Sidedoor in Ottawa

The butter noodles were tasty but considering theres no protein/veggies inside, the portion should have been larger (plain noodles are cheap). Also had the mapo tofu taco definitely not worth $9 for ONE taco. Didnt taste like much, the tofu should have been crispy, or true to mapo tofu, completely silken. Side of white rice was overcooked and mushy, as if rice wasnt washed before going into rice cooker. Homemade kimchi tasted too sour and not spicy enough. We also had the coconut fritter curry. It wouldnt call it a fritter because the coconut balls werent crispy, but other than that it was very delicious (albeit not a large enough portion for $35). The eggplant bao was the best bite very good no notes. The cocktails were also delicious. All in all I would not recommend coming here for dinner, maybe just for a cocktail and a bao. Also it was PACKED on a Tuesday night? wow.

I had an amazing dining experience at Side Door! The service was exceptional, thanks to Chris and Dondre, who made sure we felt welcomed and taken care of from the moment we walked in. They were attentive, friendly, and went above and beyond to ensure we had everything we needed. The food was fantastic, and the overall atmosphere was inviting. I highly recommend Side Door if you re looking for great food and top-notch service!

Very nice location for a group, high ceilings but easy to hear each other! The food is delicious, we shared a number of items and all more delicious than the next. Food : 5/5

OMG the Penang Beef was amazing

Absolutely disaster junk quality overpriced food. I ve been way many Michelin places and this one is tourist trap in the city center so if you a amateur tourist go there and try to fake and be fancy and pay a lot there.

Busy Monday, service was a bit slow. Otherwise lovely.

Great choice of food and excellent atmosphere!!!!

I wont be coming back.

Side door offers a vibrant fusion of Asian-inspired dishes with a modern twist. The atmosphere is lively and inviting, perfect for both casual dining and special occasions. Their signature tacos are a standout, blending bold flavors and fresh ingredients. The service is attentive, and the cocktails are creatively crafted, complementing the menu well. Sidedoors innovative approach to familiar dishes makes it a great spot for those seeking a unique dining experience in the heart of the ByWard Market.

We had a lovely server. She was very polite and kind. However the food was HORRIBLE. We ordered the chefs tasting menu with several small plates. We only ate 2 out of 7 dishes. The others were all the same flavour profile: lots of cilantro, nuts and very dry horrible textures. The dumplings were cold and rubbery. The chicken was heavily breaded and VERY salty. The curry s had LOTS of cilantro it s all you could taste. The braised beef is so dry and starchy. The cocktails were hit and miss. Some good and some horrible. They seem to struggle with flavour profiles and pairings. Even the donoughts were dry and not very sweet for a dessert. For $250.00 I expect better food. As well, when booking the reservation we stated we were celebrating a birthday. There was no mention of the birthday or birthday wishes. Why ask in the booking if you re not going to wish a happy birthday? Very disappointed overall. Great location, great atmosphere, great service, but horrible food. The dishes also didn t appear too clean. Not the best first impressions.

Loved it. Everything tasted so good

Great place to take colleagues for a drink and shareable but other than that , the fusions of different flavors did not make any sense.

Best Green Papaya salad ever! Loved the dumplings, delicious beef tacos. Excellent service!

Great atmosphere, great service and great food! Recommend The Best of Sidedoor package which comes in 3 exciting waves. Cheers to Max who was an amazing waiter

Came here on a whim and left satisfied.

We had our wedding here and our anniversary 2 years later and its a wonderful place with wonderful people. The service, atmosphere, and location is great. We always enjoy the food for the prices, although recently as with everywhere the prices have gone up. It is an excellent choice overall and weve been happy each visit.

Max & Earl provided us with an amazing experience, service was impecable and the food was so delicious as usual. Thank you and we will be back again!

Original, tasty and refined cuisine in a superb setting (particularly in the glass roof). A very good address in Ottawa!

A day in Ottawa ended here and we simply loved it! Sunday evening so it was quiet but the ambiance suited us. Our server was great, it may have been the kitchen/bar was a bit slow. We ordered the Vietnamese pancake and the flavors kicked ass (ours anyway), the lettuce wraps were super but why can t they cater the portions to the number being served? We added the calamari to our order to finish. It was like a tempura batter and perfectly cooked so it wasn t rubbery. We were visiting from California and this was a delightful change from so many restaurants on our route across Canada dining out night after night. If Side Door is an indication of Ottawa s culinary options, we d love to return.

Excellent service for big group of 14+, service staff was flexible and attentive. Food was delicious! Dietary restrictions: Adapted for gluten free

Thanks for the reviews of a lot of people. Every dish we ordered tastes delicious. Curry shrimp, wings, braised beef are all wonderful.

Everyone who works here is amazing. The food is beyond delicious. The vibe is fantastic. Absolutely love this place so much that we chose to get married here!

Perfect food and beautiful scenery. Sidedoor is a must if you are in the Byward Market area! Perfect for a girls night out. Update: 2024 - last year we opted to have our wedding at Sidedoor in the fall. The openness and beauty of this restaurant just added to the decor of our wedding. On the day of our wedding, the staff were so accommodating. We had a list that was pages of food intolerances. Despite this, the manager and the staff were so understanding and attentive, with us until the end of the event. Everyone was constantly checking in if we needed anything. Olivia worked great with our wedding planner and in the end we had the most beautiful glamorous wedding. Side door will always hold a special place in our hearts This review was long overdue, but looking at our wedding photos, this breathtaking venue deserves all the recognition.

Great location and menu. Food was fantastic and service was okay.

Great food and service. Fun fact: Justin Trudeau was eating there at the same time as us! This is crazy!!!

