You step in to a nice rustic bar with a warm staff to greet you…read more From their menu I chose Arroz con mariscos which is a braised rice with mixed seafood. It contained a generous portion of shrimp, squip, fish. It was delicious but a massive portion. It can easily be shared. For $28 is more than worth it. Bonus they have Argentine Malbec on the wine list, yes please. Did somebody ask if I want dessert, of course! I enjoyed their Suspiro a la limeña which is a dulce de leche custard with a meringue topping $12 and chicha morrada $5 a refreshing beverage made from purple corn blended with spices. I can't trace loud enough about this wonderful restaurant. Next time travels bring me to Ottawa I'll definitely return. Thank you for a wonderland dining experience.

The food was amazing and the service is impeccable. The cocktails were also great…read more Four people all enjoyed their meals.

This place is an absolute Peruvian "hole in the wall' gem in Ottawa. There is inside seating…read moreavailable, nothing fancy. For food, we ordered the ceviche combo with everything and fried rice with mixed seafood. For drinks, we ordered chicha morada. Everything was delicious. The ceviche was perfectly marinated. The calamari was crunchy, the fish juicy, the shrimp nice and tangy. The fried rice was on a whole other level. Sweet but not too sweet, and you got some seafood in every bite. It wasn't just 80% rice. Finally, I've never had chicha morada like this before. Very refreshing, and it had a little spice to it. I regret not taking some more to go!

We stumbled upon Petit Peru when we left Ottawa to go to a park in Gatineau. My wife and her family…read moreare Peruvian so we often search out Peruvian restaurants. Petit Peru served a great variety of Peruvian dishes and all of us were happy with our orders. We will definitely return when we are back in the area.

Someone please send me a trolley to roll myself home in. This food is so filling and fast I can't…read morewalk. The owner was an absolute delight and so friendly. We were a group of 10 on our lunch break and even though they were down a couple of staff members, they were still quick and friendly. I got the pulled beef arepas and the empanada. I couldn't even eat the empanada because I am so full! The rice is a bit more on the bland side but still tasty, I just prefer a good amount of beans in mine. Their guac was fantastic and I'm not a fan of guac usually. Next time I will be sure to order the plantains as they looked delicious as well. Overall a small family owned business serving up quality foods with love! His passion really shows through in his cooking. If you get the chance to eat here I really suggest you do

I love arepas, but they are hard to find here in Ottawa. The only place that I knew that sold them…read morewas Gooneys Sandwichworks, and in the last few years, some arepa vendors have popped up at Farmers' Markets, but I was thrilled to discover a more permanent place that specializes in arepas. Toasty Arepas is located inside Goodies Fine Catering. Toasty Arepas has a sign on the side of the building, but the main signage is Goodies Fine Catering. There are some bistro tables out front where you can eat, but it's mainly a takeout business. My husband and I got takeout and took it to nearby Strathcona Park for a picnic. We got the Mini Arepas Trio ($15) and the Single Combo ($18) to share. The Mini Arepas Trio consisted of a pulled pork and cheese mini arepa, a chorizo and cheese mini arepa, and a pulled beef and cheese mini arepa. It came with a side of creamy cilantro sauce. The Single Combo consisted of a cheese arepa, 2 empanadas (your choice of beef, chicken, vegetables or cheese - we got a beef and a chicken), a strip of chicharrón, some yucca fries, dipping sauce, and a can of pop. (Note that as of August 2021 this is the updated Single Combo. I saw some older menus where the Single Combo came with 2 cheese arepas and also a rice pudding. The price is still the same, but it only comes with one cheese arepa now and no rice pudding). The mini arepas were tasty, but they were a bit too oily/greasy for my liking. I liked the pulled beef the most, followed by the pulled pork. I liked the chorizo one the least, as it was the most fatty tasting. The creamy cilantro sauce was good. I'm glad it came on the side because my husband hates cilantro, lol. The cheese arepa in the Single Combo was good. I liked that it was flatter. It tasted a bit like a cheese pupusa. The empanadas were good, but not as flavourful as I had hoped. The chicken one was mostly potatoes. The beef one just had ground beef as the filling. I found the flavours too subtle. I'm not a huge fan of pork belly/pork fat, so my husband ate most of the chicharrón. The yucca fries were delicious! Very crispy on the outside, but soft and fluffy on the inside. They are heartier than regular fries. I loved dipping them in the sauce. Service was friendly. It took about 30 minutes for our order. There's a 10% off Yelp check-in offer, which we took advantage of ;) Street parking only, but the place is in a residential area, so street parking was easy to find, and it's free around there too. Toasty Arepas is very far from where we live, and it's not an area that we frequent, so it's not really a convenient location for us, but we are really glad that we tried it and we enjoyed our meal :)

