The Ivy: rustic retreat with upscale taste

IVY LEA, Ontario — We discovered an excellent restaurant here in Ivy Lea.

It's called, very simply, the Ivy, and it's on the sprawling 45-acre grounds of the Ivy Lea Club. You wind your way through the property past numerous upscale rustic rental cottages and two sheltered marinas until you finally reach the restaurant, perched on a knoll overlooking the Canadian channel of the St. Lawrence River.

It's a striking building inside and out. Massive post-and-beam construction lends to a tall, open, inviting interior. It reminded us of an Adirondack lodge — tree branches protruding like antlers from the wall for decoration — with a panoramic view of the river from most tables.

An ongoing extensive renovation of the grounds and a portion of the restaurant prevented the seasonal eatery from opening in the spring. It had been up and running for only three weeks when we visited, which could account for some glitches in service.

But we were about to enjoy an ambitious menu with the right balance of sophisticated yet unfussy cuisine, ingredient combinations that would tease and please the palate, and plate presentations that would further enhance meticulously prepared food.

A pleasant but strangely harried host greeted us. We were quite early for our reservation and asked if we could sit outside and have a drink on the patio. No, he replied in his "I'm-in-charge-here-and-you'll-darn-well-do-it-my-way" tone of voice.

"All those tables are reserved."

So Mr. Maitre d' ushered us to the restaurant bar. It was a handsome bar, and on a cold winter night I could easily take up residency right there. But it was a beautiful summer night outdoors, and those empty patio tables were crying out for occupants.

So, in true brazen American style, we asked a passing waitress if it would be OK if we occupied one of the unoccupied tables on the patio. "Oh, yes, of course," she replied. "I'll bring your drinks out to you."

Now what was so hard about that?

Forty-five minutes later, we had self-maneuvered our own enjoyable cocktail hour and were on our way to our table in the dining room.

Our waitress, Veronica, was pleasant, personable and pretty much on her game.

First, the menu.

There are 14 items in all, including appetizers, soup, salads and entrées. If I worked in a restaurant kitchen, that's the kind of menu I'd like to prepare — allowing plenty of time to devote special attention to each dish.

We began with two appetizers that looked like they'd be easy to share, "blazing" California roll ($11) and Moroccan bisteeya ($10).

Before they arrived, an "amuse bouche," or gift from the kitchen, was delivered to our table. An amuse bouche usually consists of small, bite-sized hors d'oeuvres.

In this case, we enjoyed a small dollop of pecan mousse cradled in a crisp piece of maple bacon (and their sweet and salty interplay) supported by a square of toasted crostini. A prelude of things to come.

The Ivy's version of bisteeya was a bit nontraditional. Rather than being a phyllo-wrapped pie, the filling was wrapped with phyllo into a cylinder and cut into disks. The filling consisted of duck confit, ground almonds and mango. Hoisin sauce, not usually associated with Moroccan cooking, covered most of the plate under the bisteeya pieces, giving them a good "zing."

The phyllo was fragile and flaky, as it should be. A little pile of very finely diced pieces of mango topped with shoots was a nice visual touch.

The California roll wasn't exactly "blazing" (unless you smeared some of the little wasabi ball on your piece), almost dull compared to the bisteeya. But it was nonetheless enjoyable, allowing for the taste of real crab to come through.

A basket of bread contained one slice per person, but there was no hesitation to bring more when we asked. The butter was a work of art. Several marble-sized balls of butter were rolled in paprika, others in poppy seeds, some plain. A unique and colorful presentation.

Entrées were very different dishes with some interesting and inventive pairings of ingredients.

Mushroom-crusted halibut ($31) had a smattering of lovely wild mushroom duxelle (a mushroom/shallot paste) pressed into the top side of the thick and smallish portion of fish. The halibut was cooked perfectly, flaking at the slightest prod of the fork.

It was set atop a bed of finely chopped Brussels sprouts and pulled barbecued baby back rib meat. The smoky and tangy pork and the bitter Brussels sprouts, oddly enough, worked with the mild, white halibut.

