Our first time to Carben and our waiter was fantastic in explaining the menu and delivered excellent service. All six of us thoroughly enjoyed our dinners.

An amazing experience! The food was incredible as well as the service and ambience. Would definitely recommend.

Carben had phenomenal food, and that staff were incrediblly friendly and welcoming.

The pricing is a little on the expensive side for your portion, but the taste is out of this world. I highly recommend Carben if you are looking for something that has very high cuisine, with a more casual feel. Great for a date night where you want to impress but you aren't required to be in very formal attire.

If I could afford it, I would eat here on a regular basis.

Excellent food and outstanding service, it is noisy and the wine list is limited but certainly a great place for a great meal with family and friends. This was our second visit.

The food is delicious and the service is outstanding

Great meal at Carben. The menu changes for best seasonal ingredients and a more creative food experience. The service was outstanding. A little pricey with drinks but well worth it for a special meal with friends or special occasion.

Carben is a fantastic restaurant. Exceeded my expectations. The service was friendly and professional. The wine list was short, but carefully selected. The food is carefully crafted and presented. The explosion of flavour will literally bring you pure bliss. I cannot wait until my next time.

Tried this place because there were good reviews and wasn't disappointed. The mushroom appetizer was super tasty. Cornish duck main was wonderful, although could have used a bit more meat. Otherwise, very nice dishes and would go again.

The service went above and beyond, just like the food. Thank you for a fabulous meal.

We had such a wonderful dining experience at Carben. Each plate was unique and so flavourful, and our sommelier was excellent. He really went above and beyond and we actually learned a lot about wine! We will be back. Cannot recommend enough.

Amazing food and exceptional service, highly recommended

Excellent dinner, attention to all details.

Not my first time there and as ALWAYS, the service, the presentation and the food = EXCELLENT.

I first went to Carben when it opened a few years ago, and was very impressed by the friendliness of the staff (one of the owners was working that night), the great list of original cocktails, the somewhat minimalist (but not cold) décor, and most importantly, the originality of the menu and Carben’s commitment to sourcing local ingredients. I returned last week for a birthday dinner, and both me and my girlfriend, who had never been, were equally impressed with every aspect our evening. It is safe to say that Carben has lost nothing in the few years that have passed since I was last there, and has probably even improved a bit in terms of plating and presentation. We ordered the octopus and beef tartare appetizers followed by salmon and striploin mains, and there is nothing that we would have changed about any of these dishes. The culinary techniques employed were masterful, and some of the molecular gastronomy at play (see photos) reminded me of my last meal at Atelier, albeit at a much more affordable price point and more down-to-Earth atmosphere. Worthwhile cocktails include Where’s My Cigar?, the Toronto Cocktail and the Sparking Pear, although we had six in total that night and all were enjoyable. I also noticed that some of the same staff were working at Carben, and in the restaurant business, it is indeed a rare thing to retain staff for years, which likely speaks to how well the owners treat their staff, which is further reflected by how well the staff treats their customers. Carben is highly recommended, and we will be returning.

Carben is consistently impressive. The drinks, food, and service were all stellar. Their plating is an absolute work of art. Highly recommend for a special dining experience.

The server was pleasant and attentive from the moment we walked in till the evening was completed. The dishes were imaginative, flavorful and well presented. We shared the both the octopus and mushroom appetizers, both seem to be popular and for good reason. The scallop entree was wonderfully prepared and the duck entree did not disappoint. A great destination in the Hintonburg neighborhood.

The dishes were aesthetically beautiful and came out very quickly. The salmon ceviche appetizer was good - a little too acidic for me personally. The duck and steak were cooked perfectly but the flavour profile (along with the sides and sauces) was hit and miss for me. Overall it was a good solid restaurant but lacked a little bit of flavour.

Great good with impeccable service. Creative and fresh. Love going back again and again!

Each mouthful was a pleasure. The presentation was lovely.

What a gem of a place. My friend and I both loved everything we were served. We had a few shared dishes (octopus, a salmon ceviche, mushroom) and we shared a scallops main dish. They were all really great. The service was really friendly and very accommodating. We will be going back for sure, and I have already told several friends about it.

The cooking is nothing short of art. Beautiful presentation, novel combinations of textures and flavours. Best service I've had in quite some time. Thanks for making Janet's birthday so special!

A spectacular meal with notably tasty offerings and reasonable portions. Very knowledgeable and attentive staff. One of the better cuisines in Ottawa.

Food is excellent , creatively made and displayed. Service was excellent as well. Knowledgeable explanations of the various edibles on the plate. Servers are friendly but not gushy and exude a calm competence.

One of the best meals I have ever had, in Ottawa or anywhere including recently NYC, Chicago and Europe. Service was professional and attentive, and the food was first-class. Early seating asked for the table back in 135 minutes which is always a sort of nagging pain in the back of your mind but as it turned out we had plenty of time and never felt rushed so no harm, no foul.

The food was amazing and the service was exceptional. Definitely a new favourite restaurant for us.

One of the best meals I have had! Amazing experience from start to finish. Fantastic service and phenomenal food. The cocktails were unreal good and we loved every moment. Can’t wait to go back.

Fantastic service and very knowledgeable. The restaurant had no problem accommodating to my gluten intolerance.

Had a very enjoyable first time here. The food and service were both outstanding. Can’t wait to come back!!!

Amazing food every time. Great conversation location.

The waiters here are fantastic, genuine care for their customers and great attention to detail.

Everything was beyond excellent. Like always! Thank you for the great evening.

We had an anniversary dinner with my wife, and it was great! Courteous service, creative and delicious cuisine, and exceptional wine list! We had a wonderful time and will come there again! Thank you, Naj and Patrick!

The food, drinks and service were absolutely exceptional. Can’t wait to go back again!

The service was excellent. The server was fully knowledgeable of the food preparation and the wine list. The meal was absolutely splendid. Highly recommend Carben for any occasion.

Delicious dinner, great quality and details. Service was awsome, definitely Carben was a wonderful place

As first time customers, we found that the experience was very pleasant. The food was delicious and beautiful. The nuances of each dish were expertly explained by the server. The cocktails we ordered were creative and tasty. We enjoyed the art and general ambience of the restaurant. The staff was very friendly and accommodating. We would be happy to come back and try new dishes and drinks! Thank you for a lovely night.

The food was very good. The Old fashion was good too. I had two bloody ceasers: one was excellent but the other one was not spicy at all and only tasted tomato juice. Nothing else to say except that we would have really enjoyed a good fresh home-made bread with aromatised butter but we were told that the restaurant was using a « modern gluten-free approach » and was not serving bread(although most clients are not allergic to gluten!) We were disappointed as a good bread is part of the foodie experience and different gluten-free flours can be used for cooking. For the price of the menu, I would expect a good bread, as for any other good restaurants we went in Ottawa.

The food was fantastic the servers very knowledgeable and the wine pairing was excellent.

An excellent gem of a restaurant at the edge of Westboro. Parking can be a challenge but it is close to bus lines.

Had a delicious Valentine's Day dinner. Service is always good.