Ruby's, an upscale ByWard Market newcomer, makes a strong debut

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Maitake mushroom at Ruby’s. Photo by Tony Caldwell /Postmedia

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Warm farro salad at Ruby’s. Photo by Tony Caldwell /Postmedia

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A summery scallop crudo ($30) was a dish of thoughtful contrasts, combining seaweed-cured seafood with pickled cucumbers, sweet compressed canatloupe, sea buckthorn salt and cool minty granita.

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Scallop crudo at Ruby’s. Photo by Tony Caldwell /Postmedia

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But the beef tartare ($27) — a classic rendition topped with shavings of cured egg yolk and served with waffle chips — made us pause and hem and haw. For one thing, too much saltiness overtook other flavours. Also, the waffle chips were room-temp and a little squishy, suffering in comparison with the beef tartare with fried-to-order tortilla chips I recently had at Little Bones, to name one better dish.

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Beef tartare with cured egg yolk and waffle chips at Ruby’s. Photo by Peter Hum / POSTMEDIA

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Of the larger dishes, the 20-ounce striploin steak with bordelaise sauce, plus fries with malt vinegar aioli ($155) needed to impress. Happily, it did. The steak was admirably charred, tender, but beefy; the bordelaise made it better, and the chunky fries were properly cooked and nicely offset by the lightly vinegary aioli.

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Ontario striploin (20 ounces) with bordelaise sauce at Ruby’s. Photo by Peter Hum / POSTMEDIA

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Steak cut fries with malt vinegar aioli at Ruby’s. Photo by Peter Hum / POSTMEDIA

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We also shared a grilled branzino ($65). It was nicely cooked so that its skin was crisp and its flesh was moist, and its beurre blanc was as luxurious as it needed to be.

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Grilled branzino with preserved lemon, beurre blanc at Ruby’s. Photo by Peter Hum /POSTMEDIA

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Desserts here were, in a word, optional. They ticked off the box as sweet meal-enders, but savoury dishes here definitely outclassed them. Chocolate pot de crème ($14) made the best impression thanks to its welcome seam of saltiness. Olive oil cake ($16), topped with cream and berries, was fine, if modestly sized. Oliebollen ($12), the Dutch equivalent of beignets and paired with a one-note rum raisin sauce, were so-so.

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Chocolate pot de crème at Ruby’s. Photo by (Peter Hum / POSTMEDIA)

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Olive oil cake with berries and cream at Ruby’s. Photo by Peter Hum /POSTMEDIA

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Oliebollen, with rum raisin sauce at Ruby’s. Photo by Peter Hum /POSTMEDIA

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Given what it inherited from Oz Kafe — majestic stone walls, imposing wood beams — Ruby’s could only be a fetching restaurant. Still, Vezina has renovated extensively, adding rounded wooden tables and red banquettes, redoing the floor and installing eight-seat bars on each level. The ground-level dining room, which seats about 40, is more conventional. The upstairs space is more Belmont-y, which is to say, more in-your-face with kitschy decorations. “It’s like a ’70s ski chalet,” our server said.

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Ruby’s is at 10 York St. in the ByWard Market in Ottawa. Photo by Tony Caldwell /Postmedia

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Upstairs at Ruby’s in the ByWard Market. Photo by Tony Caldwell /Postmedia

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She also told us, as soon as we arrived, that the restaurant was going to get loud. She was right, and the difficulties we had hearing each other speak happened sooner rather than later. The loudness at Ruby’s is my one big complaint about it.

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Ruby’s is far from the only too-loud restaurant in town. I get letters from readers asking me which restaurants combine great food with great acoustics. Vezina says he’s aware of the issue, and he’s looking into ways to tame the sounds that bounce off Ruby’s hard surfaces.

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Acoustics aside, Ruby’s has made a strong debut and the seasoned hands behind it can only make it better. In the category of upscale, crowd-pleasing, elevated-but-not-too-fancy eateries in the ByWard Market, it’s a newcomer worth seriously considering, and that can only benefit a neighbourhood in need of attractions.

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Ruby’s

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Ruby’s at 10 York St. in the ByWard Market in Ottawa. Photo by Tony Caldwell /Postmedia

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Open: Tuesday to Thursday and Sunday 5 to 10 p.m., Friday, Saturday 5 to 11 p.m., closed Monday

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Prices: snacks and small plates $8 to $30, mains $28 to $175

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Access: Restaurant is on two floors. Stairs to second floor, but ground floor is fully wheelchair-accessible

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