La Terrasse in Ottawa

Stopped on Sunday afternoon for a drink, the chalk board at the front said it was Happy Hour - but apparently thats only on week days (on our way out when I suggested to the host that they erase it on days it didnt apply, she just stared blankly at me). We were seated quickly but then didnt see our waiter again until he brought the bill. The manager saved the day and eventually came to take our order and bring our drinks. Nobody came back to check on how we were doing or if we wanted another drink.

nice place for a reception, love the cozy alcoves with seating

July 2024 Delicious food, great service, nice atmosphere (as it is a patio), expensive prices. Food

This is the only meal of my life that I can honestly describe as so bad it was good. The Chateau Laurier should lose a star just for this meal. My colleagues and I were in Ottawa for an international conference. We arrived to a half-empty restaurant and were told we could only sit in the lounge, where they have the tiny tables only big enough for a beer. One member of the group, who was staying at the hotel, seemed very disappointed, perhaps because he didn t understand how we would eat dinner off tiny tables, so I asked how long we d have to wait for a real table. The hostess seemed surprisingly annoyed by this question, but answered 35 minutes. Her colleague answered, yes, 35-45 minutes. We didn t have anywhere to be so we said we d sit and have a drink in the lounge and wait. We were told we d have to pay the drink bill before moving to a table. I don t understand why the bar tab can t be transferred to a table, but not a big deal. Five minutes later, they return and announce they have found a table. I m not sure where they found it, but we move there. So we order drinks. My European colleague asks for a beer, do you have something Canadian? The waitress says she doesn t have that. We are all briefly puzzled that the Canadian restaurant has no Canadian beer. I don t realize until ten minutes later that she probably meant Canadian brand beer. Our Middle Eastern colleague orders a burger, no bacon, medium. He is informed burgers can only be well done. He acquiesces. The European also orders the burger. Two Americans choose the beef carpaccio instead, lol. Then the food arrives. Of course this is the kind of restaurant where they hold up the food and say who had the ? This isn t a five-star ho oh IT IS! Ah, burger without bacon, here you are, they say, handing the Middle Easterner the burger with two slices of bacon clearly sticking out from under the bun. The baconless burger arrives with fries and the bebaconed burger comes with a salad. This is intriguing since neither customer was asked what they wanted on the side. The Qatari reaches for the fries. The waitress exclaims, oh, you had the salad, and literally reaches over and GRABS THE FRIES AWAY FROM HIM. I wanted the fries, he says nicely. You had the salad, she replies coldly. My American colleague turns to her and very kindly says, I don t think he asked for a salad. The waitress shrugs and says, well, that s what I have written here. I think even a one-star hotel restaurant, at this point, would just have said, oh, I m so sorry, let me go get you some fries, am I wrong? Are the fries gold-plated? Plus, the fries turn out to be important, because the burgers are cold. My single tomato sliced into four pieces, embellished with a dozen or so chickpeas, occupied the upper third of a normal-sized plate, and it was lovely if stunningly little food for $24. Do have a drink here and enjoy the view. Or better, have a drink elsewhere and then enjoy the same view from somewhere else.

The food quality was not worth it at all.

Pricey, but the food is good, and the location/view is fantastic.

It was our anniversary and we were so excited to go out. It wasn t busy and We waited over an hour for two drinks. Very disappointed in the service, we ended up leaving because it was taking so long.

Bilingual service

Great ambiance and scenery but the service is poor and food is average at best. We had the pizza and it was not cooked on the bottom and the wait staff was uninterested in being pleasant and attentive.

Beware of this place, astronomical prices (overpriced hotel special) for food that is tasteless with no presentation. Pizza/dough was cold and soggy, sauce was cold and it was not edible. Worst was the 72$ + taxes/tip 14 oz steak & fries that came in at about half the size, with about 5 fries on a plate. No flavor, no spices, no salt/pepper. This was for sure the worst steak Ive had in a restaurant. Avoid at all cost! Ive been to many Fairmonts and this was definitely not up to par. Avoid La Terrasse at all cost, your local hot-dog stand makes better steaks!

A wonderful establishment with a great atmosphere. Its worth coming for the staff, they are polite and friendly. I can t say anything about the cuisine, I haven t tried it, but I m sure I ll be back

I recently visited this restaurant for my friends birthday, and I was thoroughly disappointed with the service. The staff was unhelpful and inattentive to our needs. After waiting for 2.5 hours due to unexpected rain, and despite there being more than four available tables, we were told that they could not seat us or take our order. The staff seemed completely unconcerned about how inconvenient this was for us as customers, even though we made every effort to be patient and understanding of the weather conditions. While the restaurant has a great view, the rude and inconsiderate behavior of the staff has ensured that I will never return.

Overpriced, very slow service. The view is nice but it is not worth the pricey drinks and the hour you will wait to get them.

Are we at the Fairmont or the local bistro? Drinking a cocktail for $25 Cad on a Corona table and glasses that you could have bought at Ikea is shameful!! The waitress wanted to place us on red plastic tables even though the canapes were available. Used to Fairmonts, this one is catastrophic.

Excellent location and great atmosphere, but on this night, it did not make up for the lower than expected quality of deserts or the absolute horrible service.

Very overpriced & the servers obviously hate people and their job, always angry.

There were 6 of us celebrating an event, we had 3 glasses of water from an aggressive, rushed and poorly organized waitress and to order, we had to wait and wait despite the fact that the restaurant was not full. ..in short its a shame because the terrace is so beautiful.

Ive had a great brunch there. Nice food and service, good vine choices. They offer happy hours discounts. Food

It was a good time, food is so yummy. Honestly I was surprised that there are a lot of lost potentials and missed opportunities for a place like this. We asked for fresh juice which is expected in this place and in summer, I was surprised when informed that all juice were canned and cheap. I blame the restaurant management. Investing in juice blender 50$at Walmart and a bag of frozen fruit 12$from costco is ABC management for such a place.

