Menus, photos and places worth a table.
Downtown / Sparks Street · Contemporary Canadian
Start with Riviera when dinner needs to feel like an occasion. At 62 Sparks Street, the menu moves from oysters and beef tartare to lobster spaghetti and steak frites, giving a mixed table several ways to build the evening. It leads this list because a central address, seafood, pasta and a full cocktail list make it a useful first booking for a visitor or celebration.
Wellington West · Pasta & seafood
Supply & Demand is the Wellington West choice for a meal built around pasta, with a raw-bar opening act. Albacore tuna crudo and oysters sit alongside daily-made pasta; the menu checked here includes squid-ink rigatoni and ricotta gnudi. Choose it when two people want to share a few distinct courses without committing to a tasting menu.
Centretown · Northern Italian
North & Navy gives an Italian dinner a more specific direction: seasonal cooking inspired by northeastern Italy and eastern Ontario. Begin with cicheti or vitello tonnato, then look to pasta and seafood. The Nepean Street restaurant offers an à la carte meal and a six-course tasting, while the rear bacaro provides a separate bar-and-small-bites option.
St. Laurent Boulevard · Kerala / South Indian
Make Coconut Lagoon the reason to head to St. Laurent Boulevard. Its Kerala menu gives you a meal to assemble: lentil vada, shrimp moilee in coconut sauce, mushroom curry and parotta, with several dishes marked vegan. A seven-course tasting and a separate lunch buffet give this pick a place in different dining plans.
Little Italy / Rochester Street · Modernist tasting menu
Atelier is the pick when the tasting menu itself is the evening's purpose. The Rochester Street restaurant describes seven courses over approximately three hours, placing it in a different category from an à la carte dinner. Canada's 100 Best lists it at No. 54 in 2026. Choose it for a milestone with someone who wants to give an unfolding menu their full attention.
Centretown / Somerset Street · Seasonal Canadian & wine bar
Arlo is the Somerset Street choice for people who want the wine conversation to shape dinner. Its list spans Canadian and international bottles, while the sample food menu offers oysters, duck frites and maitake parmigiana alongside larger mains. A pair can start with a glass and snacks, then settle into a fuller meal.
Elgin Street · French
Gitanes earns the Elgin Street slot with a French dinner that can follow a familiar path or become a tasting occasion. Its published sample menu includes oysters, crab spaghetti and steak frites. Book regular dining to choose your own courses; the separate Chef's Table experience serves a family-style tasting for two to eight guests.
Wellington West · Contemporary Canadian
Stofa is a middle ground for diners who like a structured meal but want a say in what arrives. Its three- and five-course table d'hôte menus offer a choice of starter and main, with kataifi-wrapped shrimp, bison sirloin and duck confit on the menu checked here. It adds a Wellington West occasion with a different format from Atelier's set progression.
ByWard Market · Québec-inspired wine bar
Buvette Daphnée brings a Québec-inspired wine-bar dinner to the ByWard Market. Cretons croquettes and sourdough with maple-whipped butter sit alongside substantial choices such as mushroom casarecce and grilled pickerel. Pick it for a table that likes deciding together and sharing several plates, with Canadian natural wines among the bottle options.
The Glebe · Italian
Cantina Gia is the Glebe pick for an Italian meal with a straightforward starting point: focaccia, pasta and something sweet. Its September dinner menu includes cacio e pepe, mushroom pappardelle and ricotta cappelletti; a separate lunch menu offers sandwiches and pasta. Choose it when the plan revolves around Bank Street and you want a neighbourhood restaurant for lunch or dinner.
Handpicked by TastyPals editors, in the same order as our curated best-restaurants guide.
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The best restaurants for dinner in Ottawa, curated by TastyPals editors.
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