We've been to Duna once before. Motto should be: GOOD FOOD TAKES TIME. And I'm a very harsh critic of Hungarian food seeing as how my grandmother was a HONGARIAN and she made the very BEST of the BEST. SO FINE! Last time we were there the restaurant was busy. The food took absolutely forever to arrive but it was very delicious. And a very apologetic owner/chef came out to see that we were ok. When does that ever happen? That's class! Now, a year later, we live in COVID land and we were craving some schnitzel for our once a week order out. We called the place and it just so happened it was his first day back!! The menu was wrong, he made some substitutions, and we had to wait about 30 minutes to get out order...but the food was AWESOME! Schnitzel was giant and super. Crispy and delicious. Spaetzle and sauerkraut were both BOSS! We had leftovers for another day as well. Highly recommend (but they are slow and twice is a trend). Also a note to the owner: fix your online presence immediately and get your ass on social media! Hire some help. This will make a big difference for your bottom line and we want you to stick around!!! read more

Duna Bistro - What a dinner! Pork Schnitzel, spaetzle, sauerkraut... - Hungarian Near Me - Ottawa, Ontario

Most amazing European food in town. First thing you will notice is the interior is very traditional, nicely decorated and comfortable with classical music playing. Food is hand prepared to order and served by Europeans. The schnitzel is so big it could easily be cut in half to serve two people. Even something as simple as spatzle is prepared with fried onion to make it more interesting. It is not cheap but fortunately all prices include a side salad. Just missing the alcoholic beverages to make this 5 star. I think this is why some reviewers felt that the wait was too long. It didn't take any longer than expected for our freshly prepared food cooked to perfection! read more

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I have heard about this place for years but hadn't been here until now. It is family run and the food is homemade. Located in a strip mall in bells corners it has lots of parking and is easy to find. The portion sizes as you can see a large. A meal for two without alcohol including tip came to around $65 dollars. The food itself was good, but unfortunately not great. Truthfully it just didn't have a lot of flavour. I really wanted to love it here, but instead I just liked it. The service was average at best, but the restaurant is nicer inside than the pictures show. I think an older crowd who prefers less "flavour" will love it here. I will be back at some point to try the pierogies, but with lots of other spots to hit in the meantime... Happy eating! read more

Duna Bistro - Schnitzel - Hungarian Near Me - Ottawa, Ontario

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Made a reservation for dinner for four two days in advance. We arrived on time and were seated at a table right at entry door. No one came to our table for 30 minutes after that..not even for drinks. When the waitress/hostess finally came to our table, she announced that the restaurant would not be able to serve us as there was a staffing shortage. Totally unacceptable! Why make us wait 30 minutes at the table? Why not offer us some form of credit for a future dinner? Nothing. The four of us drove from out of town for this dinner. So, please beware of not being served or apologized to. read more

I must say wow. Beautifully decorated with chandeliers and white tablecloths. Owner is very friendly and has a fantastic sense of humor. The food is excellent. Portions are huge. Very flavorful I must say. Will be going back often. read more

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Father's day dinner 2022, it was two of us. I had pork schnitzel 28 cm or 11" in diameter! Never see schnitzel so big in my life and I'm from Europe! It was good with mushed potatoes and cucumber salad. Salad did not have dill as advertised. My wife ordered fried cheese and mushed potatoes and cucumber salad. The taste of cheese was not as we expected. I expected brick cheese inside and it was smoked cheese or at least I think it was smoked cheese. Didn't taste right. Portions were really large, we managed to eat only about half and had dinner next day at home. The service was slower, but restaurant was almost full for Father's Day, no biggie. We had non alcoholic beer, good one. Too bad they don't have liquor license, European beers would be nice. Overall not bad, will visit again. read more

Duna Bistro - Pork schnitzel 28 cm or 11" diameter! - Hungarian Near Me - Ottawa, Ontario

