Explore our curated restaurants, hotels, bars, and wineries in Ottawa.
Accolades in Ottawa
Our guide counts 4 exceptional wine programs in Ottawa. They are ARLO in Centretown, Aiāna Restaurant and Beckta in Downtown, and Restaurant e18hteen in ByWard market.
ARLO, in Centretown, is a modern Canadian wine bar with playful, seasonal Canadian cooking. Formats are small plates and a la carte. The wine program is exceptional and sommelier-led, and the list is natural wine. Canada's 100 Best Restaurants ranked ARLO 77th in 2026. Sommelier Alex McMahon, who interned at Noma, shapes the list. Co-owner Jamie Stunt took silver at the Canadian Culinary Championship.
Aiāna Restaurant, in Downtown, serves modern Canadian fine dining that blends classic technique with contemporary cooking and locally sourced ingredients. Formats are a tasting menu and a la carte menu. The wine program is exceptional, with an extensive wine list and craft cocktails. Wine Spectator named a Best of Award of Excellence for 2026.
Beckta, in Downtown, serves critically acclaimed modern Canadian fine dining in a historic heritage home, with seasonal local ingredients. Formats are a tasting menu and an a la carte menu. The wine program is exceptional and the list is extensive.
Restaurant e18hteen, in ByWard market, serves contemporary Canadian fine dining with steak and seafood. Multi-course tasting menus use seasonal local ingredients, and the formats also include a la carte and prix fixe. The room has an elegant fireplace, high ceilings and stone walls. The wine program is exceptional, extensive and sommelier-led.
Atelier, PERCH and Alice are in Little Italy, and TOMO Restaurant is in ByWard market. Each serves a tasting menu, from a 40-course modernist menu to omakase.
Atelier, in Little Italy, serves a 40-course modernist tasting menu using molecular gastronomy, presented as culinary art. The wine program is curated, extensive and sommelier-led. Chef Marc Lepine leads the kitchen. The latest Canada's 100 Best Restaurants ranking in our guide places Atelier 54th. The Best Chef awarded a One Knife. Opinionated About Dining has included Atelier in North America and in Europe.
PERCH, in Little Italy, is an intimate open-kitchen tasting menu, and the menus carry seeds that can be planted. The menu runs nine courses. Canada's 100 Best Restaurants ranked PERCH 95th in 2025. The kitchen's background includes Hawksworth in Vancouver, and it also includes Atelier in Ottawa. Plates include a savory Dijon macaroon with Acadian sturgeon mousse. The wine program is curated, with craft cocktails.
Alice, in Little Italy, serves modern vegetarian tasting menus set in a blind format that runs eight courses. Its wine program is curated and pours natural wine. Fermentation is the focus of the cooking, and seasonal themes shape the menus.
TOMO Restaurant, in ByWard market, serves modern Japanese omakase with house-made sauces and Japanese A5 Wagyu. Formats are omakase, a tasting menu and an a la carte menu. The wine program is curated. A sake program and craft cocktails are poured alongside the wine.
Trattoria Cafe Italia in Little Italy and Gitanes in Golden Triangle hold Star Wine List awards. RIVIERA in Downtown is on Canada's 100 Best Restaurants, and Sidecar in Little Italy is ranked among cocktail bars in Canada.
Trattoria Cafe Italia, in Little Italy, is a family-owned traditional Italian trattoria, open for 39 years. Musicians play accordion in the room, which also has a rooftop patio. Service is a la carte. The wine program is curated, with an extensive wine list. Star Wine List recognized the restaurant in 2026.
Gitanes, in Golden Triangle, is a modern French bistro. The chef's menu includes a raw bar of sustainably sourced seafood and brasserie dishes with modern twists. Formats are a la carte and a tasting menu. The wine program is curated, with an extensive list and natural wine. Star Wine List recognized Gitanes in 2026, called a White Star.
RIVIERA, in Downtown, serves new Canadian cooking with Mediterranean influences in a historic former bank building. Formats are a la carte and small plates. The wine program is curated, with an extensive wine list and craft cocktails. Plates include tartares, crudos and freshly extruded pastas. Canada's 100 Best Restaurants ranked RIVIERA 88th in 2025.
