At Ek Bar, a top chef elevates Ottawa’s culinary scene

After a while in this business, your body, rather than just your palate, tells you when the food is first-rate. When a dish is so flawless, it bypasses the critical faculties and is just understood to be the pinnacle expression of said dish. You just don’t know how it could be better. I call this “effortless eating”.

That was my experience at Ek Bar, where Indian cuisine has a few other Asian and even Mexican influences that never demonstrate a misfire. Once more, Chef Teegavarapu Sarath Mohan shows Ottawans why he’s one of the city’s finest chefs. He’s previously helmed the critically acclaimed restaurants Vivaan and Kātha.

Over the years, I’ve enjoyed his food as small bites at a variety of culinary events, and over and over, he’s never failed to impress. He has an uncommon sensibility that allows for combinations of flavours and textures that land as both exciting and new on your palate.

Ek Bar is the latest project of Toronto-based Michelin star Chef Hemant Bhagwani. During his career, he’s reported to have opened a remarkable 60+ restaurants, and with the incredibly talented Chef Mohan as business partner, they’ve created one of the most exciting dining experiences of 2025.

The idea here is to showcase Bhagwani’s innovations with Mohan’s expert execution against a classic and at times, inventive cocktail list. 

The cocktails are priced a little higher than at most restaurants, but in terms of quality of ingredients, presentation, and selection of glassware, the effort warrants the pricing.

The Smoked Manhattan came presented under a glass cloche in a fog of wood smoke that, once removed, spilled the fog across the table, setting up the palate for the deliciousness to come. 

As a bit of a surprise, an amuse bouche of coconut sorbet with flakes of black maldon salt and extra virgin olive oil arrived. It reminded me of the fresh cut coconut my father dispatched, after draining it, using a machete. It was an inspired take and I don’t know that I’ll ever appreciate coconut sorbet any other way.

Oysters at Ek Bar are from PEI and of the smaller variety known as Fiona’s Fury. I enjoy the smaller oysters for their briny concentration and ease of consumption. 

They were served with a curry leaf ponzu, adding an Indo-Japanese fusion to the experience. The ponzu was an outright winner, providing fireworks of umami, and the balance was so fine, I’m not afraid to share that I spooned the remainder straight into my gob.

I braced myself for the next course. A brochette of chicken breast. After turkey, for me, it ranks as the most consistently ill-prepared meat on earth. 

It’s a testament to Mohan's skill that I would order his Makhan chicken tikka time and again. The chicken was plump and moist with seasoning that married with the yogurt whey and chaat masala (a mix of a dozen ingredients, including cumin, coriander, ginger, fennel seeds and mango powder). It had been double-marinated, and the light char from the grill added the final taste sensation.

Finally, I double-checked my notes, and I’d written, “If this isn’t one of the best things this year!”

The shrimp balchao toast offered a bite and drink experience for two that was inventive and challenged the taster’s expectations. 

The mildly tangy and fruity shrimp done in tamarind and served on challa toast was, in fact, quite the taste explosion paired with a small glass of wheat beer. 

It’s this creativity that will have you returning to experience more.

For those of us who are omnivores, we know that beef prices have risen dramatically. Lamb these days, price-wise, is on a similar trajectory, so the question is often, “would I order this at a restaurant?”

Given the quality and the amount of work put into the lamb shank Nihari, the answer is an unequivocal “yes.” Marinated in a mix of spices and braised overnight and finished with rose essence and saffron, this dish delivered a sensuous and comforting, fall-off-the-bone experience that was sufficient for two. It was deep and tender enough to inspire cuddling with a loved one.

As I’m not generally a dessert person, I finished off the evening uncommonly with what was described as an “Indian tiramisu” Shahi Tukda. It was just enough of a tease that I gave in.

Like tiramisu, it had a base of lady finger biscuits, which was then layered with various forms of astonishing dairy. Cardamom mascarpone, rose-infused milk and pistachio cream came together to form the greatest single dessert in years. All from the mind of 20-year-old pastry chef Diksha Verma.

From the mindful service courtesy of Amina to the expertly prepared cocktails and food from the talented kitchen, Ek Bar belies the notion that it is geared towards simply a younger crowd of social media junkies.

Aesthetically, it may very well fit into that space, but the experience is anything but superficial. The people who work here are delivering serious food and drink not just for experienced tasters, but for those interested in learning that Ottawa can hold its own with some of Canada’s best.