Ottawa’s best food and drink producers
In a city full of Canada’s best farmers’ markets, Ottawa is also home to some very dedicated artisans creating incredible flavours. Here are just a few of them.
Ottawa’s best food and drink producers
In a city full of Canada’s best farmers’ markets, Ottawa is also home to some very dedicated artisans creating incredible flavours. Here are just a few of them.
As Canada’s capital, Ottawa's food scene is a bit of a foodie secret, hidden behind the political news that comes out of the city. But for those in the know, it is one of Canada’s most celebrated culinary hotspots, with a real emphasis on locally grown produce, a great restaurant scene and some of the best food markets in the country.
The real heroes of Ottawa’s food scene, however, are the artisans and farmers who take incredible ingredients and turn them into something delicious. You’ll find many of them at the city’s ByWard Market area, where hundreds of stalls and shops selling everything from beer to locally fermented kimchi can be found jostling for space amongst the restaurants and boutiques. But you can find something tasty wherever you are in Ottawa, thanks to a thriving interest in good food that’s growing every year.
If you’re in the city, one of the easiest ways to spot a shop or stand selling food and drink made with locally sourced ingredients is the Savour Ottawa badge, which will be proudly displayed by the owners. This is a scheme set up to promote Ottawan businesses that use ingredients from local farms and producers. Meats, vegetables, honey and cider are some of the most common items found under the Savour Ottawa brand, but you can also find cheeses, pies, jams and preserves. It’s impossible to feature all the fantastic artisanal producers toiling away in Ottawa and its surrounding area, but we’ve picked out five that you should be keeping an eye out for when visiting the city.
Art-Is-In Bakery
Founded by Keith and Stephanie Mathieson, Art-Is-In Bakery combines the technical skill of the finest boulangeries in Paris with the trendy vibes of New York’s café scene. Kevin’s classical pastry training means he knows exactly how to produce fantastic breads, baguettes and croissants, but he’s not afraid to think outside the box and get a little experimental – think butterscotch cream cronuts, mini fruit cobblers and Gruyère and onion sourdough. While many of the breads are available in shops throughout Ottawa, the actual bakery is also home to a popular café, where breakfast, brunch and lunch is catered for with finesse.
250 City Centre Ave, Unit 112, K1R 1C7, Ottawa. artisinbakery.com
Hall's Apple Market
Hall’s dates back to 1947 and is still owned by the family today. Originally a plain old apple farm, a disastrous freeze that wiped out half the orchard in the 1980s forced the Halls to start focusing on selling their crop as well as growing it. This move turned out to be a huge success, and now Hall’s Apple Market is home to a pick-your-own orchard, a bakery and a country boutique. The farm itself is based just outside Ottawa, but you can find Hall’s’ apples, bakes, ciders and jams at farmers’ markets across the city.
2930 2nd Concession Road, Brockville. hallsapplemarket.com
Backyard Edibles
Not all farms have to be outside the city – something Madeleine Maltby and Mathew Mason-Philips set out to prove in 2015. Their initiative Backyard Edibles transforms underused spaces in the city into mini vegetable plots, which are then harvested and all the produce sold at farmers’ markets and independent greengrocers in the city. It gives Ottawan residents the chance to get stuck in and learn more about how food is grown (plus a share of the bounty), helps strengthen local communities, and makes hyper-local produce available to anyone who wants it. The resulting produce is of the very best quality, too – think heirloom tomatoes, microherbs and organic squash.
250 City Centre Avenue, Bay 228, Ottawa. backyardedibles.ca
Stubbe Chocolates
There’s a surprisingly high number of chocolatiers working in Ottawa, but none can claim the heritage and experience of Stubbe, which is the oldest family-owned business in the Ottawa Valley. It was originally set up in 1989, but the company’s chocolate-making history dates back to 1845 in Meppen, Germany. Master chocolatier Heinrich Stubbe creates truffles, tortes, pastries and chocolates to the very highest level of quality, and is even in the process of setting up his own exclusive supply of couverture chocolate from Columbia. The truffles come in over forty flavours, and the cakes are true works of art. The shop itself is always busy, but if you can get a table at the on-site tasting lounge, you can sit in and try some of the incredible tortes by the slice.
375 Dalhousie Street, Ottawa. stubbechocolatesottawa.com
Tooth and Nail Brewery
Craft beer is huge in Canada and Ottawa certainly hasn’t been left out, with new breweries popping up all over the city in the past few years. Tooth and Nail stands out from the crowd as it’s a brewery, a bar and a beer shop all in one. Based in an old printing factory in the trendy neighbourhood of Hintonburg, the business might only be a couple of years old but it’s already responsible for some of the most popular beers in the city. The Rabble Rouser IPA, Vim and Vigor pilsner and Fortitude Stout should be at the top of your tasting list.
3 Irving Avenue, Ottawa. toothandnailbeer.com
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