Diners' Choice: Best Overall restaurants in Ottawa

OpenTable

Updated June 05, 2025

Looking for the best overall restaurants in Ottawa? You’re in the right place. Each month, OpenTable analyzes nearly 2 million global diner reviews from the past four months. We sort the results by location and category to help you discover new favorite restaurants. It's a great partnership: you reserve, eat, and review. We listen...and deliver the results for all to benefit. Enjoy!

Perch

5.0

5 (231)

CAN$51 and over

Contemporary Canadian

Little Italy

About the restaurant

Perch is an intimate fine dining restaurant focusing on Canadian ingredients, ethical and sustainable products.
Awarded as the 4th Best New Canadian Restaurant 2022 by Enroute, Three diamonds by AAA and placing on Canada's 100 Best Restaurants 2023 and 2025. With the dining room facing into the wide open kitchen offering a nine course tasting menu and a bar focusing on unique cocktails and natural wines.

Nine Course tasting menu is $145 for food menu
Beverage Pairing is $100 per person (optional)
Non-Alcoholic Beverage Pairing is $85 per person (optional)

We release reservations 60 days in advance.

Please be sure to specify any dietary restrictions when making a reservation.

Please note that for reservations of 5 or more people, please call us at 613-515-0535 or email amanda@perchottawa.ca

Top review

Kaia

Dined on Jun 19, 2025

Had an incredible experience, the staff are so welcoming and knowledgeable and the service was outstanding. The dishes were beautiful, unique and beyond delicious! The bespoke cocktail perfectly embodied the flavour profile I was looking for and was one of the best cocktails I’ve ever had! Above all, the pairings (alcoholic and non-alc) added a whole other dimension to each dish and complemented them perfectly. Will definitely keep coming back, thank you so much!

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Experience

Tasting Menu - 9 Course Meal

Retro Gusto

4.9

4.9 (549)

CAN$31 to CAN$50

Italian

Little Italy

About the restaurant

Retrogusto is a pizzeria and bar that brings some much needed excitement to the north end of Preston street. We serve a Roman style pizza "Tonda", traditional roman fried snacks, salumi, cheeses and other small plates. Our food will be complimented by a small wine list that will be in constant rotation, strictly Italian classic cocktails, and beautiful amaro's from around Italy. The warm, cozy, dimly lit dining room with an open kitchen will be the perfect place to do the only thing that matters; eat good food, drink good wine and have a good time with friends.

Top review

Chloé

Dined 6 days ago

Every food item I’ve ever had at Retro Gusto was amazing. The food is well balanced, fresh and delicious. The decor and lighting are nice, the staff is very helpful and sweet. It can be quite loud depending on where you are seated.

Paper Tiger Noodle Bar

4.8

4.8 (112)

CAN$31 to CAN$50

Fusion / Eclectic

The Glebe

About the restaurant

"Paper Tiger"
Someone or something that seems intimidating and all powerful, but in reality, is not. Don't judge a book by its cover.
In the heart of Old Ottawa South, Paper Tiger Noodle Bar is where fusion meets local. With a seasonal food and drink menu, you are guaranteed to find your new favourite dining experience.

Top review

Sarah

Dined on Jun 24, 2025

Paper tiger is great. Emphasis on local food, friendly service, 10/10 food. Always love coming here.

Bar Lupulus

4.9

4.9 (1443)

CAN$51 and over

Contemporary Canadian

Hintonburg

About the restaurant

Cozy Craft Beer and Natural Wine Bar with a Backyard Patio Oasis. Serving locally sourced & seasonally inspired comfort focused plates by Chef James Bratsberg. 22 rotating taps, Craft Cocktails & over 500 Natural wine cuvees available for dine in and takeout through our online bottle shop!

Top review

ShirleyVIP

Dined 2 days ago

We really enjoyed the outdoor patio experience on a perfect night with superb food.

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4.9

4.9 (98)

CAN$51 and over

Contemporary Canadian

Downtown

About the restaurant

From day one, we have wanted this little restaurant to be a space where anyone can feel comfortable & welcomed. Classic French cuisine is the root of this ethos - consistent, familiar and even nostalgic flavours from the tried & true feel good classics, yet slightly elevated with a touch of whimsy. Whether you are up for a curated culinary experience with our 4 & 7 Course tasting menus (Fri & Sat evenings), or prefer to choose your own adventure with our 3-course Table D’hote menu (Wed & Thurs evenings), or are in search of an upscale lunch à la carte menu (Thur - Sat); we have you covered! Our menus are composed entirely to showcase the best local products in Lanark County & the Ottawa Valley and are tailored monthly to best celebrate the tastes of the season. What’s more is that we tie it all together with the best small town, friendly, warm and courteous service around. Just like at a good friend’s house; we look forward to welcoming you to our kitchen! Ian Carswell (Chef/Owner)

Top review

gerry

Dined 7 days ago

High end restaurant and good value for money. Best in Town but expensive.

