We went here for lunch. I really wanted meat pies and they delivered. Hot, fresh, delicious. There…read morewere so many people in here. There was very little seating but most people were taking out. There was meat, meat and cheese, zaatar and vegies, and a few other options. HIGHLY RECCOMEND! Stop in for some hand held food.

Best Man'oushe with Zaatar and cheese, best Spinach pies and best Lahm be Aajin. Everything is…read moreabsolutely amazing and flavorful. The doughs for the Man'oushe and Spinach pies is perfect soft and delicious not supper doughy but perfect. The Lahm be Ajin is also excellent and the meat is flavorful and perfect. Highly recommend everything.

Great quality, portion size, price, friendly staff, quick service and it was all delicious…read more We tried Glovers junkyard Maddy's special Mad girls gobbler Butterscotch butter tarts and two types of cannoli's Maddy's special was my favourite of the three but all were fresh tasting and delicious. Highly recommend

Frank's, located in a shopping plaza was really busy when we went in on a Sunday early afternoon…read more But no complaints since it was our first time we needed the time to read the menu & the line went pretty fast. I ended up ordering the #19 because it was a mix of pizza & a sub, it came with pepperoni, provolone, lettuce, onions, tomatoes, and green olives also I added chicken. Things I did like: the ingredients were fresh, the bread was soft, there were equal parts of toppings & meat. Things I didn't like so much: I thought the sandwich would be hot or toasted similar to a pizza, also it was a little dry needed either more marinara or ranch or something to make it less hard to swallow. I also ordered a blueberry danish & a lemon tart pastry. I ate the danish so fast I didn't even get to take a pic it was so good. However, I did not like the lemon tart the filling tasted like the grocery store canned pie filling.

Nice little bakery selling Middle Eastern pies and sweets. They opened end of 2022/beginning of…read more2023. I was running some errands in the area and dropped in for some meat pies. I got 2 regular meat pies ($3.25 each) and 2 meat with pomegranate sauce pies ($3.25 each) for my husband and I. As I was waiting, the nice man working there gave me a free cookie :) The cookie was a shortbread cookie partially dipped in chocolate. I have had many Middle Eastern meat pies, but this was my first time having a meat pie with pomegranate sauce. The pomegranate flavour was subtle and I mostly just tasted a twinge of sweetness to the pie. It was interesting, but I think I prefer regular meat pies instead. The regular meat pie was good and the seasonings are very different from the majority of other meat pies in the city. It had ground meat, tomatoes and parsley inside. The pastry of both pies were thin and crispy which I liked. I don't like it when it's too doughy. The pies were also a good size with a good amount of meat. They make for a very affordable snack. There are a few tables to eat in and a water fountain inside the bakery. Staff were pleasant. And I immediately like anyone who gives me free cookies, lol. The bakery is located in a strip mall. Same strip mall as Big Rig Brewery and Supreme Kabob House. Lots of free parking in the shared parking lot.

The best in Ottawa The taste is good and the place is…read morebeautiful. The service is excellent I highly recommend him an experience that was very good.

They've changed locations ~1+ years ago to the Kanata location, and ever since they've opened,…read morethey've been my family and I's go-to sweet treat, coffee, lunch AND dinner place. The owner is always so welcoming and the entire staff who works there are so nice! Pastries are SO yummy i'd honestly give it 4.5/5 overall. I personally love their natas and their cannolis are out of this world. It feels like there's still so much pastries and desserts I need to try at Lusa (like their tiramisu cups looks SO GOOD?!). Btw their whole chicken combo is literally incredible. You must try their piri piri sauce, nothing can beat it. 10/10

My friend took me to Lusa Bakery while I was in Ottawa on our walking tour. I love a good bakery…read more This bakery is Portuguese. It meant that, by default, I had to try a nata or Portuguese egg tart. I have a huge weakness for natas. I dream of them often. What is impressive is that my friend has had practically every baked good in this bakery's display case, except for maybe two items. Perhaps by the time I post this review, she would have sampled everything. It also means that this bakery needs to create new items for her and other diehard fans. Although I was more thirsty and wasn't dying to having something to eat, looking at the pear tarts, croissants, cheesecakes, and more made me throw all those physical feelings away. I wanted everything! Of course, I'm not made of money. I had my eyes on the prize: the nata. I ordered one to enjoy at this eatery. I got it on a nice plate. I paid for it with a credit card. I had a huge AriZona iced tea with me, so I didn't need a drink at this stage. The woman behind the counter was helpful and friendly. This bakery also is a convenience-grocery store. My friend picked up a number of chocolate bars and shared one of them with me. You can get everything from Sumol carbonated beverages in plastic bottles, to imported jams. We sat down at a table with chairs to enjoy our treats. It was a bit hot in this place. So, if you are looking for more effective air conditioning (I think it was a fan that cooled the place down here), you may want to try another venue. I loved my nata. It was custardy and yummy. The exterior was flaky and enjoyable. There was a hint of sweetness. It was indeed the perfect nata. This place also has sandwiches. There's a separate area where you can order takeout. I may need to return to get a sandwich and possibly a dozen natas when I'm back. There's a washroom at the back. It was bright and clean when I used it. I am lucky to have a friend who took me to this bakery without my doing a trial-and-error search for the best nata. It's here! I will be back when I'm in the city again. (299)

