The best Ottawa meals and restaurants of 2025

Each year the challenge to highlight the top tastes of the previous year becomes more onerous. In part because the quality of offerings is on the rise generally, but also because I resist the urge to build a list just by going to places or selecting dishes I find myself thinking of most often. It can’t just be all about personal taste. 

This year's list is diverse, and that’s only a good thing. It points you in a number of directions for both price and experience. A  few of these venues I’ve visited on more than one occasion, and they’ve become go-tos for me.

All the listings you see are in no particular order.

Best sandwiches

Bistro Ristoro

A late-in-the-year entry in the sandwich category came from an old favourite I hadn’t visited in more than a year. 

Vlado Ristovski of Bistro Ristoro at 17 Clarence St. introduced his Italian Panuozzi sandwiches this year. I finally got around to sampling one of these monstrosities. You’ll either need two sittings or two people to finish one.

Panuozzi is a pizza dough sandwich originally from Italy’s Campania region and can be viewed as a complete meal. It’s loaded with fresh vegetables, dressings and proteins all wrapped up in freshly baked pizza dough.

Vlado uses a German-style juniper cold-smoked bacon called “speck” and it’s salty and mouthwateringly delicious, backed by creamy, fresh mozzarella and peppery arugula.

In Haus Cooking

Chef Michael Hauschild opened In Haus Cooking at 430 Hazeldean Rd. more than a year ago. While the focus is catering, he operates a lunchtime kitchen in Kanata four days a week.

His 18-year-old associate Jackson Hall ended up creating a satisfying deli sandwich that Hauschild decided would be the only thing on his menu that would be a mainstay. 

It was moist and packed with flavour courtesy of the deli meat mix and a fabulous house Italian dressing, all packed on house-baked pillowy bread. A great lunch value with a lovely side salad for $15.

District Deli

A new sandwich bright spot lit up the Hintonburg community when District Deli arrived at 220 Carruthers Ave. This is the kind of business we need more of in residential communities throughout our city. 

It’s clear that they spent much time developing the sandwich combinations as one sando after another was appealing on very good bread. If a sandwich is what would hit the spot, you needn’t think twice about District Deli. One of the city’s best.

50 Two Sandwiches

50 Two Sandwiches opened their doors at 52 Antares Dr. in 2020 at the start of the pandemic. Yet I only just, despite my efforts, learned of them in 2025. It was a “homecoming” of sorts as the experience reminded me of stopping for Italian sandwiches at California Sandwiches when I lived in Toronto.

The sandwiches are not the same, but the efficiently managed lines during all opening hours and the cult-like devotion to their food are very much a California Sandwiches vibe.

The flavour combinations are first rate and made even better served on excellent house-baked bread. You can read the original review here.

Best casual/family dining

Occo Kitchen

OCCO Kitchen Orleans (4240 Innes Rd.) is on the list because they cook from scratch and have a menu that has something for everyone in your family.

Not every dish on my visit suited me, but the execution was always professional and some items were just first-rate. If you go, try the cod cakes, seafood chowder and the very colourful heirloom salad. 

The food at OCCO often rises to the occasion of renewing your faith that family restaurants can be very good. You can read the original review here.

Seau de Crabe

Staying in Orleans, we stop in at Seau de Crabe (2284 Tenth Line Rd.), a seafood boil chain from Quebec that opened its newest location earlier in 2025.

Since my initial review, I’ve been back several times. Now, Seau de Crabe has become one of my go-to restaurants. 

It’s a very informal, yet colourful, space with a lot of hard surfaces that are easy to clean. This is important because you will make a right mess cracking lobster, crab, crayfish, and that delicious butter-based sauce will get everywhere.

You can order smaller dishes a la carte (the fried calamari is some of the best I’ve had). You also have the option of larger seafood boils for the entire family. For an even healthier bite, order their classic salad and be astonished by both the freshness and the quantity for only $5.99.

Best casual Asian

Jade Yi Kitchen

Given its location, you’d be forgiven for thinking that a small eatery in a strip mall would only deliver mediocre food. It’s a reminder that looks can be deceiving, as food at Jade Yi Kitchen (5104 Kanata Ave.) is well above-average. If I lived nearby, it would be a go-to for handling my Chinese food cravings.

Every dish came out piping hot and texturally on point, all demonstrating actual professional training in the kitchen. The food was delicious, and the dim sum was amongst the finest I’ve had this year. 

Jade Yi Kitchen is a value proposition for those a little more expert in Chinese cuisine, and is certainly a step up from your average takeaway. To experience the menu at its peak, I recommend dining in, although my leftovers did travel well. Read the original story here.

Kuma Takumi Ramen

Kuma Takumi at 484 Hazeldean Rd. opened early in 2025. Their opening marked only the fourth ramen shop in Ottawa, worthy of repeat visits. In fact, despite the drive to Kanata, I’ve been back many times. The ramen is that good.

On my last two visits, I got drunk (so to speak) on their Hellfire Ramen, a broth that has a menacing-looking colour but still delivers a depth and complexity of flavours first and foremost.

I may be partial to this spicy meal but you can’t go wrong with any of their ramen as the broths are cooked long and slow for maximum flavour. They put so much care into their food you’ll want to try the takoyaki (octopus) to see how it should be done. 

You can find my original review here.

Khao Street Food

I’ve lost count how often I’ve eaten at Khao Street Food (205 Richmond Rd.) since my original review. It was the first Thai restaurant in Ottawa to offer a range of unique Thai dishes, exciting flavours and an unapologetic heat, that would make it feel at home with some of Toronto’s best.

The room is festive, and the service is very attentive, with food leaving the kitchen in a timely fashion. 

I’ve had almost everything on the menu, and once the day comes that I’ve eaten my way through, I know I’ll start all over again. 

It’s one of my favourite openings in years.

Best service

Back in the 90s I ate at a first-rate James Beard award-winning Halifax restaurant named Fat Frank’s Snaffles. They only hired servers trained in white linen service, meaning these were people trained in professional dining room conduct. I took an extra credit in this training during my winemaking studies in Niagara. 

I’ve long thought about the difference in perspective around service between North American restaurateurs and their European counterparts. Inevitably, my uncle comes to mind.

After he was diagnosed with cancer, he gave up his restaurant in Düsseldorf. Despite his condition, he was hired by the great German brewery Paulaner, which operates restaurants throughout Germany.

Up until months before his death, he worked the tables with the full support of his employer. He was a talent born to working with people. It was astonishing to watch how he could entertain several tables at one time with his ridiculous stories and endless charm. 

I can’t be certain if he died happy, but he did die doing that to which he was born and at which he excelled.

The average reader will know exactly what I mean when I say that this level of service is a rarity. People who found their calling early on and have made an honourable career out of restaurant service.

In Canada, we need to encourage professional training in hospitality service as a legitimate career trajectory and not view it as a side gig on the way to becoming something else. Not everyone can do the hard work of restaurant service and, societally, we need to reward those professionals who grace us with their work and natural people skills.

This risks devolving into a longer screed on how we need to change our views on service personnel in general, so I will now cut right to it.

In 2025 I had exceptional service from three individuals who were naturally skilled in their trade and who share almost a century of experience between them. 

My appreciation and recognition for outstanding service go to Alison of La Bottega (64 George St.), Iain of Dante Restaurant (7 Springfield Rd.) and Brittany of Chez Lionel (101 Kanata Ave.) in Kanata.

Service is one of the most significant elements of a dining experience, and these three individuals have demonstrated time and again their commitment to excellence and their appreciation of their customers. Thank you for your professionalism. It’s much appreciated.

Stay tuned for part two in next week’s edition.