Busy building during the day that hosts plenty of offices and a small food court upstairs....and absolutely dead in the evening and weekends. The fam and I frequently venture to the World Exchange Plaza to explore downtown, and take advantage of the close proximity to Parliament and Sparks. They used to offer free parking on the weekends (which has sadly now come to an end). The$10.00 min for parking on a Friday night after 6, even if only being parked for 30 minutes is quiet steep. Yikes! The parking lot is underground and was mostly empty on a Friday evening, mind you its during the Winter. We parked here to take a stroll down Sparks street, so while it was convenient, its just way too much $$. There is a TD bank on site and a Shoppers Drug Mart. Restrooms are fantastic here, clean, and well looked after. I recommend using the restrooms upstairs by the food court. Be mindful as the restrooms are not open 24/7 and they do close. The main entrance doors lock by a certain time, and there is a garage parking entrance a small distance away. There are signs around the building stating the times of the closures for the restrooms and building. I would take note of those when parking. read more

I love food courts, but not the usual food courts that contain mostly chains like New York Fries, Sbarro, Thai Express, Manchu Wok, etc. I'm talking food courts that are mostly independent vendors. I mean some of the people making food at these places are just as skilled and talented as the chefs at restaurants; they just don't have the resources or perhaps they don't have the desire to open a restaurant, but still have the passion to feed others with their food. Admittedly, not all independent vendors serve good food, but I do like supporting the little guys by giving them a chance. Toronto has Village by the Grange, Markham has Pacific Mall, and First Markham Place, and Montreal had the Faubourg - I'm talking in it's heyday (circa late 1990's) not present day where there are only 2 vendors left and the place is essentially a ghost town [sniffle, sniffle]. Man, I loved that place, but hey, sentimentality is for chumps [wipes away tears] and I am digressing... Anyway, all this is to say that the food court at the World Exchange Plaza is probably the closest thing to a "cool food court" that Ottawa has. While it has a mix of chains and independents, the independent vendors do outnumber the chains. The World Exchange Plaza is an office and retail building. Once upon a time it also had a movie theatre, but that has since closed. It's actually quite pretty and has a huge atrium in the middle (with sculptures of narwhals and beluga whales hanging from the ceiling). The eastern side looks a bit like The Roman Colosseum. The outside has steps leading down to it where people like to sit during nice weather to eat their lunches. There is also an outdoor amphitheatre. When I went by today there was a group playing music for the lunch crowd. The main retailers are Shoppers Drug Mart, and the LCBO. The food court is on the second floor and the vendors are: Muffin Plus/The Soup Guy, Asian Gourmet, Shakey's, Kebob Kebob, Tasha's, Cheesy Pizza & Pasta, Booster Juice, Subway, Thai Express, Sushi Shop and Second Cup. The eating area is kept very clean and there are seats that are a bit secluded that over look the street and seats that are more central that over look the atrium. The washrooms are also very clean. At lunchtime it's full of office workers. There are very few babies, kids, and tourists. Overall, a good place to grab a quick bite in a nice environment. read more

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After taking a tour of the Parliament building, my relatives took us here for a quick bite to eat. The World Exchange Plaza is easy walking distance from the Parliament. We headed straight to the food court inside here. I did not pay attention to anything else here. All I can tell you is that they have clean restrooms, they keep the dining areas spic and span, and they have a variety of dining choices here. My wife got some Thai food from Thai Express. It wasn't too bad. I got pizza from Cheesy Pizza & Pasta, and it tasted good. Got me a tasty tart from Kebob Kebob for dessert. 3.5 stars for the World Exchange Plaza in Ottawa. read more

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On November 2nd, I parked in the paid parking lot at the world exchange plaza. Two extremely rude security guards (one with brown curley hair and the other one had a receding hairline) would not let you use the bathroom on the 2nd floor near the food court. One said it closed at 4pm but would not let you check the door. There was no sign anywhere that said it closed at 4pm. They followed me down the escalator and one screamed out get out of the the building. I paid for parking in the building and had a right to get my car. You should be able to use the bathroom without being harassed be security. The management should fire these 2 rude security guards. Cameron Izzard read more