The staff seemed to anticipate what we needed. We ordered what the waiter recommended. Loved the butter chicken curry taco, coconut curry fritters, and the Vietnamese pancake were extraordinary.

Good food, great balance but when we went there was a party in the banquet hall of sidedoor which caused so much of noise it became hard to converse and enjoy the dinner.

Im very disappointed at their food. I visited with my family for lunch on a weekend. Three out of six plates were dirty on my table and I had to ask the server to bring new plates. Braised pork char Siu at $19 + tax was, at best, a dollar store food. The pork was dry (they used the wrong cut) and tough and the inside of the meat had no flavour. The coloring was off on the outside... It was only red outside while it needs to have some char outside. There is a section that I see while I write this review for me to select foods that I recommend. Im not recommending any. I wouldnt recommend bringing your Asian friends here unless intend on confusing them. The atmosphere was excellent and the service was nice. So, if you dont care about your food or cant really tell what goes in your mouth, but want some good atmosphere, this is a perfect place to be.

Pros: Servers are great, the right level of attentive and kind. Great ambience inside the restaurant, perfect for a date night. Steak, tacos and fries were great Cons: Some dishes seemed extremely salty, like the cod in dashi (so much so I couldnt finish the broth). The brisket taco was also a little salty, but still quite tasty Plates/cutlery did not seem very clean. They all had greasy residue/finger marks. Glasses on the patio are old plastic tumblers, which felt odd for the price point of this restaurant. Found a small hair in one of the dishes

Loved our experience. We went to do a dry run for our upcoming anniversary. The food was on point, the wine excellent and our server was the right blend of what you need...helpful, polite, attentive. I highly recommend. Dishes sampled: butter lettuce wrap with steak, papaya salad, shrimp pancake and my husband had the pork belly taco.

Really enjoyed the 7 course sharing plates. All were delicious but the coconut fritter with mango chutney and curry was my favourite! The popcorn chicken was surprisingly moist and the braised beef in panaeng curry was so tender! Definitely recommend!

Went for a solo dinner here on a Friday night. I ve always enjoyed their cute patio set-up with all the greenery and lights. Rachel was very nice and offered great recommendations. The shrimp curry here was indeed very flavorful.

Incredible food, awesome service. We had seven plates between 4 of us plus a taco each and were all full. The food is spectacular. It s one of those menus where however good the description, it doesn t do the food justice. So many awesome flavours. Cocktail list is really interesting and delicious. Our waitress was really helpful with choices and explaining the menu.

Beautiful space with really tasty food. I had a fish taco and a pork belly taco which were both delicious.

The atmosphere was cozy and warm, and the drinks were good! The popcorn chicken and the coconut fritters were the best items we ordered. The tuna tartare was extremely salty so we weren t a fan of that. The service was good and friendly. Overall, it was nice to try it but it was a little pricey for what we got.

Amazing food and service! Recommend the tacos, lettuce wrap, fish, donuts and patio seating!

The place is nice and the popcorn chicken was really tasty. The rest of what we tried was disappointing. Gyoza: nothing special and pretty blend Braised beef: the sauce was almost nice but the beef was not great and had chunks of gelatinous fat Overall, we will not come back especially for the quality vs price.

An excellent downtown Ottawa restaurant with an awesome selection of cocktails & small bite plates. They also have a great selection of wine, saki in addition to main course plates. Service is amazing and it s located in one of OTowns oldest courtyards. Do yourself a favour and save room for their yummy homemade donuts for desert Vegetarian options: I d guess 35-40% of their menu is vegetarian based. Parking: Lots of paid downtown parking available near by

Great atmosphere! Tasteful food. At they had GF options!! Great service. Will be back next time i am in Ottawa! Dietary restrictions: They offer gluten free and dairy free options on the menu!! Had the lobster and shrimp curry - yum!!!

I do really like Sidedoor - the food is fantastic and the menu is innovative and diverse. Just two things that made our most recent visit a little less than perfect which could be improved: -I made a reso only for 8:45pm. I got a call that afternoon saying the kitchen closed at 9. This made us feel like we either had to come earlier (which wasn t possible) or be rushed through out dinner. I d recommend ending resos earlier at a time that won t make guests feel rushed. -Their tipping prompts are set-up in such a way that if you give 18%, you re made to feel cheap, because that lists the service as good rather than great -20% and excellent - 25% . This leaves a bit of a bitter taste in a guest s mouth who is trying to leave a fair tip - making them feel cheap. A bad way to end a great night.

I was at Side Door with a friend. We had delightful cocktails and then we grazed from the small sharing plates. All was so good. The server was very knowledgeable about the menu and answered out questions perfectly. The service was just right. The server seemed to know when we might need something, but didnt hover. All round good experience.

Just had a perfect valentines day dinner here! Service was friendly and attentive and the kitchen is run so well! The atmosphere is fantastic for a date or cocktails. Ill be back!

Expensive. Ingredients are decent quality but the flavours are not. It s not Asian food whatsoever and just very overpriced. Not fancy enough or tasty enough to cost that much

went for lunch on a wednesday. food was good price was okay service was great

Cozy, yet spacious fine dining experience. The dim lighting added to the coziness. I had the green papaya salad and coconut fritters; they are both vegan and were delicious! Vegetarian options: Vegan options available.

