This sandwich is literally the reason I downloaded this app…read more I've just spent the whole winter in Quebec and am now hitchhiking across Canada and decided to stay in Ottawa a few days. I booked 4 nights at the Saintlo jail hostel and when I came downstairs after a rejuvenating nap I saw that they had a list of recommendations sitting amongst a pile of other plastic sheets. Dirienzo's - the best ITALIAN SANDWICH in the city. I'm not really an Italian sandwich sort of person normally, maybe it was contributed by the burgeoning like for cured meats that I was acquiring after eating dried salami as my only source of food for the past week or so -- but who's going to pass up the chance to try the BEST of anything? I got there after taking 2 buses and was starting to become a bit concerned. I had $40 in my account and was hitchhiking across the country -- after all it was labelled the BEST in the city and that would normally come with a hefty price tag. When I first opened the door I instantly got greeted by the guy behind the counter, which made me feel welcomed and at ease. I looked up to view the selection of sandwiches that they had on offer and potentially the cheaper ones. I was surprised to see the sign that said $10 for ANY SANDWICH!! #booyah I was finding it hard to decide on which of the sandwiches to get since they all looked so appetising, but decided on number 16. The sandwich was massive for the price that it was. The bread was a perfect mix between durable so that it wouldn't fall apart in your hands, but soft enough that it was enjoyable, with the amount of bread contemplating he rest of the fillings just the right amount. I was pretty overwhelmed to be honest with how good it was. All of the ingredients including the lettuce (which I've found is usually the first thing places will skimp out on) were extremely fresh. I put in my coworker groupchat: "Anyone coming over across Canada after the season has to make a stop in Ottawa if they aren't already just to try one of these." Accompanied by a photo of my eyes watering with glee. My Nonna is always telling me how I need to learn Italian to be more connected to our culture and I've always just kindof brushed it off since I haven't needed to use it and we don't speak it much at home, but this has made me so proud to be Italian. As I continued to eat the sandwich sitting on a bench looking towards the city and the people playing basketball in the park, I found myself contemplating staying in Canada and raising my kids here in Ottawa so that they get to experience it themselves on a warm summer afternoon after picking them up from school. GO TO DI RIENZO'S 99999/10

Been buying sandwiches here for 20+ years, this place is an institution…read more Get: Number 17 with everything and eggplant, Dijon mustard. Please.

Too bad they only open weekdays 10-3 because the sandwiches are really good! I went on a Friday at…read more12:30 and there was a 20-30 min wait - it's clearly a local favourite. The candied club was delicious - you can get it with crispy or grilled chicken and it comes with candied bacon, lettuce, tomato and red onions but you can customize it your liking. My husband got the fuhgeddaboutit which was with salami, capacollo and prosciutto. If you get the candied club, you don't have to wait in line. You can go straight to the cash since that's their best seller. It's mostly a take out place so there isn't much of a place to sit but they did have two picnic tables outside. A great Ottawa gem!

TL;DR: Amazing sandwiches. Always a long line up, but the line moves fast…read more 50 TWO Sandwiches is where Casa Dei Panini used to be. It's tucked away in an industrial part of town, but those who know know they make incredible sandwiches. Their Candied Bacon Club is their most popular sandwich. Prices have gone up over the years. It's currently $11 (as of June 2024). You can get the chicken grilled or breaded. It's real chicken breast meat and is delicious with the sweet candied bacon. My only complaint is they are too generous with the sauce, so the sandwich is a little too wet and messy. You can choose your bread. The Jalapeno Cheddar is the best, IMO. However, Italian Herb seems to be the most popular. They also have rotating special sandwiches. The Honey Tender ($11) is great. It's chicken tenders dipped in a honey hot sauce with pickles and lettuce. It's also really saucy and messy to eat, lol. You can also build your own deli sandwich for $10. You choose the bread, up to 3 meats, and a cheese. They have a list of toppings you can choose, as well as different dressings. Service is courteous and efficient. Even though there is always a long line up. The line moves fast. There are a few seats along the window to eat in but pretty much everyone just gets takeout. If you eat in, you will have a constant stream of people lining up next to you, lol. The sandwich shop is in a little plaza and there are some picnic tables near the parking lot. If you have to eat on-site, I'd recommend eating at the picnic tables or in your car ;) Lots of free parking available in the plaza parking lot. If you like sandwiches and you're able to make it out to Antares Drive on a weekday (they are closed on weekends) between 10am and 3pm (their business hours), I recommend giving this place a try. I don't live or work in the area anymore, so their limited hours make it hard for me to go there. Otherwise, I'd be there often. (128)

Absolutely brilliant food created by gracious people. This place is the definition of how FANTASTIC…read morefood is found in "hole in the wall" establishments. You haven't had a sandwich until you've eaten here! Bonus points for having a fully halal menu!

