... memories …read more... When I lived and worked throughout Canada's Atlantic Provinces, Ottawa was almost like a second home to me during the 70's and 80's. I travelled / stayed there often, via business, and even more so for pleasure stays. I chose to stay at hotels offering rooms with kitchenettes. Which allowed me the option to shop during walks and stays, and dine back at my hotel. The Byward Market area was one of my favourite spots to walkabout, browse, and shop. And especially so during the summer and fall months, when it was so alive with street venders, and others featuring locally-grown fresh fruits and veggies. It was a good while ago, but a standout for me during these stays was a fish/seafood shop. I used to purchase squid there. Then on the way back to the hotel, catch a bottle of white wine, and some butter. Cooking the squid back at the hotel was fun, and made for several very fragrant, tasty, and much-enjoyed meals. Street vendor selections of farm-fresh offerings of fruits and veggies, were a delight to see during summer and early-fall stays. Their products not only contributed to meals, were often purchased and enjoyed 'in hand' and enjoyed during walkabouts. And before I forget, so were the several tasty 'beavertails' enjoyed, at any time of year, from a bakery there. (previously reviewed) My visits to the Byward Market, and area, were via day time browsing and shopping walkabouts. They were fun, interesting, and much-enjoyed.

This area of the city is a popular destination that you must see for sight seeing in Ottawa…read more There's a lot to see and do down here, and more Restaurants than you can possibly eat at in a month of Sundays! They also host special events down here. Certain streets are pedestrian only, where you will find crafters and fruit/vegetable vendors, people who sell honey and maple syrup, Beavertails, and seasonal items all sold at booths on the streets. This visit, I found a rare treasure: a bracelet with my name on it!! The Byward Market is coming up to a remarkable anniversary: in 2026, it will be 200 years old!! Found this snippet on the internet: "The ByWard Market is where Ottawa was born. Established by Lt-Col. John By in 1826, the ByWard Market is one of Canada's oldest and largest public markets. The legendary builder of the Rideau Canal; Lt-Col. By himself laid out the street plan of the Market, designating George and York Streets to be extra wide to accommodate the horse-drawn carriages that brought foodstuffs to the market every day." We seem to gravitate there at least once a year in the warmer months. It's also a terrific area for people watching!!

Warning: contrary to the name of this place, it is NOT a real shopping centre. Do not come here…read moreexpecting a fun shopping experience. The only retail stores are Shoppers Drug Mart and Dollarama! There's also a restaurant called Napoli's (which is quite good, but pricey), a hair salon, a store that sells tiles and flooring, a yoga studio and a few other small businesses. It's not an enclosed mall, but rather a plaza. Good for locals to run errands, but not a shopping destination! Lots of free parking though.

Shoppers Drug is the largest retailer in this Shopping Centre…read more Napoli's restaurant is a great restaurant anchoring the North Eastern corner. There is a First Choice Haircutters, Dollarama, and others. Gaia Java is a very good place for coffee. Centrally located on Stittsville Main street with easy access to the parking lot. Another good shopping area in Stittsville Try it out

It's a huge mall with lots of stores, something for everyone. The prices and deals were good …read more There are cafes / hot and cold drinks /smoothies/pastries. There are banks in the mall too. Also the mega bus has a drop off and pick up from here which is good Fr passengers . Sport chek is the best way out fr passengers taking the mega bus .

This is not a bad mall (I give it a 3.5)…read more What I like: The huge Toys R Us on site. They have activities set up for the kids on the weekend which is a bonus. The food court is not bad either. They have quiet a few different options like Burrito Gringo, Taco bell/KFC, Tim Hortons, ect. They also have some food options on the first floor like Kernels, Cinnabon and Purdy's where you can get scoops of ice cream. The light rail also connects to this mall which is nice. What I find this mall lacks: Clothing stores like H&M, and Zara, and a Sephora would be nice. I find they have an outdated selection of stores and I would love to see new ones pop up. Parking is parking, its never fun during busy holiday times, and it can get a bit messy here (nothing compares to parking at Bayshore though, lol). I don't come here to drop a pretty penny, more so just to walk around and hit up some of the food options and Toys R Us when I am trying to kill some time.

