Very pretty cafe located in the OAG (Ottawa Art Gallery). Love the high ceilings, feels very open…read moreand spacious. Food is good, prices are just a bit on the high side. I've had a few different items here. Their Cuban Sandwich is huge and filled with lots of roasted pork, Swiss cheese, ham and pickles. The pork was a bit on the fatty side and I did not like the excessive amount of butter in the sandwich. Other than these 2 issues, it was a good sandwich. Their muffins are good, although a bit dense. The apple muffin could have used more apples though, lol. Their steel-cut oats with berries is tasty and I have no idea why it never tastes the same when I make it at home, haha. Staff are courteous and efficient. Metered street parking or paid parkade parking only. (17)

Lovely spot for a coffee and conversation. Airy and light with low level music, it's relaxing. I…read morenoticed several people working on laptops. Bonus, you can slip into the gallery (free!) to take in some art before/after your cafe visit, since Jackson is in the OAG (Ottawa Art Gallery) building. In the summer, get a to go and sit in the lovely courtyard out front. Staff were cheerful and kind...and made great coffee!

I love this place. Great seating areas upstairs and outdoors. Trendy, sure. Tasty, YES! The food is…read moreso good and I just love the setting. You walk in and are greeted by lovely employees and the baked good staring back at you. They made their own "Twix" bars... I mean, seriously! You have to come and eat their treats! They also make amazing challah avocado toast. But be prepared, this is a BIG piece of CHALLAH! But paired with basil and lemon it was just perfect for our brunch morning. Service is great, and parking is a challenge sometimes, but be patient. It's super clean, super open floor plan, and is just LOVELY all around. The coffee is always good. And I would come here all the time if I lived just a bit closer.

An awesome little cafe! The food is delicious, highlights included the crème brûlée French toast…read morewith a crunchy top and crispy fried eggs, bacon, and salad with a thick slice of country style bread in "the staff meal". You order at the counter and sit, but service was fast and surprisingly attentive. This is a great place to go after a morning hike in Gatineau to enjoy a lunch and a microbrew or two!

Quaint cafe with a gothic vibe. Staff were very friendly but the afternoon tea was pretty terrible…read more Most items were cold, including the scones. Some of the cakes were extremely dry and the teas are made with half the leaves they should have, which makes them super mild. I wanted to love it, but didn't.

To start off when I went it was extremely busy there was four large parties so my friend and I got…read morethe smallest table in the corner I feel very uncomfortable and very tight in such a small space. If you come here looking for the high tea tower it's about $45 and includes some scones and little pastry items with a pot of tea however for $45 you're really not getting much. I found the prices here extremely high for the amount of food that you are getting. I ordered myself a brunch dish with purple cauliflower a slab of smoked tofu and a cauliflower crust however I found the entire dish extremely unflavourful and quite disappointing. Unfortunately this place left a little to desire that day as they didn't have AC so everyone who was there was just boiling the entire time. Couldn't really enjoy the tea experience because it was just so hot. Giving it 3 stars because the decor was beautiful and the servers were kind.

This is clearly a high quality coffee shop! When I walked in there was a long line, but the latte…read morewas worth the wait. At first I was surprised at how there were no flavour shops, but the high quality coffee/espresso they use made up for it; none was needed! Bonus points for the beautiful latte art

