I’ll be in downtown Ottawa, Ontario for business next week (2 nights) and am seeking suggestions for restaurants. Never been to Ottawa before, and have no idea what to expect or where to look. We’ll be wanting to stay pretty close to downtown (no farther than a short cab ride). It’ll be a small business group (5 total), and I suspect the gang will be more inclined towards local flavor than multi-course fine dining, but I’m open for anything. Any local must-try places or dishes? Anyplace with a decent wine list?
Thanks!
Jeff J
Lots of very good restaurants in Ottawa, though I would call none essential. Beckta comes closest, creative seasonal use of locally sourced food, and impeccable, intelligent service. Very good sommelier, wine list has a decent selection, though prices are a bit high. Their sister restaurant Play is more of small plates/sharing concept, with good wine matches by the glass. For something completely different, Atelier features a seasonal 11 or 12 course molecular gastronomy menu with wine pairings. Pricey, but great fun - not exactly an everyday meal type of place, but a great Ottawa experience. I also like the Whalesbone Oyster House, which serves only sustainably caught seafood. You can also check out their separate supply operation/store, which again is 100% sustainable and serves great bag lunches.
In Little Italy (just outside of downtown), there are a number of good restaurants. For a really good wine experience, Divino offers an enoteca type of concept, with a unique range of wines from all over Italy available by the glass. Some wild and unusual stuff by comparison with most other wine lists in the city (which, it must be said, tend towards the conservative). Recently, I chose a flight consisting of a lovely fragrant white blend from Abruzzo (from Nicola di Sipio, a completely new producer for me), along with a Pelaverga from Castello Verduno, a Paolo Bea San Valentino, and a Nero d’Avola from Gulfi. Pretty good food as well.
If you’re willing to venture out a bit (though still only a 15-20 minute cab ride), one of the great advantages of Ottawa’s location is its proximity to Gatineau Park, on the Quebec side of the river. There are a couple of very good restaurants, beautifully located on the park’s edge - L’Oree du Bois and Les Fougeres. In my opinion, both offer more interesting wine lists than the vast majority of restaurants on the Ontario side, and a unique cultural experience as well.
I had a very enjoyable meal at Murray Street KWC in the spring. http://murraystreet.ca/
Great beer, phenomenal charcuterie, small, nice wine list. Good vibe and it’s in the byward market area which is downtown and very pretty.
Thanks for the suggestions. I’ll look those up before I go, and will be sure to report back after the trip.
I said I’d report back, so I will. I had plans to try Beckta, Play, or Town, but the stars didn’t align.
Sadly, the culinary exploration of Ottawa never happened. Between late flights and tired coworkers, we just ended up at “The Keg”, which appears to be the national “nicer” steakhouse chain in Canada. Food was ok (and portions copious), and the best I could do on the wine list was a '10 Guigal Cotes du Rhone. We walked past a number of interesting looking places to get there, including Play. Beckta was much closer to our hotel, but no one else was interested in good food. They actually were all hoping The Keg was a brewpub, and were somewhat disappointed when it turned out not to be that. Oh well.
We did catch the son-et-lumiere show they projected onto the Parliament building, which was really quite good and worth seeing if you’re in Ottawa before the end of September.
That’s too bad. I’ve been in your shoes before. Frustrating, but not much can be done. The Keg is nothing special.