Opened last fall in the Holiday Inn beside Kanata Centrum, the premium casual eatery is part of a Montreal-based chain.
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Chez Lionel
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Open: Monday to Friday 6:30 a.m. to 10 p.m., Saturday and Sunday 7 a.m. to 10 p.m.
Prices: appetizers $10 to $24, mains $24 to $42
Access: fully accessible
I’m having a hard time framing my thoughts about Chez Lionel, which opened last fall in the Holiday Inn & Suites Ottawa Kanata.
As restaurants in the high-volume, premium casual category go — think Joey’s, Moxie’s, Milestones Grill and Bar — its made-from-scratch food was pretty good, if uneven, while its service was just ordinary.
As hotel restaurants go, it’s better than many in Ottawa, especially at a Holiday Inn and especially when it comes to its freshly renovated ambience.
As restaurants in Kanata go, it’s probably good enough to discourage western suburbanites from driving into Ottawa for dinner out. A packed house on a recent Saturday night certainly left that impression. But I don’t know if Chez Lionel sparkles enough to persuade central Ottawans to head west, unless they’re also shopping at the nearby Kanata Centrum.
As far as brasseries in Ottawa go — those being large, informal, convivial, French eateries — it could well be the best. Mind you, there’s just one other brasserie in Ottawa. Two, if you count the one that has a haggis roll on its menu.
It’s a far cry from the brasserie in Paris where I ate last year.
But it’s also a laudable iteration of the made-in-Quebec brasserie concept behind four other Chez Lionel locations that have opened in the last dozen years in Montreal’s suburbs.
Chez Lionel is one of a dozen or so brands held by the Montreal-based Groupe Grandio restaurant group, which has more than 3,800 employees at more than 55 locations in Quebec. James Denis, general manager of the Chez Lionel in Kanata, says the hotel and Groupe Grandio are partners and that his restaurant will soon offer room service for hotel guests.
When the Chez Lionel in Kanata opened last October, it replaced Graffiti’s Italian Eatery, which ended its 24-year run in late 2023. The old restaurant was gutted and nine months of renovation followed. Now, a sleek, high-ceilinged space holds about 100 people at tables and two dozen more at a four-sided bar.
The room feels modern, relaxed, classy and even a touch ostentatious, thanks to a floor-to-ceiling showcase of wines behind a glass wall near its entrance. Retro brasserie touches include chandeliers, globe lighting and blocky, wooden tables that bear the Chez Lionel logo.