Went on Tuesday evening with 4 colleagues, just after a huge torrential pour, was nice to see they have an awning for coverage! To our delight, they also had live music starting at 630pm, which was really enjoyable especially given its a non-weekend night and we had no reservation! Great variety of food for individual and sharing - the lobster roll and pizzas were a hit, delicious and fairly portioned. Service from Yasmine was also excellent, she was attentive and her suggestions for cocktails and food were spot on! Special thanks to MOD who granted the Accor discount for our colleague. Will be back before end of summer!

Fabulous views and great drinks.

The view overlooking the river and the locks is beautiful. the service is friendly but slow. The food is expensive and pretty average. Its a very nice place to come for a drink but there much better place to eat.

Great views of the locks and parliament and a great atmosphere. They serve Nespresso for coffee, which was disappointing. What s more disappointing is that they don t state that it s Nespresso on the menu. They just surprise you with it.

I wish I could give a zero star. We stayed in Fairmont hotel. Yesterday night we ordered a starter which came after main course. After 20 minutes waiting for simple beer and wine, the older waitress with red glasses brought me white wine although I ordered a rose wine. Then I asked if it s a rose wine, she answered yes, this is very pale rose. Now I searched on the web and realized they actually gave me white wine. I wish I took a picture of it. She was constantly touching my back which made me feel uncomfortable. I also did not like her jokes like; let s pay and call it a night it s inappropriate for this environment. Never come back.

They changed their menu from last year for the better. We had all the pizzas that were cooked perfectly. Had tuna which was also very good. Sangria best we had. Service was attentive. Can t beat the location. Nice breeze on hot summer day. Not cheap but worth checking out.

Overpriced restaurant with decent tasting food and subpar service. Location is nice but not worth the $$$$$$ (better quality and experience for less $ elsewhere in the market). PROS: Salami pizza was tasty. Portion size was very sufficient for one person. Location is nice. Staff friendly. CONS: Pizzas start at $29; orange juice is $6; everything is overpriced; our server only checked in on us once when we got the food and never refilled our waters. We had to flag down staff multiple times to get refills; kitchen could not confirm whether the gluten-free tofu poke bowl was made with gluten-free soy or not (soy sauce is not often GF). Also, not sure whats up with the poke bowl in a jar thing. They bring it in a jar and then plop it on your plate like its some cool presentation but its just silly (it did make me laugh so Ill forgive it).

I ve given this restaurant 3 chances now, and sadly I probably won t be going back. The views and atmosphere are great, and the food is pretty good, but the service is one of the slowest and worst I ve had.

The service and views were both incredible! I really enjoyed my time here and felt no rush to eat or just enjoy the view and weather. The food was okay but not incredible, but everything else made up for that.

Incredible view from this hidden gem in Ottawa. Attended a special event and this was an amazing experience.

Worst restaurant service I ve ever had in my life. Worst manager that never came back to fix the 25 mins no water issue while table sat at the same time had appetizers, drinks and shots already. By the time we got our water another table beside us was sat. They got their food and drinks before we even got out drinks. Took 45 minutes to get 2 cocktails for our anniversary. I requested a manager. I never got one so I went up to look for one while waiting for our drinks. Spoke to one that told me he just got on shift and he doesn t know the whole story yet and will come back to me. HE NEVER SHOWED UP AGAIN. This was the most trash service I ve ever had in my life. Couldn t have more disrespectful staff. 45 min wait for 2 cocktails at 4pm not busy Would never recommend an establishment like this. Let alone somewhere that is supposed to be higher in value. Don t go.

Portions are small, prices are high. I knew not to expect good food but what I was surprised about was the small portions. Youre definitely paying for the view. Great view, good place to sit and chill.

So many patios in Ottawa....but theres only one Terrasse. Imagine a place that offers a view of gothic architecture, canal locks dropping into a great river, back dropped by ancient hills, all whilst enjoying wonderful food and drinks beside a castle. Welcome to La Terrasse!

Was never even attended to once seated. Waited for 15 minutes and nobody came to the table. Manager did nothing to rectify the issue. Pretty sad that this is the type of management a hotel that charges more than $500 a night employs.

This place, not restaurant is a 5 because of the view. Obviously over priced! Had a salade Nicoise and thought for $28 I would get a little gem of a salad. Well no. A novice chef would make such a tasteless bland salad. Totally disappointed on the quality. A third of an egg ! And lots of salad. But what a view !

The servers are great and the food is good, but the kitchen and bar are painfully slow. I ordered the tuna tartar and the fennel salad (delicious) to share. The wine list is limited but good. Unfortunately it took close to half hour for the wine to arrive. After over an hour of waiting waiting for our main dishes, we ended up cancelling the order and leaving. La Terrasse has lots of potential based on the quality of the food and staff, but it also substantial work to do before the experience is good, let alone worth the high price point.

Came here on a Friday evening, their outdoor patio was not full, yet they seemed overwhelmed. Waited over 20 minutes for drinks, the salad an appetizer came out before our drinks. They forgot a glass of wine as well. The main course never came, so we just asked for the bill and left. I really wanted to enjoy the experience, but after waiting for a meal that never came, it was ruined.

Horrible Mother s Day experience. Service was slow. Food was below par. And was never busy enough to excuse any of the above. First time and last time I will ever come here. So many better options in the city. Do not recommend.

