Ottawa's best food and restaurants of 2024

Each year I labour under the impression that compiling the Best of The Year list will be an easy task. It’s anything but. Yet it is fun rediscovering places from the start of the year. 

As you enjoy this compilation, bear in mind that the order in which these eateries are placed is random and does not represent any particular preference over another.

Burgers

Bite Burger

• Name + address: Bite Burger House, 1675 Tenth Line Rd.

Bite Burger House was a reader recommendation, and it hit all the right notes for one of the Capital’s greatest burgers. The Canadian Certified AAA Angus used is expertly cooked and has a gorgeously rich beef taste. 

The fries here are also amongst the best I’ve enjoyed this year. Sourced from a local grower, it's wonderful to see that owners Bettina Klims and Glen Klepsch take seriously a commitment to quality and to supporting local business colleagues.

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Smash Daddy

• Name + address: Smash Daddy, 298 Preston St.

Smash Daddy is another burger spot that has both great burgers and fries. In fact their thicker cut English style chips are the best I’ve had in Ottawa. The same is true of their burger sauce which is the only sauce I now want on a smash burger. 

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Peace Garden

• Name + address: Peace Garden, 40 Murray St.

Peace Gardens vegan burger was a bit messy, but it was all flavou,r and the riot of colours on my plate was dazzling. This is some of the nicest vegan cooking I’ve experienced, and I felt like a million bucks after eating here.

Simply everything here is very good.

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Wings

6ixty Wings

• Name + address: 6ixty Wings, 4048 Carling Ave.

6ixty Wings goes all out to make your favourite guilty pleasure very memorable. The name says it all and the combinations of flavours are actually well thought out. I also like that they offer regular, breaded and boneless wings.

From the photography on their website to the use of fresh-only (never frozen) wings, this is a company that knows what they’re doing. For an expanding chain of restaurants, the quality control and execution is impressive.

They have weekday specials and their loaded fries ($5.99) are big enough for two and worth having.

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The Brig Pub

• Name + address: The Brig Pub, 23 York St.

I arrived at The Brig looking for a good fish and chips, and I found the,m but it was the wings that really wowed me. 

They were plump and moist and falling off the bone. With every bite another wisp of steam escaped and I was floored by the fact that these had been made from a fresh state. 

They further elevated the experience by browning the butter before adding the hot sauce to the wings and well, I’m not sure you’ll find a better wing in the ByWard.

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Note: I had planned on adding Fiazza wings to this list (they were brilliant) but I’ve since learned that Fiazza restaurants have gone out of business.

Pizza

Giulia

• Name + address: Giulia, 61 York St.

Giulia had long been on a pizza shortlist and it was a happy surprise when it turned out to be one of the better pies I’ve had in Ottawa.

The dough was thin with a pleasant chewiness augmented by a fresh and, mercifully, not overcooked tomato sauce. They use the most famous American pizza pepperoni Ezzo, and it certainly packs a punch. 

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Schoolhouse Pizza

• Name + address: Schoolhouse Pizza, 11 Springfield Rd.

Schoolhouse Pizza arrived this summer, advertising Brooklyn style pizza. These are larger pies with a thin crust and a welcome focus on the freshness of ingredients.

The crust (if you love thin crust) is sublime, and the proportion of ingredients is well-measured to enjoy a satisfying mouthful with every bite.

Out of the gate, Schoolhouse Pizza has catapulted itself into the echelons of Ottawa’s best pizza shops.

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Anthony’s Pizza

• Name + address: Anthony’s Pizza, 1218 Wellington St. W.

Pizza fans don’t need me to point out that Anthony’s consistently delivers reliable Neopolitan style pie.

No matter when you show up, you’ll get exactly one of the finest Italian pizzas in Ottawa to match your craving. Long may their oven remain fired.

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Honorable mentions:

• Roberto Pizza is a very good and safe bet for traditional Italian pie.

• Red Swan Pizza is a Canadian pizza chain that has something for everyone with dietary concerns.

Asian

Yamé

• Name + address: Yamé , 130 Bd Gréber

Yamé has operated for 17 years and getting acquainted with its menu was an absolute pleasure.

It is a fusion restaurant with a menu of Thai and Vietnamese dishes, and the difference from other fusion eateries is that the food at Yamé is delicious. It’s easy enough to understand as the recipes are from owner Kham Siriphanhs’s family.

Whether pad thai, shrimp spring rolls, pho or mango salad, you won’t go wrong with any of these dishes. There’s so much to explore on this menu and if you love Thai curry, you’ll not have a better version of Panaeng anywhere in the region.

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Harbin

• Name + address: Harbin Chinese Restaurant, 591 March Rd.

For those wanting more regional and traditional flavours of China’s vast expanse of culinary expression, you want to eat at Harbin. The food is tremendous and awe-inspiring for those new to northern Chinese cooking.