I'm always generous with stars. I start with 5, and deduct…read morefrom there is needed. First time I've ever tried Cuban food. I met a buddy for lunch, who's been to Cuba many times, so he's got a point of reference. Started with a Cortado, which was the best I've ever had. Salad with balsamic was tasty and fresh. Black beans were rich and creamy. Steak with toasted plantains was very tasty. But, in hindsight, I should have ordered one of the shredded beef dishes on the menu. Service was fast and friendly. Ambiance was great. A nice, small, family run place with 6(?) tables plus seating at the bar. Great music streaming on the tv. Highly recommended if you want to try something a bit different. The only negative is parking can be difficult depending on what time of day you visit.

TLDR: Cool newish restaurant that serves Cuban food. Tried their appetizer sampler as a snack and…read moreit was great. I've only had Cuban food a few times, but I have always enjoyed it. My first time trying Cuban food was at my husband's friend's pre-wedding party. All I remember was it was in Tampa FL and it wasn't fancy, but man it was tasty (I think it was called La Teresita, but this was before I was on Yelp, so I can't be sure. One of the reasons I love Yelp is it helps me keep track of the restaurants I've been to, lol). My second time was in NYC at Tina's Cuban Cuisine on Madison Ave. That visit is recorded on Yelp, haha, as is my third time which was at La Habanera in Montreal. So La Paladar was my fourth time and it did not disappoint. My husband and I were just looking for a little snack, so we got the appetizer sampler called the Completa for 2. It was $20 and contained 3 pieces of Fritura de Malanga, 3 pieces of Croquetas Cubanas, 2 pieces of Tostones Rellenos and a container of Crema de Frijol. It also came with 2 sauces. The Fritura de Malanga are taro fritters, they were crispy on the outside and soft on the inside. We enjoyed them. The Tostones Rellenos were deep-fried plantain cups filled with ham and cheese. These were tasty too. The Croquetas Cubanas were mashed potato croquettes they had a faint ham and cheese flavour to them. These were great too. The Crema de Frijol was whipped black beans with cheese on top. It was a bit salty, but still delicious. I think these were supposed to come with chips (?) but we didn't get any. I definitely think dipping tortilla chips in the beans would have been more delicious, lol. I wasn't sure which sauces went with what. One sauce was a creamy chipotle that went well with the croquettes. The other sauce was a watery sweet sauce, like honey water. I tasted it with my fork but didn't put it on any of the food. Service was courteous and efficient. We got takeout, but the dining area was very nice. Would be a great place for a date. I'm thrilled that Ottawa finally has a Cuban restaurant. Street parking only. (58)

Spainish food in Ottawa. Tapas are very tasty and generous in portions. I had a little bit of…read moreeverything honestly. I really enjoyed the octopus. It was quite flavorful. Came on a bed of vegetables. Oxtail also came on a bed of vegetable. I think this one was my favourite. We had some cheese croquette. Olive cheese... I should've written down the name to make this review. Server was really kind and she was very helpful. Left very full and happy.

We came here as a large group for a friends birthday. We ordered calamari, zucchini fritters,…read morepulpo, shrimp, and a few other things to start. Everything was pretty good. We also got 3 traditional paellas to share. It was very flavourful but the rice is cooked very very al denté which I'm not used to. I'm not sure it was cooked this way even when I had it in Barcelona. Overall though the flavours were there and the portions were good. However, we ordered 3 of the same paella and we noted to them that one of the three was a lot smaller for some reason. We weren't sure if they had made a mistake. To our surprise, the server (maybe owner?) was not surprised at all and brushed it off, staying that it is the same portion in a much smaller pan. Honestly we had more than enough, but it was kind of awkward that they serve different size paellas for the same price. It seems a bit sketchy like they would change the portion on you depending on the group size? Usually when you order something for a set price, it's a standard size. Besides this, the service was good.