Sidecar, in Little Italy, serves Mediterranean small plates and cocktails. Mati's Mediterranean dinner menu is served in an intimate speakeasy basement. Formats are small plates and a la carte. The wine program is curated, and craft cocktails are poured. Among cocktail bars in Canada, it ranks 32nd.
The 4 exceptional wine programs in our guide are ARLO in Centretown, Aiāna Restaurant in Downtown, Beckta in Downtown, and Restaurant e18hteen in ByWard market. ARLO pours natural wine on a sommelier-led list. Aiāna Restaurant has an extensive wine list and craft cocktails, and it holds a Wine Spectator Best of Award of Excellence. Beckta has an extensive wine list. Restaurant e18hteen has an extensive, sommelier-led list.
Ottawa has no Michelin-starred restaurants in our guide. The exceptional wine programs are ARLO in Centretown, Aiāna Restaurant in Downtown, Beckta in Downtown, and Restaurant e18hteen in ByWard market. ARLO pours natural wine on a sommelier-led list. Aiāna Restaurant has an extensive wine list and a Wine Spectator Best of Award of Excellence. Beckta has an extensive wine list. Restaurant e18hteen has an extensive, sommelier-led list.
Tasting menus in our guide are at Atelier, PERCH and Alice in Little Italy, at Aiāna Restaurant and Beckta in Downtown, at Gitanes in Golden Triangle, and at Restaurant e18hteen and TOMO Restaurant in ByWard market. Atelier serves a 40-course modernist menu. Alice serves a blind eight-course vegetarian menu focused on fermentation. TOMO Restaurant serves omakase as well as a tasting menu. PERCH serves a nine-course menu from an open kitchen.
Aiāna Restaurant in Downtown holds the Wine Spectator award in our guide: a Best of Award of Excellence for 2026. The citywide count of Wine Spectator Best of Award of Excellence awards is 1. Aiāna Restaurant's wine program is exceptional, with an extensive wine list and craft cocktails, and the formats include a tasting menu and an a la carte menu.
By Emmett Haley · Updated October 8, 2026 · Editorial standards
Best of Ottawa
Ottawa
Selected entries from the current guide for Ottawa.
Ottawa, Canada
Molecular gastronomy reaches its Canadian pinnacle at Atelier Ottawa, where Chef Marc Lepine's award-winning modernist cuisine transforms local ingredients into edible art through innovative tasting menus spanning up to 44 courses in an intimate Centretown West setting.
Ottawa, Canada
A Centretown fixture since 2020, ARLO pairs concise, ingredient-driven Canadian menus with a natural wine program that earns serious attention without the ceremony. Co-owner Jamie Stunt's silver at the 2013 Canadian Culinary Championship signals the kitchen's competitive standing, while sommelier Alex McMahon's Noma internship shapes a list that rewards curiosity. The room is warm, the terrace leafy, and the food consistently purposeful.
Ottawa, Canada
Positioned in the financial and governmental core of downtown Ottawa at 50 O'Connor Street, Aiana Restaurant operates in a district where power lunches and after-work tables set the rhythm. In a city where serious dining is spread thin across a handful of ambitious addresses, Aiana holds a place worth understanding before your next Ottawa visit.
Ottawa, Canada
Gitanes occupies a compact address on Elgin Street in Ottawa's Centretown corridor, where its Star Wine List White Star recognition signals a wine program taken more seriously than most of the city's casual dining tier. The room earns a particular kind of loyalty among those who follow thoughtful pours alongside their plates. A worthwhile address if you are tracking Ottawa's understated wine-forward dining scene.
Ottawa, Canada
Meat Press on Armstrong Street occupies a corner of Ottawa's Hintonburg neighbourhood that has become one of the city's more serious dining corridors. The room draws occasion diners and regulars with equal pull, sitting in a category where the focus is the plate rather than the performance around it. Booking ahead is advisable, particularly on weekends.
Ottawa, Canada
On Preston Street in Ottawa's Little Italy, PERCH runs a nine-course tasting menu shaped by a kitchen lineage that traces through Hawksworth in Vancouver and Atelier in Ottawa. Dishes like a savoury Dijon macaroon with Acadian sturgeon mousse and koji-aged, seaweed-wrapped duck breast signal a kitchen working at the serious end of progressive Canadian cooking.
