I view Cultures as the OG soup, salad, and sandwich chain. They sold these things before it was…read morecool and trendy to be "health conscious", lol. They've been around for over 30 years actually. In 2003 they were acquired by the MTY Group, and they saw almost a doubling in the number of locations across Canada (they have about 45 locations now). Although they have always been a chain, I do find that with time, they have become "more chain-like" if that makes sense. In days past they were more like those little independent panini shops where different types of panini were pre-made and laid out, then pressed to order. Even though the sandwiches were pre-made they always tasted fresh (they'd be made every morning). And there would be big bowls of pre-made salads, like pasta salad, bean salad, couscous salad, etc. Now things are more made-to-order, which you think would be a good thing, but it just feels more like a Subway Sandwiches now, lol. There's only one Cultures Restaurant in all of Ottawa (this one at Bayshore Shopping Centre) and only 2 in the whole National Capital Region (the other one is on Gatineau). There are lots in Toronto and in Montreal. My first time eating at Cultures was in Toronto with my mom when I was a kid. We ate at food courts a lot, it was good times, lol. I do like Cultures in general, but this location is not as nice as the ones in Toronto and Montreal. And of course, not as nice as Cultures of days past ;) Still a good place to grab a healthier meal at the food court though.

I used to eat at Cultures many, many years ago... in Toronto! I Still like it because it's a…read morehealthy alternative to sandwiches (constantly with so much bread! I *LOVE* bread, but sometimes I need a break!), and other fast food, which we tend to eat to much of anyway, on a regular basis too. So this time, I ordered a salad that sounded good. It came in at about $10, while the hubby bragged that his chili and a bun came in at about half that price. I'm only giving it a 3-star, although I'd want to give more - simply because of the fresh alternative spin of Cultures. My salad was topped with blueberries and strawberries, a nice dressing, and... ummmm... was it cous cous? It was tasty, almost to the bottom. However, the bottom half of my salad was very full of ... kale. Yay kale! NOT. It's so bitter! However, I would revisit this review again, given a few months... once the lettuce scare is over and fresh crops have ripened! If it's better next time, I will update this review at that time.

I've always been a Panera fan, but my recent elite combo is the broccoli cheddar soup with the…read moresteak sandwich. It's similar to a Philly cheesesteak but a bit more elevated. This is a great place to come for a soup and panini, and the bakery menu is definitely there to tempt you. The employees are exceptionally kind, which always makes the experience even better. J'ai toujours été fan de Panera, mais mon combo préféré récemment est la soupe brocoli-cheddar avec le sandwich au steak. C'est un peu comme un Philly cheesesteak, mais en version plus raffinée. C'est un excellent endroit pour une soupe et un panini, et leur menu de boulangerie est aussi très tentant. Les employés sont exceptionnellement gentils, ce qui rend l'expérience encore meilleure.

Popped in for a quick lunch with the fam. I ordered the garden caprese sandwich, and the hubs got a…read moresteak sandwich with a bowl of broccoli soup. The kids picked at the mac and cheese and said it was "alright" but they were in love with the baguette that came with the soup. Service was so patient while we decided what we were ordering. I don't frequent Panera often, so the menu was super overwhelming. The garden caprese sandwich was SO SO SO GOOD! The bread was fresh, chewy and warm. I loooooooooooved the sauce combination of Italian dressing and and garlic aioli. Restaurant was cozy and relaxing.

The Short Version: Food truck selling crepes in the parking…read morelot of RONA. Tasty crepes made to order. The Long Version: KRÊPETONITE is a new food truck, that recently opened in April 2026. They sell both sweet and savoury crepes as well as fries, drinks and ice cream. I stopped by to try them out and got the "Wham!" Crepe, which is filled with cubes of ham, spinach, cheese and bechamel sauce. The crepe was soft with a nice chewy texture and the amount of ham was generous. I would have liked more spinach though. The crepe was delicious but overall too salty. I think less ham and more spinach would be better. Service was pleasant. Since the crepes are made to order there's a bit of a wait. They have a little seating area that's shaded and quite cute. Although they are in the RONA parking lot, they are in a little corner that's a bit separated from the rest of the parking lot, which is nice. There's lots of free parking for customers. I love the name of the food truck by the way! Lol. Review #105 (2026)

