Sweet Grass

Name: Sweetgrass Aboriginal Bistro
Address: 108 Murray Street, Ottawa
Hours: Lunch: Tues- Sat 11:30 - 14:00; Dinner: Mon -Sun 17:30 - 22:00
Contact: 613.562.3683
Parking: Not Available (Downtown Street Parking)
Price: $45-70

The atmosphere excites you as you pass down the narrow entrance with all those native art on the wall. They are all up for purchase, including beautiful earnings, prices are very reasonable.


The first thing you notice is the small open area of a beautiful bar (on the left) and a half open kitchen (straight ahead).
Everything is nicely tied in with the theme.

Besides the usual starter of bread they also give us a bucket of popcorn which I think is pretty neat for a new change.
This bread is very tasty. It taste more like tea biscuit and bread mix. I would prefer it much better if it is warmed up.
This bread is very tasty. It taste more like tea biscuit and bread mix. I would prefer it much better if it is warmed up.


Elk Dumpling (In between dishes) $14
Slow cooked elk stuffed dumplings, sautéed mushrooms and spring onions, mustard crème fraiche.
It is a very good starter. The mushroom is the most tasty of all. The creme fraiche is a made just right to compliment the rich tasty mushroom and the dumpling. The greens help neutralize the rich mushroom prepare a clean scent for a bite into the Elk Dumpling.
Elk is a very light flavor meat one might think the taste would be lost among other strong ingredients, but surprisingly they complimented each other perfectly. The meat is tender and the dumpling is crispy and everything else score a perfect mark from me.

Alaskan Crab Cakes $12
Cucumber Dill Sauce, lemon lime Vinaigrette, butterfly sky farms micro greens

This is a marvelous crab cake. Like Lobster Bisque, I personally would not prefer a good crab being cook this way, quite a waste. However, it is better then any other crab cake I imagine. The vinaigrette and cucumber help tone down the heaviness of the dish. Plus it helps give a crunchy vegetable texture when you give a bite.
Native Dark Beer
Although I did not have it, I was told it is quite good.

Grilled Pheasant Supreme $26
Barbecue glazed with “Risotto Style” Potatoes and Wild Greens

I was confuse on the "Risotto Style" Potatoes until I see this dish. It is wonderful the potato is diced into little bits and serve with a creamy sauce.
The Wild Greens that are on top of the Potatoes are just cooked Roman Lettuce. Cooked Roman Lettuce is a bit bitter, but it is alright when it is combine with the potatoes.
The Grilled Pheasant is good. It has more tasteful then a chicken. The texture is good, not at all dry, but I believe it can be better.
The brown sauce at the bottom of the dish is a sweet sauce. It could be less sweet to better match with the light chicken meat.
Butter Poached Lobster and Pan Seared Scallops $28
New potatoes, Christophes Mushrooms, Pickled Wild Garlic and Green Beans

I did not order this dish, but it is very nice to look at and I am sure it taste good, according to my fellow diners. The scallop is huge.

Pickle Patch Farm Organic Lamb Plate $28 (Grilled)

This is my first time having organic meat. It is definitely a lot more flavorful and much tenderer then regular lamb meat. It is cooked perfectly. The sauce is similar to the pheasant dish, but it goes a lot better with the lamb.
Unfortunately, this is only one out of three lamb dishes on the table that turn out good. The others has the tendons in the meat, making it very chewy and difficult to eat.

Rosemary Crème Brulee $8 With Raspberry Compote
From what I have heard it is way too sweet.

Warren’s Jamaican Rum Bread Pudding $9
Served warm with butterscotch ice cream and caramel sauce.

The bread pudding is dense and heavy with rum. I found it delicious in but would much prefer it if it is cake instead. The butterscotch ice cream is not too sweet. Everything in combine is similar to the White Chocolate Brownie experience in Moxie's.