Ottawa, Canada
On Sparks Street, RIVIERA pulls a cross-section of Ottawa's power crowd — politicians, business figures, visiting NHL rosters — into one room built around tartares, crudos, freshly extruded pastas, and a spirits list that earns its reputation. Bar seats are among the harder reservations in the city. The room operates at a register somewhere between neighbourhood anchor and genuine occasion destination.
Ottawa, Canada
Trattoria Cafe Italia sits on Ottawa's Preston Street, the historic heart of Little Italy, and earned a White Star recognition from Star Wine List in January 2022 for the depth of its wine program. The room draws from the trattoria tradition: informal enough for a weeknight, serious enough about what's in the glass to warrant attention from wine-focused diners across the city.
Ottawa, Canada
On Rideau Street in Ottawa's Lower Town, A La Istanbul Turkish Cuisine brings the structural logic of Turkish communal dining to a Canadian capital where Middle Eastern and Mediterranean tables remain a minority presence. The menu reads as a map of Anatolian cooking traditions, from meze-format starters through to grilled proteins and slow-cooked regional dishes, positioning it clearly within the city's international dining tier.
Ottawa, Canada
On Wellington Street West, Absinthe occupies a stretch of Ottawa's Hintonburg neighbourhood that has grown into one of the city's more serious dining corridors. The kitchen works within a French-influenced framework that has made it a reference point for the kind of considered, ingredient-led cooking that defines Ottawa's upper-mid tier. Reservations are advised, particularly on weekends.
Ottawa, Canada
Akira Back Ottawa belongs to the capital’s more polished dining circuit, where hotel-adjacent rooms, government-district traffic, and occasion-led dinners shape the experience as much as the menu. Read it through sourcing and format rather than hype: the question is how confidently a contemporary kitchen handles premium ingredients in a city better known for official lunches than late-night restaurant theatre.
Ottawa, Canada
Al's Steakhouse pairs classic steakhouse cooking with an extensive wine list, conversational pacing, and private dining on Elgin Street.
Ottawa, Canada
Alice occupies a quietly residential corner of Ottawa's Centretown at 40 Adeline Street, operating in the smaller, more considered tier of the city's progressive dining scene. Its address places it away from the tourist circuit, drawing a crowd that books deliberately rather than stumbles in. For Ottawa diners tracking where serious cooking is happening outside the established flagship addresses, Alice is part of that conversation.
Ottawa, Canada
On Clarence Street in the Byward Market, Alora occupies a stretch of Ottawa's most densely layered dining neighbourhood. The address places it within easy reach of the capital's broader restaurant scene, from neighbourhood staples to destination-tier tables. For visitors building an Ottawa itinerary, it anchors a block worth exploring on foot.
Ottawa, Canada
On Wellington Street West, Anthony's occupies a corner of Ottawa's Hintonburg dining corridor where the neighbourhood's shift from industrial to food-forward is most legible. Positioned among some of the city's more considered independent operators, it draws a crowd that expects substance over spectacle. For a broader view of where it sits in the Ottawa dining picture, the EP Club Ottawa guide provides the clearest map.
Ottawa, Canada
On Beechwood Avenue in Ottawa's Vanier-adjacent New Edinburgh strip, Arturo's has held its place as a neighbourhood fixture worth the drive across town. The room rewards return visits, and the kitchen's consistency is the kind that builds regulars rather than one-time curiosity seekers. Plan ahead: walk-ins are rarely direct here.
Ottawa, Canada
Bambu Restaurant sits on Riverside Drive in Ottawa's south end, drawing diners who seek something quieter than the downtown corridor. The setting along the waterside stretch shapes the experience before any food arrives, and the name itself signals a particular aesthetic direction. For the fuller Ottawa dining picture, EP Club's city guide provides the necessary context.
Ottawa, Canada
On Elgin Street in the heart of downtown Ottawa, Beckta occupies a considered position in the city's fine dining tier — a destination that draws on Canadian produce and a well-developed wine program to deliver an evening that rewards advance planning. The room and the level of service place it firmly in Ottawa's small circle of restaurants where the booking itself is part of the experience.