What a wonderful gem of a restaurant! My friends and I thoroughly enjoyed the food and the service. The food was authentic Eastern European, with a little bit of Polish, German, and Hungarian. We will definitely be going back for more, This will become one of our regular restaurants. read more

Visited Ottawa and traveled quite a ways to get to this little family-owned shop. My German friend said the schnitzel was as authentic as it gets! The portions were huge and I definitely did not leave hungry. I personally found the spaetzle (egg noodle) with caramelized onion even more delicious actually. There is very limited bench seating here, so I think it's meant for take-out or a very casual meal with a friend or two. There is no real seating. The owners cook the food themselves and you can see them preparing it. read more

Duna Bistro - Schnitzel and spaetzle (egg noodles) with caramelized onions - Hungarian Near Me - Ottawa, Ontario

I've never dined in this restaurant, but had recently read enough positive reviews to consider trying the takeout during the lockdown. First, let me remind everyone that there are very few German/Hungarian restaurants remaining in Ottawa. The Lindenhof was a decades-old standard, but both it, and The New Dubrovnik have gone the way of the Dodo. Das Lokal is good, but best described as traditional European food with a contemporary twist. If you find yourself in Perth, Ont, make an effort to visit Maximilian's -- fantastic food at reasonable prices. I've got to say though, that Duna's kitchen can certainly hold its own against any of the above. The pork schnitzel is tender, thin, nicely breaded, and absolutely huge -- I can't imagine how they serve it at a table -- the takeout box for one is a medium-sized pizza box, and it's filled. The side dishes come separately, and again, nicely seasoned... herbed saurekraut, and spaetzel with grilled onions. Also tried the goulash (also includes two sides) which was very delicious with generous chunks of beef. With the addition of sharing a $12 appetizer of perogies, our bill came to $79 taxes in -- kind of pricey for this type of food, but as usual, we managed to get two meals out of it. But honestly, for these prices, we can certainly stretch Asian or Indian takeout across 3 or more full meals for two. Still, this is a nice treat for those craving German/Hungarian fare. read more

Duna Bistro - Schnitzel, spaetzel, and saurekraut. - Hungarian Near Me - Ottawa, Ontario

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I was able to sample few dishes from Duna, all of which appeared to be hand-made. The pelmeni with dill sour cream and the schnitzel with the jagger sauce were excellent! The schnitzel was as authentic as the ones I had in Austria. A large could be split between two people for a meal. Apparently the sauerkraut was really good too. I also had the beef goulash, it was good, but was disappointed that I only got 6 or 7 cubes of meat for $16, so I wouldn't get it again. Bottom line: You'll pay a bit more but the food is delicious. Update: Looking at the menu, the prices have skyrocketed since I was last here.$24 for perogies and $30 for the goulash. Way too expensive for my taste. read more

Ordered takeout from this restaurant for the first time and hubby and I both LOVED the food. We split an order of cabbage rolls, choosing spatzle and red cabbage as the sides. The restaurant added a complimentary order of cole slaw. Everything was delicious, the portions generous (the cabbage rolls are massive!) and the price reasonable. And, I don't think I've ever eaten more delicious cole slaw. We will be back!! read more

I wish that this little gem wasn't so far from home! Since our stop in Germany as part of our honeymoon 5 years ago, I have been on the hunt for equally delicious schnitzel in Ottawa. For such a diverse city, I'm always amazed at the limited Bavarian options... but I digress. We happened upon this spot a couple of months ago, and I loved the first experience so much that I wanted to try it again before reviewing- just in case it was a fluke. It wasn't! I think it's important to note that on both occasions, we ordered as take out (so that we could share the goodness with the fam-jam!) The staff was great- so friendly and knowledgeable! I really wish we had dined-in (definitely next time!) because I'm sure that the in-house service would be great, too. The portions were huge. We're talking- schnitzel came in a pizza box- huge. This girl isn't complaining, though! And while some other restaurants may try to make up for lack of quality by giving you more- this was certainly not the case at Duna's. The schnitzel was nice and thin, moist (yes I hate that word, but it applies) but crisp on the outside... I could almost argue it might have been BETTER than what we had on our honeymoon. We ordered a couple of their sauces to try with it (jagger sauce was my favourite- but truth be told, I'm not much of a sauce person, and it didn't really require it). For sides we also ordered the spaetzle with caramelized onion (oh my... it was so good that I almost didn't want to share), and the sauerkraut and beets were great, too! The price was reasonable for what you get, and you can expect there to be leftovers for a second meal, so you certainly get your money's worth. I can't wait to go back for some pierogis next time! read more

