Ora Tapas and Lounge

Ora Tapas and Lounge is a fairly new tapas style restaurant tucked upstairs on the second floor of a commercial building located in the heart of Markham Ontario.  This very stylish and sleek restaurant is located in the back of a darts and pool hall where it had about 10 tables and a mini bar on its side.  Although there were not that many tables present, we noticed that only one other table was occupied on that Friday evening. 

Renkon Chips

Their menu consisted of a 3 set course meal ($35.00) and an a la carte style type menu and since we had about 8 people there that evening, we decided to go with a 3 of the set course meals and about a dozen a la carte selections.  After ordering, there was a bit of a wait before the first meals arrived despite the quiet evening.  There were no bread given but they did offer some lotus root or renkon chips for us to munch on which we waited for appetizers and entrees to arrive.  

Avocado Salad

Caesar Salad

The first two dishes to arrive were the Avocado ($9.00) and Caesar Salads ($8.00).  Both were well prepared and quite delicious to munch on.  The Caesar Salad had a bit of a twist to it in that there was an edible shell that held the salad together.  Both salads had just enough condiments and neither salads were over dressed.  There was plenty of avocado in the Avocado Salad but truthfully both salads came in as advertised.

Valentine Oysters

Cherry Stone Oysters

Raw oysters immersed in ice were next to arrive.  We went with two types of raw oysters that evening which were the Cherry Stone Oysters ($2.50 each) and the Valentine Oysters ($3.00).  Both were well prepared, well shucked and nice and cold when served.  Personally I liked the Valentine Oysters more as it was more solid, more creamier and had much more meat to it.  Either way, one could not have gone wrong with either one as they were both very good.  One of us did have a very bad tasting oyster. It appeared that it had gone completely bad.  Most places probably would have said too bad so said but not these guys.  They brought the bad oyster back and brought out a new raw oyster.  That was good customer service where the staff certainly earned some admiration points for it.

Mushroom Mix Soup

There were only two soups offered on this evening which were the Potato Leek Soup ($7.00) and the Mushroom Mix Soup ($7.00).  I hate to say it but one was amazing while the other was so-so.  The Mushroom Mix Soup was hands down one of the best soups I have ever had.  One could taste the mushroom aroma running through one's nose as one was slurping the soup.  It hit all the taste buds in all the right way.  The Potato Leek soup was rather disappointing.  There was no taste to it at all.  It was rather bland and paled in comparison to its Mix Mushroom counterpart.  I suggest one add some table salt to it to bring the Potato Leek some life.

Potato Leek Soup

The Beef Carpaccio ($10.00) was next to arrive.  There was some Parmesan cheese sprinkled on top of it and it was served with some greens.  The meat was a little dry, lacked any significant taste and just didn't seemed right.  After eating a couple of pieces, we figured that the problem was a lack of olive or truffle oil in the beer carpaccio.  Although there was truffle oil served on top of it, there might not have been enough of it to really draw the flavor out. Even a touch of olive oil to it might it have been all one needed to bring it altogether.  It just seemed like it was lacking something.

Beef Carpaccio

I'm not a 100% as to the name of the next dish but I will call them the Lamb and Duck Skewers.  The duck skewers were actually immersed in a berry sauce.  Both skewers were actually very good.  The meats on both of them were very juicy.  The lamb really had a good lamb taste to it and stood out on its own.  Both dishes were very good and well worth the price.

Lamb and Duck Skewers

The Salmon Tartar Guacamole ($9.00) presentation alone garnered some high marks.  A mixture of cilantro, tomatoes, and fried shallots along with the salmon were placed in pieces of fried wonton wrappers.  The entire dish gave one many different angles and flavors and nailed many of the different taste buds all at once.  I was very satisfied with this dish as it was well prepared, well presented and tasted fabulous.

