Are you looking for an Ottawa cafe where you can enjoy a coffee (or something stronger), along with light fare such as salads, charcuterie, sandwiches and “gourmet” hot dogs, while enjoying some of Ottawa’s best views? Then check out the four outdoor cafes of the Tavern restaurant group before winter shutters them for the season. (Note that the menu varies by location.)
Disclosure: I recently visited all four of Ottawa’s Tavern restaurants as a guest of the Tavern Group, which neither reviewed nor approved this post. All opinions are my own. Prices were current at time of writing, but please check the cafes’ websites for updates.
Last week, a friend and I boarded a double-decker bus along with a crowd of other bloggers and influencers to check out downtown Ottawa’s four Tavern restaurants. And our first stop was a spot I’d been eager to check out since it opened on July 27 (hey, I’ve been busy!): the Tavern on the Island.
Tavern on the Island
Located on Bate Island in the Ottawa River, the Tavern on the Island is accessible from the Champlain Bridge. (For those of you who, like me, can never remember the names of Ottawa’s various bridges, that’s the westernmost bridge over the Ottawa River, at the north end of Island Park Drive.)
If you prefer to drive rather than walk, cycle or travel by bus, this cafe may be your best option of the four, as it has a decently sized free parking lot. However, it is also easy to get to on foot or by bike from the multi-use pathway along the Ottawa River.
A boardwalk leads from the parking area past the converted shipping container that serves as the cafe’s kitchen/takeout window. The menu includes burgers, hot dogs, poutine, onion rings, fries and ice cream sandwiches, along with a selection of alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks, and pogos and chicken nuggets for kids.
The food isn’t cheap, but that’s pretty much par for the course for most restaurants these days. Hot dogs start at $9 and burgers at $13, and fries are an extra $7. (As someone who’s not a big fries fan, I appreciate the option to order food without fries on the side, as I often don’t eat most of mine.) If you want to enjoy the view without paying for a full meal, you can always get a pop for $3, tea or coffee for $4, or hot chocolate for $4.50.
For this event, the Tavern owners served up platters of sliders, which were piping hot and delicious. These pint-sized burgers aren’t on the usual menu but gave me some idea of what the standard burgers there would be like. I also enjoyed the spiced rum cider—available on the usual menu for $16.50—but be forewarned: It has quite the kick!
The Tavern on the Island has, for my money, the most scenic of the four Tavern locations. (The Tavern on the Falls, which you’ll read about below, is a close runner-up.) An expansive wooden deck dotted with tables and red patio umbrellas offers sweeping views of the Ottawa River and the skylines of Ottawa and Gatineau. A few column-style outdoor heaters would have kept things toasty if it hadn’t been such a mild evening. (The weather was perfect for this sort of event.)
Tavern on the Falls
After noshing our way through the food at the Tavern on the Island like a swarm of iPhone-toting locusts, we all piled back into the bus, which drove us via Gatineau and the Macdonald-Cartier Bridge to the Tavern on the Falls. (Again, for those who have trouble with bridge names, the Macdonald-Cartier Bridge connects Autoroute 5 in Quebec with King Edward Avenue and Sussex Drive in Ottawa.)
I’d nosed around the Tavern on the Falls in the off season, peering through the metal railings to get a sense of what the cafe was like, so I was glad to have the chance to actually eat there. This cafe would have my top marks for best setting except for the fact that only some of the tables overlook the titular cataract—Rideau Falls, to be precise. If you nab one of those tables, you hands-down have one of the best sunset views in the city.
That being said, the views from the rest of the terrace are nothing to sneeze at. Since the cafe is located high on a bluff overlooking the Ottawa River, you have a bird’s-eye view of passing boats and the Gatineau shore. A ship from St. Lawrence Cruise Lines just happened to pass by while we were there, which was pretty cool.
It’s a comfortable place to hang out, with low-slung sofas and chairs grouped around circular fire tables. As at all four Tavern restaurants, a soundtrack of what I think of as “Euro lounge” music (is that a real thing?) emanated from speakers surrounding the terrace. The volume was not bad for conversation, but if hearing is an issue for you, look for a seat further from the speakers. (That advice applies to all four locations.)
