Last weekend, we decided to go on a fancy date night (ie. not Vietnamese food, which you guys know I'm obsessed with) and hit up Rare in Kanata. Marco had been once but it was my first time and it did not disappoint...
When you walk in, the mood is quickly set with blue lighting and walls, a grand piano and a comfy lounge area for when they have live music (every Saturday).
The bar to the right--empty by the time we were leaving--is huge, dark and moody. It would be a great spot to grab drinks with the girls if it's too chilly to sit on their massive and beautiful patio.
We sat down and took our time with the menu but when the food started to roll in, it was such a treat. The calamari might be the best I've ever tried, and I consider myself somewhat seasoned in calamari-trying, ha. It was crunchy, meaty and had some spice to it. The best part was the heaping pile of grilled veggies underneath it to accompany every other bite if you wanted.
We also had the crab cakes and the dipping sauce was awesome--a may-o, seasoned dip. It comes with a small side salad that we didn't even touch because we were getting full before our dinner had even arrived. I would definitely order the calamari again and would love to try the escargot or scallops next time.
Our server was amazing, which always makes the experience ten times more enjoyable. She greeted us pleasantly, had all the special down, let us take our time and did several quality checks. She was attentive without being overbearing and also knew her stuff. Having been a server myself many years ago, this is something I always appreciate.
We both ordered steaks and you have a choice of grilled veggies or parmesan fries. The veggies were plentiful, al dente and had an amazing variety from squash, to zucchini, carrots, beans, asparagus, broccoli, red pepper, potato and a small inverted sweet beet salad (it tasted kind of like apple pie without the guilt!).
Overall, amazing experience and we will definitely go back. The food was fantastic and the steaks were done just right. The service was top notch and the restaurant itself is quite beautiful, including the bathrooms. We even saw a wedding party of about 10, having their late night dinner there, which was so sweet.
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