Let me put it this way, if you have an adventurous palate, Harbin offers some of the best Chinese cuisine in the Ottawa region.

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The Noodle House

• Name + address: The Noodle House, 775 Gladstone Ave.

The Noodle House on Gladstone will appear as a blip as you drive past but make a mental note to stop in next time you’re in the neighbourhood.

This is some seriously good Vietnamese from-scratch cooking. When I shared with owner Paul my compliments on his spring rolls and how they rival those of my favourites at Saigon Boy, he smiled. It turns out Paul was the original owner of Saigon Boy and left some of his recipes behind.

His pho broth is one of the best in the city and if you’re a fan of this cuisine, you’ll be doing yourself a favour.

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Honourable mentions

• Délicieusement Thaï

• Yang Sheng

• Kitchen Maroo

• Pelicana Korean Chicken

• My Thai Village

• Thai Flame

Cheap eats

JnJ Bakery

• Name + address: JnJ Bakery, 62 Barrette St.

I’m not certain that for the money, there is better eating to be had than at JnJ.  Owner and pastry chef Sung Hae Lee knocks out masterful sweet and savoury croquettes, buns and tarts, and her magnificent recipes have made me a regular customer. 

Try her bulgogi and curry chicken croquettes ($4) while sitting down because you’ll be swooning. Just one of these and a salad makes for a delicious and complete meal.

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Run 2 Patty

• Name + address: Run 2 Patty, 1224 Shillington Avenue, Unit A

Most Jamaican patties available in Ottawa are brought in wholesale from a handful of producers in Toronto.

Run 2 Patty (which refers to a customer order shouted to the kitchen) has patties that are better than any I’ve had in recent years in Toronto. They’re stuffed to the crimped edges and are beautifully seasoned. 

Patties come as beef, curried chicken, chickpea, goat, ackee and saltfish and my favourite: oxtail. They’re individually priced at between $3-$4 with boxes of 12 selling for between $30-$35. These are crave inducing.

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Detola’s Kitchen

• Name + address: Detola’s Kitchen, 2544 Bank St.

Detola’s Kitchen brings some exceptional Nigerian flavours to spice-hungry foodies in Ottawa.

Adetola Kpando's cooking is not just about heat however and you sense that every dish, corny as it may sound, is made with love. You’ll enjoy her beef Nonso’s wrap (one of the best sandwiches of the year) and her comforting goat soup but it’s the smaller, big flavour treats that’ll have you thinking about the great value.

Her beef meat pie ($4) looks like an over-stuffed Cornish pastie and will fill you up until dinner. The vegetable spring rolls (five for $6) are delicate and delicious and the beef samosas (five for $6) are little crispy packets of wonder done in spring roll pastry and just try to avoid inhaling them all before you even start the car.

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Amma’s Biryani

• Name + address: Amma’s Biryani, 1816 Merivale Rd. (inside Silk Road Foods)

It was on a cold January day of this year that I landed at Amma’s Biryani inside the Silk Roads Food shop on Merivale.

I tried a number of items but it was the vegetable biryani ($8.99) that blew my mind. This vegetarian dish was a bowl of fire with whole spices that surprised the palate with every bite. Yes, the spices such as clove, star anise, and cardamom are whole so be on the lookout.

If you’re having it either alongside a soup or salad, this is a portion big enough for two – four if you’re serving it as a side dish and it may well be one of the best things you’ve tasted this year.

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Bite & Bite

• Name + address: Bite & Bite, 1465 Merivale Rd. (no website)

Bite & Bite was another top discovery from January of this year. Everything here is scratch cooking and although the menu is small, it’s one of the best Asian food destinations of the year. 

The prices are modest and their robust and warming noodle soups might set you back as much as $15. The soup stock is based on chicken and it’s cooked fresh each day.

But for $8, you’ll enjoy the best tasting Shanghai dumplings available in Ottawa. Four filling meaty pork dumplings runny with soup that will have you thinking about them long after you're done. Collagen-rich goodness.

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Sandwiches

Paninaro

• Name + address: Paninaro, 642 Somerset St. W.

Marco DiStefano launched Paninaro, his now-famous Florentine-style sandwich shop, early in 2024.

This sandwich is as Italian as it gets, and no one else in Ottawa is offering this gem. They are original, packed with meats, house made cheese and fresh veggies and are so substantial, one will feed two people.

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Hadhramout

• Name + address: Hadhramout, 3-1930 Bank Street

The Yemeni restaurant Hadhramout was an accidental discovery and while they offered some delicious traditional rice and chicken, it was their beef wrap sandwich that stood out as one of the best of the year. 

It was a large sandwich coming in at over 700 grams and the price was modest for the quality. A top sandwich with exciting flavours and a great lunch for two to share if you’re on a budget.

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Honourable mention

• Nonso’s Wrap from Detola’s Kitchen is a Nigerian beef sandwich that stands as one of this year's most exciting bites. It’s got fire but also tons of complexity.