So "Take Another Bite!" first opened up in Manotick and I first experienced their food when they…read morecatered an event at my work many years ago. I'm rarely in Manotick, so while I remembered that they were good, I felt it would be unlikely that I would visit their Manotick cafe. Then they opened up a second location in Ottawa in an industrial park on Colonnade, which was much closer to home than Manotick for me. It still took me a while to make it there, but I finally did. It's a cute cafe inside, despite being in an industrial park. They sell drinks, baked goods, soups, ready to eat meals and refrigerated/bake at home meals. They are primarily a caterer, but it's nice that they have a storefront where you can grab some lunch or snacks and even dine in. Baked goods are on the pricier end like $4 for a Nanaimo Bar or dessert square. Entrees with a side salad are $10-$12 but the portions are pretty modest. However, their food is good and healthier than greasy fast food ;) I've had their sandwiches, which are tasty but way too much mayo/sauce for my liking. Their desserts are also very rich, lol. Their lasagna is good (and not too saucy). I also liked their broccoli salad (which didn't have too much dressing, which is a common compliant of mine when it comes to broccoli salad, as most places drench it in mayo). You know I love those hidden places in industrial parks, and Take Another Bite!, Ottawa location, is one of them. Free parking in front of the cafe.

Mike at Take Another Bite was professional and helpful as we prepared to cater an all-day event…read morethis fall. Two meals and coffee service for the day with a variety of food intolerances were prepared and delivered on time and enjoyed by everyone. Happy Goat coffee served (the best!) and baked bread and desserts so wonderful. The prices and service were the best I found for a homemade tasting caterer.

I was at Pelican Seafood Market and Grill for lunch a couple of Sundays ago, and explored what Blue…read moreHeron Mall had to offer. I was parked by Ichiban Bakery. I have a weakness for bakeries and decided to check it out on a Sunday afternoon. It's a small bakery where it is more concerned about the baked goods that it produces than making the decor aesthetically pleasing! The woman working there was extremely nice. I went with a number of goodies, including the ham and cheese bun, pain au chocolat, a number of lemon treats (lemon tart, and lemon cheesecake and lemon bars), and a pear tart. Yes, I love anything lemony. I asked about the Japanese-style cheesecake. You can get a slice of it for nearly $7, or the whole thing for $20. I decided to pass on it, as everything seemed so small and overpriced to me. She carefully put everything in a box and I cheerfully left the bakery. Here's my take on the baked goods: - The ham and cheese bun was excellent. I had it for breakfast the following morning. It was savoury and delicious. - The pain au chocolat is my favourite pastry in the world. Sadly, the exterior wasn't flaky and light like a croissant. It was far more dense. The chocolate was yummy. - The lemon and lemon cheesecake bars were disappointing. The lemon flavour wasn't tart enough for my liking. The lemon flavour was subtle and barely there. The crust at the bottom was too thick and not enjoyable. The cheesecake part of the lemon cheesecake was creamy, which was the only plus I got out of it. - The pear and lemon tarts were okay. The crust was thinner than the bars, but not that interesting. I liked the pear one more, as the chunks of real fruit were yummy. The lemon one wasn't tart enough for me, either. The woman let me know that this bakery would be closed for Canada Day the following day, but the other location in the Glebe would be open. I was fortunate to pass by the latter the other day and it looked cute from the outside. I will stick to savoury items should I return to this location. Perhaps I'll try a regular croissant and see if I like it. I will steer away from the lemon items. (228)

