Best Eggs Benedict ever. Large portions, huge slab's of bacon. Delicious. Service was also top notch. Coffee cup was never empty. Highly recommend read more

For my last review of 2018, I will talk about our experience at the Chateau Laurier. I wanted to go to a special restaurant for my birthday this year, and Wilfrid's restaurant in the Chateau won the day. I wanted brunch, but I needed to be flexible to accommodate our guests, so we ended up going for dinner... but they don't do the buffet at dinner!! Go figure! So we had to order a la carte. Meals range from $25 to about $40. Come to think of it, this is cheaper than the buffet, and it's not as much food. Maybe that's a good thing?? Edited this review to add that we had actually looked up and studied the menu before going to the restaurant, and we had to research what some of the menu options were! The chefs here add specialty items, and add special sauces etc. to the preparation of the food, giving the guest a "haute cuisine" experience. For example, they had a beautiful pasta on the menu (called Sacchetti pasta), and when we looked it up, it looked like a ravioli (IMHO, and in my uneducated mind!) These were squares of pasta, stuffed with Mascarpone & Brie, spiced walnuts, and a vegetable purée then folded up like a bow or a ribbon, or a gift... yeah, that's it - like a gift to the taste buds! However, and unfortunately, they had run out of this dish before we got there to dine. They had things on this menu, like Succotash, Chimichurri, and Gremolata, which I had to look up because I don't know what they are... So this is not your every day cuisine. Enough for now with the cooking lesson! We had 10 in our party and we reserved for 6:00pm (they open at 5:30 for dinner). We had no trouble getting a table, but we did have reservations. It was very quiet when we got there, with few other patrons already seated, but it filled up as the evening wore on. Service was very attentive, even bringing water without being asked. I ended ordering a salad for starters, and was surprised at the size of it (bigger than expected) - about $15.00, and it was tasty. My main dish was a whole fish (about $35.00), served over green beans and little round potatoes. It was really good! Ok, I didn't like getting the head and skin on the fish (maybe this was 4 stars - but service and the other food was really good!) Because it was my birthday, they brought me a surprise desert with a candle in it, and sang happy birthday! All in all, a great event, with good company. Saved the brunch for our next visit!! read more

I really don't get it. The Chateau Laurier is well known in Ottawa for being super fancy and high class, and I think that based on that assumption I expected high quality from its restaurant, Wilfrid's. I came here for an early brunch/breakfast on Sunday. I've been told that's the thing to do. We were in a bit of a hurry so, I just settled on the 2 egg breakfast with bacon and sausage. If you know me, you know that I love meat. I made the assumption that a breakfast with both bacon and sausage would be right up my alley. Meh. For $27 you got two eggs cooked the way you like (in theory) several pieces of crispyish bacon, and three or four small sausages. This came with a side of potatoes which, admittedly were the star of my dish, half a tomato, and your choice of toast. My eggs were a bit overdone and the meal itself was lacklustre, though it did satisfy my Sunday breakfast needs. For a hotel restaurant it was pretty good, but overall for me it was just fine. I really had high expectations and though it missed the mark, I would still come back. I really want to try the high tea! read more

Wilfrid's Restaurant - Canadian (New) Near Me - Ottawa, Ontario

I went for breakfast and was sited on the table for people choosing a la carte, my colleague changed his mind to buffet before ordering and I asked to change tables because the one we were would be difficult to move. The waitress was not happy and in a annoyed tone asked: what's wrong with this table? She called the manager who transferred us to the buffet section. The buffet was $39 but the selection was very limited: eggs, bacon , potatoes, sausage, pancakes, fruits and bread. I have seen better breakfast buffet in a Holliday Inn and I was expecting more from a Fairmont read more

Went here for a thanksgiving dinner with my family. We choose the thanksgiving table d'hote menu for our meal. We all had scallops for the appetizer which were cooked perfectly and really enjoyed the corn purée. For the meals we had a mix of the short ribs and turkey. All were cooked very well and very tasty. Lastly the dessert was a sticky pudding. We all loved the pumpkin gelato that came with it, very enjoyable dessert. Only thing is the meal was a little pricey, but otherwise it tasted amazing. I'd most likely go back for another special occasion. read more

