We went here a few weeks ago to get some shawarma, and it didn't go well. The guy working there…read moreclearly didn't have any fresh meat because he put the shawarma in a MICROWAVE (which he did not hide and we saw and heard) to heat it up when he could have easily used the stove. When we ate the shawarma, it definitely did not taste fresh, as one of us got stomach issues with it and weren't feeling too good. Even the salad tasted a bit old. I'm sorry, but we will not be returning here anytime soon.

Absolutely delicious! I've been to several shawarma places here in Ottawa (and there are many in…read morethis city!) and this is the best chicken shawarma I have ever had! Very tasty, moist and flavourful. The prices are a bit more expensive than other places, but the platters are HUGE. The customer service was awesome too! I will be back!

Just finished eating my two sandwiches of shish touk- and let me tell you, it was absolutely…read moredelicious! This store is quite far away from where I live, but it was so good that the trip is entirely worth it. I definitely recommend eating here!

We had some paid people over helping us do some work and as it was lunchtime, we picked up some…read morefood for them. The inside was very clean and bright. Good signs and tables all clear. The service was very slow as the owner/manager was struggling with his only staff member. The staff being new I am guessing needed constant attention. This made the order a lot longer to prepare. The food was good as it was quickly finished and when asked they mentioned they loved it. The place does have falafels and some veggie kebabs. I am sure they can make the falafels wrap or vegan.

I discovered Oka's Greek and Shawarma while perusing UberEats for deals, lol. It's where Shawarma…read moreBits used to be. Overall it was great. My only complaint is the potatoes were too oily/greasy for my liking, but everything else was delicious. I got the filet mignon and chicken skewers platter. They are regularly $18.99 each, but they were buy one get one free on UberEats so I got 2 for that price. The platter had a skewer each of beef and chicken, rice, potatoes, Greek salad, hummus and garlic sauce. The menu said it came with bread, but I didn't get any. The meats were delicious. Very flavourful, moist, tender, and most of all, lean, which I like. The rice was soft and fluffy. The salad had romaine lettuce, red onions, cucumbers, tomatoes, red cabbage, carrots, pepperonci, black olives and cheese. All vegetables were fresh. The potatoes were full of flavour and not mealy, but they were just too oily/greasy for my enjoyment. I requested the salad dressing on the side as not to make the salad all soggy and I ended up getting not only the salad dressing on the side, but also the garlic sauce and hummus on the side too. Not sure if this is their default practice, but I like it! Service was quick and efficient. I got it for pickup and it was ready when the app said it was and staff were friendly. Parking is a bit of a pain as it's street parking only and kind of hard to find.

When the old shawarma shop closed down I was curious what would pop up next. Sure enough another…read moreshawarma joint opened up but they also serve Greek. I dropped in for a chicken souvlaki sandwich as there aren't a lot of local Greek places in the area. I had a nice chat with the new staff...maybe owner. He let me know it'd take about 10-15 minutes as they'd be cooking the chicken from scratch which was awesome vs having it precooked. I got the combo so it came with a drink and a side of potatoes to go. I got the sandwich fully loaded and they make their tzatziki sauce in house. I wish they had a side of potatoes Greek style as an option but the potatoes were still decent. I enjoyed the chicken souvlaki sandwich as it saves a trip down to Bank St for Greek. Not a bad option if you're in the area. 3.5 on the food, bumped up due to really friendly staff.

Loved it. The…read morespace is simple, bright and comfortable. Turquoise, pastels and earthy tones all oddly meld to make a comfortable space. Service was polite and helpful. I asked for a spoonful of the cucumber/tomato/mint side for hubs to try, before he decided on his order, and they graciously complied. He ended picking the slightly more adventurous dish (for him) as a result. I had the falafal bowl, also delicious. Both arrived nicely plated, er, bowled, and looking beautiful. I love when we manage to find delicious, overall healthy food options for a reasonable price.

Where do I start? This restaurant is amazing. I love middle eastern food, and Bibi's nailed it. The…read moreguys who started up Fairouz, also started up this place. This is a cashless store, and there are self serve kiosks when you walk in. Tap on the screen and order up some yummy food. I got the falafel bowl, with a lettuce base ($11.00), the hubby got beef and tahen bowl with a rice base ($14.00). Both bowls were devoured. I really enjoyed the falafel. They were spiced well, and a bit different than all the other falafel joints in Ottawa. I can't put my finger on it, but it was really good. I also really enjoyed how the lettuce in my bowl was chopped up finely. The texture was great. The hubby also wanted to try all the sides, because why not? Here's the breakdown: Labneh: Strained yogurt mixed with mint, za'atar, and cucumber, wrapped in saj bread and grilled ($6.00) This was the only app that we thought was OK. I mean, it was good, but it was basically pita wrapped in a yogurt sauce similar to taziki. It might be better to eat this one in the restaurant. Za'atar fries: ($4.00) These were amazing. It comes with your choice of hummus or garlic sauce. Fried cauliflower: ($6.00) Fried and dressed with a tahini sauce on top. Very good, but recommend eating it at the restaurant to maintain its crispiness. Also grabbed a bag of sumac pita chips. ($4.00) melt in your mouth, crispy, goodness. Highly recommend picking up a bag. They also have a sweet version. Garlic sauce: They nailed this sauce. It's perfect, and not too in your face, garlicky. Prices: Okay, so some of the prices are on the higher side, but you can taste the quality of the ingredients, so I don't mind shelling out some coin for some good food. If you've made it this far in my review (thank you) and if you have not checked out Bibi's yet, you are missing out. Seriously, go there and get yourself a bowl, or a wrap...or even just the fries. Everything tasted phenomenal.

