Le Café at the National Arts Centre - Le Café au Centre national des ArtsWe had another great mealWe had another great meal at Le Cafe. As always the food was excellent and the service outstanding. We had plenty of time for the lovely meal and to get to our seats upstairs for our Pops performance.12/4/2013 12:00:00 AMAppreciated the multi-grainAppreciated the multi-grain bread & not just white baquette. I enjoyed my arctic char but my husband did not like his choice of venison. More choices for the table d'hote would be better bc it only included arctic char, venison & a vegatarian option.12/4/2013 12:00:00 AMGive your review a title (optional)Great food, but our server was not at the fine dining level. He was a bit rough, and hadn't figured out how to monitor his tables. At one point, he knocked the knife from the table next to us on the floor, and then left it there for about 5 minutes. It marred an otherwise great experience. I would still recommend for pre-theatre dining12/2/2013 12:00:00 AMTwo of us split a salad appetizerTwo of us split a salad appetizer and a main. The kitchen plated both dishes separately for us. We really appreciated that (since many kitchens refuse to go that extra step).8/4/2013 12:00:00 AMCanal Side CharmLe Cafe at the NAC is an underappreciated gem. We had lunch on the terrace at a table that was mere feet from the Rideau Canal with views of the Conference Centre (the former Ottawa Train Station a Beaux Arts gem) and the new Congress Centre while pleasure boaters sailed by. The food and service were just great. Would revisit for sure.6/10/2013 12:00:00 AMCan never go wrongI like to try out different restaurants but when I'm entertaining guests with very delicate palate, I know Le Café is the place to take them. I can never go wrong. The food is always extremely good, well presented, well served; the ambiance is ideal for quiet conversations.6/9/2013 12:00:00 AMBusy day handled wellWe went for lunch after our daughter's graduation at the NAC. The main restaurant was booked for a function so we were put in the lobby area. It wasn't as nice as inside and had no view, plus we heard all the announcements for the afternoon graduation. The food was very good and the service outstanding.6/8/2013 12:00:00 AMGood birthday celebrationI booked long ahead and asked for a window table (important for us) but never got any. So reservation was not worth it. We ordered wine with our meal and never got any. I queried and they had forgotten but the manager gave us wine on the house.
Other than that, the food was superb. We had Coho Salmon and rack of lamb. Very delicious, tasty and good quantities. The flowers I had order for her birthday was very well displayed and filled our area with magnificent scents. Thank you Geneviève. Very romantic and well worth the price and effort even with a bit of service difficulties.
We will go there again.6/4/2013 12:00:00 AMAnother Excellent ExperienceFood was excellent. Service from especially Geoffrey was outstanding.6/3/2013 12:00:00 AMA special brunch.Most enjoyable everyone so friendly and helpful, we ate and ate and the four of us enjoyed lots of conversation in the gentle surroundings.6/2/2013 12:00:00 AMExcellent!Great for brunch with family and friends! Food quality is impressive for the price ("all you can eat" brunch for 30-ish CAD)5/26/2013 12:00:00 AMgreat value and tastyThe tulip festival lunch special was good. The salad and sablefish were tasty. The whole environment is nice.
