Restaurants in Ottawa - 18 Bar

I guess I should not compare this restaurant to my Chicago experiences. This is a restaurant in the middle of the market with main dishes at 30-48 CAD. For this price one gets mouthwatering dishes in Chicago. It is a bit of a wanna be place where the service does not really match the prices.

So comparing this restaurant to other restaurants in Ottawa, it is surely one of the better ones. Do I think it is worth it? I don't think so. At those prices I expect something where I think wow, this is something I would come back for.

I tried the Mediterranean Sea Bass with fresh ground Thai curry which is good 35 CAD.

18 York Street

Ottawa K1N 5T5

www.restaurant18.com

Restaurants in Ottawa - Saigon

This is a good Vietnamese restaurant in the market. Again it is not cheap for what it is around 20 CAD per dish. The vermicelli with beef and chicken tastes good.

85 Clearance Street

Tel. 613 789 7934

Restaurants in Ottawa - Sweetgrass Aboriginal Bistro

This is a Canadian restaurant with simple but tasty dishes. It is very expensive for what it is. The main dishes are 24-36 CAD. They use a lot of fresh vegetables and healthy ingredients which perhaps makes the dishes more expensive.

The Campfire Pan Roasted Steelhead Trout with market vegetables and wild rice 28 CAD.

www.sweetgrassbistro.ca

108 Murray Street,
Ottawa, Ontario K1N 5M6

(613) 562-3683

Restaurants in Ottawa - Casa Do Churrasco

This is a Portuguese restaurant in the market area. It is a bit of a greasy spoon portuguese restaurant. They have a lunch buffet for which is around 13 CAD which is not cheap, but they have a nice grilled chicken with rice, potatoes and salad.

www.casadochurrasco.tripod.com

190 Dalhousie Street

Ottawa, ON

(613) 241-2743

Restaurants in Ottawa - Totoya

This is an average Japanese restaurant in the market. They have some all you can eat offer on Friday's which is very little sushi or fish with a lot of deep fried food and a lot of rice. It is also noticeable that all the makis have different sizes and are rolled really badly.

The tempura tastes ok, although they tend to miss out the radish and ginger for the sauce which is an important part of the dish and balances the heavy deep fried shrimps.

297 Dalhousie Street
Ottawa, ON
(613) 241-2224

Restaurants in Ottawa - Ahora

Ahora is a simple Mexican self-service restaurant. I think this is one of the few Mexican restaurants in Ottawa and is pretty authentic.

It is not cheap for what it is. The main dishes cost 9-14 CAD. It is well situated on Dalhousie which is part of the Market area in Ottawa. I had Pollo Asado (chicken with corn tortillas) 13.90 CAD.

Restaurants in Ottawa - Soora

I think this place has changed the name. It is on 610 Sommerset in the middle of China town.

They have a good Bulgogi. My aunt, who is Korean found it quite tasty, so I believe they passed the test!

The prices are not cheap. Main dishes were around 15-20 CAD.

I would recommend it if you are in the area.

Restaurants in Ottawa - Pho Bo Ga LA

This is a very simple treat in China Town. It is a Vietnamese restaurant which serves big bowls of soup for around 7 CAD. There is hardly any decor apart, so not for a romantic dinner or long meal.

The most delicious one is the Pho (vermicelli, meat based soup with some meet on top). Somehow similar to the concept of Ramen. One main difference is that you can order the meat medium-rare or well done and serve a plate of bean sprouts, asian basil, scallions and some chili which one can add according to ones own taste.

I think it is a great option for comfort food.

Restaurants in Ottawa - Joy

This is a good Korean restaurants with some Japanese options. The main dishes are around 20 CAD per person. I liked the Bulgogi Dopbap. Not sounding too picky, I do not find it so appetizing receiving the spicy sauce in a Ketchup type bottle.

I personally prefer the Korean restaurants in 610 Sommerset (formally known as Soora).

Since this is much closer, I would however recommend this Korean restaurant.

Restaurant Joy

315 Somerset Street West
Ottawa, ON
(613) 231-6333

www.restaurantjoy.com

Restaurants in Ottawa - Navarra

This is a good restaurant in the market area.

Main dishes vary from 16-34 CAD. I had the smoked salmon with hazelnut oil 16 CAD. All the dishes are nicely presented and have good flavours.

www.navarrarestaurant.com

93 Murray Street
Ottawa, Ontario
613-241-5500

Restaurants in Ottawa - Le Cafe (in the National Arts Center)

We had brunch here. It is 25 CAD which I do not think is worth it, but there are not a lot of brunch places in Ottawa.

All the food did not look very fresh. For example the salmon lost its colour and looked as if it had been sitting their for hours.

I would not recommend it. Perhaps it is a nice place to go in the summer, since one can sit next to the canal.

Restaurants in Ottawa - Chez Lucien

This is a pub/bar near the market. It is good value for money. I think they have the best burgers in town. Generally the service is good, but sometimes you have to be prepared for a 20 minute wait.

The main dishes cost between 10-15 CAD. Their speciality is the burgers. The Chez Lucien Burger and Bourgeois Burger are both delicious. I like the mushroom, bacon and onion mix, as well as pear and onions.

Sometimes it is good to reserve on Friday or Saturday nights.

I recommend this place.

Restaurants in Ottawa - Black Tomato

The Black Tomato is a restaurant in the Market. It is pretty average, hearty food with good flavours but nothing special. In the evenings, the restaurants light is also very dark so that you cannot see what you are eating.

It is not such good value for money. The main dishes were all around 25 CAD.

