chef_rene_rodriguez

Rene Rodriguez is no stranger to the Ottawa restaurant scene. In fact, he was born here during his father’s diplomatic posting. After living here until Rene was five, the family moved back to their native Mexico City, but lots of travel, while growing up exposed Rene to the cuisines of the world.
Rene graduated from Cordon Bleu Ottawa and except for a stint in San Francisco has been cooking here in his adopted hometown ever since. When Arc the Hotel opened in 2001, Rene was there in the kitchen and stayed for two years. After that, it was on to Social for a year and for the last couple of years, he’s been running things in the kitchen at Black Cat.

When the Black Cat pulled up stakes and moved to Preston St., Rene decided it was time to open his own place at the 93 Murray St. location.

Set to open at the end of June, Navarra will feature “New Basque” cuisine. The Basque area of Spain encompasses the Navarra wine region, hence the name, and the cuisine of the region is a cross between Spanish and that of Southern France. Traditionally, it was hearty fare featuring things like clams, fava beans, pork belly, cured meats and cheeses, and salt cod. So what’s “New Basque” cuisine? Rene explains that it’s still hearty, but now more refined and elegant, using some new techniques—including a splash of molecular gastronomy . “New Basque has taken over the whole region in Spain” says Rene. “There are some great chefs doing some exciting things there, and there are now about 10 New Basque restaurants that are Michelin-starred in the region”.

What can we expect from Navarra? There will be a good selection of the Basque version of tapas, known as pinxtos (pronounced PIN-chos, and meaning “Puncture” as one would stab the morsels with a toothpick). A full a la carte menu will be available as well as a three-course prix fixe dinner for $42 and a chef’s blind tasting five-course menu.
Vegetables are an important part of Rene’s cooking and he will feature native Northern Spain veggies like parsnips and the indigenous salsify, a root vegetable that he’ll be bringing in from Belgium. The traditional Pil Pil, a Spanish green pea dish, will also be on the menu.

The wine list includes wines from Spain, Portugal, Italy and Argentina as well as some Canadian wines. Rene’s wine and food matching philosophy is to start with the flavours in the wine and match the food to that, rather than the other way around. There’s a good selection of wines by the glass, so it should be a treat for wine and food matching fans.
Also a treat, the décor at Navarra makes good use of the colours of Spain. The earth-coloured walls evoke the clay in a bullring, and the vibrant red foiled bar gives the room pizzazz. A special feature? A flat screen TV in the dining room will broadcast the action in the kitchen, so diners can see how their meals are progressing.

Navarra
93 Murray St.
613 241-5500
www.navarrarestaurant.com

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