Best Bites in Ottawa: Yellow Canoe Café, The Third, Rooster’s Coffeehouse

In this new biweekly feature, Apt613 asks blog contributors and local food lovers about their recent Ottawa area restaurant highlights to help you find new tasty treats to discover or revisit when someone inevitably asks, “Where do you want to eat?” We want to hear about something that you ate and loved! Leave comments below, and if you’d like to contribute to a future edition of Best Bites, email <editors@apt613.ca>.

Best Bites this week:

Yellow Canoe Café (108 St. Lawrence St., Merrickville)
Rooster’s Coffeehouse (1125 Colonel By Dr.)
The Third (1017 Wellington St. W)

The sandwiches (and soups and scones) at Yellow Canoe Café are well worth the 45-minute drive to Merrickville. Just off the main strip and hard to miss with the yellow canoe displayed out front, it is my favourite place to eat in town. For $20, you can order a combination of the three as a meal—the half sandwich with soup combo and a side scone. I find you have to be really hungry to order the full sandwich and soup combo, as the sandwiches are definitely on the larger side, but it is worth doing if you want a delicious half-sandwich snack for later on! In addition to some incredible toppings like roast chicken, roast beef, avocado and havarti, the sandwiches are served on their homemade focaccia bread. Made in-house daily, it is soft, buttery, and salty heaven. (Also, there is bacon on the ham sandwich. Seriously.)

Photo: Kiersten Vuorimaki.

The soups and scones on offer change regularly, but there are always a few to choose from, so you’re bound to find at least one that will suit your fancy. Worth noting: should you find yourself (rightfully) obsessed and wanting to make the trip out again and again, there is nothing better in good weather than ordering your meal to go and enjoying it while sitting across the street by the canal.

—Amanda Armstrong

When I was a vegetarian and a student at Carleton University many moons ago, one of my favourite things to order on campus was the falafel pita from Rooster’s Coffeehouse. Rooster’s is located in the Nideyinàn Building (formerly the University Centre, for those who haven’t been on campus in a minute). While the name of the building has changed, I can guarantee you that the pita has not! Their falafel is still crumbly; they still cut all of their many toppings up into tiny cubes, which adds to the enjoyment and mouth feel of the meal; and they still offer a wide range of sauces and cheeses with which to dress your pita. My recommendation is tzatziki with feta.

Photo: Roosters Coffeehouse.

If you’re a veggie enthusiast like myself, the pita will end up the size of a tiny football, keeping you satisfied for hours. If this sounds appealing, but you don’t want to deal with trekking onto campus, Rooster’s is on Uber Eats! You can order yourself a delicious falafel pita without getting out of your pyjamas—and pyjama pitas are a wonderful thing!

—Amanda Armstrong

The Third in Hintonburg is one of our favourite places to grab a casual meal and a drink, especially on a weekday. The menu is short and sweet, with a changing list of seasonal specials. The small plates are a great way to share apps and snacks with friends, and the sides are all fantastic. One of the best deals in town is the delicious $11 flat-top burger, which is juicy and cheesy, but not so big that you will regret it later. You can either get the burger on its own and share a table full of sides with your gang, or you can order the burger with fries, salad, half and half, or veggies and dip on the side. While this may seem like a simple concept, you can rarely get both fries and salad on the side, and even rarer to get a good old-fashioned crudité if you’re looking for some crunch and balance. It’s especially great in the summertime on their tiny patio. If you haven’t been to The Third yet, it’s hip, cozy, comfortable and almost always busy. They serve local beer and have a rotating tap menu for ciders, sours, and guest beers. There is a cool wine and cocktail list, and the service is always friendly and helpful.

—Kiersten Vuorimaki

The Third. Photo: Kiersten Vuorimaki.

We want to hear about something that you ate and loved! Leave comments below, and if you’d like to contribute to a future edition of Best Bites, email <editors@apt613.ca>.