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We had a lovely evening at this restaurant. The ambience and views are amazing. The vibe is energetic but it's not loud. The food is well-prepared and wonderfully presented. A delicious meal! We had appetizers, the main dishes and dessert and left very satisfied. The wine list was quite extensive as well! read more

Wilfrid's Restaurant - Main course - Halibut - Canadian (New) Near Me - Ottawa, Ontario

Now right off the bat I'm going to say this review is for an a la carte dinner and not for a brunch or buffet, which a number of reviews have singled out. It's also not the most economical dinner you can have in the area, and the decor is pretty 'hotel dining room' standard, albeit quite nice. So why give Wlfred's a full five star rating? Simply because in our experience it's one of the nicest dining experiences you can have. First the food - while the dishes are relatively standard (although usually with a little twist) the execution and the freshness of the ingredients is near perfect. This last time we had a grilled Caesar salad and some filet mignon with vegetables. Everything was fresh and cooked perfectly, in just the right proportions. My pomme frittes were even stacked Jenga style (OK I know that doesn't make them taste any better but I appreciated the thought). We finished with a beautifully presented chocolate pavé with graham cracker ice cream and fresh marshmallow, basically a deconstructed s'more and it was intense. And what makes the experience even better is the quality of the service. Simply put it's attentive, professional and effortless, some of the best we've experienced. Put that all together and you have a memorable dining experience. read more

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I had the pleasure of enjoying a couple of breakfasts, a dinner, and a special pre-dinner kitchen party in the Chateau Laurier. I like their approach to cuisine, in featuring fresh local, quality ingredients. Was especially fond at breakfast of the maple sugar butter crepes, and Chef Jimmy, who served them up jovially. Here's more on the kitchen party from one of the travellers with me: http://emmerogers.com/2014/01/simply-delicious-recipes-at-the-chateau-laurier/ read more

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Late review, but still hurts. The host treated me like a bit.ch, because when she seated my fiancé and me, I started asking her about something in English, while she started speaking in French and continued that until I said I do not speak French. read more

I went here for New Year's Day brunch. It was incredibly disorganized. What's scary is that the people I went with said the same confusion happened last year. We're in the Chateau Laurier, yet, for some reason, the head hostess (when she was at the front door) didn't let anyone in before 11 a.m., then started yelling out names. There was a crowd of 20-30 people in front of the restaurant, situated INSIDE the Chateau Laurier, and they are yelling names like it is an auction. Strike one. When we inquired about our reservation, the head hostess through us A LOT of attitude. Strike two. Beyond the HORRIBLE front-end service to begin with, the food itself was quite good. It was a buffet, and nothing particular stood out as different than most buffets, but the food was solid. So was the table service - can't complain about that. The view we had was of the Parliament Buildings, which I certainly can't complain about. They never made it to strike three, but they sure turned me off with their service to start the experience. When you're in an establishment that is supposed to be high-end dining, there is no excuse for treating customers like we were to begin with. Again, what's scary is the same thing happened last year. Quality control for any business is key. It seems this has been lost on the management at Wilfrid's. read more

I rated Wilfred's as A-OK. Not blow my socks off have to go back soon or regularly, but nice for what it was. I took my friend to Wilfrid's on August 26, 2014, for birthday brunch. The date fell during the weekday so it was nice to find a place that did a fancier brunch during the regular work week as opposed to the weekend. Brunch buffet or ala carte menu - the choice was ours. The pros for us were - very nice ambiance (fancier upscale dining experience), brunch buffet during the weekday, good tasting food, made-to-order omelete and crepe station (chef was friendly and the crepes were quite nice). The cons for us were - good tasting food, but possibly not worth the price at roughly $29 a head plus tax and tip. The breakfast basics were covered but nothing that amazing for the price. The made-to-order omelete and crepe station was the highlight but very very slow and the chef was a rather overwhelmed with our two orders. We patiently stood there waiting watching him frantically pull together each crepe, but I would hate to see what would happen if it was busy! The buffet consisted of a variety of: breads, rolls, cinnamon buns, cake squares, juices, cut fruit, cold meats including lox, cheeses, jams, butters and a toaster to toast bread. The other side of the buffet was the hot food - made-to-order crepes and omeletes and then self serve scrambled eggs, beans, sausages, hashbrowns, bacon and the usual breakfast items. That pretty much covers the selection. All in all our experience was nice enough for a weekday brunch, but like I said at the outset of my review not that amazing for the price. read more

