Where to eat in Ottawa

30 independent restaurants, bakeries and food spots in Ottawa. Chains are left out.

Ranked with the travel guide's picks and well-known places first.

Eat
Ahora Mexican Cuisine
A good little Mexican canteen. It serves up mains, zippy margaritas, and drinks imported from Mexico.
11:30AM to 10PM
Eat
BeaverTails
Try the tasty BeaverTail, a fried-dough pastry associated with Ottawa, although a number of places claim to have created it. It's available in sweet and savoury versions, topped with cinnamon, sugar, icing sugar, etc. In the winter, many places will offer it on the canal. During the summer, the only places downtown to offer it are in the Byward Market on George St., and a small counter in a corner of the Canadian Museum of History. There are a variety of toppings and the taste of the beaver tail stands out more with the classic sugar & cinnamon. However, the locals' favourite is the Killaloe Sunrise, a topping of cinnamon sugar and lemon juice.
Sun-Wed 10AM-8PM, Thu 10AM-11PM, Fri Sat 10AM-midnight
Eat
Beckta
Excellent modern restaurant with a variety of tastes centred on locally available foods. Also features an extensive wine list.
Eat
Coconut Lagoon
Coconut Lagoon serves Kerala cuisine, subtly different from other South Indian styles (although people kept asking for Butter Chicken so it's on the menu as well). The restaurant's executive chef and owner Joe Thottungal took the silver medal at the Canadian Culinary Championships in 2017, and the gold medal at the Gold Medal Plates Culinary Competition 2016. There are vegan-friendly dishes on the menu. The restaurant is re-opening in August 2022.
Eat
Di Rienzo
This little deli tucked away in Little Italy, a secret known to many locals, is famous for the best and freshest deli sandwiches in the city for $5 (taxes included). During the week the lineup can stretch outside the packed little store, but they are arguably the fastest sandwich makers anywhere so don't worry about a long wait. There is also another newer location run by the family at Meadowlands Drive and Fisher Avenue.
Mon-Fri 7:30AM-9PM, Sat Sun 8AM-7PM
Eat
Elgin Street Diner
A popular 24-hour diner. One of its specialties is the ESD (Elgin Street Diner) Poutine (though true Quebecers should probably abstain). Generally, poutine is French fries, served with cheese curds and gravy on top; they have several versions including the addition of caramelized onions and bacon, Montreal smoked meat, Philly steak, a four cheese blend or Chili. The substitution of mashed potatoes fried with onions and seasoning (called their home fries), or onion rings instead of regular French fries is also an option. Expect the adventure to set you back $16–21 depending on toppings. The diner's hamburgers/cheeseburgers are significantly better than typical fast food fare, and breakfast is served 24/7 365 days a year with no exception. The breakfast menu includes Kettleman's bagels.
Always open
Eat
Gitanes
French-inspired restaurant that uses local ingredients. Great wines and creative cocktails. Gitanes also has sister restaurant across the street, Gitanes Burger, with amazing burgers.
Eat
Govinda's Restaurant
offers a simple vegan buffet. The best cheap eats in town. Operated by ISCKON (Hare Krishna movement).
Mon-Fri 5–8PM, Sun yoga festival 5–8PM$5-7 per person
Eat
La Bottega Nicastro
A fantastic little Italian specialty market, Nicastro's is a contender for the city's best $5 sandwiches, featuring amazing bread (esp. the focaccia) usually baked on the premises. The sit-down lunch kitchen is also well worth a visit.
Mon-Wed 9AM-6PM, Thu Fri 9AM-8PM, Sat 9AM-6PM, Sun 10AM-5PM,
Eat
Le Mien - Craft Noodle
Traditional Chinese noodle shop with hand pulled noodles in warm rich broth.
11AM-9PM
Eat
Pure Kitchen Ottawa
Hip restaurant serving vegetarian and vegan food. Wraps, burgers, rice bowls, salads. Bar offers juice, beer, wine. Reservations only for parties of 6 or more. Second location in Centretown at 340 Elgin Street.
Eat
Rangoon