TL;DR/The Short Version: Independent coffee shop in…read moreWestboro. Minimalist interior. Good selection of baked goods and they also sell coffee, lol ;) The Long Version: The Bower Coffee Company opened up about a year ago in the summer of 2024. Usually I like trying out new businesses that open up in my neighbourhood, but admittedly I'm not a coffee connoisseur. I doubt I'd be able to tell the difference between a $50 cup of Kopi Luwak and a cup of Folgers instant coffee, lol. So coffee shops don't really excite me. However, I recently learned that Bower Coffee Company sells baked goods from a business called Adam Bakes. I've been wanting to try treats from Adam Bakes for a while now, but they are only open on Saturdays 8am-12pm and not in my neighbourhood, so their limited hours have prevented me from trying them. I didn't realize that they also sold their baked goods to other businesses for resale, so when I discovered this, I planned a little coffee date for my husband and I at The Bower Coffee Company :) I chose a Cinnamon Swirl Blondie from Adam Bakes ($4.85) and my husband chose a Peanut, Peanut Butter and Chocolate Chip cookie from Art-Is-In Bakery ($5.25) and we got a regular 12 oz coffee ($3.25). The coffee tasted like any other coffee to me (unsurprising, lol). My husband is more of a coffee connoisseur than I am and his comment was it was a bit too watery, but otherwise ok. I loved the Blondie. It was rich and I think there's cheesecake swirled into it because it had creamy bits to it. It had a potent cinnamon flavour. I really enjoyed it and so did the hubster. I ended up hauling my butt out to Adam Bakes the following Saturday morning to try their other offerings, which weren't available at Bower Coffee. Adam Bakes will get its own review. I noticed that the prices are cheaper buying directly from Adam Bakes than at Bower Coffee, but I guess that's not surprising. The cookie was unremarkable in my opinion, but the hubby enjoyed it. It had whole peanuts in it as well as peanut butter and chocolate chips. It was soft and chewy, and the whole peanuts gave it the occasional crunch. Service at Bower Coffee was great. The barista asked me for the Blondie if I wanted a centre piece or an edge piece. I know some people like the crispiness of edge pieces, but I prefer the softness of centre pieces, so I was happy to be asked. The decor is clean lines minimalist. It's not a huge space, but has a decent amount of tables. It was bustling on a Sunday morning. Overall, a nice place for a coffee date, albeit a bit pricey in my opinion, but I get it, everything is expensive these days :/ We walked there, but it's street parking only for those coming by car. Review #133 (2025)

Figaro Coffee House has opened around the corner from Ottawa U. It's a nice little space, about…read more1/4 the size of the one on Industrial. Same coffee and a bunch of baked goods and snacks to go. I'm not 100% sure if they have less items here than the other but staff are friendly, there's a handful of tables to sit at inside and a few outside, which I wouldn't recommend outdoor seating when winter rolls around. Staff are friendly and coffee is the same as the original. 3.5 stars but rounding up

Very nice to have another cafe open up in Sandy Hill. This one in particular has a very…read morecontemporary look, so I was glad when I eventually visited here. Staff were friendly. The only hiccup was when they forgot about my tiramisu order, but that was resolved when I brought it up. It's a really nice place to work or chat since there's a lot of space between tables, so you won't be too distracted by noise. It usually isn't too busy either, so you can find a table for productive work. Unfortunately, I came half an hour before the was about to close, so I wasn't able to stay for too long. I got a simple Americano to justify getting their tiramisu ($4). It came in a small glass container that they reuse, so you will have to dine in to eat it. It tasted fine. I would overall recommend the cafe.

Coffee is great but the breakfast/hot food is mid. The oatmeal raisin cookie is very good though!…read moreCute spot to catch up with a friend or do some work.

I was so excited when I heard that there was a place in my area that had K-dogs (Korean Corn Dogs)…read more Unfortunately, my experience was less than stellar. The wait was over 30 minutes for a K-dog and 20 minutes into the wait they told us they ran out of hotdogs so we had to get an all cheese corn dog or veggie corn dog. Ugh! So the place is ultra hipster, lol. It has an industrial vibe to it. Prices are on the high side. It was $11.99 for a K-dog. My husband also got a Decaf Americano ($3.50). So we ordered a Half n Half "The Works" K-dog, which is a half mozzarella cheese, half hotdog corn dog topped with Okonomi sauce, Kewpie mayo and bonito flakes. I asked them to go light on the Kewpie and they obliged. Service was friendly. Our visit was during the Covid-19 Pandemic and the staff were regularly disinfecting high traffic areas like the door handles, which I appreciated. They also limit the number of people inside, so since our order was to go, they asked us to wait outside, and they would bring the order out. Fine by us. It was technically Spring, but still chilly out. They brought out my husband's Decaf Americano quickly, which he appreciated as it kept him warm. He offered me some, but he drinks his coffee black (which for inscrutable reasons I find an attractive quality in a man, but it's not how I like my own coffee, lol). However, we waited 20 minutes before the staff member who took our order came out and advised us that they ran out of hotdogs and we could either have all cheese or half cheese and half veggie dog. We opted for all cheese. It took another 10 minutes for us to get our food. The cheese was very plentiful and had extraordinary pull, lol, but it was almost too much cheese (can't believe I'm actually typing those words in that order, haha). I would have definitely enjoyed it more if it was a half hotdog and half cheese corn dog. The toppings were good. The Okonomi sauce was slightly sweet and the Kewpie mayo was creamy and I loved the marine taste of the bonito flakes. Those who dislike fish might want to stay away though. The bonito flakes had a definite fish smell and taste to them. The breading was crispy and I'm glad I got to try the K-dog, but I personally found it overpriced for what it was. The inside is cool looking and it would actually be a great place for a date once this Pandemic is over. Note, the address is on Parkdale but the physical location is at the corner of Spencer and Hamilton. We had a hard time finding it until my husband spotted the sign with an arrow pointing towards the cafe as we crossed Parkdale and Spencer for the second time looking for it. Street parking only.