The menu at the Tavern on the Falls includes more hot dogs, priced from $7 to $12; a selection of tacos ($7 each); meal-sized bowls, including a vegan options ($24 to $25); and shareable hummus and charcuterie platters. I can attest that the charcuterie on the night I visited was delicious. The cafe is also licensed and serves beer, wine and cocktails.
There is a small, free parking lot at Rideau Falls, or you could park on the street in nearby New Edinburgh. The site is also easy to get to on foot and by bike. The site is currently served by OC Transpo bus route #9 (but check the OC Transpo website for the latest information).
Speaking of New Edinburgh, here’s a one-hour walk you can take around the neighbourhood, while you’re in the area.
Tavern on the Hill
Our third stop was the Tavern on the Hill—which the company’s website sometimes calls Tavern at the Hill—at the north end of Major’s Hill Park. With the National Gallery of Canada and Parliament Hill as backdrops, this cafe also has a rather stunning location. (I’m a big fan of water, so that’s why my vote for most scenic spot leaned toward the first two taverns.)
By this point, I was getting rather full, so I simply photographed the spread of tacos rather than eating any. (Travel blogging is a hard life, I tell ya.) Other menu options here include the ubiquitous gourmet hot dogs ($7 to $12), along with salads ($15 to $17), sandwiches ($13 to $15), the same bowls as featured at the Tavern on the Falls, and a large charcuterie plate—meant, like many of the options, to be shared—at $32.
The expansive drinks menu includes lots of alcoholic and non-alcoholic options. The mocktails at most of the locations, including this one, were punch-like concoctions that were a bit sweet for both my friend and me. Given that more and more people are opting to reduce their alcohol intake or avoid booze altogether, I hope the Tavern Group ups its mocktail game to bring its non-alcoholic drinks in line with the rest of its tasty food and beverages.
There is no parking at the Tavern on the Hill. If you drive, you’ll need to park in the ByWard Market or at the National Gallery of Canada—which won’t be cheap—and walk to the site. Alternatively, the cafe is easy to reach on foot or by bike, and it’s a 10-minute walk from the Rideau Centre O-Train station. (Yeah, yeah, insert your favourite joke about the broken LRT here.) OC Transpo’s #9 bus also stops nearby, at the corner of Sussex Drive and Murray Street.
Tavern at the Gallery
I’ve been to the Tavern at the Gallery several times and always enjoyed it, so I was glad to see it was the last stop on the Tavern tour. On the surface, it has the least scenic location of the four Taverns, but I love the hidden nature of it. (It’s so hidden that I’m sure many people walk or drive by it without even realizing it is there.)
Recently expanded, it’s a surprisingly large space on the north side of the National Gallery of Canada. To get there, walk along the sidewalk that leads up to the gallery’s front entrance, then keep going past it. At the end of the building, turn left and walk down a wide path. You’ll soon see the Tavern at the Gallery on your left. Note that there’s a wide set of shallow stairs leading down to the cafe.
Trees scattered throughout the cafe are festooned with fairy lights, which gives the place a festive air at night. The evening we visited, a full moon was also rising between the spires of the nearby Notre-Dame Cathedral Basilica, a magical spectacle I unfortunately didn’t have the proper camera equipment to capture.
Salads, charcuterie, pizza, sandwiches and pasta are among the menu items here, along with drinks both alcoholic and non. I was too stuffed to eat a bite on this particular trip, but I’ve tried the food here before and it’s good. (I can also vouch for the margaritas.)
The Tavern at the Gallery is about a five-minute walk north of the Tavern on the Hill, so your walking, cycling, driving and transit options are the same.
Looking for more tips on things to see and do in and around Ottawa? Subscribe to my free weekly newsletter or order a copy of my book, Ottawa Road Trips: Your 100-km Getaway Guide.
As the owner of Ottawa Road Trips, I acknowledge that I live on, work in and travel through the unceded, unsurrendered territory of the Algonquin Anishinaabeg Nation. I am grateful to have the opportunity to be present on this land. Ottawa Road Trips supports Water First, a non-profit organization that helps address water challenges in Indigenous communities in Canada through education, training and meaningful collaboration.
1 comment
Thanks for the willingness to stuff yourself for us, your followers!! 🙂 And thanks for this rundown. It’s helpful knowing that there are vegan and non-alcoholic options, Laura, so THANK YOU!