Your neighbourhood restaurant generally can’t afford a $75,000 wine cellar. Nor would they have space for it. So BYOW offers let Ottawa diners enjoy all the advantages of both: a restaurant level meal with a bottle of wine you picked. Whether that’s a rare vintage gift or an inexpensive VQA you buy at the grocery store… doesn’t matter. You do you.
Though some restaurants allow you to bring wine, it’s up to them to decide the corkage fee. It’s no secret that wine markups are wicked – but keep in mind that most restaurants count on drink orders to make dinner service profitable. While most Ottawa restaurants charge a $20–25 corkage fee, at least one restaurant on our list hosts a weekly BYOW night with no corkage fees whatsoever.
Find a decent bottle at the LCBO and servers at any of the restaurants below will open it for you. Everyone’s a winner!
Photo: Sarah Zaman/Apt613.
Absinthe
1208 Wellington Street West
Chef Patrick Garland’s restaurant is just steps from West Park Lanes (the combination of high brow/low brow makes this the perfect west-end date) and the Great Canadian Theatre Company.
- $25 corkage fee
- Holiday hours: closed from Dec. 24–26 and Jan. 1
Photo: Sarah Zaman/Apt613
Beckta
150 Elgin Street
Routinely named one of the best in the city, Beckta earned a Best Restaurant nod from Ottawa Life Magazine for 2017 and landed on the list of Canada’s 100 Best Restaurants, which was voted on by peers and critics across the country.
- $25 corkage fee
- Holiday hours: closed from Dec. 24–26, Jan. 1
Photo: Sarah Zaman/Apt613
Play food and wine
1 York Street
Chef Michael Moffatt creates small plates at Beckta’s sister restaurant near the ByWard Market. The food is delicious and the prices are pretty decent.
- $20 corkage fee
- Holiday hours: closed from Dec. 24–26, Jan. 1
Photo: Sarah Zaman/Apt613
La Roma
430 Preston Street
La Roma opened on Preston Street in 1962 and is one of Ottawa’s oldest Italian restaurants. Head here on Tuesdays when the corkage fee is waived. The nearest LCBO is more than a kilometre away on Wellington West, so plan ahead if you’re shopping for a new bottle.
- No corkage fee on Tuesdays
- $20 corkage fee on Sun/Mon/Wed/Thu
- No BYOW on Fri/Sat
- Holiday hours: closed from Dec. 24–26
Check byow.com for more corkage deals around Ottawa. We can’t verify their information is fully accurate, but it’s certainly a helpful resource. Know of free corkage deals in Ottawa? Let us know in the comments below.
