Odla – Oct 2019

Went to Odla (Saskatoon) last night for their Oyster night with Canoe Oysters and it was wonderful! I was with another foodie friend of mine and we got:
– Lamb Tortellini w/ pickled grapes
– Beef Tartar
– Oysters from PEI shipped in fresh!
– Poached Trout Special
– Squash Gnocchi

Odla does a great job pushing boundaries it had some theoretically good pairings, but some didn’t quite hit the mark (for me). We had the lamb tortellini dish, that was paired with pickled grapes, caramelized onion and finished with breadcrumbs. Theoretically the pairing made sense with the pickled grapes to balance the richness of the lamb, but it didn’t quite work (for me) the way I think it was intended. I’m not against funky pickle pairings as we had the trout dish special that included pickled mussels that was awesome! The trout was poached in and then the poaching liquid turned into a mayo that it was mixed with, it acted as a spread (almost like a tuna tartare). They clearly know how to balance flavours as the homemade bread provided with the trout dish was perfect to balance out the fishy (in a good way) taste of the poached trout. Without the bread I found it a bit overwhelming (still good, but it needed the bread vehicle). For the oysters I wish smoked salt had been present, it would have been perfect with the brininess of the oysters. We did drop in some champagne to one of the oysters and that was quite yummy! I’m a fiend for salt though, and just a sprinkle always seems to make oysters even better. Although the chili infused vinegar they provided was quite delish! Oysters overall were fantastic, there is a reason they were not “buck a shuck”. We had squash gnocchi, and we added the braised lamb. The only issue with this was that it became fairly rich and I was looking for some relief. Their beef tartar was amazing though, best dish of the night. Couldn’t believe the knife skills on it! Worth every penny (or do we say nickel now?). My friend and I are absolute foodies, so we were being tough on it, honestly, overall I’d say one of the best farm to table experiences I’ve had in the city!

Sorry no pictures, we didn’t even think of it until after 😦