The level of incompetence of this restaurant is baffling. Worst service in the city by far. Useless is undeserving of a bad rating but unfortunately did not compensate for the poor experience we had. Manament is incapable of managing guests expectations and finding solutions. The most underwhelming experience I ve ever had. Do not waste time and money

Setting and Service great. The food for the price was not good in my opinion. The Eggplant dip was bland. And when I ordered the Lobster Roll I was expecting actual chunks of lobster, not shredded from maybe a can? $42 for a shredded Lobster Roll and side Garden Salad. Not very worth. If you don t mind spending $50 on two cocktails it s a great spot to hang. I probably won t be getting food there again

The restaurant is very quiet, and low traffic (we went on Mother s Day). It over looks the parliament and the Rideau canal, it has great views. The server was very polite, attentive, quite interactive but not too much hovering and made good recommendations. This was the best part of the service tbh. The menu was fairly limited/small, but offers at least one option in meat, seafood and vegetarian and vegan. Which you will appreciate if you have a picky party. The kids meal doesn t come with drinks m, and these were fairly expensive as well, but so is most of downtown s finer dining scene. The quality of most of the dishes were either good/ok or great. The mains were just ok. The burger and lobster roll breads weren t super fresh, and the lobster roll appeared to be imitation meat. I would ve expected better for the price. But the food arrived in decent time and hot so I was happy with that. Overall I would say it was a good experience, just missing the mark for great (based on the smaller menu and not-so-great entrees) but all else is a high rating from me and my family. I would recommend to anyone who asks about it, but we will not return immediately for seconds, as will be trying other restaurants around ottawa.

David is the best server I ve ever had! He made our experience exceptional!

Food and views were great. Service was terrible. Theyre not busy at all, but said they had a bunch of reservation. We came back a few hours later with a reservation, and had to wait 10 minutes to get someone to sit us. More 20 minutes to get served. When the food came, we had to wait another 10 minutes for cutlery and napkins. We order the watermelon sangria, and the drink was spilling everywhere on the table, but on our glasses. Dont waste your money going there!

Well. Mother s Day was a busy. Made resos for 4:45 in order to avoid the rush. Took 30 mins for the server to even bring us water. Felt horrible for the server who seemed to be serving every table in the restaurant and running around with his head cut off. Asked if the seafood platter was enough to serve 2 people and was assured it would be enough for 3 people. It was not. And was told the platter included lobster tails. By the manager himself. No mention of up charge. It did not. And manager did not admit to making the mistake of describing something nonexistent. It was insulting that they did not take any ownership. The shift supervisor was horrible and was unable to find a resolution. Will never come again. This place is overhyped. And understaffed. And food is mediocre at best.

This place is like a fake designer bag. You think it s the real deal but it s run and managed by incompetent children with no service skills. Not to mention that the food is awful. Nothing special but the view. They should make it a cocktail bar and hire actual bartenders. Do not waste your time.

I came here with my family. Looking forward to a great experience. We made reservations and the place was 70% empty. Took 45 mins to get water at the table. Took an additional 20 minutes for our drink order. We were there a total of 3 hours and hated every second. The food is disgusting. Seafood is horrible. Whalesbone is far superior. I will never step foot in here again. Pierre is a joke of a supervisor.

Dined here this past Thursday for lunch. This restaurant truly makes me LOL. Hostess s we re pleasant and our male server was nice, however very unknowledgeable. The food menu didn t excite us so we opted into getting both the meat and cheese boards. Why have someone run food who can t explain the dish? Young man dropped off the boards (which by the way looked like a child put it together) and my partner kindly asked him to describe the different meats/ cheeses and condiments. He had no idea and proceeded to ask our server who winged it what a cringe experience. I then asked our server what kind of jam was given and he said uhh probably apricot . We were turned off by the lack of knowledge and ultimately just paid for the bill and left. If you re looking for quality & aesthetically pleasing charcuterie and knowledgeable servers, go to Soca Kitchen. Unfortunately we won t be back here.

I stayed at the Fairmont hotel and made a reservation at the La Terrasse before visiting. It was a bit tricky to find as its actually located outside to the left of the building, I had to ask the front for how to find it. They had plenty of tables and it has a great view of the parliament buildings which made a great dining atmosphere. We were hoping for brunch, however there is no brunch menu only lunch and dinner. While the food was enjoyable, the service was a bit slow.

I didnt expect, that they will charge for hot water. 7 dollars not a big deal, but just an unpleasant pettiness.

This is THE ultimate summer patio! With views overlooking Parliament and the Ottawa River, you get the perfect sunset spot. The What-A-Melon sangria is so fun, served in a full watermelon! The food was absolutely amazing. The server was kind, friendly, and attentive. I will absolutely be back!

Great view but the food does not do justice to what you would expect from the Chateau Laurier. Foie gras served with rancid fries, dry pasta salad with basic cooked shrimps. We were overall very disappointed.

Had drinks only because their Canada Day menu was reduced. Absolutely lovely backdrop and place to enjoy a drink. Might go back today - the drink inside the watermelon with a spout is extremely tempting. Service was normal. Not bad, but not typical Fairmont 5-star.

Super friendly Katie assisted us well. Food is good and the place has great view.

Average food at best and very overpriced. It is the Fairmont though, lovely view and live saxophonist. So youre paying for the vibe than the food.

Wednesday night, 6 pm, extreme heat wave, about 5-6 tables are occupied. They sit me in direct sun in front of the speaker (there is a singer on site). I asked to change place because it is so so loud and really hot in direct sun. That seems to be really annoying for them. I have a glass of water, order a 20$ drink and a 28$ salad. No one ever comes back. No water refill. I have to ask for the check after waiting for a good 15 minutes after I was done eating while the 5 waiters are chatting at the bar. Very disappointing.

High top stools are a killer on the back

Got seated, waiter/waitress never showed up, we waited a very long time and decided to just leave. Awful service for a Friday night. Wasn t even busy . It looks like everyone complains about the same thing for this restaurant, why doesn t anyone take the reviews seriously and fix the issue. The issue is clearly the service, takes forever to even get water these are basic elements of running a successful restaurant, get with the program please! Will not be coming back.

Service is terrible. We got water and one drink and then we re moved to another table by the hostess after being moved we never had a server come again 45 minutes had passed and we wanted to order more. We asked 3 people to help serve us an they all never came back. One young girl with brown hair server blamed us saying we moved tables and that s why we didn t get served which was not true as the hostess moved us herself. This waitress was extremely rude and should definitely not be working in fine dining. For how expensive this place is save your money. The view is great but if you can t get served and have extremely rude service don t waste your money. No one ever apologized or tried to make it right.