I will clarify - the food was excellent. Absolutely no issue there. But I gave it one star because of the person who may or may not be the owner. She insisted that we leave our jackets hung up on pegs and not take them to our table. For one thing, I like to have my jacket with me in case there's a fire and we have to escape quickly. But what really annoyed me is her insistence. It wasn't a suggestion but an insistence. This is not her home but a business and annoying customers on their first visit doesn't bode well. Considering that the restaurant moved from the other end of the city and is in a low-traffic mall where many restaurants have opened and failed, this person should be looking to building a clientele, not annoying them. I wonder - if I had refused to hang up my jacket, would she have yelled "No schnitzel for you". The food was great and the portions were generous but this person's behaviour really soured me on the restaurant. It will be a long time before I return, if ever. read more

What a wonderful gem of a restaurant! My friends and I thoroughly enjoyed the food and the service. The food was authentic Eastern European, with a little bit of Polish, German, and Hungarian. We will definitely be going back for more, This will become one of our regular restaurants. read more

We were a table of 4, with one Celiac member. I had called ahead and knew what dishes would be available for them to eat. 3 of us had the schnitzel and each of us brought 1/1 home. It was really good and very generous serving. Our other guest had the cabbage rolls. They managed 1, so brought the 2nd one home. The cabbage rolls were massive. All the food was great, sides of mashed potatoes, spätzle, sauerkraut, and red cabbage came with our various meals. Then our server surprised us by telling us she had a Gluten Free nut cake for dessert which she made herself. It was worth squeezing it in with our coffees. Couldn't ask for friendlier service. Take out was very busy as well so it looks like this place is well loved. We will definitely return. read more

Like a portal to a different universe, this no frills outpost offers exquisite and hearty central European fare, including superb schnitzels, gorgeous goulashes and chemendous chicken paprikash. To dine in, be prepared for a very basic lunch counter type experience. Not licensed. But that doesn't matter. This food is worth the drive from wherever you are in Ottawa. read more

I've been here twice recently and the food is consistently delicious. This week we ordered the cabbage rolls, schnitzel and perogies from the lunch menu. The cabbage rolls were tasty and filled with meat. The schnitzel is huge and nice and thin. It fills your plate. I tried the mushroom gravy (extra charge), but wasn't my favourite. I chose the cucumber salad and it was perfect. My husband had the beets and loved them. Spätzle is very good. We tried a mix of perogies. They were all good, but ones with sauerkraut are just ok. They recently add Italian gelato to their dessert menu. We shared the pistachio and it was fantastic. Our server (delightful) brought is a taste of the hazelnut and raspberry to try. They were amazing. The owner Paul talked with us and made us feel very welcome. The ambiance is very nice. Tablecloths, chandeliers and music remind of dining in places like Austria, Poland or Germany. We look forward to returning and hopeful they have a liquor license soon. A beer or glass of wine would really go well with their food. read more

Worth the drive. We've tried the schnitzel and their perogies on multiple occasions, and they're always absolutely amazing. I think I've been ruined for perogies now; nothing can quite compare to what Duna serves up. The owner is super friendly, as well. If what you like for perogies are the dried out bits of dough with "trendy" fillings, this is not the place for you. If you like melty and delicious with perfectly seasoned fillings, you need to try Duna. read more