Absolutely delicious and fresh food Service was very professional Atmosphere was nice and warm Price was affordable I would highly recommend to anyone in the area. Earl grey Tea cakes are amazing

My husband and I had Sidedoor on our list of Ottawa must-try restaurants for ages but we were sadly disappointed by our dinner on Friday, January 11. I m not generally one to complain but I just can t let this one go, especially since dining out is such a treat nowadays. To summarize, I would describe the food as mediocre. I would not recommend and will not go back. Our order included - Pork tacos: the pork was dry and overcooked. Thai popcorn chicken: greasy and tasted of old oil. I couldn t stomach it. Tuna tartare: ok but too heavy on the green onion. Shrimp and Pork dumplings: Low in flavour. I ve had better ones from the grocery store. Husband thought they tasted fishy. Papaya salad: the crispy taro topping was probably the best part of it, but it was otherwise underwhelming. Judging by the menu, I expected glorious flavours exploding in my mouth but at no point did this happen. A lot of reviews here centre on price. I expect food to be more expensive now, but I also expect it to taste good, to be a worthwhile expenditure. I don t mind paying more for great food and a great restaurant experience but here we are. Back to our dining experience. You may be wondering: Why didn t we return the food? It s hard to do when it s just OK, five out of 10. You also start to doubt yourself Maybe it s just me? I was close to returning the Thai popcorn chicken to the kitchen but my husband insisted it was edible. If there s a bright side here, the ambiance is quite nice and the service was very good. Our cocktails and wine were A+. I had a nonalcoholic cocktail with Yuzu and citrus and it was excellent. I m glad to see more restaurants embracing mocktails, and pricing them accordingly.

Great place, love it!

This place was super cute and friendly service

Fantastic! Went for a Christmas party. The staff are great. Thank you Stephanie! The food and drinks are really good and they didnt rush us out at the enD of the night Tha ka for a great time! Food

Nice place in Ottawa. Food was ok, good but not authentic Asian. Service was great though.

Wow! Food and staff are a 10! Energy and vibe are great!

The food here was overpriced for what you get. I suppose its Asian fusion but the best part of the Asian food is left out, the flavour. I would reasonably pay half the listed price for everything listed on the menu. Our service was also sub par, water left empty at the table, the waitress did not monitor our table to see whether we were ready to order and an item was missing from our order when it arrived. You have to tell the servers who ordered what when they arrive. While the food and service was by no means bad, it was not up to the quality you expect for the price.

I would rate the food, service and location differently. The restaurant is cheque and is a nice place to eat, aesthetically at least. The food is good overall, but not worth the price. The tacos were tasty, but not worth the $16 for two pieces. The calamari was mediocre, but the shrimp dumplings were delightful. The service was not very good and not as responsive compared to the price of food. Good food but very expensive for what you get.

Always delicious and healthy

Ambiance is always lovely in here. The papaya salad is phenomenal and the chicken dumplings also incredible. There really wasnt anything we didnt love, but those items stuck out for us! Drinks were also delicious. Highly recommend this spot!!

Very nice and well-kept restaurant. Quiet and relaxing atmosphere, in a small alley in Ottawa. Very friendly waitress and fast service. Very good and refined dishes Recommended for a good lunch.

Listen to what you hear about the fish tacos, extremely average. Not much flavour, better go El Camino

I went to Sidedoor to celebrate my birthday with friends. It was perfect, the restaurant is beautiful and the staff is super friendly. We could bring our own cake. Highly recommend it for a special occasion.

A very nice place to eat!

Great place for lunch and afternoon, superb lighting with all the glass panels. Also wide selection of drinks

Great place to meet up, not too loud. Coffee and doughnuts were fantastic!

Awful service. Food is okay, menu is limited, with very few vegetarian options. There are better restaurants out there.

Bad, cold food and my brother in law got food poisoning after (He had the Crab Appetizer and Steak Entree)

The Sidedoor is a wonderful place to have a great tasting, friendly staff , chilling place to meet friends for lunch as I did . The Sidedoor is in the Byward Market in Ottawa. I started with the Carrot and Ginger soup, a knock out of the park good. I followed with fish tacos. What can I say but extremely tasty, full of different flavors and very pleasant to the palate. There was a party of 5 together and we stayed around for 2 1/2 hours. Our waitress was excellent and was quite dry sense of humor and funny. She made the Sidedoor experience wonderful. I give the Sidedoor a 5 star .

The atmosphere of this place is nice, but thats what you pay for because the food is really bad. I hate to say that, but my god, if was realllly bad. I didnt have high expectations for Asian fusion in Ottawa, but this was next level. We ordered the seafood platter for $125, which included six steamed pork dumplings (LOL), ONE lobster claw, HALF a lobster tail, one softshell crab, and 15 pieces of calamari. I felt secondhand embarrassment.

Great ambiance ! Great Servers ! Had Valentine dinner here last night. Overall great place but the food was not up to par. Really enjoyed the tacos, however the steak was not well done sent it back and still came back red. The donuts were hard to eat. Nonetheless really enjoyed my time there.

Stopped here for lunch and ordered the following: shrimp dumplings, pork/chicken/beef tacos, calamari, tuna sashimi and steak. Out of all dishes, we only enjoyed shrimp dumplings and tuna tostada. Everything else was underwhelming to say the least. The food frankly just lacks flavour. The drinks and service were good, and the atmosphere is pleasant. Unfortunately, lunch was not worth the money paid.

Fun for sharing plates. Staff is friendly and helpful in any decision making.

Over priced. The food was ok-not amazing. They are apparently known for their tacos, which were good. Ribs were terrible and didn t include sides. Fries were ordered as a separate side but served without the ribs. Drinks were way overpriced at $16-18 per cocktail, not amazing and small servings. Beer was cold, as per husband. It was a nice environment. We were a table of 8 for a birthday. They did not have a cake slice for birthdays or any dessert that was complementary. We ordered donuts for the table for $30. They were good. I would not recommend this restaurant for dinner. I heard lunch was good. Vegetarian options: A few vegetarian options, some vegan too. Parking: No parking.