Went 11/24/13 I'm in the business and with that said I could shred the place or any place for that matter but I like to look at what they do right. And what they do right is Brunch, who can complain about having a leisurely meal on a beautiful day. The hotel is gorgeous from the outside and you walk-in and feel the history around you. The food and service was very good, work the price. I would recommend. read more

Wilfrid's Restaurant - Brunch, Cold Bar - Canadian (New) Near Me - Ottawa, Ontario

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My review is for a morning brunch. The decor is regular for hotels, with a nice view of Parliament depending on where you sit. The service has been excellent each time I have eaten here. The food in the buffet is very good, with good selection of items, including but not limited to an omelet station. The price is not inexpensive but it is possible to get breakfast included in your room rate with certain options and specials. It's a nice way to start your day (and not need lunch later!) read more

In Ottawa again for work and since I had a free local experience meal, decide to have a go at it. It was very good. The waitress was just wow. She always call me by Mr Hache, smiled and laugh at my stupid joke. She made my friend and I very comfortable. We had a bison carpaccio to start then the meat plus dessert. Everything was done with taste and tasty. read more

Wilfrid's Restaurant - Look at the sear. Mmm cook to perfection - Canadian (New) Near Me - Ottawa, Ontario

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Very romantic place. The food is high quality and well served. The only thing is the place is a bit pricy but for a special occasion is really worth it. read more

This restaurant is so outrageously over priced you actually leave your meal feeling badly about the total waste of your hard earned cash. Atmosphere feels really... processed. I know they are going for big elegance, but instead you feel like you are in a very generic dining room. Nothing interesting, or updated in the style. That said, they keep it clean. The service was perfect. Wait staff was unobtrusive, completely humble, helpful, and not at all in your face. The other diners, however, were actually rude and commented loudly near my friend that "the young women don't even have skirts on." Apparently we were under dressed? Whatever. No time for that kind of crap. The food was all over the map in terms of quality, and flavors. I had a coconut/kefir lime bisque that was actually fabulous. $17.00 for less than 1/2 cup of soup. That's all great. But the main was complete and utter garbage. I opted for their only vegetarian option, which was a fettucini (whole wheat) in a cream sauce with cherry tomatoes. Openly stated, it was sickening and I couldn't eat it. Neither could my friend who also ordered the same item. It looked like total slop on the plate and all I could think of was that they didn't even salt the dish, let alone try to make a sauce out of the cream. It was cream. poured on top of bland pasta. Just sickening. Oh, and did I mention it was $48 dollars? SERIOUSLY. I assure everyone, I could have made it myself at home for 5 bucks. It was killing me knowing my favorite Korean Grill was just four blocks away, and I should have taken everyone there instead. read more

Sunday brunch never fails to impress. Always leave this place satisfied and happy. Food is amazing and service spot on. Highly recommend.

Went for the Sunday buffet brunch - $40. It's pretty hard to justify the price, but dress up and imagine yourself a member of high society. However, if you really try and try everything, you will be full, and can probably skip dinner also. So it's really 3 meals for $40, and that's not bad value, especially if you can appreciate the atmosphere. The cold table has a variety of decent salads, cold cuts, and things like clams, shrimp and smoked salmon. The hot table has breakfast things like eggs, sausage, maple crepes, and lunch things like chicken, roast beef table, Yorkshire pudding, and an omelet table. There is also a tower of croissants and Danishes. The dessert table has 4 or 5 cheeses, and several cakes and pies to choose from. The food was pretty decent. The salmon was OK, not perfectly fresh. The roast beef was a touch fatty. Maple crepes are excellent. Potato salad was good. Good coffee. Service was pretty good. Desserts are tasty. As I said, as a single meal it's indefensible, but if you have a date, you can wake up late on a Sunday, get there for 11:30 or so, eat up, go for a walk around the Hill to blow off some calories, spend an afternoon on the couch reading or napping, and have a really light dinner (Like some toast), and call it a day. read more

Nice food, but not really worth the price. The steak was very good, as was the lobster bisque (although overly spiced). The creme brulee was fantastic. It was a good restaurant, but over-priced... read more

The starters, main courses and service were good. The highlight was the dessert table. It was a dessert buffet and all the desserts were very good! read more

