food professionals, including journalists, television per-sonalities, restaurant owners and food bloggers from across Canada. The top 10 businesses that garner the most votes online in the coming weeks will be narrowed down by EnRoute’s food writer, and will win a spot in the November issue of the magazine.
In such a competitive industry, there has to be something unique about a restaurant for it to stand out. The staff at Fairouz believe they have what it takes.
The restaurant, which features British-Palestinian chef Walid El-Tawel’s Middle-Eastern-fusion cuisine, opened in April and has been gaining a following among local customers. Fairouz was inspired by another popular Lebanese restaurant, also named Fairouz, which was located on Somerset Street West from the early 1990s to the mid-2000s.
El-Tawel describes the menu as a “modern journey through the Middle East.”
“The food, wine, décor and service are all paying homage to an age-old cuisine that has been revitalized” by the Fairouz team, said El-Tawel, including owners, Dr. Hussain Rahal and Tony Garcia, designer Kayla Prognac and manager Adam Weiss.
To provide a unique twist to their business, they incorporate what El-Tawel calls “age-old fla-vours” into their dishes. He said they also use certain culinary techniques and service strategies that pay respect to the Middle Eastern culture.
El-Tawel said that opening the restaurant, despite its success so far, was challenging.
“The men behind the vision, Dr. Rahal and Tony Garcia, knew it was a gamble doing something the city has never had,” he said.
Derek Crain, chair of the Somerset Village Business Improvement Area, agrees that it can be a challenge for restaurants in this area to compete.
“It’s really important for restaurants in a central area to build a reputation,” he said, adding that competitions such as this one are another way of doing just that. “I think it’s a good way to stim-ulate an interest because it’s impacting the bottom line for these places and they can see a direct benefit.”
Crain said that the Somerset Village BIA, though small, is helping the modest grouping of res-taurants in this area by establishing an overall ambience. They have two main groups to focus on, one being the “noon-hour business group” and the other being the evening group. These two times bring in the most profit and the most growth, according to Crain.
The BIA is also using a lighting and streetscape program to encourage visitors to feel comforta-ble coming to the area at night.
Even though opening a restaurant in a popular Centretown dining area could be particularly tough given the number of competitors, El-Tawel says it was a good start from day one because there was a lot of anticipation surrounding their launch.
“Centretown has been good to us,” he said. “I believe this is a great block of restaurants and we are happy to be part of such a historic and great neighbourhood.”
As a result of social media buzz about the competition, El-Tawel said the restaurant has enjoyed an increase in customers and sales.
“We’ve always been so busy, but this took us over the top,” he said. “Ottawans are really rallying behind us and supporting their local restaurants and showing Canada we have a great restaurant right here in the nation’s capital.”
Fairouz’s other competition in Ottawa is Datsun. This Asian-inspired restaurant is best known for its papaya salad and artistic Japanese décor. Owner Matt Carmichael and his co-chef Jordan Holley, who were unavailable for comment, opened up the restaurant right next door to their Mexican tavern, El Camino.
The magazine contest wrapped up Sept. 30 and winners will be revealed in November.
Further details can be found at http://eatandvote.com.