Oxalis Restaurant

A FINE DINING GEM IN DOWNTOWN DARTMOUTH

BY LAURA OAKLEY
PHOTOS MICHELLE DOUCETTE

“We wanted to do something small and intimate,” says Sophia Gruber of opening Oxalis with her partner, chef Andy Preuss. They launched in November 2021 at 22 Wentworth Street in downtown Dartmouth, in what was a residential home at some point in its history. Now it’s a two-level 37-seat restaurant, the exterior painted a sleek-looking black. The tranquil back garden, converted into a stylish outdoor dining area, added 45 more seats as of June. “We’re first-time entrepreneurs,” says Gruber, of choosing something where they could offer the elevated, European-inspired farm-to-table concept they were looking to do, scaled to a reasonable size. Somewhere they could interact with the guests while serving Preuss’ skillful-yet-playful (and highly impressive) menu in a meaningful way.

Much like the gorgeous farmhouse-chic interior, the menu is also small and thoughtful, with much attention to detail. Or, as Gruber puts it: “Casual, but the food is artistic.” Predominantly driven by the seasons, foraging, and nature, Preuss says of his food, “a lot of inspiration comes from the forest or the ocean.” Working only with local suppliers for meat, seafood and (most) produce, interwoven with his own foraged ingredients, the menu is a fun play on what’s available to Preuss at any given time. The menu changes when it needs to, with no set agenda. “We are using a lot of French techniques, and we’re bringing a lot from our heritage and from our roots, a lot of German recipes,” says Preuss, who hails from Germany and Gruber from Austria. So, along with seasonal entrées, it’s not surprising to see schnitzel and spaetzle earn their places, described as heartier “classics” served in slightly larger portions.

So, how did Gruber and Preuss end up with a restaurant in Dartmouth? “We used to work for Trout Point Lodge,” says Gruber. “I was the general manager, and [Preuss] was the executive chef.” That job opportunity brought them to Canada, leaving a larger five-star resort in Austria to work seasonally at Trout Point Lodge (a high-end eco-resort in Southwest Nova Scotia) and travel in the off-season. Knowing they wanted to open their own spot here, Dartmouth was an affordable option, and everything seemed to fall into place when they started looking in the Summer of 2020.

I’m beyond excited to visit Oxalis for dinner a couple of weeks after my chat with Gruber and Preuss on a mild spring evening. We’re seated upstairs, where the window and door are propped open to create a cross-breeze in the small space. It’s practically full, and the sights and smells immediately fan the flames of my excitement. Soon after the first sips of our cocktails (mine, a perfectly summery combo of Hendrick’s gin, St. Germain elderflower liqueur, cucumber, lime and Cava), a beautiful amuse-bouche arrives. It’s salmon tartare with clementine emulsion and chive oil. The salmon is delicate and soft as silk; the emulsion offers a subtle marriage of acid and sweetness with an unmistakable clementine flavour. A lovely start to what is sure to be an exquisite meal.

I know we can’t get away with not ordering the “statement piece,” as Gruber described it. (Plus, we never turn down bread and butter.) The Brotzeit, or in German “bread time,” features thick-cut, toasted house-made focaccia atop a bed of straw, accompanied by three kinds of butter and two slices of coppa—Italian-style dry-cured meat made from pork—hanging on a mini clothes-line with tiny clothespins. The types of butter are sea salt, tomato (made to look like a little cherry tomato), and truffle—with pieces of black summer truffle. No synthetic oils or salts here. All are wonderful, with the truffle butter making a real impression (we may have argued over the last smear). This is truly a study of the bread and butter course.

Our two appetizers, which we’ve agreed to share because everything sounds too fantastic not to try, are cured salmon and ramp risotto. I start with the vibrant green risotto, hiding underneath Parmesan foam. A lightly breaded and baked farm egg with a medium yolk sits in the middle. The risotto is one of the best things I’ve tasted. To get you up to speed, a ramp is a variety of wild onions, sometimes referred to as a spring onion. So the risotto has a mild zingy onion flavour shining through all the cream and butter and Parmesan foam, offering just the most delicious, bright-yet-rich flavour and perfect texture, complemented beautifully by the slightly crispy batter on the egg and tender yolk inside.

I have difficulty passing over the second half, but not really, because the cured Sustainable Blue salmon looks like my dream appetizer. The cured salmon is in a ring, and the well in the middle is filled with a buttermilk emulsion and drizzled with chive oil. Atop the salmon are dots of crème fraîche topped with caviar, tiny dollops of spring herb purée, and delicately placed micro greens and flowers. The plate has tiny spears of pickled sea asparagus rolled up tight in thinly-sliced cucumber and a few carefully placed radish slices. A quenelle of yuzu sorbet sits on a bed of roasted and chopped pine nuts.

The salmon has a firm-yet-buttery texture and incredible, clean flavour that’s matched with the light, creamy buttermilk emulsion and chive oil. The little tangy bites of radish and pickled sea asparagus are a fantastic balancing act. Yuzu is a Japanese citrus that looks like a cross between an orange and a lemon. It has a sharp, sometimes sour flavour, and in Preuss’ iteration as a sorbet, it’s clean, crisp and dry. It’s almost a palate cleanser between bites. Perfect, as we are about to head into the main courses.

I start with the PEI Blue Dot flank steak. The steak is served medium rare on top of potato purée emulsified with spring onion pesto to achieve a bright green colour and flavour. The steak has bite but is as tender as it should be—with plenty of grass-fed flavours. Around the beef are shimeji mushrooms (some days it’s morels instead) and two-toned wheels of potato remoulade that look like mini cinnamon buns (the darker potato is dyed with activated charcoal). It sits in a succulent bordelaise sauce—a jus heightened with dry red wine, bone marrow, butter and shallots. It’s rich, robust, and very French.

Our other entrée is the truffled chicken breast. Served on a round plate with a circular pool of truffled jus in the centre, on one side of the pool is a big, juicy, halved chicken breast placed to showcase the sliced side up. “We take the chicken tenderloins of the breast and blend them in the food processor with egg whites, butter, cream, truffle paste and seasoning until it has a smooth consistency. Then we take off the skin from the chicken breast and pipe the farce on the chicken and reattach the skin. The farce gets firm when it gets cooked,” says Sophia. This makes it look like the chicken breast is half stuffed with truffle-flecked butter. It’s a truffle-fuelled dream, with the jus also offering intense truffle flavour. Also on the plate is a silky artichoke purée topped with pieces of artichoke heart, maitake mushroom and broccoli. There is literally not one morsel left on either plate when they’re cleared away.

We’re splitting dessert, which I know will be a molecular gastronomical spectacle. The Rock consists of vanilla mousse encased in white chocolate dyed with activated charcoal to look like a dark grey stone. It sits on a bed of soil made with tapioca powder infused with dark chocolate and nuts for a crunchy texture. Beside the rock is a raspberry sphere that explodes in your mouth with intense raspberry juice. The dish is adorned with delicate chocolate branches, tiny forget-me-nots (from their garden), and little dollops of basil and raspberry purées—even finished with pieces of bright green “moss” made from basil sponge cake. It’s as much fun to look at as it is to eat.

“We want you to be comfortable and have fun,” says Gruber of the experience. I definitely think they’ve achieved their objective. The novelty of the presentation, the exquisite flavours of the food, and the level of service truly make Oxalis something special. Congratulations, Dartmouth.

Along with the a la carte menu, a seven-course tasting menu they call the Chef’s Experience is always available. Oxalis is open five days a week. Reservations are highly recommended.

Oxalis Restaurant