Ichiban Bakery is a small bakery in Blue Heron Mall. They sell bread (both loaves and buns),…read morecroissants, and dessert squares. No fancy cakes and no trendy macarons. It is unapologetically simple and reminds me of true mom and pop bakeries in small towns. Baked goods are still on the trays they were baked on. You get a cafeteria tray and use the provided tongs to gather what you want, then bring it to the cash register for them to ring it up. There are three tables that seat two people each along the edge of the bakery in case you want to eat your goodies right there. I've only ever had the croissants here. They are huge and only $1.85 each. They are flaky on the outside and a bit doughier and denser on the inside. The squares look good, I might get some in the future, although I am rarely in this neighbourhood. Staff are very nice. Although the name suggests a Japanese bakery, they don't have any Japanese specialties, at least none that were evident to me. I just saw North American items, like butter tarts, lemon squares, etc. Nothing exotic. Don't go expecting mochi, or Japanese cheesecake or anything like that. (Edit 2017-02-20: Apparently, as per their Facebook page, they started selling Japanese Cream Cheese Buns at their Glebe location 825 Bank St. Maybe they will have it at the Blue Heron Mall location too). Lots of free parking. It's in the same plaza as Farm Boy, Colannade Pizza, and Pelican Seafood Market and Grill.

I've always been a Panera fan, but my recent elite combo is the broccoli cheddar soup with the…read moresteak sandwich. It's similar to a Philly cheesesteak but a bit more elevated. This is a great place to come for a soup and panini, and the bakery menu is definitely there to tempt you. The employees are exceptionally kind, which always makes the experience even better. J'ai toujours été fan de Panera, mais mon combo préféré récemment est la soupe brocoli-cheddar avec le sandwich au steak. C'est un peu comme un Philly cheesesteak, mais en version plus raffinée. C'est un excellent endroit pour une soupe et un panini, et leur menu de boulangerie est aussi très tentant. Les employés sont exceptionnellement gentils, ce qui rend l'expérience encore meilleure.

Popped in for a quick lunch with the fam. I ordered the garden caprese sandwich, and the hubs got a…read moresteak sandwich with a bowl of broccoli soup. The kids picked at the mac and cheese and said it was "alright" but they were in love with the baguette that came with the soup. Service was so patient while we decided what we were ordering. I don't frequent Panera often, so the menu was super overwhelming. The garden caprese sandwich was SO SO SO GOOD! The bread was fresh, chewy and warm. I loooooooooooved the sauce combination of Italian dressing and and garlic aioli. Restaurant was cozy and relaxing.

Lovely staff, simple good crepes we tried their cinnamon and sugar and their cheese one . My mom is…read morepicky about crepes but she loved how thin they are. I really liked their packaging too! We got tempted and bought the Madeline and Sablè they were delicious.

TL;DR/The Short Version: Little takeout joint that sells…read moresweet and savoury crepes, choux pastries and other French sweets. Crepes were tasty. The Longer Version: Le Petit Paris just opened up September 2024. It's very hidden and I would have never just stumbled upon it, especially considering I'm rarely out in Kanata these days. Luckily I'm a weirdo and one of the things I like to do is poke around on Google Maps zooming in randomly on areas in and around Ottawa looking for new businesses to check out. That's how I found Le Petit Paris. It's tucked in behind a bunch of businesses and is not visible from the street. Fortunately the directions on Google Maps lead me there correctly. They are currently takeout only. The space is very small and there is absolutely no place to sit down and eat there. I got the Parisienne Crepe ($10.90) which contained ham, cheese and mushrooms. The crepe was made fresh. However, they use frozen mushrooms, which they microwaved (in the plastic bag it was packaged in, their space is open so I saw this). I get it, they're new and are still working out how much supply they need, but I feel fresh mushrooms would be better. Also, I'm not a fan of microwaving plastics for health reasons. I also think this crepe would taste better with some fresh spinach. Nonetheless, the crepe was tasty. The crepe itself was soft and had the right amount of chew. The ham was nice and smokey and the cheese provided a nice cheese pull ;) The crepe maker, Nene, was lovely. We had a nice conversation, en français, since she told me she was more comfortable in French. The man at the cash register (I think his name was Guy, because that's what was printed on the back of his shirt, lol) was equally nice and told me about their business and products. He was fluently bilingual, so I spoke in English with him ;) Their choux pastries looked good, but it was the end of the day, so they had limited selection left. I'll need to return earlier in the day to try these. There's free parking available in the lot that's shared with neighbouring businesses. I have a soft spot for small locally-owned independent businesses. I hope they do well and can relocate to a more visible/less tucked away location and maybe even have some seating for dining in, in the future. With more business, hopefully they can use fresh ingredients instead of frozen. Review #37 (2025)