This establishment has always played apart of my life here as a Ottawan, and I am a colossal…read moredevotee to the fairview malls. Since the closure of the nearby Rideau street McDonalds, there has been fewer suspicious activity around, which is a shame as I enjoyed the entertainment. Whats a nice day at the mall without someone pulling a racoon out of their coat? Regardless, they have a New York Fries, which automatically gives it much more value. Always nicely decorated as well. Beware of the first floor as some report getting asked odd questions by even odder individuals.

Oh gosh this mall was exhausting ! The amount of people I felt like I was in a movie. Non stop…read moreyelling and running around was wild. They did have a lot of stores but it was way to much we left. The outlets was wayyyyyy better

Grant Crossing is a large shopping complex in the suburb of Stittsville. It has not one, but two…read moreroundabouts within it, lol. Actually, they are just 1 lane of traffic, so I guess technically traffic circles, and not roundabouts, but the point is that this place is big! I like walking, and when I shop at a plaza, I usually just park somewhere and walk to all the stores, but at Grant Crossing, to shop from one end to the other, I do move my car once. Since it's not an enclosed mall, to go from one store to the next you have to go outside. Great when the weather is fair, but when it's raining or snowing or freezing cold, shopping here is not as great. There's a huge selection of stores including The Shoe Company, Bed Bath and Beyond, Urban Barn, Dollarama, Value Village, Sally Beauty Supply, Lowe's, Michael's, Homesense, Winners, and Bushtukah. They have several sit-down restaurants, among them Kal's Place, La Cucina, and Fusion House. There are fast food restaurants as well: Five Guys, Mr. Shawarma, Booster Juice, and Thai Express. They have a few banks, Natural Food Pantry (health food store), and a handful of other businesses as well (nail salon, hair salon, dental clinics, real estate agents, etc.). Worth a visit if you like shopping ;)

Not a Warehouse Outlet but a large Strip mall. The variety suits me well…read more Start with Lowes in the Centre yeah. There is a Homesense, Michaels and Winners to the west Value Village, Jysk, Dollarama and Bath Bed and Beyond make up eastern side Numerous eating and drinking establishments sit to the north But with all these interesting shopping choices traffic can be slow Patience Please

First time here. Its a large mall, with some anchor stores attached like Simons,…read moreHomesense/Marshalls and Costco and a massive food court with chains that we don't have in Ottawa. They also have 2 restaurants that we do not have in Ottawa, being La Bella & La Boeuf and a pizza restaurant called Enoteca Monza Pizzeria Moderna. The fam and I were planning to eat at one of the two, but opted for some greek food and french fries in the food court. The mall did look quiet promising, but besides the stores listed above, we basically ended up just walking around. It's a great mall for mall walking and we were pooped by the end. We did hit up the Lindt store where they have so many different truffles that we had to buy a few. I would avoid coming here at lunch time during the week, as it was packed with nearby students heading to the food court. Parking was plentiful and easy. Just avoid the Costco parking lot. Bilingual service was non existent and we were spoken to in French in all the stores we shopped in, even though we were clearly corresponding in English and engaging with associates in English. It was an eye opening experience, especially being 10 minutes from downtown Ottawa. I assumed service would be billingual? Brush up on your French if your planning on shopping here. I was in between a 2.5 stars but rounded it up to a 3. It's an A-OK mall, but I would not rush back.

I only come to this mall to get my eyebrows done. It is quite a huge 1 level mall. I do appreciate…read moreall the parking. It is also connected beside a Costco!! Even on very busy days, you will find parking. It is right off the highway and close to the bus station, and the major boulevard around this city. There is every type of store you could wish for (age/gender/style). Something I found impressive was they have a room for parents to change their babies. There is even a microwave! The mall is kept clean and has great wifi if you may need it.