A one-of-a-kind family-run Burmese restaurant with cheap lunch specials where you can get an appetizer, main course and a drink for about $10! Try the fish noodle soup (mohingha), chicken curry or eggplant curry. A real hidden gem.
Mon-Thu 11AM-9PM; Fri 11AM-10PM; Sat 4-10PM
Eat
Restaurant 18
E18hteen
An upscale, modern restaurant and bar located in a renovated 19th century heritage building. It is the place to see and be seen.
Sun-Thu 4:30PM-10PM, Fri-Sat 4:30PM-11PM,
Eat
Signatures
At Le Cordon Bleu Culinary Institute is a French restaurant with a five-diamond rating from CAA/AAA that is considered among the very best in the city.
Tue-Sat 5:30–10PM
Eat
Taqueria La Bonita
If you're looking for Mexican cuisine (not Tex-Mex or Cal-Mex) in Ottawa, they're worth the drive out of downtown. La Bonita is a small restaurant - while you don't need to make reservations, they're recommended during busy hours.
Sun-Wed 11AM-9PM, Thu-Sat 11AM-10PM$20-40 plus alcohol
Eat
The Empire Grill
Has a great patio in the summer and delicious food year-round. Expect to pay more than $25 for an entree.
$30 main courses
Eat
The Green Door
At offers a vegetarian and vegan buffet and is the oldest vegetarian restaurant in Ottawa. It offers private and communal tables.
Tue–Sun 11:30AM–8:30PM
Eat
The Wellington Gastropub
A small second-floor walk-up in Westboro, the Wellington Gastropub changes its menu daily and has over a dozen craft and microbrewery beers on tap.
Weekdays 11:30AM-2PM and 5:30-9:30PM, Fri 11:30AM-2PM and 5:30-10PM, Sat 5:30-10PMThree-course table d'hôte $35 at lunch or $53 at supper, plus alcohol and gratituty
Eat
Warehouse
El Furniture Warehouse
Warehouse, in the heart of Byward Market, has a sidewalk patio and a roof patio. Inexpensive meals are available. Busy every day of the week, especially after 8PM when it is mostly a bar which may have a DJ.
$10-$20 per person
Eat
Zak's Diner
The best milk-shakes are found at Zak's, a 24-hour diner in the Byward Market. They're really good, made with ice-cream, and for the $6.99 they cost you get a large glass full plus the shaker with what didn't fit in the glass. Other dishes are quite good, with a "more calories for your money" attitude (as illustrated by the massive amount of milkshake served), which is nicely honest about fast food; however it may seem a bit expensive as the burgers start at $14.49 and if you add on the paid extras you can easily get in excess of $19. Late on week-end nights (2-3AM), it's packed as people go for their after-bar poutine. There are two additional locations on Elgin Street and in Kanata.
Always open
Eat Not mapped
The Works
Hard to argue that these are not the best burgers around. The selection is top notch and toppings are bountiful. Also served are delicious onion rings, milk shakes and cold beer, all in a funky industrial decor. Choose your burger from the traditional beef, elk, vegetarian, or other options. Expect to pay $20 or more for a burger with sides, and not to regret it. They're becoming an Ontario-wide chain, but Ottawa is where the Works started, and where they have their largest market penetration (seven locations as of January 2017). There are three locations where tourists in Ottawa might stumble across them; these are the ones listed below.
Eat
Feleena's
Mexican restaurant (not Tex-Mex or Cal-Mex)
11:30AM - 8:30PM$40-$80
Eat
Host India
622 Montreal Road
Eat
Jadeland
625 Somerset Street West
Sun-Thu 11AM-11PM, Fri Sat 11AM-midnight
Eat
Johnny Farina's
Italian food
Eat
Pho Bo Ga 2
843 Somerset Street West
10AM-2AM
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Pho Bo Ga L.A.
784 Somerset Street West
10AM-10:30PM
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The Works - Manor Park
363 St Laurent Boulevard
11AM-10PM
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The Works - The Glebe
580 Bank Street
Sun-Wed 11AM-10PM, Thu-Sat 11AM-11PM
Eat
The Works - Westboro Village
326 Richmond Road
Sun-Wed 11AM-10PM, Thu-Sat 11AM-11PM

Listings from the Wikivoyage guide to Ottawa (CC BY-SA 4.0).