Summer is the time to get away. The work world has slowed down and it’s an opportunity to travel and enjoy everything our great country has to offer. From seafood on the West and East coasts to the cuisine of Quebec and the cosmopolitan flavours of some of our big cities, there is a lot to savour.
However, we all eventually come back to our home here in the capital. If you’re anything like me, it’s easy to get the post-vacation blues.
While we can’t bring the coastal vibe or Quebecois flare home with us, there are a few Ottawa restaurants and bars that can evoke those feelings. And so here are the Ottawa hospitality spots to check out if you’re still hankering for your Canadian trip destinations this summer.
The Elmdale Oyster House & Tavern
A plate of oysters from The Elmdale Oyster House & Tavern. Photo by Jordan Pizzuti.
Travelling to Canada’s East Coast in the summer feels like one of the best low-effort, high-reward trips you can take. The beautiful old-world feel, scenic ocean views and incredible seafood are all a short, relatively inexpensive flight away. Spending time on the East Coast feels like slowing down time. Everything moves a little more casually and there is value placed on enjoying free time with friends and family.
Live music, fresh-caught seafood and pub culture reign supreme in the Maritimes and if you’ve been anywhere on the East Coast and come back to Ottawa, I know you’re missing those feelings right now. So, where can you find a little piece of the East in Canada’s capital?
The Elmdale Oyster House & Tavern is exactly that. A cozy, wood-accented building that feels like it was picked up during your trip to Halifax and dropped squarely in Ottawa’s Wellington Village.
The comfortable atmosphere is accented by live music, daily deals, a friendly and lively staff, and of course delicious seafood.
The Elmdale is, like the East Coast, a place where time slows down. No matter the day, a crisp pint, round metal sheet tray of oysters, and a few surprise Tully-Dews (if you know, you know) are readily available. The Elmdale and its staff are the quickest way to turn your week around and make you feel like you’re back out East without a care in the world.
Aside from the oysters, I recommend the tuna poke bowl. While not traditionally an East Coast flavour, The Elmdale’s poke bowl is a satisfying and delicious way to replace your dinner plans.
Buvette Daphnée
Buvette Daphnée offers guests a taste of Québec wines. Photo from Buvette Daphnée Instagram.
We’re taking our travels from the East Coast to our French neighbours. As Ottawans, a trip to Montreal, Quebec City or the Quebec cottage regions is a wildly attractive way to spend a summer weekend. No matter what anyone says about the province of Quebec, one thing is not up for debate: the food and wine scene is outstanding.
The ability to curate and execute some of the world’s most interesting restaurant concepts never ceases to amaze foodies everywhere. High-end, low-end and everything in between — Quebec has something for everyone.
My personal favourite is a Quebec wine bar. With a focus on natural wines and small plates done right, there are few greater joys than a well-executed Quebec wine bar.
Thankfully, right in the heart of the ByWard Market, we have a Quebec wine bar of our own.
Buvette Daphnée is a beautiful and well-executed dining establishment.
From the wide selection of natural wines to the seasonally rotating small plate menu, fully equipped with as many locally sourced ingredients as humanly possible, Daphnée is the ideal date spot if you and your significant other are yearning for that Montreal trip you took last week.
Shinka Sushi Bar
Various sushi offerings from Shinka Sushi Bar. Photo from Shinka Sushi Bar on Instagram.
British Columbia is known for many amazing things, including mountain ranges, ocean views, a lively outdoors scene and its world-class culinary world. B.C. is ripe with forests, perfect for foraging some of the country’s best vegetables, and bodies of water that are known for making fishermen famous. The province is also credited with being home to Canada’s first lovers of sushi. Now sushi is everywhere across the country, but being in land-locked Ontario it is difficult if not impossible to find that same quality of Japanese restaurant. But trust me when I say some get close.
In Ottawa, that place is Shinka, the premier choice for sushi lovers in the city. From the gorgeous not-so-secret dining room to the extensive variety of Japanese offerings, Shinka feels like a flight to B.C. to sit in a place that feels like you’ve taken a flight to Japan.
If you’re still following me on this extensive journey let me sum it up for you. You’ve been to B.C. and you miss how the sushi made you feel when you took that first bite. You have no imminent plans to go back, so you hop online and you book yourself a reservation at Shinka. For a moment, after that first piece of nigiri hits your tongue, it’s life on the West Coast again.
Perch
Enjoy a nine-course meal filled with sustainable Canadian ingredients at Perch. Photo by Jordan Pizzuti.
We can’t talk about Canadian travel dining without talking about the king of Canadian cookery in Ottawa. Perch and its commitment to localism and sustainability deserve to be on this list tenfold.
Chef Justin Champagne-Lagarde and his team have made a pledge to represent our beautiful country through food in an incredibly elevated way. The nine-course menu is truly as sustainable as the government allows it to be and is almost exclusively comprised of Canadian ingredients.
No, seriously, right down to using the only Canadian producers of olive oil and balsamic vinegar, Perch has found a way to celebrate all of Canada on its menu.
Chef Justin aims to make the unfamiliar familiar. Using atypical ingredients and giving them new life that feels approachable to both the average and seasoned diner, Perch’s commitment to Canada is unmatched.
We live in a beautiful country, one that is outstanding to dine in. When we’re lucky enough to travel and experience what it has to offer, we’re often creating lifelong memories that will evoke emotion in us long past the trip’s end. Thankfully, we live in a city that can give us a taste of those feelings. Dining in Ottawa has never been more representative of what it’s like to savour all that is Canada.
Jordan Pizzuti has been a local Ottawa food writer, content creator, and hospitality professional for over 10 years. Through his “best of” series, Jordan has cemented himself as an expert in Ottawa hospitality and nightlife. He continues to promote the Ottawa hospitality scene through his “Are We Having Fun Yet?” brand and his work with the Ottawa Business Journal.