I went to Ottawa for 1 reason only: to run my very first marathon! I hoped that the Canadian capital would have a solid food scene, especially for healthy options that I’d be choosing before my race. I have to say, I was actually blown away by some of the places I went to. Some of them so much that I went back multiple times! I’ll walk you through the places I went to, although it’s also important to say that there were a lot of restaurants I would’ve loved to try, but just didn’t have the meals for.

My first day was a Friday that I spent working. I did part of it in my AirBnB, but the rest of the afternoon I spent in the Ministry of Coffee for a late lunch. It was a comfortable place to work, and the coffee was much-needed after taking 3 hours to fall asleep the previous night. The sandwich was a warm panini with pesto and sundried tomatoes, and hit the spot even though the bread scratches the roof of your mouth like most paninis. Three days later, I took scones at the Scone Witch, a filling treat with deliciously sweet blackberry jam. I also had a ham and guyere cheese scone, which kept me full ‘til lunch. I had time after that for a flat white at Equator coffee, a local transplant from my hometown which was a nice, familiar brew.

Now I want to spend some time talking about the Pure Kitchen on Elgin street, a vegetarian restaurant that specializes in cold-pressed fruit juices. My first visit there was for a breakfast, bleary-eyed after a night where I struggled to fall asleep. I ordered their vegetarian mex bowl and a black-colored bamboo-based juice, which I originally balked at the price of. Both gave me a fresh jolt awake though, and it wasn’t until mid-afternoon that I needed another coffee to wake me up. Since they did well this time, I returned an evening later for the last meal before my marathon. This time, I got a kale-colored green juice and their take on vegetarian pad thai. It was the load of carbs that I needed, and it tasted decent but not fantastic. It was nice making small talk with the staff about the upcoming Raptors/Bucks game that night, and I told them it’d be exciting to see them against the Warriors in the Finals. I was a lot less excited 3 weeks later… but hey, it was nice to share that sentiment! 

My last meal there was a second in a row. I took a 90 minute nap at my AirBnB after the marathon, and didn’t want to walk far for food after waking up. Pure Kitchen was perfect, and I decided to go all-out with my order. I had a glass of sparkling Cava to celebrate my race, as well as my now-favourite bamboo juice and another date-based one. I got spicy noodles with tofu, as well as a strawberry asparagus salad to earn back some of the calories I had lost. For healthy options, I’d absolutely go back here. I even got a couple bottles of juice to go for my last day.

For lunch before the race, the bus tour of the course deposited me back at the convention center. I decided to head to Byward market to find lunch, since there was a hand-pulled noodle restaurant near there that was supposed to be really good. The market itself is mostly indoors, with more trinket shops than takeaway restaurants. The blocks around it are packed with choices, though. The one I ended up stopping at was La Bottega Nicastro, an Italian grocer that also serves some lunch items. I got a lovely carbonara pasta there for lunch before my race, but I only remembered to take a photo of the arugula and prosciutto pizza I got for lunch 2 days later. The pasta was definitely the better of the two. Lastly, any Obama fans might remember that Byward market was actually his first stop on his first international trip as president. 

Another one-off restaurant I went to was a sushi place near Byward market, for dinner the night of my marathon. Honestly, I mostly went because I could finally drink again and they had a cherry blossom and anise cocktail that looked really good. I usually don’t get sushi inland, and the rolls I got here were average as expected. The restaurant was also pretty lightly packed for what it’s worth, and it looks to be gone now. Oh well, that’s the way it is sometimes…