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Experience

Nature's Apprentice Farm - Our July Supper Club

Experience

Thurston Livestock - Our August Supper Club

Experience

7-Course Tasting Menu ($144/person)

DreamLand Cafe

4.8

4.8 (535)

CAN$31 to CAN$50

Italian

Little Italy

About the restaurant

Located in the heart of Ottawa’s Little Italy, Dreamland Pasta Cafe & Bar, is easy to love but hard to leave. The fresh pasta brings you in but the vibrant energy and heartbeat of the space allows you to indulge in
every moment from small talk to dessert.

Top review

reema

Dined on Jun 20, 2025

Great experience, as always! They’re amazing with kids. We brought our daughter a couple times now and she loves it there!

Shinka Sushi Bar

4.9

4.9 (65)

CAN$51 and over

Sushi

Gloucester

About the restaurant

After too long Shinka Sushi Bar is finally back to a dine in service! Nestled in the heart of an industrial park come check out our hideaway.

Top review

Vibhas

Dined 2 days ago

Restaurant is a hidden small space in an industrial building, with the entrance through the kitchen. Once inside, it's a lovely little room in dark earth colours with just a few tables. We had the 2nd level (out of four), Omakase (chef's choice) menu for four. Very pricey, as any Omakase menu is, but some of the best sushi we have ever had.

Parlour

4.8

4.8 (370)

CAN$31 to CAN$50

Contemporary Canadian

Hintonburg

About the restaurant

Parlour is a restaurant and an event space with capacity of 250 guests, we offer private dining in our venue and can accommodate large party reservations.
Chef driven, seasonal menus, using farm to table ingredients. Our wine program highlights low-intervention, natural wine producers and our curated cocktails are a fun time. We are located centrally in Wellington West.
Celebrated as one of Ottawa's top 10 new restaurants.
Our interior space offers a cozy, eclectic interior of mid-century modern design.
We host curated events of any size designed for you. Give us a call or contact with us directly to learn more.

Top review

Samuel

Dined 4 days ago

We had a fantastic experience here for our 5th anniversary. We booked the patio and it was a great choice. Protected from the wind and off to side of the main road creates a quiet ambiance. Service was excellent, server was very kind and timely. Cocktails were delicious and a bit pricey but the price did match the experience. Food was well cooked and delicious, we appreciated being brought separate plates so that we could share.

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Popular dish

Oysters

Popular dish

Buttermilk Fried Chicken Sandwich

Popular dish

brisket

Fauna

4.9

4.9 (1449)

CAN$51 and over

Contemporary Canadian

Downtown

About the restaurant

fauna is about the things we love: eating and drinking with friends and family in a fun space. Our menu is seasonally driven and we support local farmers and producers wherever possible. We love the neighborhood and the space and are so happy to be open in Centretown.

We like to have fun in the kitchen. We serve small plates so you can try more than one dish. We use local ingredients wherever possible. We’re inspired by where we live, places we’ve been and things we’d like to do.

Top review

Dined on Jun 21, 2025

We shared the halibut, Thai fish cakes and lobster small plate. It all tasted wonderful and the service was great . We’ll return.

4.8

4.8 (2285)

CAN$31 to CAN$50

Contemporary Canadian

Kanata

About the restaurant

Our menu represents Chef Michael's Blackie’s best food memories, which span over his 35 plus international career Chef worked in Asia, Latin America and is an expat from the UK.
His food style can best be described as a balance between Canadian roots with a strong influence in both Asian, Latin and European cuisines.
We are currently open for Dinner weekly 7 days week from 5 to 9 pm. We are known for our blind tasting menu that features 8 dishes shared between minimum of 2 people. We are also open for Sunday Brunch from 10am to 1 pm and offer a sharing 5 course - 10 dish brunch tasting menu.
NeXT opened in 2009 and is consistently in the top drawer of established restaurants in the Ottawa / Gatineau region. NeXT has been awarded many accolades over these past 11 years.
Come and discover one of Ottawa's signature original stand-alone restaurants that represent the acumination of Chefs Blackie's global career.

Top review

Lorne

Dined 3 days ago

Absolutely fabulous place Food excellent Our server Dale was awesome Always a pleasure to go to NEXT

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Experience

SUNDAY BRUNCH | 10 DISH TASTING MENU

Experience

BLIND TASTING MENU | 2 to 6 GUESTS | WED to SAT

Experience

FAMILY ROAST DINNERS | SUNDAY TO TUESDAY

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