Enough choices on the menu to satisfy any palette. I always check ahead just to make sure regardless. Portions were just right. Loved the presentation of the appetizers.

We stopped by to eat and have some drinks. There was not a host available for more than five minutes. Got a table and no one came to greet us so we ended leaving. We were not the only ones leaving. Horrible experience.

Excellent service

I chose the Terrasse to cater my daughters wedding reception ( party of 20). I chose the menu with a choice of three entrees and a variety of appetizers. Dressed the tables myself with the help of the staff to create a more elegant vibe. The food was very good, the ambiance lovely and the service was stellar. Our server Ulysses was absolutely wonderful! Milana and Arthur who both deal with reservations were also exceptional. If you are planning a small reception, I highly recommend the Château Laurier Terrasse.

Do yourself a favour and go elsewhere. We were a group of 8 for a birthday party. In 3 hours of dining we received 2 drinks. The service couldn t be slower. Just brutal for such a nice establishment.

Had absolutely ridiculous experience today. I booked a high top table for myself and my 3 friends, one of them had birthday another one got out first time after giving a birth. As we came we were brought to the regular table not a high top. We asked why we can not sit at the table we booked but response was because booking doesn t mean guaranteed, which is ridiculous. Waitress instead of trying to solve the issue was making it even more complicated. Afterwords manager came over and said the same that booking a table doesn t mean guaranteed. At the end we were at the low table without clear view to fireworks. When we get up to take some pictures we were told to go back to the seats coz we were blocking the view for the front row people who paid 300$ to watch it. It s so nonsense. At the table we probably waited about 20 minutes to get water. Overall that was the worst experience at La Terrasse and we all left with no excitement whatsoever.

Terrible service. Food was cold and not worth the price. I really wanted to enjoy this place due to the lovely location but the service was extremely slow and the waitress was quite sassy. We expected a high quality meal but it was mediocre at best. I do not recommend if you are looking for good service/good food. The views are beautiful but that all they have going for them.

Went here with my daughter we were late due to trouble finding parking but we called ahead to let them know the hostess was really sweet and understanding. When we came we ordered our drinks and starter we never got our starter the server a tall french man with glasses kept coming to our table and speaking in French even though through our reservation we requested English. He made us feel really uncomfortable and unwelcome as we were very obviously English speakers. I had to go get him to let him know we wanted our bill. When I was using the machine to pay he literally stood right next to me over looking my shoulder which is soo inappropriate and wrong. I had to turn the machine away as I was putting my pin in. After I tipped him I guess too low for his liking he asked me what was wrong with the service. Agin inappropriate this isn t Montreal I shouldn t have tipped him anything. Very disappointing only goo thing was the view and hostess. Parking: Give yourself a lot of time to find parking

This is the perfect place for watching fireworks over the river. A nice bottle of wine, tuna tartare and a pizza, that could have had more cheese and less sauce, made for a nice outdoor night. Service by David was excellent.

Had drinks and appetizers. They were very good and our server Natalie was excellent. Nice view.

Writing this as I sit at the location. Service brings this place down considerably. Hostess ignored us as she continued to chat socially to other staff. At 10.20 I asked for fries was told last call had past. They never told us that they were making the call. Location is the only reason to come

Don t do it. Service is terrible and so is the food. They should be embarrassed about the experience they offer.

Server was great , my salad was good , just took a long time to get , but very happy they offered my whole group a free dessert for the wait times

Very nice place with a nice view and well located Suitable with children

Enjoyable place with a very kind staff, the drinks and the food are not super affordable but the quality is high, the view is gorgeous! Nice for couples and families

Tuka was an amazing server, great wine menu and the food was really good..

Nice terrace overlooking the Ottawa River and Gatineau with very friendly service, good food and beautiful view. Prices are upscale, but the view and ambiance are also very nice....

Service after we got our first drink was very slow. Was hard to get a server over to order another drink. When our food finally came there was no condiments on our table. So we had to wait for that to come after. The food was cold. Had to wait to get the waiters attention. Finally after 7 minutes the manager came by. He took my meal and got me another in 8 minutes. By this time my wife was done her meal. So she watched me eat my meal. How special that was. Go for dinner and eat at separate times. Paid $115.26 for our meal. Not worth 30 bucks for what we went and dealt with. But you have to pay or your in trouble. Never eat there if you work hard for your money and dont want to waste it on this place. If you are in business and get to write it off as a loss then of course things are different. But just save your money and eat somewhere else. Don Martin

Went to La Terrasse with my family, the place and the view were awesome! But the food didnt live up to it. If they focus more on the food, they could be one of the best restaurants in ottawa. Hope the management addresses this and steps up their food game

The number for the Terrasse on Google is to the hotel concierge. We called well in advance for a reservation and when we arrived the service at the terrace said we hadnt made a reservation. The staff on the terrace were unapologetic about the situation. Bad service.

Cons: very slow to arrive food (1.5 hrs), food wasn t fully cooked, expensive ($6 can of Diet Coke) Pros: great view, we had a good server

We loved this place After a long day of hiking and walking in DT Ottawa, it s a nice place to wind down especially if you are staying there too. Staff was nice and polite. Though there was a mix up in our food orders but Lanka, the server, was able to find a resolution. We ordered pizza after having drinks, before the last call and waited. When everyone was closing down we came to know that the order never went through. Though it doesn t make a difference to us if we get 25$ off our bill, but we very much appreciated the apologies and the way she tried to make us feel less hungry. And hey, staff loved our dogs and we love people who love our dogs so all good. We couldn t get our pizza but our dogs did get the treats. So they give 5 stars.

The location is very nice! Food is ok and pricey and service is slow. Had a great time though!

Really really disappointed about this place, food was barely ok, drinks were good, service was slow even tho place wasnt full, brought me a dirty spoon for dessert, asked her to change the spoon and the clean one was even dirtier... For the prices you would expect much much more....

