I have only lived in the Ottawa area for one month, but I feel I have already found one of my…read morefavorite restaurants. We went to Chez Fatima for dinner on a Saturday night, and I couldn't have been more impressed. I'm still not very familiar with this area, and I was surprised to see how dead everything was on the weekend. We were able to find free parking right across the street. We did not have reservations for dinner, but came early in the evening and we were able to get a table. Most of the tables were reserved, so I'd recommend calling ahead. For dinner you are able to pick from the menu or the buffet. The buffet is ~$25 and includes soup, a beautiful salad selection, bread, two veggie dishes, lamb/fish/chicken tangines, sausage, shrimp and dessert. It is a phenomenal value, and all of the food is homemade and fresh. They even bake their own bread, which is a delicious anise loaf. The restaurant is very welcoming and cozy. I can't wait to return!!

Very disappointing second experience compared to the one I had a year ago…read more The staff (1 person) tries to push you towards the regular menu even though the buffet option is still offered. Apparently, because people abuse! Ok! So the buffet is reduced to the third of what it shows on the pictures, with an insulting sweet section! Clever way to get us to order from regular menu... And then comes the service ! Here is a summary : You got the dish, eat , drink, pay and get out!

We have been several times and enjoyed it very much. Delicious food and excellent decor, evoking…read moreAlgeria. Staff is friendly, knowledgeable and helpful. I'm celiac and have had no problems after eating there.

Idriss is an Algerian restaurant. I went there to get takeout for my mom and I. Neither of us have…read morehad Algerian food before so we got a few items and shared. Overall, we were very pleased with everything. We got the Mhajeb (2 pieces for $5.99), Beef Bourak (2 pieces for ($4.99), Chicken Bourak (2 pieces for $4.59), a Chicken Sandwich ($8.29), a Beef Sandwich ($8.99), a Mkabez ($3.25) and a Nest Pastry ($3.39). Mhajeb is an Algerian flatbread. It reminded me a bit of the paratha from India. The Mhajeb was filled with onions and tomatoes. It was slightly chewy and I loved the texture. It had a warm cinnamon/nutmeg element to it. I would definitely order this again. The Bourak were like spring rolls. They were filled with ground meat and cream cheese. I would describe them as a cross between an Asian spring roll and a Greek Tiropita. They were crispy and I enjoyed them. The sandwiches were on a long baguette that reminded me of the bread that is used in Vietnamese Banh Mi. Now both Vietnam and Algeria were once French colonies, so I am not too surprised that they would have sandwiches with French influence. The chicken sandwich had grilled chicken breast kabab pieces in it, lettuce, tomatoes, red onions and sauce. The beef sandwich had ground beef kabab pieces in it instead of chicken breast, bit otherwise the sandwiches were similar. I enjoyed them, but I will try other items next time. The heart shaped dessert (Mkabez) had a marzipan filling and the icing was rosewater flavoured. It was very sweet. The nest shaped pastry was vermicelli with ground pistachios inside. It was also very sweet. The desserts were very pretty, but too sweet for my tastes. Service was very friendly. I had lots of questions and the lady answered them all and was very patient. I liked that they labelled which Bourak was chicken and which was beef; they did the same for the sandwich. I also like that the receipt is itemized so you can see how much each item costs and also the names of the items. The restaurant is where Cat's Fish and Chips Used to be. It's in a converted house. There is parking at the front and at the back on their private lot. I would love to return to try some other items. I will also be ordering some more Mhajeb :)

We found this place while wandering the area in Ottawa, and had a great dinner! I had the…read morecombination dinner which included stuffed grape leaves, kibbeh, spinach pies, hummus and salad. Everything was fresh, flavorful, and delicious. The kibbeh was seasoned beautifully as were the spinach pies. Even the salad was really good. The pita was fresh and perfect as well. I had the rose water iced tea to drink which was quite good and the rose water was not overpowering. One person was serving and cooking. I am assuming this was Omar the owner. I have no idea how he was managing all of that! He also did the art around the restaurant which was beautiful. Definitely a great option in this part of Ottawa!

Food and service are wonderful in a beautiful restaurant! You won't be disappointed if you love…read moreLebanese Cuisine. If you're visiting Ottawa, this is a must dine! Thank you Mr. Omar!

This is a little dive just down from my hotel. They have indoor seating but a lot of take out…read more Chef had a special and loaded the takeout with extra meat and a large salad. Service was fast and the food was excellent.