Ottawa, Canada
Belmont sits on Bank Street in the Glebe, one of Ottawa's most consistently interesting dining corridors. The address has accumulated a neighbourhood reputation built on coordinated front-of-house and kitchen work rather than single-star charisma. For visitors cross-referencing Ottawa's mid-to-upper dining tier, it belongs on the list alongside Absinthe and Alice.
Ottawa, Canada
A neighbourhood fixture on Richmond Road in Ottawa's west end, Biagio's Kitchen + Catering draws a loyal local following for its Italian-inflected comfort cooking and catering operations. The dual kitchen-and-catering format places it in a practical tier that serves both walk-in diners and private event clients.
Ottawa, Canada
A Sparks Street fixture in Ottawa's downtown core, Bier Markt brings a European beer-hall sensibility to the capital's mid-market dining scene. Its broad selection of draught and bottled beers anchors a menu designed for sharing and extended sessions, placing it closer to the city's casual-social tier than its fine-dining neighbours. Worth knowing for those after a lively, beer-forward evening near Parliament Hill.
Ottawa, Canada
Big Rig Kitchen and Brewery sits on Iris Street in Ottawa's west end, operating at the intersection of craft brewing and casual kitchen cooking that defines a particular tier of Canadian brewpub dining. Where downtown Ottawa venues pursue tasting menus and fine-dining credentials, Big Rig positions itself as a neighborhood anchor, pairing house-brewed beer with a broad kitchen program.
Ottawa, Canada
On Wellington Street West, Blumenstudio occupies a stretch of Ottawa dining that rewards attention rather than spectacle. The address places it in a neighbourhood where the room's character and the coordination between service and kitchen tend to carry more weight than a single headline dish or a famous name above the door.
Ottawa, Canada
"Bobby's Table, Vanier Beechwood by Eva Bee. Sometimes a diner breakfast does you good, doesn’t it? This place has been a Vanier institution for years providing daily breakfast specials starting at $4.99! Daily lunch specials include smoked meat sandwiches with house-made pickles, smoked meat pasta sauce and spaghetti and house-made carrot cake. Don’t forget the cherry coke!"
Ottawa
Selected entries from the current guide for Ottawa.
Ottawa, Canada
A private tier within Ottawa's grandest hotel, Fairmont Gold offers 69 rooms with separate check-in, a dedicated lounge serving breakfast and evening canapés, and classically styled interiors with Parliament and canal views. At CAD $517, it positions itself as the capital's most historically grounded premium hotel experience, trading on a century of political and architectural significance.
Ottawa, Canada
ARC The. Hotel Ottawa occupies a clean-lined address on Slater Street in the capital's downtown core, positioning itself within the city's design-conscious independent hotel tier. With 112 rooms and a presence close to Parliament Hill and the major federal institutions, it draws a mix of government, business, and leisure travellers who want considered design over chain-hotel anonymity.
Ottawa, Canada
Alt Hotel Ottawa Airport holds a Michelin Selected designation in the 2025 guide, placing it in a verified tier of airport-adjacent accommodation rarely recognised at that level in Canada. Located at 1085 Airport Parkway Private, it suits travellers who want a credentialled, no-friction overnight between connections or early departures without crossing into the city centre.
Ottawa, Canada
Alt Hotel Ottawa Downtown at 185 Slater Street earned Michelin Selected status in 2025, placing it in a small tier of Ottawa properties that the guide's editors consider worth recommending. The design-led format favours clean lines and functional spaces over grand-lobby theatrics, positioning it as a considered alternative to the city's heritage hotel tradition. Direct to book and centrally located, it suits travellers who prioritise design coherence over ceremony.
Ottawa, Canada
Andaz Ottawa ByWard Market sits on Dalhousie Street in one of Canada's most walkable urban neighbourhoods, carrying a 2025 Michelin Selected distinction that positions it inside a small peer group of Ottawa hotels recognised for consistent guest experience. The property operates within the Andaz brand's signature model of relaxed luxury, where service is designed to feel host-led rather than transactional, and the ByWard Market's food, culture, and political energy arrive at the front door.