Went for my birthday and it was great atmosphere. My food was quite spicy but I loved their mini donuts

Very delicious food and great customer service

Really fun and great food! Lots of GF options! We ordered a whole lot of different starters and tacos, a few at a time. Sebastian was wonderful, explained the menu and kept the dishes coming. We really reccommend the Vietnamese pancakes, fish tacos, greens, tuna sushimi, avocado-cucumber salad - everything actually. Also, try to get a table with the blue couches. So cosy and comfy! Added photo of tuna sashimi.

Went last night, had an awesome time! Food was great and the atmosphere was awesome! Thank you for the great evening!

Drinks were great along with wine selection. They were understaffed though so it took a while. Food was not sadly up to par for the price and expectation. Gyoza sauce was very strange, kimchi wasnt spicy and was very sour, salmon sashimi was very good but missing something. Maybe it was underseasoned. Sadly disappointed

Ordered the seafood platter and the penang beef curry. The seafood platter was great but the beef was a bit dry in my opinion. Ambiance was great and staff were friendly.

Absolutely amazing dinner! They have two sashimis that were amazing and super creative. Their tacos were also fabulous and super creative. I really enjoyed my dinner, highly recommend for an elevated dinner.

I heard lots of good things about the restaurant but unfortunately it was bad experience for me and my company, our food came in parts , I found hair in my salad, waitress was totally disengaged from the whole situation, she also assumed that we will not have dessert or coffee, I had to force her to give us menu to select our hot beverage and dessert, total disappointment, will never go back there

The Best breaded calamari and breaded jalapenos Dietary restrictions: Glutenfree Food : 5/5 |

The calamari was cooked very well and only very slightly greasy. We order the fish tacos and the braised lamb tacos. Between the two the lamb tacos really stood out. The fish tacos were good but my only criticism is they are served with too much of the red cabbage. Service was friendly.

Really disappointing experience. Went on a Monday when the place was virtually empty. Mains came out way too quickly after appetizers, so the table was crammed. No one came to check on us at all after the food arrived, which was super weird given there were only 3 seated tables. That also means we couldnt order any more drinks after our first. Food was fine, but nothing special. Menu is pretty all over the place, with a weird mix of dishes that dont really make any cohesive sense. Cocktail wasnt strained so was full of ice shards that watered it down. I expected a lot more for a bill north of $200 for 2 people. Not sure if we went on an off night, but proceed with caution.

We only took photos of the starter, which was softshell crab with pork belly. It was really good!! We then had one meat curry dish and the chicken one. Both had so much food that we could not finish it (they are great to share). The favour was amazing!!

Delightful and delicious!

Wanted to like this place as the fusion menu was very interesting, however our experience was disappointing. The salmon sashimi was alright (very expensive though), but all our other dishes disappointed. We had the soft shell crab which included pork belly, and the pork belly was somehow dry and chewy? It was hard to eat and lacked flavour. For our mains we got the beef curry and shrimp curry. They were nothing special. My shrimp curry came with about 4 pieces of shrimp, and a whole pot of uncooked hard vegetables. It was not a pleasant textural experience, rice cost extra which was surprising to me, given the curry was already over $40 by itself. Cocktails were hit or miss. Little Tokyo lacked any sort of flavour, Empress was nice though. The service was odd.. very inconsistent and the staff seemed confused. They brought the wrong item to our table a few times, other tables were told that the kitchen had already hit its limit at 5pm on a weekday. Not a good look. Overall for the price, this was atrocious. Go to Riviera or J:Unique instead if you want good food in this price tier.

Food was very tasty. Place got a bit overly loud so we went elsewhere for dessert

Always a treat to go to side door. Relaxed and friendly staff, great food, amazing building.

Great spot - good food, server was great. Recommend you go with the intention of sharing plates with everyone at the table. Best way to get the full experience.

I recently visited Sidedoor and had a fantastic experience. The atmosphere was great, with beautiful decor and lighting. The service was top-notch, with our server Steph being very friendly, personable, and accommodating to my allergies. She even went out of her way to get a gluten-free/dairy-free dessert from the eighteen kitchen! The food was absolutely delicious, with a great presentation and attention to detail. The fusion menu was very interesting and unique, and I loved every dish we ordered. The value was also fair and reasonable, especially considering the high quality of the food and service. I highly recommend Sidedoor for anyone looking for a great dining experience in the Byward Market. Thank you to the entire team for an amazing evening!

love sitting in the back patio

Absolutely amazing experience! Their braised lamb tacos were really tasty. We loved the interior decor and the indoor-outdoor structure. Will definitely visit again!

Small, flat, dry, cold, uninspiring steak. Donuts and tacos were good. At these prices, the steak is inexcusable, and I suggest going to one of the other restaurants a stones throw away

For anyone with bad things to say about the donuts, I challenge them to a push up contest. Come at me.

Really amazing patio area, especially if you re looking to escape the crowds and the heat

Crazy good food! Loads of options for every taste bud.

Dined here this past Wednesday. Weird welcoming. Female hostess gave me a dirty look because I didn t have a reservation at 12pm (even though the restaurant was dead). I kindly asked to sit in the patio and she was like go ahead mind you, I ve never even been to side door so I didn t know how to get to the patio and it s unprofessional that she didn t seat me. We had to wait a solid 10 minutes before being noticed, without any water or menus. Our male server was very nice, although when describing the menu, he said it s a tapas restaurant so everything is meant to be shared which was confusing to me because side doors menu is organized by appetizers, mains & desserts if it was a true tapas restaurant, it wouldn t be organized that way. The sizes of plates do vary. I had the spicy beef tacos which were good, however the kimchi was bland as well as the spicy noodles. Don t think I ll be back as the cons did outweigh the pros unfortunately.

Extremely rude server. The way she spoke to us, we ve never experienced such disrespect. Special mention however to the rest of the staff, they were kind and patient.