So I struggled to write this because I used to love this restaurant. The portion sizes were…read moresignificantly shrunk, and the brewed coffee was horrendous. I usually get a latte there but decided on a regular one, that was a mistake. Their food did taste good, and their chutney was still delicious but the service was a bit gruff. They weren't rude by any means but I was ignored for 10 mins just waiting to ask for a takeout box. I could tell he was a bit overwhelmed and probably having an off morning, so I didn't take it personally. But when I'm paying $30 for one breakfast bowl and a coffee, I'd expect more than 2 cherry tomatoes cut in half and a few mushrooms in it. The food is delicious but you're definitely overpaying and 50/50 on the coffee lol

In search for weekend brunch this place came up we thought of trying it out. Parking in streets is…read morenot existent. Had really look at side streets a bit far to get one. All the nearby spots are reserved for the apartment dwellers in the building. Ordered a Huevo Ranchero ($16) - which came with scrambled eggs two corn tortillas with salsa, cheese, sour cream and a side order of fries. The eggs could have used some seasoning even with salsa it needed something extra A Vegan Breakfast Bowl ($14) - a mixture of tofu, spinach, mushrooms and tomato chutney - which somehow tasted to all 4 of us like onion chutney. The vegetables done good, but tofu again had just no flavour. Tofu had a spice rub all over, but it tasted like plain tofu. The Bacun strips were rice paper rolls with some attempted flavours but none came through. And two Vegan Bennies ($16) - a super grainy slice of bread topped with the same tofu, green onions, Bacun and some red pepper strips (NOT Coulis as described in the menu). If some person was having a tofu dish for the first time I think they would describe tofu as no flavour at all. We vegans know that you can do amazing things with Tofu. The home fries in the above dishes was the best - now that we could give 5 out 5. All of us had to go and get Sriracha and Ketchup from the counter to rescue the dishes. Coffee was too weak as well. When you go in and order on the counter and you get food delivered to your table. Should the restaurant still offer to tip on the machine BEFORE even we were served? The order did take a long time, the table not clean when we sat, no condiments on the table and coffee refills slow. An extra star for giving tons of vegan options

#2 combo Rubin - good size portion, everything fresh and hot. Fresh cut fries , good gravy . Would…read morerecommend and will be back

Other reviews have said Markie's smoked meats are the next best thing to going to the better…read morerestaurants in Montreal. I haven't had the opportunity to get to any of those yet, but given how much I enjoyed that meat at Markie's, I'm looking forward to Montreal. Knowing full well that this could be a very filling meal, I tried to be somewhat reasonable on my order... I went for a basic lean meat sandwich and their regular order of smoked meat poutine, to share with someone else. The sandwich came out first, and the smoked meat was thinly sliced thickly stacked, lean, and flavorful with a then smear of yellow mustard on one slice of bread (was any other mustard available?) and a pickle spear. And then the poutine came. "Objects in the picture are larger than they appear." Who had any idea that a "regular" poutine would be super-sized, more than enough for 2? (Well, other satisfied customers, of course). As far as the poutine goes, I'm not sure how it compares with what you get at the poutineries downtown, but it was certainly satisfying, and the meat even more so.

This is clearly a high quality coffee shop! When I walked in there was a long line, but the latte…read morewas worth the wait. At first I was surprised at how there were no flavour shops, but the high quality coffee/espresso they use made up for it; none was needed! Bonus points for the beautiful latte art