Very disappointing experience. We were sat at a table. After about 35 minutes, we finally were able to put in a drink order. We ordered a bottle of wine. We then waited another 15 minutes for our wine to arrive. Poor service overall. View was nice. We didn t eat here because the service was so poor and there were TONS of wasps on other peoples food. Probably won t go back. Unfortunate as it is a lovely view.

Wonderful location for weddings and corporate events.

I rarely find myself writing negative reviews, as I believe in giving establishments a fair chance. However, my recent experience at this restaurant was so disappointing that I feel compelled to share my disappointment. We ordered the seafood platter for four people. They said it would be enough for three, so we ordered two more dishes just in case. To my dismay, the portions were shockingly small, leaving all four of us dissatisfied. The biggest letdown was the crab legs, they were EMPTY! Considering the premium price we paid for this dish, it felt like a cruel joke. We also had to wait 30 minutes for a server to acknowledge our presence and bring us some water, and it wasnt even a busy evening. I can confidently say that this restaurant falls far short of providing a satisfying experience. Save yourself the disappointment and explore other dining options.

The worth of all for spending your time and money in the entire Ottawa and Gatineau area

Very beautiful terrace with breathtaking views of the canal!

Would not recommend the lobster roll. 42$ and incredibly disappointing. Looked like the lobster came out of a can and bun was stale. Overall, I would not go back.

The unique view is the highlight of this place. We had a very nice sunset dinner there. The food was pretty good but not exceptional, the service was pleasant. I had mussels and fries, with congolaise sauce, it was spicy and full of flavour, delicious!

A pretty view and relaxing atmosphere, but the food was mediocre. Sadly the waiter spilled a glass of cold water on my mother during our visit on a chilly October evening.

Pricey but worth it. Enjoy a delicious meal with a gorgeous view of sunset at Rideau canal. They need reservations so make it online before going.

Overall, not a good experience. The view is fantastic and the drinks are cute. Service is awful and meals are mediocre. I understand that understaffing is an issue, but this is a Fairmont restaurant... It took 20 minutes to take our order and at least 40 minutes to receive our food. At that point, the meals were lukewarm at best. I had steak frites. I asked for a steak knife, I was told there were no steak knives available. No condiments were offered for the frites (this happened to the table next to us as well). We were never offered a refill on our drinks or water. We had to wait another 30 minutes for the bill. I should note that tables close to us arrived later than we did and were served more promptly . These tables actually paid and left before we had finished. Our stay was over 2 hours and certainly not worth it. I cant recommend, unless you are going for the view and drinks.

What s the point of making a reservation if it isn t going to be ready by the time I get there. Terrible experience. Good thing I didn t pay for the overpriced valet parking. Edit: after finally getting our table, we waited 2 hrs for our food that never arrived. By far the worst restaurant I ve ever been to. What a joke of place. Paid for my drink and left. Waitress actually expected a tip LOL!

Matthew our server was very professional & was very helpful with communicating my allergy concerns to the kitchen. I was accommodated and was served a delicious meal.

Went there for dinner, theres no signs pointing to where the restaurant is, its a bit hidden on the left-hand side of the Fairmont. Lovely view of the river and Parliament, great vibes, a bit fancy. The menu is slightly over-priced but you do pay what you get and oh boy, the food is tasty! But expect the burger & fries to be like $41. Cute place for a date night, but I wouldnt go too often or else your wallet will cry.

First time at this beautiful restaurant, very beautiful view of the river and the parliament! All the employees were nice, the service was correct! Value for money; Quite expensive, but the food was good! I will go back to try other dishes

This was a great drinking spot loved the ambiance great service food not my favourite ate the chuck burger it was under cooked. Also had the bucatini was ok but again not my favourite I would never go back for the food definitely a great drinking spot.

I took many photos.

Its a popular place, with good reason. Pricey, but thats by design.

This was bad. Will not return. Come at your own risk. You have been warned. Food is supbar, service is OK, view on the patio is amazing, wait times are horrendous. Full scoop below We were late for our reservation by >15 minutes and so they gave up our requested high table We weren t told about this rule before arriving for the meal, but fine, I guess rules are rules. For reference, our reservation was at 7pm and we arrived around 7:18 or so. Roads near wellington were blocked off, it took a little while (ok maybe more than a little while) to park the car, and we had a guest who was walking disabled. They said we can start dining at another seat and move to a high table when one becomes available, so we thought fair enough. Fair warning though, if you re trekking from the west end on a Sunday night like we did, prepare to leave well in advance of your reservation. Long waits are a feature here, not a bug. We couldn t flag down a server to order food for about 60 minutes. On one occasion, we noticed a high table had freed up and asked a server to move us there, but he responded that the ladies at the front desk were responsible for seating, and hurriedly left before I could say we re ready to order food . When I asked the ladies at the front to move us to the available high table, they said there s a waiting list for the high table and they d let us know when the waitlist frees up before moving us. Fair enough. However, that vacant high table would remain vacant for the rest of the night so much for letting us know. After finally being able to order food some 60 minutes after sitting down, we were pleasantly surprised that our appetizer (crusted tuna) came rather quickly (~15 minutes). You can probably understand out disappointment when we found out we had paid $28 for the 5-6 thin, bland sashimi slices and some deprived lettuce skeleton garnish (I m not sure what I mean here but you can see in the picture the greenery looked like dried lettuce with the leaves removed.) Hit the mouth like unsalted lays chips. Delicious Our mains would not arrive for another 75 minutes, some 2h+ after arriving. It was past 9pm by the time we were served more than 6 skimpy pieces of raw tuna and water. Somewhere along the way of waiting for food and asking the servers about our mains, 3 additional high tables opened up, for a total of 4. At this point, the view of the sunset was phenomenal from the balcony and we just decided to up and move to the high table. We carried our own dishes and drinks. No harm no foul, we re happier with the balcony view and the servers figured out quickly enough that we had moved. The ladies at the front desk never came around to even check on us or the high tables for the rest of the night. At all times for the rest of the night, there were vacant high tables, so I m not really sure what happened to this waitlist they earlier claimed to have accumulated. Mains were OK. We ordered the crab pasta and the cod. Both were VERY heavy in cream and VERY lacking in seasoning. If that is a flavour profile you like, then you may be in luck. I understand that the burger and steak frites are classics here, but these seafood dishes were also highly recommended by the servers. Not impressed, especially at the price. It s always impressive when tables that arrive 1.5h after you do, end up leaving before you do. That s what happened to us, as the high table guests beside us finished their meal and left. I remembered them because they arrived after we had moved to the high tables and thought I wonder if those other vacant high tables will fill up too (they didn t). In summary, obscenely disappointing for what was billed as a casual dining experience attached to the Fairmont building. The view is a redeeming factor, and it really is one of a kind, but it is only really visible from the high tables and if it didn t take us 3.5h to finish at meal that started at ~7:20, we might actually have had time to stroll around the lower balcony and admire the view at our leisure from there. Unimpressive.