Fun evening with the girls, Geoffrey was an excellent waiter and the food was excellent! Tacos were delicious! Food

This restaurant is beautiful and well-situated in the Byward market. Our meals were delicious. I had the braised beef in a curry. The meat was succulent, the curry to die for and it was enough to feed two people. My husband had the Lamb and Pork tacos. They were absolutely delicious. He ordered the fries with the special sauce (a homemade aïoli with mustard sauce and other things) but soon realized it was too much food. (They were tasty as well.). Our waitress was very sweet but she only came to the table maybe 3 times before the bill and the restaurant was not very busy which is why I put the service at 3. Overall, great food. Would come back for it and hope for better service.

Braised beef as a main course was very good; glad that I chose this one but would love to try another dish on the menu. The assorted dessert was on point.

This place was soo good! Service was fast, food was delicious. It was my first time, will definitely be returning!

Was expecting a little more from the food but other than that it was a nice dinner.

The food and service are very good, but its also quite pricey.

The food is amazing. Beef curry, Thai popcorn chicken, gyoza, steak and honey garlic chicken were very good. The donuts were insane!

14 of us shared a wonderful dinner at the Sidedoor. Our server was very kind and attentive. She had no problems with our special orders. The inside of the restaurant is beautiful. The food was fantastic.

Wow, amazing experience. The dishes were creative, with wonderful flavour combinations. Papaya salad was so good.

Overall very happy with this place, most of all because of the stupendous cocktails. The food was good too but the cocktails stole the show. A nicely designed space too.

This restaurant had a beautiful atmosphere. Service was good, nothing outstanding. However, with groups of 6 or more - gratuity is already included in the bill for 18% Seared halibut 8/10 - The fish was tender and not dry, the Tom yum flavours were delicious and mildly spicy. Calamari 8/10 - was delicious and cut into big chunks rather than the traditional rings . The batter was light, however the calamari was quite oily - as there was also a pool of oil at the bottom of the bowl. The dipping sauce that came with it was delicious to which I think was fish sauce based. Butter Poached Shrimp 5/10 - spicy for my liking. The spice in the curry was overpowering and therefore I couldn t enjoy the flavours of the curry. If there was an option to make it mild it would be better for those that have a hard time with spice. There was 4-5 shrimp in the bowl. For 44$ it was a bit frustrating that you had to pay extra for a side of rice and/or naan bread.

Very nice restaurant, I liked our view of the outside. Really excellent food. I had a tuna tataki starter, one of the best I have eaten so far. For the main course I asked the waiter for a suggestion because everything looked so good. He suggested the braised beef curry... Wow! Explosion of flavor! To drink I tried the mango pisco. A real delight! My friend had 2 starters, the cucumber and avocado salad and the Thai chicken. I really liked it too. The service was perfect. I will definitely go back!

We attended a wedding at the Side Door on August 5. The venue had outstanding service! The ceremony was in the small courtyard at the back, with dinner and dancing inside. One table was set in a bad location for speeches, but that was the only thing less than perfect. This was the best dinner I have ever had at a wedding. Because this is a restaurant, there were choices to be made at table, and everything was freshly cooked. The food was delicious. I had the fish with tom yum broth. Others at table ordered beef and chicken. All were impressed. The DJ was fantastic, and we danced all evening. Workers were super quick to clean up any accidents. This being a wedding, there were a few.

Items seemed over-seasoned for my tastes. I didnt finish any of my food. BUT the service was great.

Great food and good service.

Phenomenal restaurant near Byward Market. I had the tacos and a cocktail. I m not sure I have ever said this, but they were PERFECT tacos and the cocktail has become an obsession for me. 100/10 Amazing atmosphere, friendly staff, and a perfect spot for food for anyone.

Extremely disappointed with the food here. Food is mediocre and not worth the high price tag. Tried the fish tacos which were cold and fish had no taste and full of red cabbages on top. Thai popcorn chicken tasted burnt with no thai seasoning. Braised beef curry was too sweet and did not have the penang curry taste at all. Overall a very big let down. They have a nice look restaurant with so much potential but sadly no execution.

Very well organized for a friends wedding. Ceremony outside at the back and reception inside in a beautiful room Good service Good menu choice Enough space for dancing at the end of the evening Beautiful day

We unfortunately did not have a great experience here. The food is overhyped and in fact is quite mediocre. I did not enjoy the short rib at all. It was very tough and not cooked well. We had to ask a second time for our naan order as they forgot. The naan was highly saturated in oil and not flavourful. My husband ordered a juice which was not served throughout the meal and was forgotten. We would not recommend.

Nice and cozy place to have a good but fairly expensive dinner

Great service, fresh food, I recommend grilled octopus

This was our first stop when we arrived in Ottawa. The atmosphere was pleasant and had good vibes. We had a few dishes, some were good others weren t memorable like the seafood pancake, thought it was meh snd would not order again. Price/value/ taste was not there. However, I really enjoyed the papaya salad.

Five stars all around; gorgeous food and great indoor OR outdoor seating!

Food is delicious and the service is top notch!

What a beautiful little restaurant. From certain Vantage points you can see into the kitchen which is always lovely. We ordered mushroom tacos, and char sui tacos and shared them. We finished off with these lovely handmade donuts, which was the perfect portion for an early dinner. The tacos were lovely with just the right amount of seasoning, I particularly like the flavor of the mushroom taco. The donuts came warm and the server was kind enough to bring us a knife so we could share them. Parking: There is Street and paid parking in the market Kid-friendliness: This is more of an adult restaurant, there is no kids menu and a child would get bored.

The food is good, the service is great (thanks to pat) and the place is really nice.

Food was delicious. Appropriate portions. Inside and outfoir patio are stunning. Friendly helpful service. Clean bathrooms. Highly recommend.