Near the Canadian War Museum (6 minutes away) I found Sham House (Syrian food). Living in Toronto…read moreI'm used to excellent Mediterranean food and this is one of the best I've had. We enjoyed it so much we came back during our trip. The owner cooks with fresh ingredients, and he is very friendly. The restaurant is diner style and clean. We had two Sham specials: shawarma chicken and the beef, salad and garlic potatoes..every morsel delicious.

TL;DR/The Short Version: Excellent Yemeni food. Had the…read morechicken Mandi and it was fantastic. The Long Version: I have had Yemeni food several times before, including at Yemen Gate's original location on Bank St (this one in Orleans is their second location). However, my parents have never had Yemeni food and they love trying new cuisines, so I got them some Chicken Mandi to try. As luck would have it, they were having a special on UberEats. The quarter chicken Mandi was $15.95 buy one get one free. So I ordered on the app and went to pick it up since it's not far from my parents' house. Pick up was quick and efficient. Staff were courteous. The restaurant is nice inside with lots of seating. It looks like in the summer they have a patio out front. I was thrilled that one of the quarter chickens was a breast and wing and the other was a thigh and drumstick, so we got a mix of white and dark meat. My parents shared their food with me because sharing is caring, lol. So I had a little taste. It was even better than what I had at the Bank St location. The chicken was a bit on the small side but it was very moist, tender and fell off the bone. The rice was fluffy and flavourful and I loved the raisins, slivered almonds and fried onions in it. My parents also really enjoyed it. My dad loved that the flavour profile was different from anything he's ever had. I'll have to introduce them to the oat soup next time and maybe we can try the lamb Mandi. There's free parking on-site that's shared with neighbouring businesses. (209)

I'm happy that this second location has a nice family friendly eating area.. the floor eating spot…read moreadds authenticity to the place. Our server was great , very friendly but I believe she encouraged us to over order by much much more.. like double the amount our group needed. So be vigilant when you ask about quantities! The food came fast , meat is tender, all was good just too much food to take home.. their fresh bread is not to miss!

I only took off a star because the prices are higher than I would normally pay for this type of…read moremeal. Based on other reviews, especially Keith T.'s, I ordered the half grilled boneless chicken plate with Bokhari rice. The plate also comes with turnips, salad, hummus, and garlic. I decided to upgrade the salad to a fattoush salad, get an additional 2oz hummus and garlic sauce (I didn't know how big/small the ones would be that came with the platter), as well as 2oz of Ali's Hot Sauce and an additional Kabab Halabi skewer. The chicken was cooked perfectly, great char but still super moist. the hot sauce was very spicy. The fresh herbs and vegetables on the side were such a great pairing. The fattoush was good, especially with the extra crispy pita chips on top. I do wish, however, that plain rice was an option, as I actually didn't need flavoured rice and would've preferred plain. My husband ordered a chicken taouk wrap with garlic, lettuce, onion, and tomato, plus batata hara and a Coke Zero. I've never had fateh before and also wanted to try it because of Hadia G.'s review. I got a single order. It had freshly cooked chickpeas with a mix of yogurt and tahini on a bead of pita chips and topped with pine nuts. This was by far my favourite and I could eat it ALL DAY. My husband and I were obsessed. OBSESSED! It was warm and delicious, creamy but not super rich, and very flavourful rather than just salty. I swear it should be illegal to eat this many pita chips, but we just couldn't stop. This is a bold statement, but I think it's one of the top vegetarian dishes I've ever had. It's on the breakfast menu but is available all day. I got knafeh for dessert, also for the first time. It was nice and cheesy, and I expected it to be sweet, but maybe just a little too sweet for me. Since this was my first time trying fateh, I can't compare it to anywhere else, but I would absolutely order it again and again!

We love this place for breakfast.. they have the best fatta in town.. dinner is so so! But the…read moreplace itself is spacious and comfortable.. service is nice but not very attentive! Today the appetizers were very good but main dish was ok.. Kunafa was not that great ... over all good meal but I'd rather come here for breakfast

Food wise, it's cheap and large portion. But there's little variety. Everything is big bread with…read moredifferent variations of toppings. For mine, it was soggy where the toppings were placed because of the olive oil. Service was close to non-existent. They forgot my Coke until I reminded them. It also took time for the food to be ready or to get the bill. I only saw one star, so I assume he's the wait staff, the chef and the cashier.

