Ottawa’s South Asian food scene is one of the city’s best-kept secrets β mostly because the best spots aren’t downtown. You have to know to drive out to Merivale, or to the plazas along Innes Road in Gloucester, or into Nepean. But when you do, you’ll find some of the most legitimately excellent South Asian cooking in Ontario.
Merivale Road between Clyde and Viewmount is the heartland of Ottawa’s South Asian restaurant scene. Indian Bazaar is one of the most-visited spots on OttawaEats in the South Asian category. Turmeric South Indian Restaurant & Bar brings proper South Indian cooking β dosas, idli, sambar, coconut chutneys β that’s hard to find elsewhere in Ottawa.
Ottawa’s Pakistani restaurants β concentrated in Nepean and Gloucester β do incredible nihari, biryani, karahi dishes, and tandoor-grilled meats. Nihari Express in OrlΓ©ans has built a following across the city for its weekend nihari, which is the kind of dish you drive across town for.
Sri Lankan food is woefully underrepresented in Ottawa’s restaurant scene, but the few spots doing it well are worth finding. Sri Lankan cooking is spicier and more coconut-forward than Indian food, with dishes like string hoppers, kottu roti, and devilled prawns that are unlike anything else in the city.
At an Indian restaurant: start with samosas or pakora, order a butter chicken to calibrate, and try the dal. At a Pakistani spot: ask what the kitchen made fresh that day β nihari, haleem, or paya are weekend specials that sell out. For South Indian food: a masala dosa is the entry point, but the lunch thali is the best value.
If there’s one cuisine that Ottawa has truly nailed, it’s Middle Eastern food. The city’s large Lebanese, Syrian, Persian, and Turkish communities have built a shawarma-and-kebab scene that rivals any in Canada. And the best part? You can eat incredibly well without spending much at all.
Shawarma is basically Ottawa’s unofficial city food. You’ll find it on nearly every major street, but quality varies enormously. The best spots use fresh-cut meat off the spit, house-made garlic sauce (toum), and warm fresh pita. Look for spots where the spit is actually turning; if it’s pre-sliced and sitting in a tray, keep walking.
Beyond shawarma, Ottawa’s Turkish and Levantine restaurants offer some of the city’s most memorable sit-down meals. For meze β hummus, baba ghanoush, fattoush, stuffed grape leaves β look to the restaurants on Merivale Road in Nepean, which has become a quiet corridor for excellent Middle Eastern cooking.
Ottawa has a solid Persian dining scene that doesn’t get enough attention. Persian food β koobideh, ghormeh sabzi, saffron rice, fresh herb platters β is deeply comforting and largely unfamiliar to diners who haven’t tried it. If you’ve never had a proper Persian kebab plate, you’re missing out on one of the great cuisines of the world.
The vast majority of Middle Eastern restaurants in Ottawa serve halal meat. Beyond dedicated Middle Eastern spots, you’ll find halal options across South Asian, African, and Caribbean restaurants throughout Nepean, Gloucester, and Vanier.
Merivale Road in Nepean is ground zero for Middle Eastern restaurants in Ottawa. OrlΓ©ans has a growing number of excellent spots. Downtown on Rideau Street you’ll find late-night shawarma open until 3am on weekends. Vanier has some underrated gems worth finding.
Ottawa’s Japanese and sushi scene has grown up fast. Five years ago your options were pretty limited. Now the city has everything from proper ramen joints to solid sushi counters to Korean-Japanese fusion spots β and the quality has risen across the board. Here’s where to start.
Sushi Lab has become one of the most talked-about Japanese restaurants in the city β the quality of fish is noticeably better than most Ottawa sushi spots and the plating is taken seriously. Sushi Sama in Riverside South has built a loyal following in the south end. Kuma Takumi in Kanata is worth the drive west if you’re in that end of the city.
Ramen has properly arrived in Ottawa. Koichi Ramen West in Westboro does a rich tonkotsu that holds up to anything in Toronto. Izakaya Kob brings a more casual izakaya atmosphere. Fragrant Noodles (ιΌι¦ι’ι¦) is a go-to for the noodle crowd in the east end. If you’re a serious ramen person, Westboro is your best starting neighbourhood.
Daldongnae Korean BBQ has become one of the most visited restaurants in the entire OttawaEats directory. The all-you-can-eat format and consistent quality makes it a reliable group dinner option in ByWard Market.
Start with miso soup, some edamame, and a salmon or tuna roll to calibrate the restaurant. A good sign: the rice in nigiri is warm and seasoned, not cold and dry. For ramen, go tonkotsu if you want rich and filling, shoyu if you want something lighter and cleaner.