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 :)

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!

As always amazing food and service Everything was hot and…read morefresh and tasty. This place continues to be my favourite breakfast, lunch and dinner

Incredible small restaurant with authentic Mexican food. We did take out and put out a diverse…read morespread of food from appetizers, nachos, tacos... EVERYONE was happy! Service was great with recommendations for a group. Going back!

The Short Version: Delicious food in a hotel restaurant! Is…read moreit possible? Yes it is! Lol. The arepas were excellent! The Long Version: The Alembic Stillhouse is the restaurant/pub attached to the Cartier Suites Hotel. It has the usual pub fare like fish and chips, burgers, chicken fingers, etc. but it also has some Latin American dishes like arepas, tequenos, tostones and churros. My husband and I had dinner here and it was overall really good. I had the Arepa with Soup ($15) and added a second arepa for an additional $9. I got the Pabellon and Reina arepas. The soup of the day was tomato basil. My husband had the fish and chips ($18). I really enjoyed my arepas. The Pabellon was layered with shredded beef and feta cheese on top (the open end), and black beans and plantains on the bottom (the closed end). The Reina had the filling uniformly distributed - pieces of lean chicken breast mixed with avocado and cilantro crema. The corn meal arepa shell was crispy on the outside and held the fillings very well. I can't even decide which one I liked better because both were so good. I didn't like the tomato basil soup though. It had a cheesy note to it which I found off-putting. However, my husband loved it, so I gave it to him. My husband enjoyed his fish and chips. I had a bit of his fish and while it was crispy on the outside and moist and flaky on the inside, it had a strong fishy smell and taste that I didn't like. The fries were crispy and hot but were from frozen. Service was pleasant. The place has a pub feel. They have karaoke on Fridays starting at 8pm. We left before it started, lol. 5 stars for the arepas, 3 stars for the other food I tried, so 4 stars overall since service was good. I would get the arepas again. Street parking is the best bet (some streets have free parking and some streets have paid metered parking which is about $3 an hour). There's indoor hotel parking but it's a daily rate and over $20. Review #85 (2026)

It's a bit tucked away, but still central downtown. It's attached to a hotel near Elgin St. You'd…read morebe surprised to know that they sell Venezuelan food here. They have arepas! We went with the Alembic Poutine and the Pabellon, something we know and something different. It was all super tasty! The meats were the best part as well as that crispy plantain! And the black beans, wow! It's different than the usual black beans you would get. They've added some spices in there and other veg to really make it flavourful. A unique experience in Ottawa!

The place is small and cute. Very clean and the menu is very easy to read…read more We tried a cappuccino, a cookie, an Argentinian empanada, and another empanada. All the food was really good - but the coffee was AMAZING. They sell their coffee as well and if I wasn't moving, I would have definitely gotten some. They do not have decaf. But they do have a few tables to sit at. It was a cozy sweet place. The service was also very nice, they were informative with all my questions, and they were just kind people. Parking was challenging - you will have to just find some parking on a side street to try this place out.

My Colombian ex boyfriend recommend our group of friends to come support a pretty new small…read morebusiness. The environment is a tight space but overall the food was good! This was my first time trying Colombian food as I didn't know what to expect. The drink is good but can't taste the chai or the caffeine. The staff is friendly in giving service but not really social with customers.They would play African music which I don't mind but it doesn't fit the vibes of the place. They do have wifi but it's staff only.

Without a doubt one of the best Latin restaurants in Ottawa! Ordered quite a few times and they…read morenever fail to impress us. Recently had the Picada box. Hands down the best meat I have ever had in my life - no lie! I was full but I couldn't stop. It was also ready very quickly for pick-up. Will definitely re-order again and again for my Latin food cravings! When the restaurant/bar is open (keep in mind that I am writing this during CoVID), you'll have an amazing time. Music and ambiance is awesome.

Server was nice, good music. But we had to wait for over an hour. I ordered a no tomato hamburger…read moreand when I got it, they realized it had tomato! I didn't want to wait an other hour to eat. And on top of it, the manager was rude and she didn't care when we told her how upset we were. She even told us that if we didn't want to come back, for sure some other people would come, that she didn't care.

The bar upstairs is only for eating and drinking, beer was nice. waitress and waiters were really…read morefriendly and polite. We even got free shots ( nice taste) DO NOT go the lounge downstairs if you are under 35. everyone looked so old and ages of people dancing there range from 40 to 80. And that was awkward being sitting there and staring at them. Oh God I've never seen such a OLD club! That was really embarrassing.

I discovered this place in the most random way and I must say it's worth visiting. I cannot believe…read morenever heard about this place before, it's so good , everything is dished beautiful and they're fair with their pricing. Our favourite was the sopa azteca and the salmon , so well cooked and so many rich flavours. The churros were tasty but I must admit they do not look good in the pic . Service was a bit slow but it was only one girl taking care of pretty much everything, she would make the drinks, take orders, bring the dishes pick up the dishes so I understand, they may have been a bit understaffed. We had a few vegans in our group and they were very accommodating, not to mention they do offer a few vegan/vegetarian options in their menu . If you love latin food this is a great place to have some .

Wow, I am not coming back here. I was looking forward to going here for so long, but after the way…read morehe spoke to me, I am not going back.

It's been about 10 years since I've been here and definitely my first time at their new Holland…read moreStreet location. This location is a lot smaller than their previous location but it's very cozy. We knew it was a good sign when we walked in and there was another table of Al Salvadorian ladies. Lol The hostess/ staff greeted us and said we could have a seat. We were there for one reason only - Papusa! In my excitement, I just went up the cash to place my order and asked to settle the bill right away. We got pork, pork & cheese Papusa and ripe fries plantains. She brought our order out with their slaw and hot/chili sauce. Everything was piping hot and delicious. It definitely satisfied our Papusa craving.

We went for a seafood experience on a special night where the menu would not be available…read more I hadn't been to Vanier since I was a kid. 1st time here. I was far from home on this cold night. Walked in heels pretty far from a side street as they don't have a parking lot. Greeting was lukewarm. Tiny table for 2 was ready. I have to emphasize... 1 guy was working for the handful of tables this place has and it was the worst service I've had in a long time. Barely there. No care. All we needed from him was drinks and plate removal as it was a small buffet night. Fail. We were easy going guests and he was just ... Not good. Menu was on the annoying download app. This is a Latin fusion spot and I was excited for the offerings. Seafood to me.... Meant crab, maybe lobster bites.. scallops, clams or mussels. No. Shrimp and calamari only. $40 a person and drinks were $16 each. My friend couldn't drink hers for the bitters and getting a replacement took too long like everything else. Oh.. there were oysters but not many came out. I had.. one! 1! Salad. Rice. Fillers. Upon leaving - no thanks. No goodbye. The outside looks amazing and besides the tiny table we could fit nothing on.. it was cute. Modern. But service with the attitude killed it. And lack of options. No next time. But I'm curious how people feel about the day to day menu.

We came here for breakfast as a party of 4 on a Sunday morning. The waiter was funny and explained…read morethe options well. I had the "No Surprise Breakfast" and it was absolutely delicious. The ham was good, bacon was good. Their salad dressing is some of the best I've ever had. Their home fries are amazing. And the English muffins are homemade. I've only ever been here for breakfast but if it is indicative of how their other meals are im sure it is amazing.