Salmon Tartar Guacamole

The Pan Seared Scallops ($22.00) arrived next.  The scallops were perfectly done and what impressed me the most was the presentation of it in that although there were only three scallops per dish, they were able to find a small, medium and large scallop and present it in a desirable fashion.  The scallops all had the perfect bounce to them and the outer part was perfectly seared.  The only draw back was that there was only three per dish and at $22.00 per dish, it might deter some from ordering it.

Pan Seared Scallops

My favorite of the evening was the Bone Marrow ($7.00).   The Bone Marrow was pureed with some garlic and thyme and it was done to the point where the combination was very smooth and very fine.  What really made it the whole dish better was that when one placed the bone marrow mix on top of the garlic toast that came with the dish, it actually made the dish completely into a masterpiece.  Everything came together and despite the dish being a little bit on the fatty side, it was certainly well worth the price and one of the best dishes of the night.

Bone Marrow

Mushroom Phylo

The Pork Belly Sliders ($7.00) came afterwards and they looked pretty good.  Each piece of pork belly was placed between two pieces of bun and served like a hamburger.  Although the pieces were a little fattening, the meat was soft and juicy and was absolutely fulfilling.  The buns came in handy in that one probably would not have enjoyed the pork sliders if they were eaten alone, however the buns absorbed some of the fat and made the overall dish much more desirable.  The fries were also very good and blended well with the Pork Belly Sliders.

Pork Belly Sliders

The Mixed Seafood Linguini ($21.00) came in next and it came in as advertised.  The linguini was not too creamy and the shrimps were huge.  The scallops again were not very chewy and again had the perfect bounce and texture to them.  Again the price once again may deter some people from trying this dish.  At $21.00, the overall bowl was not that big despite the rather large scallops, mussels and shrimps that came with it.

Mixed Seafood Linguini

The Ribeye Steak ($16.00) came next.  Again like the Potato Leek soup it lacked some seasoning to it.  The meat itself was a little fatty despite having it prepared medium to medium rare.  A recommendation, when one added table salt to the steak, the piece of meat literally came to life.  It tasted very good after the salt was added to it and brought the whole dish together.

Ribeye Steak

The Spicy Garlic Butter Shrimp($13.00) caught my attention right from the beginning even though it was not something that we had ordered from the beginning.  Since a couple of us were still hungry, I made an executive decision and made the order and I was certainly not wrong.  The best way to describe the taste was that it was like having a bruschetta type mixture placed on top of some buttered grilled shrimp.  At first I was a little hesitant as to what it was going to taste like, but after having a piece, this was probably my second favorite dish of the evening.  This mouth savoring dish did not disappoint at all.  Again, the mixture of all the ingredients initiated all the taste buds all at the same time giving one a taste of sourness, sweetness and saltiness all at once.  I was purely amazed by this dish where my only regret was that I didn't order it the first time around but luckily our still emptied stomachs allowed us to get to into it the second time around.

Spicy Garlic Butter Shrimp

The second last dish to arrive was the Rack of Lamb ($21.00).  As one could see from the pictures, the meat was perfectly done.  It was cooked to medium rare and was nice and red on the inside and perfectly seared on the outside.  Just like the piece of lamb on the skewers, this piece of lamb had the perfect lamb taste to it.  Oddly enough, no salt was needed to bring the taste out as the lamb as it was perfectly seasoned from top to bottom. 

Rack of Lamb

The night started slow and a couple of dishes appeared to lack taste but as the night grew longer, it seemed like the dishes got better and better.  Tapas style type foods are small in substance and high in prices which may deter some of my readers from ever trying it however if you do want to try this style of food, then this place was definitely a place that one should not pass up on.  The waitresses were all very good and as I mentioned, there were definitely a couple of dishes that really opened my eyes.  I would take some points off for the blandness in the Beef Carpaccio and Steak but that's about it.  Everything else was spot on and perfect in many ways.  Overall I give it a 4.5 out of 5.

Ora Tapas and Lounge
7850 Woodbine Ave. Unit 228
Markham, ON

905-604-6672