I got to try a huge variety of food from Take Another Bite because they catered one of our work…read moreevents (which was sponsored by a pharmaceutical company, so I can't comment on price, service or anything other than presentation and taste). Presentation was aesthetically pleasing and overall everything was tasty. The grilled salmon was very good. Didn't smell fishy at all and was nicely baked. The chicken breast was a bit on the bland side, but went well with the accompanying sides. The potato wedges were great. They weren't crispy, but we're nicely seasoned. The bean salad was good too, I really liked the green beans in it. The quinoa salad was nice as well. The asparagus was nothing special, but the dill cream sauce it came with was fantastic. The butternut squash soup had a hint of curry in it that made it interesting. The strawberry and cream biscuits were excellent - fresh sliced strawberries with whipped cream inside a vanilla cream scone/biscuit. Easily the best dessert from that spread. The brownies were ok. They were really dense and very sweet. The chocolate chip cookies were filled with so many mini chocolate chips. They were on the hard side and my preference is for chewy cookies, but one of my co-workers had 3 cookies, so if you like the harder and more crumbly type of cookie, I think you'd like these. If I ever find myself in Manotick, I will be sure to check out Take Another Bite, and will probably pick up one of those strawberry and cream biscuits ;)

Customer service lacked a lot, we were greeted after 5 minutes of waiting at the counter while the…read moregirl behind the counter stamped cup sleeves. Our Fajita wraps were soggy, grilling them or toasting it somehow would have made it more enjoyable. My wife's chai latte was made luke warm and when I let the girl working know, she just stuck it in the microwave without offering an option to remake it. Very disappointed I use to love coming here. Most likely won't be coming back.

Went in to buy a birthday cake for my wife... great kind attentive service, cake was absolutely…read moredelicious- I have bought tons of cakes - Marzipan ones, spent upwards of $250 for customized ones. This chocolate orange cake I got was one of the best - this 6" size was $68. The key ingredient that makes it delicious is the buttercream. I also had a latte and ginger cookie which was just as delicious. Great atmosphere if you drop in for coffee and dessert. Highly recommend this place.

Everything was fresh and tasted good!…read more The blueberry pancakes and classic breakfast were both great, and the potatoes were perfectly crispy on the outside and soft on the inside. Coffee was good, service was prompt, and the food came out quickly. We found this spot after another brunch place nearby closed earlier, and we're glad we did. Love that they're open until 3 and really enjoyed the cozy, welcoming ambience. Seating is a little on the tighter side since one wall is all bench seating, but it still felt comfortable overall.

TL;DR/The Short Version: Nice bakery/cafe with cute…read moreambiance, but the pastries were hit or miss for me. The Long Version: So I had no idea that this bakery/cafe existed until I went to pick up food at Portugalos next door. It was actually closed at the time, but I made a mental note to come back. My mom loves baked goods so I decided to take her here. We ended up getting a box of goodies to take home. We got a pistachio croissant ($4.50), a Chantilly Cream croissant ($4.50), a white chocolate and milk chocolate donut ($4.50), 2 pistachio cannoli ($4.50 each) and 3 shell baklava ($1.75 each). The pistachio croissant was good. The filling was grounded pistachios. There could have been a bit more filling, IMO, but overall it was tasty. The Chantilly Cream croissant was dry and tasted stale to me. The cream that was exposed to air had that thick skin suggestive of an item that was sitting around for awhile :( The cream that was actually inside the croissant tasted better, but overall I was disappointed with this item. I didn't have any of the donut because my 2 little nieces shared it. They loved the donut. The cannoli was filled with whipped cream. I was so disappointed because I was expecting a ricotta cheese cream. At least the shell was crunchy and not soft. The shell-shaped baklava were ok, they weren't too sweet which I appreciated. The man serving us was pleasant and very patient with us as we asked what flavours the items were because nothing was labelled. Prices were not indicated next to the items either. The place is very cute with a bit of seating. I don't think there's anything else like it in Blackburn Hamlet. Would be a nice place for a date or to catch up with a friend. It's in a plaza with free parking. Review #81 (2025)