TL;DR/The Short Version: Independent coffee shop in…read moreWestboro. Minimalist interior. Good selection of baked goods and they also sell coffee, lol ;) The Long Version: The Bower Coffee Company opened up about a year ago in the summer of 2024. Usually I like trying out new businesses that open up in my neighbourhood, but admittedly I'm not a coffee connoisseur. I doubt I'd be able to tell the difference between a $50 cup of Kopi Luwak and a cup of Folgers instant coffee, lol. So coffee shops don't really excite me. However, I recently learned that Bower Coffee Company sells baked goods from a business called Adam Bakes. I've been wanting to try treats from Adam Bakes for a while now, but they are only open on Saturdays 8am-12pm and not in my neighbourhood, so their limited hours have prevented me from trying them. I didn't realize that they also sold their baked goods to other businesses for resale, so when I discovered this, I planned a little coffee date for my husband and I at The Bower Coffee Company :) I chose a Cinnamon Swirl Blondie from Adam Bakes ($4.85) and my husband chose a Peanut, Peanut Butter and Chocolate Chip cookie from Art-Is-In Bakery ($5.25) and we got a regular 12 oz coffee ($3.25). The coffee tasted like any other coffee to me (unsurprising, lol). My husband is more of a coffee connoisseur than I am and his comment was it was a bit too watery, but otherwise ok. I loved the Blondie. It was rich and I think there's cheesecake swirled into it because it had creamy bits to it. It had a potent cinnamon flavour. I really enjoyed it and so did the hubster. I ended up hauling my butt out to Adam Bakes the following Saturday morning to try their other offerings, which weren't available at Bower Coffee. Adam Bakes will get its own review. I noticed that the prices are cheaper buying directly from Adam Bakes than at Bower Coffee, but I guess that's not surprising. The cookie was unremarkable in my opinion, but the hubby enjoyed it. It had whole peanuts in it as well as peanut butter and chocolate chips. It was soft and chewy, and the whole peanuts gave it the occasional crunch. Service at Bower Coffee was great. The barista asked me for the Blondie if I wanted a centre piece or an edge piece. I know some people like the crispiness of edge pieces, but I prefer the softness of centre pieces, so I was happy to be asked. The decor is clean lines minimalist. It's not a huge space, but has a decent amount of tables. It was bustling on a Sunday morning. Overall, a nice place for a coffee date, albeit a bit pricey in my opinion, but I get it, everything is expensive these days :/ We walked there, but it's street parking only for those coming by car. Review #133 (2025)

I was in the mood for a sandwich, so I asked a search engine where to find a good one near me, and…read moreLa p'tite epicerie was offered as a suggestion. I showed up around lunch and was initially surprised by how tiny the joint is. But the sandwich menu sure looked promising, so I ordered a couple to go and asked the guy to select the bread he thought would go best. My favorite was the #3 ("Prosciutto ham, spicy capicollo, calabrese soppressata, Havarti cheese"). It's one outstanding sandwich. All the ingredients work so well together, and the fresh bread is the perfect vehicle. The copious, delicious butter is the icing on the cake, basically. The #11 ("Roast beef, herbs Havarti, lettuce") is good too, no doubt about it. The roast beef is really flavorful and the other components are a perfect accompaniment. I can see why this joint's been around so long. It's great.

I WORK right by them and I go on my lunch break I'm obsessed with the jalapeño and cheddar bread so…read moreyummy

Situated in a stand-alone building in the middle of some residential area but still close to a main…read morestreet. There is free street parking so that nice. Inside the establishment is smaller than I'd expect with a couple of tables tightly knit together. Expect close seating and small tables. They also get busy, but take reservations. Asada fries - Lots of fries, crispy and loaded with toppings. The veggies, pico de gallo and salsa all come together nicely to balance out the cheese and fries. There was so much toppings that the last fries were eaten before the toppings were finished off. Taco de Carnitas - Proteins felt a bit dry and lacked sauce to back up to dryness. Big portion, but for $8.... its a bit steep. would not recommend. Taco de Carne Asada - A good portion for a single taco, but as with the other taco $8 is a bit too much for just one. This time proteins was more juicy and you get a hint for carmalization from the charred meat. Tacos not worth. Would come back for Asada fries but add protein. WIll try the wings (they look stacked) and maybe a torta.

I've been a loyal follower of the Torta Boyz since they first opened up as a food truck and have…read morealways been impressed and satisfied by their food. Their brick and mortar home serves the same classics that they had at the truck and then some. Their menu has expanded to include some appetizers, tacos and cocktails. The prices have gone up but worth the money since it's probably the best mexican food in Ottawa. The fish tacos we got were made fresh and dressed with plenty of fresh, sour, creamy pairings. The Asada Fries are as good as ever. A mountain of guac and dressings and super crispy fries. Got the pastor torta this time around--this was the only thing I thought could use a bit more acidity since the meat was generous but a bit heavy. The tuna tostada is my new favourite. it was fresh, bright, spicy and as always, all the textures. Service is lovely.