One suggestion could be time to renovate the washroom.5/25/2013 12:00:00 AMGreat meal. Excellent service.Great meal. Excellent service. Our waiter Yvan was superb.5/24/2013 12:00:00 AMWe were pleased with our mealWe were pleased with our meal and with our waiter who advised what we could order. Everything was very tasty and to our liking. We enjoyed sipping on our coffee as we watched a large boat pull up. However, when we went to leave the parking lot, we were informed that we owed $5. It seems that after two hours, the parking is no longer free. I could perhaps see that folks could go shopping or sightseeing which wouldn't be fair. However, the patrons should be told that after two hours, there is a charge. We would have left earlier (or not) had we known.That took a little fun out of our special occasion.5/24/2013 12:00:00 AMBelle ExpérienceTrés bonne nourriture, excellent service, tres belle expérience5/23/2013 12:00:00 AMFood was very good and priceFood was very good and price was also good. You must tell your staff that smoke not to use the door by the washrooms. The smell travels in the dining room. I noticed it and also I over heard another person remark on it. We had a very good time would recommend Le Cafe.5/22/2013 12:00:00 AMSpecial lunchFor a special anniversary meal the lunch at le Cafe was perfect. Excellent food in enjoyable portions in a pleasant atmosphere and attentive service.5/15/2013 12:00:00 AMMother's Day BrunchOverall, good experience. The service was a little slow when we had to get the waiter attention a few times in order to get what we wanted. We were in the middle of two groups, so we had to speak louder than usual to be able to talk to each other. Too bad the weather was not good; it would have been pleasant to eat outside near the Canal. The food was very good; we have been to the restaurant a few times, for brunch, lunch and dinner and we never were disappointed by the quality and variety of food.5/12/2013 12:00:00 AMEverything but pizzazI thought everything was great except for the ambience. It was rather boring. You could do something with color, paintings on the walls, little potted plants on the tables, artificial flowers (not boring realistic ones and not conventional tabletop flowers). In other words you need to use some imagination. Find a young decorator or check out the best restaurants in Quebec. The ambience is almost more important to me than the food. I am a serious cook and a foodie. I get great food at home. (The service is pretty good too.)5/12/2013 12:00:00 AMVery good food and service,Very good food and service, excellent view of the canal and its activities. Overall a very good evening.5/11/2013 12:00:00 AMFood was very god. And serviceFood was very god. And service from our waiter, Michael was excellnt.5/10/2013 12:00:00 AMDelicious meal.We were the happy group of five enjoying our meal, soaking in the atmosphere and having lots of laughs . This was a reunion of four siblings ( and my spouse) who live in four different cities, two different countries. It is not often that we have the time and opportunity to be together and I chose Le Cafe in the hopes the food and weather would prove to be memorable. Neither was disappointing.
Thank you for a wonderful meal, great service and contributing to our super time.5/9/2013 12:00:00 AMSummer luncheonWith the nice weather back, it was a beautiful sunny day to have a special retirement luncheon for my executive assistant. Sitting outdoors along the canal was an additional plus. Although an expensive restaurant, the service, food and ambience is worth the price. A nice place to go if you are not in a rush and you want a quiet place to eat.5/8/2013 12:00:00 AMA friend and I had ticketsA friend and I had tickets to the NAC theatre that evening and we decided to have an early dinner at le Cafe . The setting was lovely, the service very good and the meal delicious. I will definitley return there.5/8/2013 12:00:00 AMA Relaxed Dining ExperienceI love the relaxed patio dining experience as did my companions. I have been at Le Cafe on busier nights and always appreciate the fact that the staff at Le Café check to confirm if diners are attending a NAC event. My venison was perfect - tender and served on the rare side of medium just as requested. I was impressed that the wait person advised me on ordering that the venison is served medium rare. My one dining companion thoroughly enjoyed her flavour-loaded chowder and after having a taste at her insistence, I thought it might have been a better choice than my smoked duck appetizer, which was somewhat bland. Both companions were very pleased with their Arctic char, a fish new to them.5/7/2013 12:00:00 AMThe table was prepared theThe table was prepared the way I asked for. The staff were very kind. The food was great.5/5/2013 12:00:00 AMthe service was slown werethe service was slown were in at 5:30and did not have time for desert because the show was at 8:00.
the white wine was not chilled and we had to wait for that.
i have been to the cafe many times so hopefully this was just one of these off night. The food was excellent.5/5/2013 12:00:00 AMNew menu is varied and moreNew menu is varied and more understandable than the last version during 2012. The service was great - waiters very friendly with sense of humour - the two of us dining are gluten-free - and it was no provblem. The food was really delicious and very generous portions. They also know how to ensure you get to your theatre performance on time.5/4/2013 12:00:00 AMThe food was great as always.The food was great as always. The service was attentive and I appreciated that extra bread was provided. The view overlooking the canal and the congress centre cannot be beat. Thanks for a great experience. The wait staff did a great job getting me out in plenty of time to get upstairs to see the NAC performance.5/3/2013 12:00:00 AMOpening Act for Theatre GoersWe made an early reservation at the Cafe before attending a NAC performance. The scallop appetizer was amazing and the duck was pretty fine as well. The cheese plate was interesting and the creme brule as creamy as could possibly be. Presentation of the food was lovely without being over the top trendy. The service was attentive but not smarmy. We will go back.5/3/2013 12:00:00 AMSuperb!Consistently one of the best restaurants in Ottawa. Highly recommend!!5/1/2013 12:00:00 AMSimply the best dining experienceSimply the best dining experience we have had at this place for years! The
Table d'hôtel was a welcome addition.
We dine here often, before performances4/4/2013 12:00:00 AM