1 Elgin Restaurant

Went with family. Decor was unassuming but neat and servers were efficient and friendly. Food was tasty. Will come back.

Been there many times the show nights are crazy they somehow do 200 people fine dining in an hour and a half. If you go for lunch the vibes are quieter sitting on the patio in the summer is a must. Charcuterie plate is amazing all made in house local products too. Right now the beet salad is the best I’ve ever had. My mom love the house special on show nights and they always have a nice non alcoholic beverage.

Nice restaurant and the steak was great but the vegetation option (only one on the menu) was not great: (

Danica was our server and she was amazing and polite. She was so sweet when I mixed up a drink order and gave us informative advice so that we had delicious appetizers, an amazing dinner and dessert. We are definitely coming back and requesting Danica. We weren’t rushed and had lots of time before the show. The ambiance was perfect.

Was expenting better food. Took a lot of time to received the food, like very long. The equipment for the terasse is there but they don't adjust the temperature. The view is interesting but I was disappointed by the food, the temperature and the wait time

Excellent place to dine at. Fast, top-notch service. This is arguably the best place to dine in Ottawa. Highly recommended!

I don’t give 5 stars easily, but this was one of the best restaurants of Ottawa. If not the best.

We had 3 starters, 4 cocktails and 2 mains, for approximately $200. Every single dish was fantastic.

I will come back as often as I can to try other dishes.

The food is good and the view from patio is amazing BUT it's way too overpriced for both food and drinks are astronomically priced. For this reason I gave it 3 stars.

1 Elgin (and Le Café before that) has been up and down over the years, depending on who the chef is at any given time. I used to be a regular, but I rarely go anymore, because at those prices I want the meal to be great every time.

My last meal there was a pleasant surprise. Every dish was exceptionally good. I asked my server who the chef was, and learned that it is now Siobhan Detkavich, who will only be there for three months. Let's hope the restaurant will keep her on permanently!

Well that was something else! We took part in the Chef's Table 2023 event and it was great. As an introduction to 1 Elgin this was the best. Superb service in a fabulous setting right next to the Rideau Canal. The meal was so good starting with bread and bannock which was followed by a bison and beet dish, that was followed by the most tasty Pacific halibut. Lastly dessert was a yummy lemon ricotta cheese cake. Chefs Siobhan Detkavich and Kenton Leier are wizards in the kitchen! Entertainment was provided by The Retrogrades who had the crowd very much engaged with their 80's awesomeness.

Cette endroit est fantastique. Le menu est grand. Et la nourriture est un goût extraordinaire et le service est fantastique. C'est certain que je vais y retourner.et on est à côté du canal Rideau. Et c'est merveilleux. Merci pour votre réponse et c'est certain que je vais le recommander à mes amis

Went here for lunch with my husband, having driven past it previously and seeing a live band and a packed patio. Lunch (without drinks) was just over 100 dollars. The atmosphere is nice, overlooking the canal and seeing boats ready themselves for the locks. The food was presented nicely but lacked any flavour what so ever and came cold. I had a 44 dollar halibut that was a massive disappointment. Husbands pizza came caked with flour on the bottom of it, and covered in grease as the pizza was not at all true to a Margherita pizza (besides having basil on it).

Very nice evening. Food was fantastic and the music at the end was just perfect. Will have to do that again

I was there for a quick drink after walking around the area. Such a nice place with great location and view. Service was great and quick. I spent good time there. Thank you.

The food here is almost art. Lots of attention paid to presentation. Timing between courses was perfect. Everything was prepared perfectly. Servers were professional and friendly.

I'd give them a 4.5 star if this was an option. Two reasons not to give a 5 star. On the dinner reservation I made online, I had put a note that we were there to celebrate our 15th wedding anniversary. This was not acknowledged at the restaurant or mentioned at all by the host or server. Also, my drink was sitting with only a sip left for the later half of my meal. After I finally took the last sip, it took another 10 minutes for the server to get me another.

I had the fish, it was delicious. My wife had a burger, which tasted bland and dry.

It's a nice spot for a fine drink, just not to dine for me.

This restaurant is quite beautiful, overlooking the historic Rideau Canal with plenty of rain cover should there be any showers. The service was excellent, very much expected at such an establishment. This place would be a great choice if going for drinks ($$$) with colleagues, friends, or clients.

That said, I was there for lunch.

I ordered the chicken salad and didn't think it was great (you could blame me as well, I know it isn't the sexiest order in the world). The chicken was cooked, but it was very dry. I left thinking that I could confidently beat their chef in a chicken salad Iron Chef-type competition, and that's not really a thought that should come to mind when I think of going out to eat a salad for that price. There might be better menu items.

Though, I noticed that the fried chicken sandwich only has one bun to force the knife and fork to come out? I get it's fine dining but come on, it's a fried chicken sandwich. Two buns please!

Beer was cold.

Very nice restaurant and the table had a really amazing view. Delicious food. So nice staff. I highly recommend it.

We chose to sit on the patio for dinner. While nice to see the boats go by, there's little ambience created by the restaurant by way of music or service. The service was a bit scattered and very informal for such a supposedly upscale restaurant. Servers were audibly giving orders on the side by our table which was distracting though our server was warm and professional though clearly slammed and couldn't spend much time with us.

As for the food, it was good but not amazing when you're dropping almost $250 with tip for 3 people. My partner ordered the burger which was good but we've had better at 3 star restaurants for less than $20 and this one was almost $30.
My daughter ordered the steak and it was excellent though for $52 a plate, the basket of bread should have been free but instead they charged $5 for a couple of pieces of bread and some tasteless crackers. The whipped butter was a nice touch though.

I ordered the ricotta pasta and while a decent portion, this was the biggest let down as it was quite flavorless and I had to salt it a fair bit. You really don't expect bland food for $26. The wine pairing was good but the coffee wasn't hot so we abandoned it and the dessert menu was boring so we all passed.

This place gives the illusion of posh but the food and service just aren't there yet. It's clearly more about the location and the convenience of pre-show dining and for tourists who want to dine along the canal so long as they don't mind dropping a couple hundred on just ok food. I'd say best head to Riviera or Beckta or Cantina Gia for an excellent meal and then go for a walk down the canal afterwards.

I love my experience at this restaurant! We came for brunch on a Sunday at 11: 30am, the day after the Canada Day celebrations, and was surprised there were no waits and many tables available. We got a table in the patio with nice views next to the canal. The highlight was the food. We ordered a couple of appetizers to share and they were well presented, and tasty, just perfect for a Sunday light lunch!

Very nice restaurant, the food was delicious the setting was great. Our table was on the patio across from the Rideau canal. Overall, it was a great experience. I will definitely go back again.

Beautiful layout and really cool atmosphere on the Patio. Even with the overcast it was a pleasant lunch by the water. Dishes were nicely presented and the charcuterie board was amazing.

Great spot to grab a meal before or after a show at the NAC. Loved everything I ordered here; for starters we had the caesar salad, bread basket and truffle fries. Kept it simple for the mains and went with the burger. The location and atmosphere are superb and perfect for a calm, soothing night out.