A phenomenal cafe/bakery dinning experience…read more The food at this location was very good and it was very high quality because it was freshly made and prepared. The service at this location was quick and easy because the staff served me and my family very quickly and the staff were very friendly, nice, and professional as well. The ambiance at this location was very cozy and nice because it was a very small and quiet location to peacefully enjoy a warm drink and a tasty homemade pastry treat. The location was very clean and there were no messes on the floor and the tables were very clean and spotless. The freshly made items here were cheaper than the pre-made items at Tim Hortons. The commute to this location is convenient because it is easy for Blackburn residents to walk to this location. The walk is only about 5 to 10 minutes to get to this location depending on where you live in Blackburn Hamlet which is very convenient for Blackburn residents to commute to this location. This location is very easy to access because there are multiple entrances to get into the parking lot and there is also a ton of parking spots to choose from and there is also free parking which is bonus too and this is very convenient for the people who prefer to drive to this location, but if you live close by to this location, I'd highly recommend you walk because it is only a 5 to 10 minute walk to get to this location if you live close by. For the reasons I have stated in this review, I highly recommend you visit this location because the service is phenomenal and the staff here are superb and the ambiance here is amazing and the food quality is excellent and the price is very reasonable and is cheaper than the price of pre-made items at the Tim Hortons across the street.

TL;DR: This review is exclusively for their sandwiches. Cute little Italian grocery store with…read morefresh pasta, deli meats and cheeses. They have bread and sandwiches. Got the roast beef sandwich. It was good, but a little skimpy with the fillings in my opinion. I love sandwiches so when I discovered that Home of Fresh Pasta also sold sandwiches, I wanted to give them a try. My husband and I shared a roast beef sandwich ($10.25). You get to choose your toppings and we got lettuce, tomatoes, cheese, spicy eggplant and mustard (the other 2 available toppings we didn't get were hot peppers and mayo). The bread was fresh and warm. In fact, it just came out of the oven. The bread was long, but very skinny, so the sandwich was actually on the small side by my standards. They were not all that generous with the toppings either, in my opinion. So while the ingredients tasted good, it did not feel like a substantial sandwich to me. The person making my sandwich was also not wearing gloves and was the same person handling the cash register. The store sells lots of Italian products, frozen, refrigerated and shelf-stable. And of course they sell fresh pasta. They had large round focaccia too for $6 each. Staff were courteous. The store is small, but bright and neatly organized. Street parking only. (141)

This is the best pasta in the city! And there are many other delicious products as well. I am…read morealways finding something new to try and am invariably pleased with the result. I can pick up an entire meal from starters to main course to yummy desert in one stop. The service is impeccable.... I can be in and out in no time. It is a bright charming Italian grocery boutique with pretty much anything you could want....cetainly anything I want!

I stopped by this bakery to grab some pastries. Overall, I found the items I bought were ok, but I…read morewas not blown away by anything. I got 2 Portuguese egg tarts (Pasteis de Nata) $2.50 each, 2 cannoli $3.50 each and a cream filled horn pastry $3.50. I didn't like that none of the items had prices listed anywhere, so I had to ask how much everything was. The egg tarts were not fresh, as the pastry was all soft and chewy. The filling was sweet, rich and smooth though. I love Portuguese egg tarts for their flakey pastry with that crispiness to them when they are fresh, and I did not get that here. The cannoli fortunately were not soft nor soggy, but rather crunchy, despite being prefilled. The shell was a bit too dense and oily tasting for liking though. However, the filling was tasty. The cream horn was filled with a smooth custard, which I enjoyed, but I didn't really like the dry crumbly pastry. Overall, I enjoyed the fillings of the items I bought, but not the pastry. Service was neutral. I don't think they take credit cards because when I went to pay by credit, the man asked me if I had debit instead. The bakery is co-located with Syrian Kitchen. I saw some falafels and rice on display, as well as various dips and spreads in the fridge. No parking lot. Street parking only.

There are fancy bakeries, sub par bakeries, adorable bakeries, and homey bakeries that remind you…read moreof your grandmothers kitchen. This bakery falls into the latter category. Entering the little bakery off of quiet nelson street, I am transported across the country into my grandmothers kitchen on an early Sunday morning. The smell of fresh bread wafts over me as the bell announces to the owner that another customer has wandered in. She's a cheerful woman with a bright smile, and is happy to tell you about the many different types of baked goods offered. I bought a raisin bread loaf for $4 and had it sliced in store. Now I can't stop eating it! I will have to go back soon to try some of their tempting croissants and pick up some buns to make sandwiches. I'd recommend this little bakery to anyone who likes local, hand-crafted bread at rather reasonable prices.