Wow, what a view. Service was exceptional and food was great.

The view is honestly so amazing here and it almost made up for the pretty disappointing food. The service was super friendly and the bartenders made some really tasty drinks. But holy heck the dinner was disappointing. The crusted tuna lacked sooo much flavour I almost asked for some soy sauce so I can eat it like sashimi. The crab pasta dish had a heavy cream base but nothing much else in terms of flavour. I felt like someone forgot to salt the pasta water before cooking the pasta. The only saving grace was that the pasta was cooked perfectly al dente. The dessert was so unmemorable I didn t even remember to take a photo. Maybe come here for the views, have a beverage and then skip the actual meal.

Nice spot to celebrate a birthday

Great cocktails and lunch with a killer view of the locks and Parliament.

The terrace to visit, good atmosphere and excellent service.

View is lovely but the cocktails were not what I expected. The food was good but not for the price. There are definitely better meals in Ottawa but that being said, the space is really lovely and its a great spot to visit at least once. If they improved their cocktails, I would definitely just go for drinks!

Excessive price of meal and drinks. Super pleasant atmosphere, warm service, good drink and French speaking waiters!

This place is terrible. I ve given it several chances over the years but it always disappoints. Poorly made, overpriced drinks, laissez-faire service, bad food. On a beautiful Sunday evening they didn t even have any music playing. No vibe, no romance. Just a bad tourist joint. Much like Ottawa itself; a lot of potential but a big boring letdown.

We did not actually eat here, because we left shortly after our seating. It was quite slow during the day and our server did not tell us that they ran out of the steak and mussels when we sat down. He waited until we ordered to let us know the item I wanted wasnt available nor a substitution. Let me know right when I sit down if you are missing your most popular dishes. The restaurant was not busy and no one told us until many minutes later when we sat down. Overall, the hotel and restaurant was not pleasant and I will stay elsewhere if I come back.

Terrace with a lot of nonsense and mediocre service It is the terrace of the most prestigious hotel in Ottawa. We sat down for dinner, but in the end we just had coffee. They were fixing the door to enter the hotel from the terrace. Accessing the terrace was complicated, if you wanted to go to the bathroom, you had to walk around the entire building and enter through the main door of the hotel, ending up next to the terrace. They took a while to serve us, and in the end we only ordered a coffee because we didnt like it at all. I think it is super expensive for what the restaurant is. The only good thing, they have very good views.

Super good

I rarely give a restaurant less than 4 stars and my standards are by no means high. We had dinner here tonight and waited at least 40 minutes for the two dishes we ordered. We werent even able to order the meals we originally wanted as they didnt have half the stuff on the menu, including the octopus and mussels. The server never came by to check on us or offer us anything during the long wait and didnt bother telling us from the start that they were out of so many things. This meant we wasted a bunch of time deciding what to order only to find out we couldnt even order those dishes. The crab pasta my partner ended up ordering was small, flavourless, dry and made with canned crab. He was still quite hungry afterward and by no means has a large appetite. Overall the menu here was quite strange and Ive never seen a menu without a single chicken option. The only thing this place has to offer is a nice view. Go elsewhere in the Byward Market and avoid this overpriced restaurant with mediocre food, poor service and small portions. Now we are going to go get some shawarma to end the evening on a satisfied note.

Beautiful patio overlooking the Rideau Canal. It is expensive but a very nice treat.

Very bad experience and is sad... super slow service and we got all food cold and some people super delayed plates as well...

Love view of the river and Parliament, good vibes even it was rainy day. The food was so fresh and Staffs was so friendly

beautiful view, great food and amazing staff

Prices are very expensive and you dont get much in return. View is very nice, but besides that food is mediocre and the drinks are small and over 20$ for a cocktail. Washrooms were also very small and not maintained or cleaned on a regular basis.

The food was great and I would say worth the expensive cost. The view alone makes this patio worth visiting and if you are lucky enough to be there for the fireworks competition you will have a great view! Keep in mind there is a two hour time limit for reservations

We came here twice during our stay in Ottawa. The food was good, I would recommend the cheese plater, but the service was awful. This is by far some of the worst service I ve ever received. Both times we went, our water was rarely filled up. During our second visit, our water was not filled up until we got our bill. And the waiter we got during our second visit gave off very rude vibes and was clearly not impressed with us. Maybe she was in a bad mood or something??? Because when she brought our bill over she seemed to be less aggravated.

Great service, fantastic food and incredible views

The setting is lovely and we had a lovely server. She really made it special for the birthday we were celebrating. Unfortunately, it was a less than average experience. The food is decent but quite overpriced. Some of our meals were prepared poorly. The wine list is very disappointing. We had a larger party and were uncomfortably seated with little room for each person. It didnt meet the expectations I have for a Fairmont hotel at all.

I just popped in for a quick beer and what a great choice it was! I had some sort of delicious hibiscus beer that honestly was up there with the best Ive had. Sitting overlooking the gorgeous view with a great beer on a sunny afternoon, it doesnt get much better. My server, I think his name was Youness, was great and happy to change my table to get that view. I then asked him for an ice cream recommendation and he sent me to a great Gelato place. Thanks Youness! If I come back to Ottawa, Ill certainly enjoy a proper meal here next time.

