Today, I went for brunch at The Soca Kitchen. I was impressed.
A Spanish fusion restaurant, the feel of the place is relaxed. The decor is woody, giving it a rustic feel, but with luxe touches of rich colour. The space is dominated by the bar, and the table as larger - wider than you usually find a table for two to be. The reason for this can be explained in one word: tapas.
Although made for sharing, my dining companion today is a pescatarian (fish, no meat) and I was most interested in the meaty options. I found that two or three dishes make a nice meal.
First up for me was jamon iberico de bellotta. Acorn fed iberico ham, perhaps one of the most prized (meaning expensive) cured meats in the world. And man, is it worth it. The lifestyle the pig leads to gain that prized appellation has a big effect on the taste of the meat. The lifestyle being free range, foraging in old oak forests in a particular region for those tasty, tasty acorns, as well as grasses, roots, and other foresty things that delight a pampered pig's palate. Then, it is cured and aged for up to 4 years. Today's iberico was a 36 month ham. The result is a deep red meat, well marbled with pure white fat, rather than the more familiar solid pink of ham with all the fat in the cap. The flavour is unlike any ham I have ever had. The only way to describe it is to say you can really taste the acorn. The texture is unbelievable. It melts in your mouth. Served with grainy mustard, a guava sauce, crostini and pickled grapes (interesting) and cauliflower, this dish was a home run.
Calamar a la plancha is squid flash fried on a hot iron plate (the plancha). Served with crispy fried shallots and pea shoots, on a bed of citrus yogurt with some herb oil, this dish was also a winner. The squid was cooked perfectly, and the creamy citrus yogurt provided the perfect hint of acid to brighten the whole dish. And I am always a huge fan of any kind of crispy fried onion.
My last dish was an arepa, filled with morcilla (blood sausage) and a habanero pickled cabbage. An arepa is a thin, crispy corn cake, split and filled often with some sort of meat. Morcilla is a Spanish blood sausage. I am most familiar with the English breakfast staple as far as blood sausage goes, but I always enjoy opportunities to try a different take on the same basic ingredient. This was a good dish, but not quite on the same level as the other two. The reason for this is that once you got past the spicy pickled cabbage, which packed some significant heat because of the habaneros, the dish was a bit bland. I think the arepa could have done with a bit more salt, and the morcilla could have been a crispier. I also think the heat of the cabbage made it more difficult to appreciate the more subtle flavour of the morcilla.
Once dish my friend and I did split was stuffed piquillo peppers. Not a super-spicy pepper, there is still a bit of heat, and it was stuffed with gooey, bubbly melted cheese, and topped with something crisp and sweet that just made the dish. They disappeared before I thought to get a pic.
My friend greatly enjoyed her albacore tuna ceviche, beet salad, bread with tomatoes. She also tried the Old Bay braised prawns, and once she got past the head on, shell on presentation, found they were good. They had a nice size.
Everything was beautifully plated, and the service was good, the server knowledgable. I will definitely be back to The Soca Kitchen, and recommend you check it out, too, if you haven't already!
Make a reservation
Order online
Find the best restaurant in Ottawa
An error has occurred! Please try again in a few minutes