10 Best Places To Eat In Ottawa, Canada

places to eat in ottawa
Alisa
Alisa 
Updated
| 3 min read

Ottawa is known for its Parliament buildings, but little do people know that this city is a gold mine for good eats. Ottawa is a very multicultural city where you can find streets, in the heart of downtown, decorated with flags from different countries. These flags indicate that country’s presence on the street. For example, Preston Street has an Italian flag and on this street, you can find great Italian bakeries, restaurants and pubs. Read on to learn about the ten best places to eat in Ottawa.

1. Vietnam Palace

Editor's Note: Photo taken from the establishment's official social account

SHRIMP SALAD ROLL SERVED WITH PEANUT SAUCE. ONE OF OUR HEALTHY AND FRESH APPETIZERS.

Posted by Vietnam Palace Restaurant on Saturday, March 1, 2014

Ottawa is full of places you can get pho and it’s actually one of the local go-to foods for people who like to party because most pho places, in Chinatown, are open until 5 am. But not all of these places have great food. The absolute best pho, in Ottawa, is found at Vietnam Palace. But, unlike most of the other pho places in Chinatown, this place isn’t open until 5 am - it has regular business hours.

Don’t like soup? This place offers a great selection of meat with rice or rice noodles. If you like authentic Vietnamese food, you must try this restaurant, before leaving Ottawa.

Vietnam Palace

Address: 819 Somerset St W, Ottawa

Website: Vietnam Pho

Visited this place?

2. Royal Treasures

Editor's Note: Photo taken from the establishment's official social account

Royal Treasures is a Chinese restaurant in the heart of downtown Ottawa. This homey restaurant features a full menu of mouthwatering Asian-inspired dishes. You must try their mayo shrimp - a combination of juicy shrimp, topped with a delicious mayo-based sauce, that is to die for!

Royal Treasures

Address: 774 Somerset Street West, Ottawa

Website: Royal Treasures

Visited this place?

3. Pub Italia

Ottawa Flickr Pub Night - The Bar
Source: Photo by Flickr user Pierre Tourigny used under CC BY 2.0

Ottawanians love this pub, not only for their food but for their epic “Beer Bible”. You guessed it, this bible is a menu chock full of domestic and imported beer. The strawberry-flavoured beer is a favourite amongst the females who visit this pub. If you have a significant other that doesn’t fancy beer, you should come down and have them take a look at the Beer Bible. To go with your beer, Pub Italia features a full menu with signature pasta dishes.

Pub Italia

Address: 434 Preston St, Ottawa

Website: Pub Italia

Visited this place?

4. World Burger

Editor's Note: Photo taken from the establishment's official social account

Not many people know about this burger place, in Ottawa, but this little restaurant is great for burger connoisseurs. The menu is filled with different toppings for burgers, based on different countries and the ingredients found there. For instance, the Paris burger features honey-poached pears, caramelized onions, Brie cheese, bacon, honey mustard, and mayo. There is an option to create your own burger but the preselected combinations will make your taste buds flare.

World Burger

Address: 1651 Merivale Rd, Nepean

Website: World Burger

Visited this place?

5. Island Flava

Editor's Note: Photo taken from the establishment's official social account

Do your taste buds crave Jamaican beef patties, oxtail curry, and roti? Come down to Island Flava, in the heart of downtown, to experience the islands, in Canada. Are you looking for a Canadian staple, topped with Caribbean spice? Then you must try the jerk poutine at Island Flava!

Island Flava

Address: 409 Dalhousie St, Ottawa

Website: Island Flava

Visited this place?

6. Shawarma Deluxe

Editor’s note: Establishment is permanently closed

Ottawa has a shawarma place on every corner. It can be hard to get everything you want on your shawarma, with all the crunchy vegetables and fresh garlic sauce. Shawarma Deluxe, close by the Byward Market, is definitely the place to go. The shawarmas at this spot have all the flavours you’re looking for, at a great price!

Shawarma Deluxe

Address: 347 Dalhousie St, Ottawa

Visited this place?

7. Zak's Diner

Editor's Note: Photo taken from the establishment's official social account

DINE-IN HOURS: MON to FRI: 7 am –10 pm SAT – SUN: 6am – 10pm TAKE OUT & DELIVERY HOURS: MON to THURS: 7 am...

Posted by Zak's Diner Kanata on Tuesday, February 16, 2021

Zak’s Diner has two locations in Ottawa and is famous for their deep fried Mars bars! If you’ve never had one, you can try one at Zak’s anytime, because they’re open 24 hours. They also feature all-day breakfast platters, which is always a plus!

Zak's Diner

Address: 14 Byward Market Square, Ottawa & 499 Terry Fox Drive, Kanata

Other Locations: 515 Mc Neeley Ave, Carleton Place | 220 Elgin St, Ottawa

Website: Zak’s Diner

Visited this place?

8. Elgin Street Diner

Editor's Note: Photo taken from the establishment's official social account

Aside from being open 24 hours, in a clubbing hotspot, this diner has great food. The burgers here are fresh and the poutine brings in patrons from all around. Elgin Street Diner features a variety of poutine and sandwiches, as well as an all-day breakfast! This diner was voted best diner, best 24-hour spot, best breakfast, best poutine, best milkshake, and best in service by the readers of Xpress Magazine. If you’re in the downtown area and hungry don’t hesitate to walk into the Elgin Street Diner and have some grub!

Elgin Street Diner

Address: 374 Elgin St, Ottawa

Website: Elgin Street Diner

Visited this place?

9. Pancho Villa

Editor's Note: Photo taken from the establishment's official social account

We are looking forward to seeing you all this Friday as we are entering Stage 3 with indoor dining. All Covid-19...

Posted by Pancho Villa Mexican Restaurant on Wednesday, July 14, 2021

If you’re looking for authentic Mexican food, Pancho Villa is the place to be! You can sit outside on the patio and eat shrimp nachos or corn flour tortilla enchiladas and drink beer margaritas. Top it all off with some deep fried ice cream and your tummy will be smiling!

Pancho Villa

Address: 361 Elgin St., Ottawa

Visited this place?

10. Rangoli

Editor's Note: Photo taken from the establishment's official social account

new sweets counter

Posted by Rangoli Indian Cuisine & Sweets on Tuesday, April 12, 2016

There are many Indian restaurants in Ottawa, but not all of them cook with all the spices necessary to make a good curry. Rangoli, in the east end of Ottawa, offers great value and quality food. You can also buy Indian sweets at this restaurant, by the pound.

Rangoli

Address: 2491 St Joseph Blvd, Orléans

Website: Rangoli

Visited this place?

For foodies

Ottawa is a very multicultural city, with restaurants to spare and although most of the food here is delicious, there is the odd place that serves tasteless food. Eat wisely - visit one or all of the ten places on this list in the near future - your tastebuds will thank you.

Visited this place?
Any must-sees we missed? Tell us about them in the comments section or write a post here to help out fellow travelers!
Disclosure: Trip101 selects the listings in our articles independently. Some of the listings in this article contain affiliate links.

History


Get Trip101 in your inbox

Unsubscribe in one click. See our Privacy Policy for more information on how we use your data

Alisa Atkinson is a Freelance Technical Writer. Alisa is a Canadian born author that lives in Orlando, Florida. She is from Guyanese Indian decent and loves to learn about her culture every chance...Read more

 Want to contribute as a Local Expert?
Explore Ottawa - Southeastern Ontario
x
Good things are meant to be shared!
Back to top
Visited any of these places? Click this button to activate our "Add a Tip" feature to share your experience.