The World Exchange Plaza is a building in Downtown Ottawa that is seriously underappreciated - it's a hidden gem. Located in the core of downtown Ottawa, it is a welcoming place of business that successfully integrates an office building, a hotel and a shopping centre. The World Exchange Plaza has a lot of interesting details. The ceilings are very high, the finishing and railings are modern. Part of the exterior resembles the Roman Coliseum. In general the building is striking, and has a a very regal look. I have always had a fondness for the suspended belugas in the main entrance area. The 'shopping centre' portion of the building is minimal, but the second floor food court is the best in the Capital. I absolutely love the theatres - it's the anchor that brings me to visit! It's been an unknown commodity to most residents, as it's pretty much dead on the weekends and evenings. Hence, one of Ottawa's best kept secrets... FREE PARKING EVERY WEEKEND! The downtown hotels definitely want it kept secret. There are two parking entry points: * Metcalfe & Albert * Queen & Metcalfe read more

Jeff's review does a great job of describing this plaza. I enjoy it's lofty ceilings and surprising assortment of offices, stores, and food vendors. I mostly go here for a quick bite and to run some errands over lunch. I stopped by the Canada Post located inside the convenience store here--the guy behind the counter was super quick and managed his lineup really wall. The food court is one of the best that I've been to in the downtown core--there's a good selection of food and it is nice and clean (the bathrooms here are infinitely better than the Rideau Centre). I like their recycling receptacles especially. Several of the dining options are cash only, but there are a few cash machines in the building. In fact, on my first visit I went to the Soup Guy and failed to notice the cash only sign, but the cashier was super nice and let me come back with my money. 17/30 read more

The World Exchange Plaza is a much fancier building. It's just so pretty inside, quite gorgeous actually, and gives it a much more upscale, classier feel, reflecting the building's businesses and tenants. The building has many different offices of major companies like Microsoft, Ernst and Young, and CTV, but it's also popular for its shopping mall, food court, and movie theatre. The clothing in the stores is mostly business wear and professional apparel and accessories. Other than the shopping, you can find a wide variety of restaurants here. There's pasta and pizza, a deli, a kebob restaurant, and a ton of Asian fare. read more

There's some nice stores in here and a small food court with some nice lunch time foods. But mostly it's offices. The building is pretty clean overall and has free parking underground on weekends which is great! Has a couple coffee shops and lots of seating options. Shoppers drug mart is in here as well as a smaller store and also a small lcbo! Free parking on weekends :) read more

The food court at the World Exchange Plaza has a Subway, a sushi place, Middle Eastern food, a pasta/pizza bar, a Thai Express, and more. My favourite vendors are Shakey's and Soup Guy. Shakey's makes amazing burgers, especially if you are looking for a veggie burger (and good ones are hard to come by). Soup Guy has amazing soups but they also make amazing sandwiches. They make a vegetarian one that is one of the best I've ever had. They also offer some different salads, which are good if you want to get those. If you get a chance, when you see the giant oatmeal or chocolate chip cookies they have, grab them while you can because they are bakery quality amazing. I haven't tried their muffins yet, but I have no doubt they would also be delicious. The soups taste like they're homemade and feature quality, wholesome ingredients that make them so savoury and so worth it. They're so much better than the bigger name franchises that sell salty water and call it soup. read more

I am sorry about the World Exchange plaza movie theater closing down. I loved that movie theater very much. I went to see the Hobbit #2 last Monday. I am going to see Nebraska this week which will probably be the last movie theater I see before this movie closes. I prefer it to Silvercity because I can at least walk there by foot and when I take the taxi from the Rideau Centre, it is not as expensive. I find that the toilets at the Silvercity do not work and it is extremely noisy. I find that the snacks which they have at the world exchange plaza are cheaper and it is less noisy and scruffy looking. I do like the Bytowne cinema, but I hate having to wait out in the freezing cold to see a movie. At least, leave one movie theater opened downtown. I suggest that Rainbow or CineStarz take over the World Exchange plaza downtown and they can show second run movies. They do that at the Rainbow at St. Laurent and at CineStarz Orleans. You can also call the World Exchange Plaza the Bytowne plaza in which it shows Hollywood movies. The Bytowne on rideau street can still show foreign movies and older films. The World Exchange plaza shows movies earlier, whereas some of the movies at the bytowne show movies quite late at night. If you do not want to have anymore cinemas at the World Exchange plaza, at least include one at the Rideau Centre expansion. I have no intention to go to the one in Lansdowne park. To me, it is ridiculous to take a bus or drive there just to see movies in the suburbs. Silvia Logan read more