It was dark when I took the photos but the food was phenomenal. The braised beef or the poached shrimp are the best entrees!!! Cocktails were also on point. The Gyoza was the best app. Highly recommend if you re in town. Food

Love the vibe here, service was wonderful and food is tasty.

We had a wonderful server and the atmosphere is excellent. Our server was very friendly and helpful. The food was awful. The smoked tofu lettuce wrap was burnt and as if it was cooked by someone who never cooked before. The sides of the lettuce wrap were not good combinations - the in-house made kimchi was soft and required longer time to ferment. The braised beef was the dryest Ive ever eaten - there was not enough curry sauce to mask the dryness. The lettuce wrap was sent back to the kitchen and we tried eating what we could of the braised beef only because hunger set in. We could not finish the food. The washroom smelled like sewage and there was water on the floor from a toilet that was flooding.

Great place. A combination of different cuisines of the world in excellent execution, a relaxed atmosphere, convenient location. Two evenings in a row, they came and ordered the same thing, because why change it, if its already delicious). They would have come again, but they were returning home

We had a wonderful time! Food and service were fantastic. Would go again!

My friends and I grabbed some dinner here for my birthday. We were very hungry, so you already know we had an appetito. We ordered some drinks to start which were decent (yuzu, blackberry and mint mocktails). We ordered the beef tataki, beef lettuce wraps, miso cod, beef + fish tacos, thai popcorn chicken and donuts. It was not giving what it was supposed to give. The only thing that was enjoyable were the tacos and the donuts (cinnamon and cranberry/white chocolate). The beef tataki was presented distastefully, please see attached photo. The flavour of the marinade was not anything to write home about. The beef lettuce wraps looked sad, I wish I took a photo but let s just say the sauce took up 70% of the dish. The miso cod was cooked well but lacks in miso flavour, the broth it was engulfed in resembled a beef stock. The thai popcorn chicken had dashes of what I believe to be schezuan peppercorns, which was not indicated on the menu. I did appreciate the crunch of the chicken but thats about it. The chicken itself tasted weirdly sweet and had a gooey interior. In summary, I will not be coming back here any time soon. Please save your coin.

Excellent place for a Happy hour. Short selection of delicious dishes to share, or to keep for yourself. Try them all, yum. Excellent selection of discounted wines, the rosé is sublime.

Food was not so okay. Portion and price difference is very much

Very very small portions for the prices

Good food, nicely pricey. Cocktails well made. Ambiance is exquisite. Great place for business dinners or date nights. Food

Such a great experience, the food and service was excellent. The Pork belly taco was so good, highly recommend trying those if you visit here. Everything tasted great. The dishes arent big so you can get a few things to try a variety of different dishes. They bring out the dishes as they are ready which I liked. This restaurant is on the pricer side, but it is worth it as a treat or special occasion. Just check their menu so you know what to expect.

Not bad by any means but nothing to write home about.

Had an amazing time! Took off a star because of how loud it was but other than that the service and food were fantastic. Will be back Food : 5/5

Had a chance to try this place. Not bad overall but I am not really into spicy food. the braised beef I ordered is a bit spicy. (The waiter told me its not spicy) My rating is 4/5.

Would not come back for the food (3/5). However, it does have a nice vibe which is the reason I am giving it a 4.

A good location for casual fine dining. The menu items felt like they were supposed to be shared amongst the table, especially with the Sides menu (which we didnt partake in). The appetizers that we had were amazing and the drinks we had paired well with the items we ordered. The black cod entrée was disappointing but the coconut curry was good. The wait staff needs significant improvements at this price point (more staff would likely resolve this). The donuts were okay but could use a few tweaks. Order: Eggplant Bao Bun ($15.00 for 2 pieces) x1 - Soft and squishy bao bun - Tasty filling with a slight spice/heat to it - More filling in the bao bun would be nice Soft Shell Crab ($21.00 each) x1 - Amazingly succulent pork belly - Delicious and tender soft shell crab - The cashew puree mixed well with the fatty porky belly and refreshing mango/apple salad Coconut Fritter ($26.00 each) x1 - Above average Thai curry base - This felt like it needed a side of rice - At this price point, I would have expected the rice to come with the dish - The fritters could have used more salt Black Cod ($39.00 each) x1 - Disappointing entrée, especially at this price point - Extremely mild and under seasoned dashi - The cod was cooked perfectly and fell apart - The glaze on the cod did not come through, leaving the white fish to be quite bland - A lot of bok choy in the dashi which was slightly bitter - The mushrooms in the dashi were nice but didnt give enough umami to the dish White Chocolate & Cranberry (2) and Dark Chocolate (1) Donuts ($9.00 for the 3 donuts) x1 - The cranberry was only on one side of the donut, leading to half the donut being extremely tart and the other half being just white chocolate - The dark chocolate donut was overpowered by the dark chocolate sauce (which felt like a 80-90% dark chocolate), leading to only bitterness - The dark chocolate donut should be tweaked to add something to cut the bitterness, such as a citrus or caramel Respect Your Elders ($14.00 each) x1 - Strawberry flavor came through - A great summer drink Atmosphere and Site: - The site is in an amazing location off of Byward Market tucked away from the busy street - The site offered indoor seating in both a sunroom and main ground floor as well as outdoor seating - The indoor seating in the sunroom had a greenhouse sort of effect which made the sunroom seating a bit humid - The overall décor and art in the restaurant were very nice - Beautiful exposed stone walls - The finishings (such as the salt lamp lights) could be improved so they are less tacky - Some dish wear should be replaced (we had a significantly scratched up bowl) Service: - The appetizers and drinks came out within 10~ after ordering them, the entrees came out 15~ mins after the appetizers (good pacing), strangely the donuts (dessert) took around 15~ mins (quite long) to come after placing the dessert order - The wait staff seemed extremely busy and/or understaffed and getting service at our table was slow - The dirty dishes remained on our table for a fairly long time after finishing the appetizer course and the entrée course

What a hidden Jem food was excellent and the service was on point.