Surprisingly decent prices considering it is Fairmont. Excellent service, food is very tasty. Great choice for drinks. Highly recommended

Food was pretty good, service was okay. Our server admitted that he kept forgetting about us. Forgot our appetizer, it came after we were done our entrée, no discount offered as an apology. As others have mentioned, its all about the view.

A wonderful restaurant in the heart of Ottawa. The terrace offers a beautiful view of the Rideau Canal. Very friendly and caring staff. Unique design and presentation of dishes. Great restaurant in the heart of Ottawa. The terrace offers a beautiful view of the Rideau Canal. Very friendly and caring staff. Unique design and presentation of dishes

When I did my reservation for this place I expected have an amazing experience because Im was staying at fairmont chateau hotel and this a very famous hotel at Ottawa but honestly my experience at this restaurant was the most horrible that I had. Server took around 20 minutes to take my first order (only drinks) and my drinks and food took 1 hour and a half to coming to my table!!! Even when the place wasnt busy. The food was bad and expensive!!! Im very disappointed with my experience at this place and I didnt recommend it to anyone.

Great view and great service. The desert was spectacular

Good place for drinks, amazing view, good service but overpriced average food.

Perfect views and very polite staff. Something expensive.

The menu was the same as the lounge, which was very good in the late afternoon or evening, was thinking brunch though as it was Holliday Monday. Not enough shade, however the view from the high tables was good. Very much enjoyed the burger but maybe I should have sided with a ceaser...

Wonderful visit here while staying in the fairmont, heard it was my friends birthday after we cheersed our drinks and then out came a birthday plate, made our visit extremely special

The nice place

One of Ottawa s best patios for sunset views! I went with a friend for drinks, and although we were incredibly polite and didn t ask any questions, the waitress was irritated from the moment we got to our table. I understand that we all have off days, and I d like to give her the benefit of the doubt. Despite feeling like a burden, the views were great and we really enjoyed ourselves. The drinks were tasty, but presentation was mediocre considering the price/affiliation with Fairmont.

Nice view but the service was bad and the food was mediocre. Not tasty at all and not worth the price. I don t recommend it.

Went for a quick bite, had Cod on a base of specially prepared corn (photo) which was delicious. Pasta arabiatta was good but too spicy. Service was too slow at first, but improved afterwards and the food was prepared quickly, well presented, view is very nice. Prices are high but being the place it is is to expect. Staff was very friendly. I d gladly return.

Went here with friends from Toronto in early September. We wanted the views, and we got them. Not much more. From the images, its great looking dont get me wrong, but it was meh. Views: 5* Food: 2* mediocre, despite the presentation, and not worth the money. Service: 2* we were a party of 6. There were ~13 people including us at the restaurant. Had to wait super long for every little thing. IE. We had finished our drinks, sat around for 10min and had to flag someone down to take a food order. It wasnt cheap, but I do recommend going for drinks. Get a bite to eat beforehand, and dont forget your wallet, as youre paying for these views! Vegetarian options: Yep. Parking: Its downtown, so you have limited free and many paid options. Kid-friendliness: Not very. Wheelchair accessibility: Very, its all flat.

Fantastic dinner last night with family and friends. The cod was delicious! :) Need to better the service though. A little slow. Thanks!

What an awesome place to have a party.

I was honestly disappointed with my experience at La Terrasse. Undoubtedly they have one of the nicest patios in Ottawa and location overlooking the Rideau Canal. However, it was expensive for the experience that we had. The service was subpar, server did not tend to our table, took too long to take our order, get our food, then clear up the table after. The wasps had sworn over our plates and I had to call another server to clear up the table. I had also brought in a cake for my moms birthday, I had to ask the server a couple times before she finally did. Our lunch dragged out for longer than 2 hours because of the slow service, so our parking tickets for the restaurant ended up costing each guest 40$, that s on top of the price of the lunch. The food was okay in general but definitely doesn t meet the expectations of a higher end restaurant associated with the Chateau Laurier.

Great food, super service and a nice view!

Tracey was exceptional. She thought of everything including timing the rain. She moved us under the canopy minutes before rain started. Bartender mixed the perfect mojito. Steak was exactly a medium rare. Dessert platter best way to sample many, hard to chose the best. Beautiful location. Perfect night for our celebration. Thank you.

This food is absolutely amazing , Located in Rideau, this restaurant has a good amount of food choices

Beautiful view and friendly service! Food portions are way too large. Make sure you check the weather before reserving a table. Our table reservations almost got canceled due to the weather conditions.

Will never return again. I have never been treated like this in a restaurant. The hostess, who was significantly older then the rest, treated us in a rude and unprofessional manner. We had reserved our table a week in advance and she never brought us to the table we had requested. We kindly asked if we could be moved but she cut us off and rudely told us she had to serve other people. We watched as she seated older individuals to the seats we had reserved. We understand we may looked young but we were professionals, who worked hard and deserved to be there. We left 20 minutes after getting there. Please save you money and dont come here.

Will not be going back. View was nice, but hardly got to see it as the table we had reserved a week in advanced was not offered. We understood that when busy they wouldnt be able to make these accommodations; however, we noticed 3 high top tables open up so we kindly asked the hostess if it was possible to move to one of those open tables (as that is the type of table we had originally reserved) and was treated in a rude and unprofessional manner. We were cut off when making this request and the lady told us not to ask to move again as she had other people with reservations waiting to be seated. We were appalled by this service and did not stay much longer. Manager was nice; however, not sure if this issue will be solved. Save your money, not worth it.

Impolite staff

Bad experience with hostess, Katherine. So Rude!!!

