Where Ottawa Eats: The Local Favourites That Keep the City Delicious

Ottawa has some amazing local places to eat distinct to the nation’s capital. Ottawa’s local eateries have a unique sense of community because the owners and employees are your neighbours. Dirienzo’s is an Italian grocer and deli on Beech Street in Little Italy, Stella Luna is a café on Bank Street, the Black Dog Bistro is a family run restaurant in the heart of Manotick, Stuffed Cookies by Kat is a cookie shop in Orléans that emerged out of the pandemic and Golden Fries is a food truck who’s fries you can find at any big festival in Ottawa.

Dirienzo’s

Paolo Dirienzo started Dirienzo’s as a sandwich shop in 1972. He started out making only sandwiches, but the menu expanded after a water main broke and the shop began making food for the construction crew working on repairs outside on Beech Street.

Dirienzo’s makes some of the best sandwiches in the city, not just because of the taste but also because of their incredible size.

Dirienzo’s has a menu of 18 sandwiches, but Dirienzo recommends the number 14.

“The best menu item is actually the number 14, (the) spicy combination sandwich, it’s got soppressata calabrese, a nice hot capicollo, nice Italian ham, with nice provolone cheese, and that’s the best seller because it’s a little bit spicy,” said Dirienzo.

Dirienzo’s has incredibly priced portions that keep customers returning and bringing new customers with them. The staff are very friendly, and Paolo Dirienzo is known for greeting returning customers as they enter the deli.

Stella Luna

Stella Luna is Ottawa’s best spot for gelato. Located within walking distance of Carleton University and TD Place, they are a perfect place for football and hockey fans, or students to get a desert.

They have been located on Bank Street since 2011. According to Lawry Trevor-Deutsch, Stella Luna’s chief financial officer, they operate as a traditional Italian café serving coffee, sandwiches and desserts. They also specialize in artisanal gelatos and sorbets.

“We have a gelato master who is a fourth-generation preparer of gelato, the recipes she uses essentially date back to her great-grandfather in Italy about a hundred years ago,” said Trevor-Deutsch.

Trevor-Deutsch says their most popular flavours are chocolate and pistachio. He says they have become well-known for their pistachio gelato, and people will call to see if it is in stock.

Stella Luna’s innovative gelato master is Erica Giuliani, who has won awards for her gelato, including the title of Best Gelato in Canada. Trevor-Deutsch praised Giuliani’s creativity, saying “she has over a hundred recipes and sometimes I think she just wakes up in the middle of the night and comes up with new ideas for gelato flavours.”

Black Dog Bistro

The Black Dog Bistro is one of the best local restaurants in Ottawa. It is a great spot for gatherings of friends and family on Main Street in Manotick.

The Black Dog was originally an old house in Manotick, but it has since been transformed into the restaurant it is today. The Black Dog has a warm, welcoming atmosphere that comes from the history and architecture of what the building used to be.

The restaurant is owned by Dot Janz, who has led it for more than 25 years, along with her daughter Kristin, who has been a part of the Black Dog team for 12 years.

“She’s (Dot) still here every day, and she is definitely the driving force of the Black Dog Bistro,” said Kristin, talking about her mom’s dedication to the restaurant.

Kristin Janz says that the Black Dog is known for its braised beef and barbecue sauces as well as their desserts.

“The coconut cream pie is one of Dot’s recipes, originating with my grandmother,” said Janz.

Stuffed Cookies by Kat

A new cookie shop in Orléans is making some of the best and most creative cookies in the city. Stuffed Cookies by Kat are very inventive, baking anything from brownies to butter tarts into the centre.

Owner, Katrina Macias, started selling her cookies during the pandemic to friends and family. Macias would take orders via social media and then drop the cookies off on doorsteps.

Macias’ business has since grown, and she is now selling her “outrageous” cookies out of a storefront location in Orléans.

The best seller is the Melting Pot cookie: a chocolate chip, white chocolate, Oreo cookie with a fudge brownie in the middle.

Macias said her favourite cookie to make is the Life of Pi cookie: a mini butter tart in the middle of a shortbread cookie with caramelized white chocolate and rolled in cinnamon sugar.

Golden Fries

Golden Fries is a staple of Ottawa, known for having the best French fries and poutine in the city. They can also be found at most of Ottawa’s festivals, like Bluesfest and CityFolk.

Operated out of a food truck in the Orléans neighbourhood of Convent Glen, their only Ottawa location, Golden Fries has been around since April 2009. They are open seasonally from April to the end of November.

“It gets hard to cook when it’s freezing in there,” says Manager Jesse Teasdale.

Teasdale says that they have become known for their chicken parm sandwich and their fish and chips, as well as any type of poutine.

“I always tell customers it’s a hard choice, but there’s no bad choice when they’re looking at the menu.”

Photos: Murray Oliver