Located within the Fairmont Château Laurier, the decor and ambience is suitably impressive. Waitstaff was attentive, if not a little stiff, but executed their job reasonably well. The food needed attention. If I am to pay $40-$50 for an entree, I expect it to be delightful. Our party of 5 was surprised to be so disappointed. Visually, the plates were well presented. But the food itself? The taste and the quality were just not that great. The lobster was rubbery and over-cooked, and tasted as though perhaps it had spent too long in the freezer before it was too long in the heat. The French onion soup was just uninspired. Prime rib was fine, but nothing so spectacular that it would draw me back again. My advice? Throw on a coat and venture down the road to a handful of restaurants in the area who are making great, innovative and local food that you will really enjoy. read more

I went here for a special event and was really excited to try it out. Oddly I was surprised of how old the food looked at the buffet (surprised because this place is expensive and it's in the Chateau Laurier). The fruits for the crepes and the crepes soaked in maple syrup looked like it was sitting there for hours... The sausages and pancakes were no different sadly. The service was good (the only good thing about this place). Semi-shocking considering how nice and prestigious the hotel is. I guess people don't realize how crap the food is because the place looks so nice. I sent an email to the restaurant and they replied with a pre written email saying thank you for your email hope you come again (some BS). They sent an email back afterwards when I told them thanks for not really responding to me. They asked to call to discuss and I called them and left a message and never got anything back. So now I'm writing here to tell you not to go there because it sucks. Should've went to Milestones, it's right down the street. read more

When I made my reservation to have high tea here with my partner I couldn't have been more excited. We got dressed up, arrived early to make sure everything was alright. I must mention that we requested a Vegan high tea, which they said was no problem. I checked with the hostess as well to make sure the server knew so I didn't have to ask about all the tea and food. She was lovely and assured me it was all a go! Then we got brought to our seat... There was clotted cream and milk on the table, obviously not Vegan, so I asked for it to be removed. The beautiful tower of treats arrived, very lackluster. I understand not a lot of Vegans go there but the baked goods were really not fresh and they didn't even have any Vegan whipped cream or something for the scones. Super sad moment. Then we get to the sandwiches, first two are amazing, super tasty and well thought out. The third, looked beautiful, but when I went to take a bite I noticed it smelled very strongly of fish. Now that's odd isn't it, since I have now told 3 different people that we are Vegan. I'm sure if I had said I was allergic or didn't eat animals for religious reasons they would have taken it more seriously. So, back to the sandwich, I took a bite, and yes, definitely it tasted like fish. So I told the server, he lightly argued with me about it then offered for me to speak to the chef. The chef came out and said it was possible it was cooked on the same flat top, completely unacceptable. I've worked in hospitality for over 10 years and that is not okay. He offered to make me another sandwich. It was fine. At the end of it there were no apologies made my a manager or even the server. There was no discount on our bill. So we paid, plus a 20% tip. I wrote the restaurant after and no one even answered me. This is appalling to me. Suffice to say, it'd be hard to convince me to go back. read more

I was disappointed with the Easter Brunch 2019 at The Chateau Wilfrid's restaurant. This is considered a high end brunch with the high end price. I was looking forward to the roast beef and it was terribly raw. I heard lots of guest were complaining. The chef went back to put it in the oven. Medium was not an option. Nor did they have turkey to fall back on. Just some regular toupie ham which was not even a roast ham. I heard about the great omelets but no one around doing omelets at the first sitting. Then, when I was ending my meal, the omelette guy was there hidden in the back room with the deserts. With all that I had no choice but to opt for eggs benedict. They were under cooked, not fresh and looked like they were sitting there for awhile. Not appetizing. Salad bar was ok. Little choices in the hot buffet choices. There was a cold seafood mountain that was nice to look at however I didn't trust the freshness of the seafood on the outside of the mountain. There are more appetizing ways to present seafood and keep it fresh for a long period of time. Definitely NOT high end quality. Dessert table was ok, they usually have better choices though. Quality is going down hill there, unfortunately. read more

This restaurant was amazing. The service was excellent and attended on you and never left you hanging. The food was a bit pricey but definitely worth every cent. I had the lobster and it was perfection. Also has a great view of the parliament. Would definitely go back!! read more