Pre-pandemic, I had an appointment down the road and I decided to walk the 15 minutes to get some…read moreEthiopian food. I used to live in the area and visited their old location on Gladstone ages ago, so I thought it would be a nice opportunity to try their new(er) location, also on Gladstone. I've only had Ethiopian food a few times in the past, including at Blue Nile, but I was in the mood to try a dish I never had before. The restaurant had just opened for lunch so it was empty. I was grateful to have the full attention of the server, who I realized later was also the cook - the one and only staff member there! He was patient with me as I took a look around and debated over what to get on the menu before asking him for a suggestion. He asked if I ever had tibbs before, a staple in Ethiopian cuisine, and I hadn't, so that's what I ordered. I definitely read the menu, but I didn't pay attention at all to what he was making. I just said yes and got excited lol. It was about $12 at the time, before taxes and tip, though the price didn't matter at all because I was hungry and drooling at the sights and smells of him making the food. He made it with such care, packed it for takeout with such care, and rang it up with such care. He was very kind and courteous. Top-notch service. It was about 20 minutes or so before I was able to sit down to eat it and it was still piping hot. I had no idea what to expect. Whatever it was, it was fully wrapped in a huge piece of injera. When I unfolded the injera, there was a giant portion of sliced beef, onions, and peppers in a tomato-based sauce. I looked at the menu online and saw you could get juicy or dry, so I assumed I got juicy. My coworkers kept asking what I got, saying it looked and smelled amazing. A couple of them even tried some. It was delicious! The beef was tender and the sauce was very flavourful. The injera was light and spongey, not too sour. The meal was super filling, too. The injera soaked up some of the extra juices and it was all great to eat it with your hands. I would, however, separate the beef from the injera if saving leftovers, as the injera at the bottom would be super soggy. I would definitely eat here again. Maybe in person next time! I was tempted to buy some of the snacks, spices, and other pantry items by the cash, but I get carried away with that stuff and I knew I wouldn't be able to carry it back with me. But I totally regretted not getting anything. Definitely next time, too!

We had come here as we were staying in the area from out-of-town, and wanted to try the food, as we…read morehad read excellent reviews. We were happy that we did decide to give this place a try, as it was everything that we had expected, and more! When we walked-in, we were greeted by a young man, that asked if we wanted take-out or dine-in. We chose dine-in however, the restaurant was quite busy at the time so, we had to be seated at a table near the front entrance. Upon sitting, we noticed the iPad that was on the table for ordering. We were also given paper menus to look at, which was easier. Once we had placed our orders, we waited only about ten minutes for our salads to arrive, along with the hummus and pita bread. The salads were absolutely amazing; the bowls were filled to the brim with cucumbers, tomatoes, lettuce, olives, and feta cheese. All of the ingredients were fresh and tasty, and that dressing, WOW; it was delicious! It tied the salad in so well, it was the best salad we had ever tried at a Greek restaurant. The hummus was also delicious, with heated-up pita bread creating the finishing touches. This hummus was definitely homemade, and marvellous! We even asked for an additional pita, as the one we had wasn't enough for the four of us. This appetizer was definitely a great start! Once our main meals arrived, we were pleasantly surprised at how large the portions were. And the homemade sauce on top of the rice was wonderful; I don't know how they made the sauce, but it was perfect with the rice. The chicken was tender, with the tzatziki sauce not being needed often due to the tenderness. The potatoes were huge, and deliciously spiced. The meal was massive, and we couldn't finish it all; definitely worth what we had paid for! Throughout the entire meal, the server checked on us, bringing us water when we had asked, and making sure we were well taken care of. As we were leaving, the owner/chef asked where we were visiting from, and if we enjoyed the food. This place was hands-down the best Greek restaurant that we've ever been to; down to earth family-owned, amazing food, and great hospitality. Will definitely be back, and would recommend that you all try it as well; you won't be disappointed!

I was looking for a good Mediterranean food restaurant outside downtown to avoid the traffic and…read moreexpensive parking... This restaurant did it. It's located in a small strip and sometimes it takes time to find parking but not bad at all. The food is really good and fresh... You can feel the flavor of the marination and cook in the grill. The plate that I would go back for?.... The pork souvlaki and the excelent garlicky hummus. The service is super friendly and the chef will always ask if everything was as a good as we expected. The atmosphere is simple but practical and confortable. I've been here 3 times and I think I will go back everytime I come back to Ottawa.