Wellington West is a cool, trendy neighbourhood west of downtown Ottawa. I recently got the grand…read moretour from my friend. It was my first visit here. This Yelp listing has the Wellington West Business Improvement Area (BIA) site as a reference. That site lists Hintonburg as one of Wellington West's communities. It's fitting, as they both exude a trendy vibe that is refreshing and nice. This neighbhourhood has many retail stores, eateries, grocery stores, churches, and more. It's a good mix. It's almost a dream for me to live in this area and walk to a business without thinking of parking. It's kind of like my old neighbourhood of the Beaches, but less preppy and a bit further from a body of water. We ducked in and out of stores during this walking tour, partly because the stores were cool and worth checking out. The other reason was that we needed relief from sweating buckets on a hot July afternoon. We could probably write a guide on which stores have the most effective air conditioning and which ones will take longer for you to cool down when you're inside the stores... haha I like quirkiness. There is a series of marble fire hydrant statues that my friend had mentioned. We walked by many of them and I had to capture their coolness. From corn, to a violin, you get to see a lot of creativity go into each hydrant's design. It's like going to the Twin Cities to find all the Snoopy and Charlie Brown Statues. It's more abstract and refined with marble. Hintonburg is similar. It's still trendy and cool, but it has a more established, older charm when you see a church here and there. Well, except for the half-fallen Hintonburg letters. Again, I like quirkiness. I like that you have Parkdale public market here. Although it wasn't fulyl open when we were there, it's nice that you can get fresh produce and local eats. I learned that it's the second-oldest market in Ottawa, behind ByWard Market. Nice! I wouldn't say that I am now an expert visiting both neighbourhoods for the first time. I had a wonderful introduction, especially checking out places to have a cold drink on a hot day because I was super thirst after a salty meal. To wish that the marble hydrants had water out of them was a thought that came to me. In a way, I'm glad that I could quench my thirst at other places! I liked how friendly and lovely everyone was. I hope to return soon with not-as-tired legs from walking around and sandals that I am not breaking in a day later. (294)

I had no idea that Wellington West was even a listing on Yelp until it popped up in my feed. It's…read morelisted under "Shopping Centres" but it isn't so much a shopping centre as a neighbourhood or several neighbourhoods. I myself would call it a "Local Flavour" in Yelp speak. It's the stretch of street starting in the west from where Richmond Rd becomes Wellington St West and ending in the east where Wellington St West becomes Somerset St. There are many retail shops, restaurants, grocery stores, markets, yoga studios, art galleries, churches, etc. along this strip. Some places are very affordable (there's a St. Vincent de Paul which is a thrift store where you can get pants for $1) and some places are very high end (like Valamode that sells pre-loved Chanel purses for about $3000 each), so there's a real mix of businesses. The stretch is very walkable, and there are lots of places to duck in and out if it's really hot or really cold outside, or if it's raining or snowing. With so much variety, I'm sure there are businesses in Wellington West to suit any tastes. Some of my favourite places in Wellington West are Stella Luna (awesome gelato), Strawberry Blonde Bakery (yummy gluten-free bakery, their donut holes are amazing), AMH and Second Glance (both consignment stores), Max's Shoe Repair (they sell really funky shoes), and Absinthe and Allium (both great date restaurants). In the fall there's Taste of Wellington West, which is an event where restaurants in Wellington West offer free samples of their foods on the sidewalks. There are usually sidewalk sales and some street performers during this event as well. If you haven't been to Wellington West, it's worth the trip to check it out.

I first discovered Dollarama while living in Montreal as a poor and starving student. Mr. Noodles…read morewere $0.25 a package and good for at least one meal, sometimes two. At the time the chain was popular in Quebec (where the company started), but I had never seen it in Ontario (my home province). Now Dollarama is everywhere in Canada and the most popular dollar store in Ontario. I have a special place in my heart for Dollarama, even though back then nothing was over a dollar and now things are up to $5. Anyway, I was stoked when this Dollarama opened up within walking distance from me. Dollarama has really upped their game. They now even sell organic food products. And kombucha. And other items you wouldn't expect to find at a dollar store. They have some cool toys too, like Funko Pops for $5 and some card games and board games too. This new-ish location in Hintonburg opened up in 2022 or 2023 in the space that used to be Fab Baby Gear. It's big and bright. It's similar to other Dollaramas. Nothing really stands out at this location though, other than it's convenient for those who live in the neighbourhood. It's a bit nicer than the one on Somerset and Breezehill, which is the next closest one to Hintonburg.