Beautiful view, food super overpriced and uninteresting

Before going there I read the comments and I was a little shocked but I still wanted to try it nonetheless and I was surprised in a good way! The Caesar salad was quite good (we asked for it without bacon which was respected) but the burrata wasn t very good for 22$ it wasn t great. As for the mains they were very good the steak and fries was great and I definitely recommend this dish if you decide to go there. Finally the view was amazing and there were fireworks which made the experience even better. Our waiter was also very nice, kind and funny (his name was Justin) unlike what other comments say about the service. All in all I suggest you try it and make your own opinion about it because the comments didn t really represent the reality in my opinion

Nice food on a huge terrasse with a beautiful view. There was even a firework display after dinner! :)

Very disappointing for a Fairmont establishment. Especially in the nations capital. We went for lunch around 1:45pm. Busy, but not full. Nice view. Our server was curt and not exactly welcoming. Menu items were very uninventive and boring. We ordered the wedge salad with chicken and the shrimp roll. Wedge salad wasnt a wedge salad, just some iceberg lettuce flopped on a plate, an unappetizing chicken breast next to it, and chunks of blue cheese. They forgot the bacon, never saw the waiter to ask for some, bland dressing. The shrimp roll had nice plump shrimp, Mayo, and parsley. Totally bland and tasteless. Really, for a Fairmont this café needs a major overhaul both in management and in the chef. You decide.

Amazing view. Good quality food. Pricey and somewhat limited menu. Great for drinks!

We had dinner and breakfast here. Dinner was ok. There is limited options for steak and food in general. The value for money was certainly not there. The drinks were very disappointing in taste. The breakfast has a round peice of something they call a pancake and there are no omelet options. The overall breakfast for a 30 dollar plate of 2 eggs is ridiculous and very under whelming. The experience was just disappointing after seeing good reviews about this location. It will not be a return to this place or the chateau. I gave 3 stars because even though dinner was not the best the food we did eat was ok for the most part as long as you dont eat the steak and bring a gold card. You will get a better bang for your money at a local steak house and leave full and happy.

This place is beautiful, the food is very tasty and the staff are amazing. The vies from the terrace is gorgeous. i sat on the high chairs to have a better view of beautiful scenery. A vey Lind server served me he was very kind and after I finished my drink he brought me another one complimentary without me asking him, unfortunately I didn t get his name. Would absolutely recommend this place, will be going there for dinner soon.

The patio is gorgeous. Fabulous views, lovely flowers. Went for cocktails and dessert. Cocktails were expensive and kind of boring but the strawberry shortcake was worth every penny. Delicious!!

Excellent service, charcuterie and drinks - and a view thats hard to beat.

One of the beautiful places in the capital to take a holiday break

Service was ok but food was under whelming and expensive for what you got.

One of the best!

Had the clam pasta for lunch but I think the clams walked away as the dish was served with canned clams! The burger tasted like a frozen burger and definitely will not return. Not worth the price!!

Great atmosphere, friendly staff, and delicious breakfast!

Extremely limited menu, but very good service

Wonderful experience!! The view from our table was magnificent, the ambiance of the restaurant was perfect. The service was quick and our server David was very friendly and even made an effort to speak to us in French after hearing us speak. The tagliatelle was absolutely delicious. The whole thing was a little expensive but the experience was totally worth the price in our opinion, we will definitely come back if the opportunity arises!

Great visit here for sunset drinks and snacks! Amazing views of Parliament Hill and the canal!

Great food and drinks and incredibly fast service! Staff was nice to deal with and very polite. Beautiful view from the patio!

Food was good service is excellent but wasps ruin the outdoor seating and they had very few of those wasp control liquid. Everyone was complaining about it!

As a previous review of the Chateau Laurier. Iconic hotel with a fantastic terrace. Good food and innovative drinks with stellar views.

Excellent food, drinks, service, ambiance.

Enjoyed a late night dessert and glass of wine here. Very lovely atmosphere with all the lights and fire towers on a late summer evening. The specialty cocktail list was impressive in more ways than one.

Thank you for a great evening. We enjoyed our dinner. Amazing place, amazing view. Thank you Jacynthe for making my birthday special

Very nice view and quality food

The view is amazing however I honestly didnt find the food that great. We only had items from the dessert menu and honestly none of them where beyond anything I could get elsewhere. They where made to look good with gold leafing done on them but the tastes that where offered didnt justify the $16 per dessert. This is getting three stars as the food was good, the service was good and the location and view where amazing.

$$$$$ expensive for what you get. Service meh.

They discriminate against people who have not taken the covid shots.. businesses that participate in this medical apartheid will not make it..

Great al fresco table at La Terasse to enjoy a spectacular Fall day and birthday celebration. Lunch was superb - ample portion of in-house made egg tagtiatelle with lamb ragout sauce, topped with parmesan shavings - so delicious! A lovely surprise birthday message, scripted so beautifully in chocolate, with the migniardises for desert, was a great finale to our celebration. Thank you so much for this surprise, Fabiola! The service was excellent and attentive. Our server, Garrick, was very personable. He provided excellent guidance in the wine and lunch selections. As a result we thoroughly enjoyed our lunch from beginning to end. We will have fond recollections of an enjoyable and memorable day.

When you first walk in, these amazing smells come running at you. The overall design and place was just stunning. The sign on the patio was beautiful, it had these amazing fires incase you were cold, and the view was just stunning. Our waiter was so nice, I believe her name was Samantha. She was wonderful and so kind when serving us, some of the reason me and my family enjoyed this experience was because of her hospitality. The food took a little bit of time but it was so well made. The steak frites was so soft and nicely made. The sauce on the side was also amazing. I really enjoyed the siracha maple chicken waffle dish. The spiciness and the sweetness just came together very well. A very abstract and delicous dish. The beet salad wasnt up to standard but the hoslipitality and other foods made the experience 5 star. Overall the food was very nicely made. One more thing I would like to add, is we went here because of my parents anniversary and our server was so kind and brought us these free desserts that were also so delicous. In conclusion the food here was pretty good but the reason it deserves a 5 star is because of its cleanliness and the hospitality our server gave.

Excellent food, some of the best I have ever tried