We went on a wedsneday night and we had a wonderful dining experience. The decor is quite nice. The service, by Joanne, was nothing less than perfect. She was kind and funny, while making sure we always had everything we needed. Her recommandations for the food showed how well she knows her menu. The food was delicious, especially the tuna sashimi which was a real treat. The portions were just enough for a surprinsingly reasonable price. This restaurant is a must and truthfully one of the best in town. We will come back.

Whenever my partner and I have a bad dining experience somewhere, we look at each other and say at least it wasnt Sidedoor.

My husband made a reservation at the restaurant two weeks ago to celebrate my birthday and I must say that although the food was excellent the service was horrible. We asked to be seated inside due to the heat, there was a lot of empty tables, however we were put on recently used table that still had some dirty and a dead bug on it, there was no social distancing because this table was extremely close to another couple. The server spent most of our time there ignoring us to the point that we left before finishing our drinks, with the main courses on a to go bag and our drinks almost full at the table. The cherry on top was having to wait up to 15 minutes to pay when we were just over the whole your guys are not fancy enough to us treatment that we re getting The service definitely wasn t worth the check

The food was fine but we had to wait 45 mins for doughnuts which never came. Overall, over 2 hours sat down, we were waiting for more than 1 and a half hours, service was frustrating. For the quality of the food and the long wait times, the price was not good at all. Far better options near by

We had our wedding here and Kim and the team were fantastic! Kim was great throughout the planning stages - offering guidance and answering questions. I cant imagine its easy serving 150 people, but the staff did an incredible job - everyone was commenting on how great the service was. Food, as always, 10/10 - we had guests wanting to go back the very next day for dinner again. We cant thank you all enough!!!

Really nice little spot nestled in a back alley in the market. Our server was excellent and I would say the service was akin to what you would expect at a 5 star establishment. The food is quite tasty and the chef clearly takes some creative liberties which we all enjoyed. From a value standpoint however and looking at competing venues , the price is 1.5-2x higher than what one would expect. All in all still enjoyed and likely wouldnt dissuade us from returning.

To be completely fair I will rate atmosphere, service and food separately.. Atmosphere was 5/5, very interesting layout with beautiful decoration, high ceilings, stone walls, great lighting - all in all great. Service 4/5, it was good, no complaints. Food 1/5, unfortunately the food was extremely oily, to the point where it was not editable. A lot of potential as the quality is great and dishes are unique. I would recommend it for the experience, it is located within the lovely Byward Market which makes for a great evening out.

Glassy

Service and outdoor patio vibes were fantastic. The food, however, left a lot to be desired. The fish tacos were okay but the shrimp dumplings, and *especially the gong bao chicken were not good. The chicken had this slimy texture to it and tasted like nasty mall/food court food. Just gross. The donuts were passable - a bit on the stale side. Overall, it was just vibes and hefty bill.

Awful experience. Absolutely nothing redeeming about our experience. We were sat and waited longer than average for our server, but that was fine. It was not a huge deal. We ordered sparkling water, which was served warm. We were given ice, which isn t quite the same, but fine. My glass was hazy and had something on the outside. Probably just a one off as the other glasses were fine. Then we waited 40 minutes for salads I just cannot fathom that. There was never once an apology given or a visit to the table to explain the wait NOTHING. I can t say anything to the food as after 45 minutes we paid for our water and left. Again, no apologies. A joke of an establishment.

Nice atmosphere. A very expensive restaurant to eat at.

I have not been there in years and food is still very yummy.

Great restaurant and able to accommodate out large group and allow us to order from the à la carte menu. Vegetarian options are limited (one or two choices) and I found the portion sizes to be on the smaller end especially given the price.

I recently went here for a friend s birthday, in terms of aesthetics the place is great however , for food I would not recommend, it is a high end sort of place , limited options for menu , not worth the price in my opinion, and none of us could finish the food, it just was not tasty or good. I m sad to say this because I really liked the vibe and the place , even the dessert wasn t good, it was all around disappointing, but the staff is good, it s just you I got the ick, with the food , I even sent back and ordered something different but it still wasn t good either. Hope this review saves someone.

We have dined at Sidedoor numerous times over the years and the food and service has been very good; the glass atrium or patio is a lovely spot for a meal. On our last visit the service was very good and attentive, the food was good but not as good as in past visits, and the portions a bit skimpy when it came to tacos and the black cod. The mains, at $42 each, were expensive relative to other comparable venues.

Food was ok Decor seats are torn I had high tee expectations for the location and referrals don t order a martini. Because they don t have olives The service was in experience they rushed us

Five of us went for dinner last night. We ordered a mix of food to share. Everything was absolutely delicious Spicy beef tacos were a huge hit! We opted for another order of tacos in lieu of dessert. Our server was so kind and attentive. Cant wait to go back.

The service was very disappointing. First, we waited about 40 minutes for the main meal after we finish our starters. We then ordered more drinks and after waiting about 30 min, I just asked for the bill. I told the server that we never got the drinks, and instead of apologizing she rudely asked if we still want them. The food was just average for the price.

Unique menu, fusion. Very very good.

