In this 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:
- The Elmdale Oyster House & Tavern (1084 Wellington St W)
- Chesterfields Gastro Diner ( 1300 Wellington St W)
- Upper Deck Express Inc (3803 Loggers Way)
If you like oysters and haven’t been to The Elmdale, this is your sign to go ASAP. Even if you don’t like oysters, I’d still tell you to go! The Elmdale Oyster House and Tavern, located on Wellington Street West in Hintonburg, was established in 1934 and surpassed expectations on our recent visit (on National Oyster Day no less). A member of the Whalesbone Group, The Elmdale has a laid back feel with a big old wooden bar that’s the perfect vantage point to watch oysters being shucked. Even on a busy night, service was quick and efficient.
Elmdale Oysters. Photo Hannah Manning
We managed to snag a spot at the bar and enjoyed excellent service and amazing food all evening. The highlight was, of course, the oysters (I’ll be back on a Thursday for their $2 oysters and live music!) but the haddock fritters ($18) and calamari ($19) rounded out our meal perfectly.
An order of fried Brussel Sprouts ($15) went to the table next to us and I’ve made note to try them on my next visit, along with the classic fish and chips. The menu also includes a couple of non-seafood items like a burger, steak, and chicken wings. Oysters are shucked and served on the half shell with lemon slices, freshly grated horseradish, and an array of sauces: the classic mignonette was delicious as was the cocktail sauce, but don’t be afraid of a bit of spice in the two hot sauces! I couldn’t pick a favourite and kept rotating through with each oyster.
Reservations are recommended and can be made online. Note that The Elmdale is closed on Sundays and has a couple stairs at the front entrance. Weekly deals and updates are posted on their Instagram.
-Hannah Manning
Chesterfields Gastro Diner has been a highly recommended brunch place in town for years, so of course the girls and I had to check it out for a special birthday recently. They moved into their new location in Hintonburg last fall, and the bright quirky space is packed at all times on the weekends for their creative brunch options. Good luck choosing just one thing off the menu.
I settled on the Shakshuka Board, for something saucy, savoury and satisfying. The board comes with two super soft poached eggs in a tangy, herby, chunky tomato based sauce, with feta cheese. The side tomato and cucumber salad is a really refreshing balance to the rich eggs, and really leans into the mediterranean style of breakfast. Anytime there is an option for challah bread, take it. Trust me. This challah was perfect for the saucy eggs, and also the tasty wild blueberry jam on offer that afternoon. The full bunch of grapes and huge fresh strawberries gave me everything I needed in a perfect summer brunch.
Chesterfields Diner. Photo Kiersten Vuorimaki
For $22 this was a huge meal, and despite this I had to add some of the house made cornbread on the side, because they offer house made corn bread and I am but a mortal. The à la carte menu option also lets you build your own perfect plate with sides like apple cinnamon french toast, chipotle mac & cheese, mushroom rockefeller, jerk plantains, and cheesy potatoes. Like I said, good luck making a choice.
The birthday girl got the chicken & waffles, and the chicken was moist and crispy, with fluffy and rich waffles making the perfect salty and sweet bite. I’m looking forward to the next visit when I will struggle again to make up my mind, and will inevitably happily order too much.
They don’t take reservations, but they do offer a very cozy little waiting room perfect for making new friends on big antique couches.
-Kiersten Vuorimaki
During the recent Ottawa Craft Beer Week my bestie and I took a trip out to Kinburn to check out Covered Bridge Brewing for the first time. Not only was the big space homey and comfortable, the beer and service were fantastic. Realizing that we should probably get some food into us, we took advantage of the Upper Deck Express food truck in the parking lot for some snacks. To be entirely honest, we were not expecting the incredible food that we ended up with.
Delivered directly to our table after ordering online, the corn dog platter had two hand dipped gluten free corn dogs with mega flavourful juicy hot dogs inside. They don’t do french fries, but instead the platter came with a pile of super crispy, roch roasted bite sized potatoes that they call roasties.
Upper Deck Express corndog platter. Photo Kiersten Vuorimaki
For $14.99 this was definitely enough for one person, but we added an order of the fried halloumi on the side to stretch it for two, and it was perfect. We got to chatting with the chef when he brought our food in, and he brought me a few of their different sauces for the dipping, including the mango scorpion pepper sauce which was amazing with the salty cheese. This weekend, take a road trip for some scenery and get a flight of beers, and some roasties in Kinburn.
-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.
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