Ottawa, Canada
Le Germain Hotel Ottawa, selected for the Michelin Hotels guide in 2025, sits on Daly Avenue at the edge of downtown Ottawa's arts and government precinct. The property belongs to the Quebec-founded Germain Hotels group, whose portfolio spans design-forward boutique properties across Canada. For travellers who want considered design and a quieter alternative to the capital's larger heritage hotels, it offers a credible option.
Ottawa, Canada
Ranked #23 on Condé Nast's Best Hotels list for 2025, The Metcalfe Hotel occupies a central Metcalfe Street address in Ottawa's parliamentary core. The property positions itself in the independent, character-led tier of Ottawa accommodation, where proximity to Parliament Hill and a guest-focused service culture matter more than brand affiliation.
Ottawa
Selected entries from the current guide for Ottawa.
Ottawa, Canada
1912 belongs to Ottawa’s hotel-lounge cocktail tradition rather than the city’s louder pub circuit. With a central address at 1 Rideau St, it reads as a downtown room for composed drinks, conversation, and a more formal pre- or post-dinner stop, especially for travellers comparing Ottawa’s bar scene with its restaurants and hotels.
Ottawa, Canada
Beyond the Pale Brewing Company occupies a warehouse bay on City Centre Avenue, where Ottawa's Hintonburg and Mechanicsville neighbourhoods converge. The taproom functions as a genuine community anchor, drawing regulars with rotating house-brewed taps and a format that prioritises craft beer over spectacle. It sits in the tier of small-footprint Canadian brewpubs that built local loyalty before national recognition caught up.
Ottawa, Canada
Escape Manor's Hintonburg location on Wellington Street West puts one of Ottawa's most established escape room operators inside one of the city's most characterful neighbourhoods. The format rewards groups looking for structured, time-pressured entertainment rather than passive leisure, with multiple room themes designed to test lateral thinking under pressure. Book in advance, particularly on weekends.
Ottawa, Canada
The combination of casual counter dining and a menu built around accessible sushi makes it a practical neighbourhood anchor for Kanata residents looking for a quick, satisfying meal without the downtown commute.
Ottawa, Canada
Kochu sits on Preston Street in Ottawa's Little Italy corridor, where Korean-inflected drinking culture has carved a distinct niche within the city's evolving bar scene. The programme leans on technique-forward drinks and bold flavour references that place it apart from the neighbourhood's more traditional Italian and pub-leaning competition. For Ottawa drinkers tracking where the city's cocktail ambitions are heading, Preston Street is a reasonable starting point.
Ottawa, Canada
Pour Boy on Somerset Street West sits in one of Ottawa's most character-driven drinking corridors, where neighbourhood bars carry as much local identity as the city's more celebrated venues. With sparse formal credentials on record, it operates in the tier of regulars-first establishments that anchor a street rather than court a guide. Visit for the atmosphere and the company, not the accolades.
Ottawa, Canada
Sir John A Pub occupies a well-worn stretch of Elgin Street in Ottawa's Centretown, where the parliamentary district gives way to a neighbourhood built around after-work ritual. Named for Canada's first Prime Minister, the pub draws a cross-section of the capital's civil servants, students, and weekend regulars who treat it as a reliable fixture in a city that doesn't always make nightlife easy to find.
Ottawa, Canada
Tooth and Nail Brewing Company occupies a spot in Ottawa's Hintonburg-adjacent west end, where the city's craft beer scene has developed a neighbourhood identity distinct from the downtown bar strip. The brewery sits at 3 Irving Ave, placing it within reach of the light industrial and creative corridor that defines this part of the capital. For visitors working through Ottawa's craft drinking options, it belongs on the same circuit as Beyond the Pale Brewing Company.
Ottawa, Canada
At the corner of Rideau and Sussex, ZOE'S occupies a position in Ottawa's downtown dining circuit that rewards those who pay attention to setting as much as plate. The address places it squarely in the capital's hotel-adjacent corridor, where dining tends toward the ceremonial — suits, occasions, and the measured pace that comes with rooms built for conversation rather than throughput.
Ottawa
Selected entries from the current guide for Ottawa.
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