The last restaurant is one that I stumbled into on my first night, looking for a place that had filling food with plenty of ingredients. I ended up at Riviera that night, an upscale restaurant specializing in new Canadian cuisine. I pretty immediately recognized that I was the least well dressed person there, coming in jeans and a tshirt. They still seated me in an open space at the bar, which is my preference when dining alone. I stuck with a carb-heavy meal and didn’t delve into drinks before my race, of course. The bread in itself was an impressive brioche loaf, with a soothing spread of butter. The pasta with hen and pistachios was definitely my favorite part of this meal, though. The pasta and chunks of hen soaked up the light sauce just perfectly, and all the ingredients were spread evenly through the dish, which isn’t always easy to do with pasta. It was the perfect dish as I was looking to eat healthy before my race. Still hungry, I ended up ordering duck with razor-thin fried potato slices. The duck was excellent, juicy with crispy skin and cooked to a perfect medium rare. The potato honestly stole the show though, especially with the sweet date sauce on top of it. The texture of the flakes felt like you were eating chips, but they looked much more healthy than that and they were a lot less heavy, too. I left really happy that night, and with the resulting food coma, I fell asleep right away and fully switched over to East Coast time.

I typically don’t repeat restaurants on a single trip to a place, since there are so many other choices. However, I wanted to pick a special dinner for my last night in Ottawa. Despite doing research on several other nice restaurants, I kept coming back to the menu from Riviera, especially their drinks menu which I was now allowing myself to try. So after I was done with my day’s activities, I found myself right back at the bar at Riviera, better dressed in a button down and jeans this time. Despite trying new places usually being a more immersive and exciting experience, there’s still such a satisfying feeling of sitting down at a restaurant and knowing for sure that you can expect a fantastic meal. Riviera delivered yet again, starting with my first drink. It was based with lavender and a smooth gin, and the foam on top encapsulated the lighter flavors of the drink just perfectly. Lavender is one of the most soothing flavors to me, and this drink did just that. I also decided to order the half dozen oysters, as I was actually closer to the Brunswick and PEI regions that produce some of the best ones. With just a couple drops of lemon juice each, they were absolutely delicious and creamy. I was smiling the whole time, glad I was lucky enough to enjoy my last meal in such a special city this much. I followed that up with beef tartare, which was good for what it was, but after a couple more tries later on I’ve decided that this dish is not for me. I switched back to seafood after that, ordering a plate of scallops with lemon juice and cream served under a bed of bitter vegetable stalks. These were on par with the oysters, smooth and bursting with flavor. The vegetables provided a nice break, but I ate them first so that I could end with the wonderful scallop flavor. For desert, I was originally planning to just order a local ice wine and have that be it. However, I saw a Duth vermouth on offer that was under none other than my first name: Willem. I had to order it. It and the ice wine both have their sweet notes, but each has a unique undertone. The ice wine tastes more fresh and crisp, while the vermouth is smoother and left a strong aftertaste. I took my time sipping on these, watching the restaurant’s clientele filter in and out. All got the dress up memo better than I did, and I saw everything from couples on dates, to businesspeople clustered at larger tables, to a few singles at the bar who seemed to know the staff quite well. Because the kitchen is right behind the bar, most of the kitchen staff passes near each bar customer at some point. My first night, I was in front of the grill station and it was fascinating to watch the guy work so confidently with the flames, and time his cooking of the meats so well. The second night I was at the end near the bartender, who was up for chit chat a lot more than the busy cooks. He asked if I’d run any races that weekend, and I got to proudly tell him that I’d finished the marathon! It’s always a nice extra touch when the restaurant staff is curious in those ways, and looks for opportunities to banter with solo diners. Well, I’ve talked glowingly enough about my experience, so let’s go through the pictures now…

Despite being the Canadian capital, Ottawa receives much less air traffic and tourists than neighboring Toronto and Montreal. Those two cities get the vast majority of intercontinental air traffic, leaving Ottawa with seasonal flights to London and Frankfurt only, and nothing further west of the Great Plains into the USA. To be honest, I only visited myself on a standalone trip to run the marathon. However, I’d actually say that Ottawa is one of the cities that beat my expectations going in, and that’s especially true of its culinary scene. Even though its a little insulated, the city’s dining scene is world class and features standout restaurants of nearly every international region of the world. Being the seat of politics, they also have some showstopping fine dining restaurants as well, like Riviera. The next time I find myself in Toronto or Montreal, I might just have to swing by again…