Roasted pheasant supreme ($30) was a great presentation, two bone-in pieces carefully placed over the chopped Brussels sprouts with the addition of roasted potatoes containing a hint of garlic and small cubes of capocollo (a cured Italian meat similar to capicola). A delicious fig-and-ginger glaze complemented the bird nicely and gave it a little extra needed moisture.

Unassuming-sounding "steak and fries" ($36) was one of the more mainstream- appearing entrées.

A nice portion of Black Angus tenderloin was cooked perfectly to our request of medium-rare, topped with two little slabs of a garlicky herbed butter — a nice extra flavor punch. Truffle french fries were thin, salty and fried-tasting (and we mean that in the best possible way).

Forgive me, but I don't "get" what truffle oil adds to a dish, other than the house being able to charge $10 more for a dish that should really be $26.

Braised Sicilian short ribs ($23) was, again, a bit mainstream but with a twist and a tweak from Chef Robert Gobbo. It's amazing what magic happens when you slow-cook a piece of cheap, fatty meat in wine and stock. The sauce, described as "arrabiata" sauce, really made this dish — tomato-based with a bit of a kick, plus chunks of celery and carrot reminiscent of a beef stew.

It was served over what appeared to be homemade pappardelle, an Italian flat pasta cut into broad ribbons.

Back to creative and inventive: lobster Caramella ($30). This is billed as a pasta dish, with matchstick strips of lobster and butternut squash wrapped in homemade pasta, tossed in a subtle blue cheese cream sauce. A crisp spiral of pancetta added nice flavor and interest to the dish. So did a lobster claw out of its shell. They substituted broccoli florets for grilled rapini specified on the menu, but most people wouldn't know the difference anyway.

The sensible-sized entrée portions allowed for dessert indulgence. Homemade truffles sounded interesting. So did the lemon tart finished with peppered strawberries. And espresso crème brulée was tempting.

But we decided to share homemade doughnuts ($7) and hot sticky toffee pudding ($8).

We were just a little miffed when the doughnuts showed up as doughnut holes. Wouldn't you be? Hey, if you're gonna say you're serving doughnuts, serve me doughnuts. If you're gonna give me doughnut holes, tell me that you're serving doughnut holes, not doughnuts.

OK, I feel better now.

There were five marble-sized doughnut holes filled with Bavarian cream, a very small portion that hardly made up one donut. Tasty little morsels, though. And a great profit maker for the restaurant, I'll bet.

The toffee pudding was another story. The pudding was heavenly, rich and somewhat dense, heavier than some English bread puddings that we've had. But, oh, the maple caramel sauce that surrounded it — more sugar than anyone could ever possibly need. There was some potential for arm wrestling over the last puddles of sauce, but it was a pretty nice place, so we remained on our best behavior.

Dinner for five — two appetizers, entrées for all, two desserts and two coffees — came to $215 in Canadian funds, including Canadian taxes but before tip. The U.S. dollar has a slight advantage against the Canadian dollar right now.

Preparation and presentation of the food were exquisite, although the food was generally overpriced. Food pacing was a bit slow and drawn out. Drinks came slowly, sometimes not at all. We assume this will improve in time as the restaurant and staff get their act together.

Almost forgot — another "gift from the kitchen" at the end of the meal, a plate with five tiny bite-sized brownies.

The Ivy should be a showplace of sorts when finished, with the natural sandstone walks outside and rough-hewn timbers and ceramic tile inside. The food is fabulous. Only the service side needs to catch up and this has the potential to be a five-fork experience.

You can contact restaurant reviewer Walter Siebel via e-mail: wsiebel@wdt.net.

The Ivy

61 Shipman's Lane (off Thousand Islands Parkway)

Ivy Lea, Ontario

1 (613) 659-2486

www.ivylea.ca

Fine dining in an exquisite lodge-type setting overlooking the St. Lawrence River.

HOURS: 5:30 p.m. to 9 p.m. seven days a week

A bistro menu is available on the patio from 11:30 a.m. to 9 p.m.

APPETIZER PICK: Moroccan bisteeya

ENTRÉE PICKS: Lobster caramella; roasted pheasant supreme; wild mushroom-crusted halibut

DESSERT PICK: Hot sticky toffee pudding

RATING: 4 FORKS