Our series of bite-sized interviews for Ottawa’s Restaurant Weeks continues! For more information on this exciting new event, check out the event description here.

This time, we got the chance to speak with John Mathias, the chef and owner of the Beach House. To start things off, John explained the concepts behind the restaurant.

“Our restaurant is going on five years this September. The Beach House’s theme is to bring coastal cuisine, globally inspired, from all over the world, to Ottawa. Patrons can experience like they were going to a vacation to their beach house,” John said. “It’s supposed to be an escape, an experience. We do that by sourcing fresh seafood all over the world, so it’s being flown in every day or every other day. We’re not fine dining, just upscale casual,” he explained.

“A big focal point is the fresh oysters from all over the country. East Coast, West Coast. And we try to have food with a story like, ‘Why is this dish famous in Louisiana, Why is this dish famous in San Francisco?’” 

John also explained what sorts of menu items will be specially prepared as part of Restaurant Week. Seafood lovers are in for a treat!

“As far as those two weeks, the Restaurant Weeks, we’re gonna bring in all things crab. This is a good season for that, we’re also in the Lenten season. For those two weeks, you never know what you’re going to find, but you know, there’s going to be plenty of crab options, plus fresh fish.”

Patrons to the Beach House can expect a variety of crab dishes, with choices like blue crab, Dungeness crab, and more! Be on the lookout for the Beach House’s crab fried rice and crab rangoon. John told us more about his plans for Restaurant Week.

“For Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday, the weekdays, we’re going to add an additional incentive and offer 20% off of guests’ food bill. Our only ask, is that they spend a minimum of sixty dollars in food. So, we’re gonna do that these weekdays, but the menu and the options will be offered every day.” 

We also asked John if he had a personal favorite menu item or one of particular note. We think seafood fans will definitely enjoy this one!

“If you’re to single out one dish, I would say that Cioppino is definitely a seafood lover’s dish. So, this dish has a great story, it arrived from San Francisco, and it’s a shoreman’s lunch,” he explained, adding that the poor fishermen might not have enough food to get by themselves. “Everybody would ‘chip in’ what they had and most of these fishermen those days were Italian, so ‘chip in,’ eventually became ‘Cioppino.’” 

“So, it is a tomato-based broth, with all kinds of fresh fish. Usually calamari, and fish, and lobster, scallops and all this. It’s like white wine and tomato kind of … broth or how you want to describe it. But it’s a hearty meal. And if you love seafood, man, that’s like the dish, right? You get a little everything,” he said. 

He also explained more about these chef’s showcase dishes and the significance of the Beach House’s menu options.

“It’s not my dish. This isn’t about me, it’s about showcasing what great seafood is around the world. So, we have a Thai curry Representing Thailand, we have some Greece and Italy. We have each coast, where I grew up from Philly, to the East Coast, Baltimore, Chesapeake.” 

Finally, we wanted to ask what John enjoys most about being a part of the restaurant scene in Ottawa.

“We’re very blessed. I’ve owned a lot of restaurants over the years. Most of them have been seafood focused. It’s for where I’m from. We enjoy creativity, right? So, to be in love with food and passionate about food, is to have others excited, right? Or when guests have a food memory [like a beach house escape] that we can tie into, that makes me happy. I want to build relationships with customers that like what we do, and what we do isn’t for everybody,” he explained. “And that’s okay, there’s plenty of non-seafood items in my menu, tons… people don’t realize that… the steak strips, lamb, chicken, pork.” 

With so many great options, what’s not to love? Many thanks to John for having us!

Fans of seafood will be sure to enjoy the Beach House’s selections for Restaurant Weeks, from March 8th to March 21st. Keep an eye out for more interviews and updates on Restaurant Week!