First time here since 2019, food is still decent for the price point but the quality and creativity has definitely declined since my last visit. Very beautiful decor and ambiance, would still recommend

Over-rated, Over-priced, under-trained staff. Took my family there in mid August as a treat, turned out to be more of a trick on us. Even though the place was 80% empty, we were sat up in a corner, then promptly forgotten about. We ordered a bunch of stuff and the server didnt seem to know what was in half of it. Had some pot-stickers that were either poorly made or under-cooked. The wrapper waas tough and chewy. Worst of all, two of the party ordered pepsi, which came (She gave us three by accident) and we immediately could tell something was off. The mix was flat and had an off-taste. When asked what was up with the drinks, she disappeared for a while, then came back and said, yeah, the mix needs changing apparently...Do you still want these? Do we still want drinks that taste funny? Uh...no....and we only ordered two. Ill see what i can do. Come back with THREE warm cans of pepsi. WARM pepsi. Im paying close to a hundred bucks per person and you give us warm pepsi. I mean, we were dressed somewhat casually, but we arent the $%$#ing Clampetts, so no, warm pepsi isnt an option. She sort of huffs and puffs and goes to get ice. So, the entire meal is pretty underwhelming and I have to wonder if there was evven a Sous Chef or Chef in back looking out for the stuff coming out. So, bill was almost $400 for 5 people and I felt like I was robbed. AND they charged us for THREE pepsis, at $4 a piece. Maybe they had a bad night, but this came across as just a bunch of yonzos who dont know what they are doing. And, as a former fine dining chef, I found the entire vibe about dealing with complaints absolutely unacceptable. Granted, it was really the server who needs to be trained better. I now actually discourage my friends from going there. In a city like Ottawa, Sidedoor needs to SERIOUSLY step up their game.

I went there for my partners birthday and clearly the worst service in Ottawa. Although the meal was good overall, I cant recommend such service. No smiles from the waitresses and on top of that, I asked for candles or equivalent for dessert when booking the birthday party and none of the requests were accommodated. I discreetly reminded the waitress there but she forgot again.... Dont go there. Youll eat better elsewhere with more smiles.

Disappointed to see where Sidedoor is as opposed to a few years ago. Quality of food has definitely gone down, while prices have increased. It used to be one of our favourite restaurants but I cant see us going back any time soon. Ordered calamari which came out rubbery; the pieces are large and you arent given a knife at the table so youre forced to try and chew through a piece thats much larger than bite size. The Korean chicken tacos seemed nothing more than a regular chicken taco with a line of gochujang sauce through the middle, nothing like what we expected from the description. The beef lettuce wraps were tasty, but the meat is cooked in such a way that it is difficult to bite into the lettuce wrap without pulling the whole piece out; you end up having to stuff the whole thing in your mouth, or piece your wrap back together. Tuna roll was small and didnt have much taste, the rice was mushy. You had the feeling that a lot of what was served was not made fresh. Highlights of the meal were the drinks and tuna tataki. Unexpected but not surprising to see that the restaurant was almost empty on a Friday evening given the overall experience.

Sadly, was terribly disappointed. We came from a 7 hour drive for a trip to Quebec and stopped in to check out this place. From the menu and website I was fairly excited to try the food. Beautiful place, such a great ambiance. Cocktails pretty good as well. Food- we had bajan fish tacos. Very bland, fish didn t really taste like anything. Spicy beef tacos - extremely dry beef, literally like eating jerky, again no flavour, not much meat at all, sent these back and they came out with less meat and still dry and inedible. Shrimp dumplings - looked great, was underdone and sent back, came out again underdone. The dough was chewy and sticky, either underdone as In not steamed enough, or dough was overworked, either way it wasn t pleasant. We mentioned this to the server, and was polite about it, we get mistakes happen, but we were pretty disappointed. He disappeared pretty quickly and we had another server come and take care of us. Overall, really really wanted to like this place as I made a reservation about 2-3 weeks out planning this trip. Unfortunate, and I m sure it s not always like that, but will not be returning

Very interesting menu - hard to decide what to choose. The food was delicious. The service was excellent.

I was there for a wedding it was just lovely except for a small error on the menu choices. I would recommend this place to anyone looking for a nice venue.

We had a group of 8 at Sidedoor tonight -- 2 more than booked -- but the staff scrambled and made it work. Fantastic food, great service, fun (but not to loud) vibe. Highly recommend!

Atmosphere was nice and classy, the food wasnt the best, was with a friend from Vietnam and he wasnt overly satisfied with the cuisine. Very much overly priced for what you received. Our plates and cutlery werent clean upon arrival as well, my friend asked for a fresh set.

Tuna tar

A huge thanks to Olivia (the assistant to the event coordinator at Sidedoor), Steph and the staff who did an amazing job with our wedding reception. We are super appreciative for Olivias work in help plan and coordinate our reception, Olivia was super helpful in answering any of our questions, and made the experience leading up to the day and day of seamless. The venue is beautiful, the food and drinks were delicious and the service was wonderful. Thank you Sidedoor for hosting us and our guests for this special day.

Atmosphere was great and wine was delicious. Food was the disappointing part. I ordered black cod and it was mush that dissolved in the bowl. It was very unappetizing to look at or to fork towards my mouth. I left disappointed with the expensive bill and empty belly.

Had 2 Christmas Work Parties here! Great Venue! Awesome Location! Very friendly staff and the food was delicious! Would definitely go back!

Good food and services

Shared a great meal at a Christmas Party with work

This is a bit pricey. I had the cod. It would be better if the rice or a choice of starches came with it, since not everyone thinks of ordering rice as a side dish. The donuts were not as fantastic as I had hoped. The service was top notch. The Penang curry looked delicious. Thats for next time!

Another white chef capitalizing on Asian food and culture. This place was such a let down. Had tacos and the black cod and all of it was terrible. The tacos had very little filling and the black cod didnt taste of high quality fish. All of the food screamed expensive for no reason. If youre looking for better tacos, El Camino/Ahoras are no brainers. I cant stress how disappointing and terrible this place was.