We had the 2 skewer shrimp signature plate $24 and another plate with one lamb and one beef skewer…read more$28. The shrimp was possibly the best grilled shrimp I've ever had. Super flavourful, tender, with a nice char. The meats were cooked very well and were not at all hard. I liked the feta slice on the salad, and the potatos and rice were classic Greek style. The price is a bit higher than the usual, but the quality and portion size make it well worth it. Service was very friendly. There are a few tables inside for dining. I would definitely come back!

Back at Greek shack for another delicious lunch!! Small unassuming place but makes up for it with…read morethe best tasting Greek food in Ottawa and incredible service. Only a few tables but tons of takeouts and deliveries.... Pita with pork souvlaki stick is my favourite! Or just try a stick in the side....

The Short Version: Popular Middle Eastern restaurant in…read moreHintonburg. Recently opened summer of 2026. Tried the meat and cheese pie. Was way too salty for my tastes, but freshly baked and piping hot. The Long Version: Phynicia Restaurant's original location is in Barrhaven. I had had it on my list of places to try for many years now, but I'm rarely out that way. Then in summer of 2026 they opened this second location in Hintonburg, which is within walking distance from me, so I finally got to check it out. My husband and I love Middle Eastern meat pies and Phynicia has them. We got 2 meat and cheese pies to go ($5 each). It's a small restaurant but they have a few tables to dine in and in warmer weather they have a patio out front. I'm not sure if they have no air conditioning in the restaurant or if they just had it on really low because it was hot in the restaurant when we were there in June. The wait for our meat pies was surprisingly long. So I'm guessing they are made to order. They did come out piping hot. Unfortunately I found the filling too salty for my tastes. It had ground meat, warm spices and cheese. The dough was a bit thicker than I like, but not excessively thick. It was crispy on the outside and soft on the inside. It lacked the smokey taste that like and the cheese pull I get from my favourite meat pie shop (Aladdin). However, that might just be personal preference. The interior is beautiful. It was full of people so I didn't take any pictures, but the light fixtures are cool and they have clay pots on the walls. They sell packaged nougat which looked tasty. They also sell cookies. On their menu they have items like hummus, foul and fatteh. They also have shashouka. They have wraps, salad and pide as well. Service was pleasant. The restaurant is on a residential street but not far from the Parkdale Market. Street parking only. Review #111 (2026)

The brunch was very good nice and hot.Right out of the oven. Fresh pita ,foul and fatteh and pan…read morefried halloumi. Service was great and the chef brought the food directly to your table. A small very clean dining area with a front patio. We will definately go again

We ordered Carne Picante and Chicken Shish plate and baklava for dessert. We had it for takeout. It…read morewas seriously delicious but somewhat overpriced. The entire meals came to a little over $62 not including tip. The two women staff were sweet and very efficient. All-in-all, I recommend Olivia. There's tons of parking as it's located in the Metro Supermarket parking lot on McCarthy.

Great food. We had the epanadas, eggplant, lamb tacos, and the falafel wrap. We will be going back.read more

Mazarine offers amazing Mediterranean inspired brunch offerings in Centretown. The indoor seating…read moreis not accessible, as there are at least four steps. The inside of the restaurant is a bit tight, so if you use a mobility device, this could be an issue. There is outdoor seating which is accessible, but only available for parties of one or two. I forgot to use the bathrooms so I can't speak to those. The menu offers lots of vegetarian options, but almost every meal has eggs or cheese as a main ingredient; vegans may not be able to make this menu work. Be prepared to wait over an hour for a table on the weekend; the food is so amazing that this place cannot keep up with demand. If you have the ability to wait though, I'd HIGHLY recommend it. I had the salmon avocado toast and it was wonderful. The zatar drizzle and sour dough bread were such innovative and exciting choices! My friends had the Shakshuka and the beef kofta and really enjoyed them. If I'm looking for a brunch in Centretown that's creative and exciting, this is the place to go.

As a brunch enthusiast, I knew I had to try out Mazarine after reading the reviews. The place…read moreitself was a decent size with a few seating options, but as many mentioned before, be prepared for a wait. My sister and I came around 11:30am and put our names on the electronic waitlist. We're a party of 2 and was about 9th in line with an approximate wait time of 60 minutes. While waiting, we decided to walk to Chinatown to explore. I would say that 60 mins is common and expected for most brunch places in every city. I'm from Toronto and this is the same there. I was able to track the waitlist on my phone easily and started heading back when we were 4th in line. The menu is quite limited, but they had all of the classic brunch items available, plus Shashuka. I wasn't feeling too hungry by the time we sat down, so I opted for the mushroom and cheese omelet with an espresso salted honey latte on the side. My sister got the classic breakfast. The latte was quite on the bitter side, but I'm okay with that. The omelet was cheesy, delicious and didn't feel too heavy. The potatoes were crispy as well. I enjoyed my meal. Overall, a solid brunch spot.