Food & Drink

La Terrasse at the Fairmont Château Laurier has reopened for the summer season.

This just in: Dessert First, a new boutique bakery at Somerset and Bay, is the next Centretown gem. After passing through a cozy patio overlooking Dundonald Park, you’re greeted by lovely daffodil wallpaper, gorgeous tiny hanging plants in a large bright window, a scintillating centrepiece display stocked with lavish handmade treats, open kitchen aromas, and smiling, welcoming staff.

Inspired by the Parkdale Night Market and Ottawa Markets, Little Jo Berry’s owner Josephine Masterson has another fun new experience for the 613: The Vegans Who Snack Festival, bringing about 40 local businesses together to celebrate community and snacking on June 3, 2022, from 5–9pm.

I’m sure many of us have a childhood attachment to fast-food burger joints: the cardboard packaging, the smell of french fries, and the root beer floats. The team at Gitanes, a fine-dining French restaurant on Elgin Street, decided to recreate this childhood nostalgia centred around the concept of McDonald’s and elevate it into a trendy destination.

Much has been written about what became of H.F. Brading’s Victorian-era brewery come the 20th century, particularly regarding infamous Ottawa-born magnate E.P. Taylor, who parlayed it into a gigantic beer empire. Then there’s the small matter of the SECRET BEER TUNNEL under Lebreton Flats, built around 1945. I won’t be talking about any of that: This is the largely untold story of the man who started it all, Henry Fisher Brading (1836-1903), and his original Union Brewery.

Parle began in the early days of the pandemic as a venture called Viet Fresh by owner David Wen, but operated under an umbrella business called Casper Kitchen. With the shutdowns and periodic indoor dining restrictions over the past two years, the Casper Kitchen brand has been able to enjoy massive success due to its delivery-focused model, which allowed Viet Fresh to “go solo” and open their own dine-in location, Parle.

Hi friends! We are Tyler and Steph, the hosts of the Ottawa Pizza Podcast — a show in which two friends try pizza from Ottawa pizza places to determine whether the pizza is, as we say, “good”, just okay, or downright bad.

Trailblazing can be the hardest, loneliest work, but it can also offer great rewards. One example: Moo Shu Ice Cream & Kitchen owner Liz Mok’s recent Living Wage Certification.

In their sixth year, Little Jo Berry’s (LJB) bakery is evolving again with a fresh batch of new ideas for Ottawa. Owner Josephine Masterson (the “Jo” of Little Jo Berry), co-creator of Bike Yeah, the upcoming Vegans Who Snack Food Festival, and monthly dinner pop-ups, where another caring business takes over their kitchen, is innovating once again with a new product line and shopping experience.

Cantina Gia is an Italian comfort food restaurant and specialty shop in the heart of the Glebe, created by co-owners Chef Adam Vettorel and Chris Schlesak who started North & Navy back in 2015. Their vibe strikes a perfect balance between intimate and lively, ideal for date nights. The decor is quirky and warm with […]

Last week, we brought you part 1 of this suburban coffee shop roundup, covering great independent spots in the western suburbs of Ottawa. This week, we’ve got a selection of awesome cafés in the southern and eastern suburbs. Enjoy!

I don’t know if Ottawa residents are aware of how many wonderful independent coffee shops exist in the suburbs. Some feel like hidden gems or special secrets I’ve been keeping to myself. So, I’m sharing several of my favourite suburban discoveries here, focusing on non-chain independent coffee shops and cafés without multiple locations, to celebrate their unique qualities.

Some call the snowy spring days of late March and early April Ottawa’s third winter (followed closely by mud season), but I prefer to think of it as the sweetest time of year: maple syrup season!

National Arts Centre executive chef Kenton Leier sits down with resident chef Renée Lavallée to talk about cooking philosophies, ingredients and influence from their home cities, and how one navigates a culinary career as a parent.