The Short Version: Cute little cafe that is affiliated with…read morean organization that supports people with disabilities. Delicious food at reasonable prices. The Long Version: The Owl Cafe is a social enterprise operated by Y's Owl Maclure Co-operative. As per the information on their website, it provides employment opportunities for people with developmental and intellectual disabilities, as well as for people with autistism. I love supporting places like this, so this cafe has been on my radar for quite some time, but I'm rarely out in this part of town when they are open. However, recently I was in the neighbourhood for an appointment and stopped by afterwards to pick up some lunch. I got a Bacon Chicken Sandwich and a Marshmallow Square. I'm not sure what the individual prices were, but it was $12.95 for the two items. The Bacon Chicken Sandwich had sliced real chicken breast meat (not deli meat or processed chicken), bacon, real cheese (not processed cheese), and lettuce. It came with a delicious pink cranberry sauce on the side, which I spread on the sandwich. The sandwich came untoasted, but I put it in the toaster oven at home, and it was so delicious! It looked really simple, but the seasoning on the chicken had a peppery bite to it and the cranberry sauce gave it a nice sweet and tart zing. I thoroughly enjoyed the sandwich. It came on a triangle focaccia bread, not dissimilar to the ones you get at Costco (in fact, it could be from Costco, lol). The Marshmallow Square was huge and it tasted just like the marshmallow squares that my late mother-in-law used to make at our family gatherings. So I felt all warm and fuzzy when eating it ;) The marshmallows were soft and fluffy and the fudge binding it was rich, sweet and peanut buttery. They added some sprinkles for added sweetness and crunch, which I'm not sure is needed, but it made it different from other versions of this dessert that I've had and the colours added festive autumnal flair, lol. Service was pleasant. The cafe is spacious and decorated in a warm homey kind of way. They sell some items like small gifts and greeting cards as well. I would love to return to try some of their other items. They have soups, chili and soup too. And lots of baked goods. Free parking available on-site. Review #199 (2025)

Three and a half stars, if only we could give half-stars…read more It's a big, bright space, with adequate, comfortable seating. They offer a variety of tasty coffees and a few items to eat, as well as coffee beans to enjoy at home. I purchased a cup of grapes with some cheese cubes. Perfect! Not too heavy. Service was prompt, and friendly. The coffee shop is affiliated with the pottery shop next door, and between the two, they cater to the underprivileged in the community. Bravo!!

The food and coffee I ordered was good, though the felafel was premade and reheated for me…read more Service was prompt. Coffee was tasty! Large space in a stand alone building, it's bright inside. It gets loud in here over lunch. Overall, it was good. Although it was not cheap; 2 of us: 2 sandwiches, 1 soup, and 2 coffees came to $40.00. Convenient and fast.

It's been said that you can't rush art. We've gotten so used…read moreto getting our beverage quickly, that we've forgotten how much time, effort, and skill it takes for a barista to do their thing. My cortado was art in a cup. The cheesecake was the perfect accompaniment.