I had the tomato salad 9 CAD and short ribs 25 CAD.

www.theblacktomato.com

11 George Street

Ottawa ON

Restaurants in Ottawa - Play

A lot of the restaurants in the market area are very touristy, however this is one that stands out and is good. They pay attention to detail regarding flavours and are able to cater really well to allergies since they make everything fresh. The dishes are all small dishes, so in the spirit of tapas.

We tried the:

-sweet mama squash soup / crispy leeks 8 CAD

-erie pickerel / cumin butter / succotash / jalapeno 14 CAD

-grilled zucchini / bocconcini / bacon / olive / walnut 12 CAD

The Erie pickerel had a great red tomato salsa. I noticed that the chef used lime zest which completed the flavour. Often restaurants use a lot of lime, but if one uses a little lime zest one gets the strong flavour without the sourness.

What was relatively good value for money was the Klosterneuburg white wine from Austria.

I would recommend this place. This is one of my favourite restaurants in Ottawa.

www.playfood.ca

Restaurants in Ottawa - Nokham Thai Restaurant (recommendable)

After trying many Thai restaurants - this is my favourite.

The starters: chicken satay, Nokham spring rolls were all very taste. An especially flavourful dish was the Pad Ped Nor Mai which is served in a pineapple. The Gaeng Caree Gai is one of my favourite dishes (yellow curry with coconut milk and potatoes), however, I believe that the Pad Ped Nor Mai has much more complexity. I also like the egg that they mix into the sauce.

The main dishes cost around $13 which is a reasonable price for what it is. The only thing is that the restaurant is not located close to the centre and therefore you need a car/taxi.

Nokham Thai Restaurant

747 Richmond Road

Ottawa, ON K2A0G6

Tel. 613-724-6620

Restaurants Ottawa - Wild Oats

This is a great place especially for people that are a little health conscious. All the ingredients they use are fresh, organic and they chose to use healthy alternatives to white flour and refined sugar. Plus the staff are super friendly which makes it a very welcoming and chilled place to be.

Their Oaxaca sandwich is delicious 6.25 CAD. Their crepes are made with spelt flour and rice milk. A simple crepe with butter and maple syrup costs 4.50 CAD. They have a little shop next door which belongs to the cafe. You can chose some drinks from the shop and have them in the cafe.

For those who look for cafes with wireless, this place has wireless internet as of 15:00. They are open till 8pm an all days except Sunday where they close at 6pm, so it is more of a breakfast or lunch place.

817 Bank Street

Ottawa ON K1S 3V7

Restaurants Ottawa - Kasbah Village

This is a Moroccan restaurant in downtown Ottawa. Downtown Ottawa is near the Parliament (for those not familiar with Ottawa). Usually downtown restaurants are not great because there are a lot of government buildings and the people may be less price sensitive, but this one is a little jewel.

We tried two Tagines dishes which are served with couscous. The M'Hammar (chicken with tomatoes and onions) and Zayane (lamb with prunes and almonds). I think both dishes were delicious. I find the prunes in dishes give a nice complete flavour and I was not so fond of very slightly cooked onions (they were not raw, but probably just added 1 minute at the end before serving it) in that dish. But that is probably personal preference. Next time I may try the chicken with prunes and almonds.

The interior is nicely decorated which is unusual for Ottawa. Service was also ok.

Main dishes are around 18 CAD which I think is good value for what you get.

Kasbah

261 Laurier West (between Bank & Elgin)

Ottawa

Tel 613-232-3737

www.kasbah.ca

Restaurants Ottawa - Milagro Grill

Milagro Grill is in a very cute area of Ottawa called Westborough. There are many little boutiques, furniture stores, cafes there and it is basically a nice area to spend a Saturday afternoon.

After knowing real Mexican food and having been spoilt by the great options in Chicago, it is very hard to write about it without being a little critical. However, if you feel like comfort food this is certainly a good option and in the summer they have a nice patio.

We tried the mole enchiladas and the normal chicken enchilada. Both dishes tasted fine and were filling. The guacamole was a little disappointing because they had not made it fresh and so it was very brown and cold; they did not use fresh chilies, but something like a chili powder which did not make it taste like authentic guacamole (plus the tortilla chips were dripping in oil, but to be fair that happens in many places).

The prices are reasonable, but not cheap. The Mole dish was 13.50 CAD, the Enchilada 9.50 CAD and the guacamole 7.50 CAD.

Milagro Grill

367 Richmond Road

Ottawa, ON K2A 0E7

Tel. 613 722 8011

www.milagrogrill.com

Restaurants Ottawa - Edoko

This is a very average Japanese restaurant. All the chefs seemed to be of Chinese backgrounds which of course in itself is not bad, but unfortunately the sushi fell apart. The soup had very little flavour.

I guess for people that do not know Japanese food it may be ok to eat, otherwise I would definitely not advise to eat sushi here.

The Teppanyaki meal comes with a bland chicken soup and but perhaps it is fun cause you see the chefs grill the food on the table in front of you and they toss the knives in the air for show. Overall I would say not good value for money.

Perhaps Ottawa is not the place for Japanese food. I have not found a decent recent yet. I think that the average Thai restaurant here is better.

The Teppanyaki is around 26 CAD, so it is not great value for money.

www.edokosteakhouse.com

Restaurants Ottawa - Mezzanotte

This is a good italian restaurant for a little bit more formal night out.

I tried the large square ravioli filled with lobster meat over a rose sauce. The flavours were light and although it was a creamy rose sauce it did not feel very heavy.

50 Murray Street

Byward Market, Ottawa

Ontario K1N 9K1

Tel. 613-562-3978

www.mezzanotte-bistro.com