A list of the best hidden gem restaurants in Ottawa

When you eat around town as much Capital Eats' food editor Ralf, you're bound to stumble upon some less well-known, but utterly delicious restaurants.

To help you discover new places around Ottawa and Gatineau you might otherwise miss, we've put together the top nine hidden gem restaurants we think you need to try.

Some are pricey. Some are cheap. Some are in town. Some are out of town. But all are food spots worth visiting.

You can be confident knowing each is worth visiting. Why? Because we've visited and tried the food at every restaurant we recommend.

Food Mood: Korean Kitchen

Food Mood: Korean Kitchen opened its doors in 2017 and has been supplying locals and shoppers with savoury and well-prepared Korean street food six days a week (closed on Mondays) from their tiny location at 178B Rideau St., just steps from Dalhousie.

Sang Jin and his wife do all the cooking and for a couple that appear to me as if they might have retired years ago, it's no surprise to me that people who work in food and drink have a passion for the nurturing of family and community that goes beyond that of most mortals. I've seen it many times.

Saffron Kabab

This Persian restaurant Saffron Kabab at 1729 Bank Street opened in 2019 and has developed a strong reputation for a good kitchen and reasonable prices. The portions are substantial and stewed dishes make for luscious fall-off-the-bone eating. The mahicheh (lamb shank) is always a solid option and comes served with a fluffy dill and fava bean rice pilaf. For a stew with more plant content, the ghormeh sabzi is an herb stew with cubes of beef, preserved lemons and kidney beans. Lip-smacking.

And for those who'd like a change from the classic baba ganoush appetizer, I can only recommend the mirza ghasemi, a dish from northern Iran made with smoked eggplant, tomatoes, eggs, garlic, olive oil, and advieh (a mix of salt, pepper and turmeric). It was a minor revelation to me and I admit, I do now prefer it to baba ganoush. And by no means give the hummus a miss because it's very good, and you may want to compare it to versions at other middle-eastern restaurants.

Banh Mi Yes

Banh Mi simply means “bread” and in Vietnam when Banh Mi is asked for it's understood that it will come with a meat and vegetable filling. Typically this means a variety of hams, pickled vegetables, butter, Vietnamese mayonnaise, a few dashes of Maggi (an umami-intense seasoning developed in Switzerland circa 1868) or soy sauce and of course, a delicious pate.

The creator of, what I will call Ottawa’s finest Banh Mi, Phoebe Ha, takes this humble staple very seriously with Banh Mi Yes. From a commercial kitchen in Kanata, she not only makes the unctuous pate, pork belly and pickles that fill her sandwiches, she begins her day at 2 a.m. to start the three-hour process of proofing the bread. Yes, she bakes every single bun to order. After the sandwiches are ready, she delivers them personally. This is dedication to quality and it exemplifies a deep pride in tradition.

Bistro Ristoro

In 2019 Vladimir Ristovski opened Bistro Ristoro on Clarence Street. After leaving his post as Macedonian ambassador and permanent representative of Macedonia to the Council of Europe, Vladimir (he prefers Vlado) spent six months working in the kitchen and front of house at the award-winning restaurant of a friend in Macedonia.

From my experiences at Ristoro, it's clear that he had a natural inclination as a cook and he shows that he punches well above his weight with so many of his dishes.

His focus is on the Mediterranean with influences largely from Macedonia, Greece, Italy and Spain. The restaurant, much like the man himself, is warmly inviting and speaks of a contemporary sensibility on a foundation of old-world charm. When we speak of “old-world charm” we understandably think of the atmosphere of a place, but at Ristoro, it extends to the respect and graciousness of the service. It's not stuffy or overly formal but genuinely welcoming.

Mr. Kaak

Kaak is a type of Lebanese bread, similar to pita but sprinkled with sesame seeds and made with a different type of dough. Khalid is also a cheese maker, producing both the Akawi and Halloumi cheeses he uses in his Kaak sandwiches. Both are brined, unripened cheeses with Halloumi being the more firm and typically used for grilling.

Del Piacere

Del Piacere at 416 Preston St is relatively new to the Preston Street scene but what a welcome addition.

This is Neapolitan pizza well done and their fifteen-inch prosciutto cotto and mushroom pie at $16 may well be the best pizza value in the city and environs.

The thin crust is terrific, if a little uneven in spots, but I have no issues with that as it demonstrates a hand-crafted nature. Every part of it was baked through perfectly. The sauce was light and bright allowing the individual toppings to shine. That’s as it should be.

Their pizza is a confidence builder and I’ll be back for other items on their menu. Terrific Italian home cooking. Just go.

Kitchen Maroo

We're in the realm of Korean cooking now and we are fortunate to have this great cuisine proliferate in Ottawa. It's packed with flavour and very healthy, offering low-fat meals, many gluten free options as well as dishes for vegetarians and pescatarians.

Ordering the Galbi-tang beef soup at Kitchen Maroo which opened at 710 Gladstone Ave. in 2020, you quickly realize you're involved with something truly high quality. A bowl of this beef soup is as clean and pure a broth you're likely to get anywhere, and that includes the largest cities in Canada. It's modestly salted, flavoured with daikon radish and button mushrooms and serious quantities of on-bone beef. The result is a mercifully honest rendering of a Korean classic. Just pure ingredients, cooked from scratch. To get it right has its price, but at $18 it's still a value.

Pearson St. Smashburger

So what is a smash burger? Simply, a ball of ground beef that is then smooshed thin on the grill or griddle. The Oklahoma onion burger may be the most famous incarnation. This grew in popularity during the depression era when meat was rationed and loads of grilled onions were added to fill out the meal. A classic was born.

The flavour advantage that grilling thin on a hot surface provides is that more of the meat is exposed leaving an appetizing crust on the patty. What you finally need, apart from timing and technique, is quality beef and Pearson St. gets theirs from local Gillette Farms. The depth of flavour from this beef ensures that I will be buying my hormone and antibiotic-free meat from this farm going forward.

La Belle Verte

The owner has a deeply creative mind and takes her inspirations from pictures on Instagram as well as traditional recipes that she feels she can recreate without the use of meat. Take her texturely luscious and flavourful Faux Gras appetizer that was as good a veggie cracker spread as any I've had, and better than most.

Her squash soup, like the vegan soups of the sadly defunct Moringa in Ottawa, lacked for nothing in flavor and was accompanied by a raw golden flax seed cracker held together by a puree of sun dried tomatoes. Just fantastic, and it’s exposure to this cooking that gave me renewed inspiration for home.