I wanted to support a Latinx-owned business during Latinx Heritage Month and saw this gem was…read moreoffering delivery. Plantain Cartel is sort of an extension of the Soca Kitchen (same company, same location) that serves plantain montaditos and patacones. I originally thought it was the Holland location, but it was actually the new Beechwood location that just opened up last month. I might be wrong, but I think everything under Plantain Cartel is only available for takeout or delivery. All of the plantain sandwiches are gluten-free. I got the pulled pork sandwich and the yuca fries. The sandwich had braised pulled pork, roasted ham, pickled onions, mustard, ketchup, garlic aioli, feta, and house pickled slaw in between two large, smashed and fried plantain slices. The plantain was salted and the edges were crunchy, but the middle less so. The pulled pork was tasty, especially with the pickled onions, garlic aioli, and pickled slaw. The sourness of the pickled veg really complemented the pork. I was a bit worried that it wouldn't be as crispy/crunchy by the time it got to me, and, unfortunately, I was right, but that didn't make it any less delicious. I'd like to try it again, but closer to the location, as it started to get even more difficult to eat about halfway through. Super messy and a five-finger, full hands kinda sandwich. Plan for lots of napkins! The yuca fries had a sweet sugar cane glaze and shaved Parmesan. It was sweet and salty and the flavour reminded me a bit of Filipino ensaymada, with the sugar and salty cheese on top. The flavour was good, but the yucca was sliced so thick that it wasn't crispy at all. The photo made it look like they were almost deep fried and crispy all over, but that wasn't the case. Still good, but I was craving the crispy texture, so I was a bit disappointed. I was tempted to also order the ceviche with plantain chips, and the Iberico ham-flavoured gourmet Spanish potato chips. Next time!

This review is for delivery only…read more My friends and I were supposed to go to the Elmdale for patio oysters, but it rained so we had to cancel. My friend recommended we get delivery from Soca Kitchen, which was an amazing suggestion. We ordered a seafood tower. It arrived in about 40 minutes and was fresh, well packed and delicious. All of the dishes were well insulated and remained the correct temperature. All dishes had the right sauces and accoutrements. Soca offers a fancy but delicious seafood. If I have another special occasion, I will order from them again.

great taste at super-generous portions. we got free side rice, nicely seasoned and fresh salad…read more burrito could have had more cheese and toppings inside, but the bean sauce was wonderful, and huge appetizer guacamole more than made up for it.

My go-to spot for authentic Latin American goodies! Warm vibes, friendly staff, and a great…read moreselection. Highly recommend!

Came by for their Thursday quesabirra special; $14 for two and you get to choose beef or lamb…read more We got an order of each protein and my pick was the lamb. The lamb wasn't gamey at all and they were generous with the protein despite it being a special. The birria also only had one tortilla instead of two which I thought was rare. Because of the one tortilla, and generous meat topping the taco kept breaking and it was messy. Definitely would recommend this place and the food was ready under 15min!

We live in the area and have always wanted to try this taco place! Fun fact: it was featured on a…read morejarritos soda video which profiled some of Canadas best taco places! It is a small shop with only about 4 tables serving up juicy and delicious Mexican street tacos. There is a really wide variety of topping choices which made it impossible to choose! Everything we had was really flavourful and had just the right level of heat. They come with a homemade hot sauce which was also fantastic. I would also highly recommend getting the dipping consommé- I could have drank a whole bowl of it! We finished everything off with an order of churros which were some of the tastiest I ever had- they were so fluffy and crunchy but also dense?? I can't describe it. All the staff were awesome and really helpful but there might be some language barriers if you needed to communicate some dietary restrictions so practice your Spanish! All in all, super glad we gave this place a try and will definitely be going back to try their other taco flavours!