Canal Ritz

Everything was delicious, the service was amazing, they always asked if everything was okay, they served us super fast and they picked up our dishes super fast even though the restaurant was full. I loved it.

Some plates were decent, others not (a hard crust pizza FULL of onions, 4 tiny chicken pieces and zero bbq sauce for a bbq chicken pizza) but service was zero. The waitress kept pressurizing us to order within 1 min of being seated and stayed at our table until we ordered something. Same for paying, she kept staring at the square terminal and forced us to enter a specific amount for the tip, against adding pressure. Very rude waitress. Would personally not go back nor recommend to any friend and family.

The first time here, pleasantly surprised to see a true gem among restaurants in Ottawa. The food is trully extraordinary, service is professional, always there when you need it.

Ambience and service are excellent, but quality of food does not match its high price. The bicycle parking is good, though.

Nice location with a view on canal! Food is decent, but stay away from deserts (coffee in particular, and I mean it)! Service is great!

The location is wonderful. The staff is friendly and welcoming.
The food is consistently terrible and I have tried most items on the menu. The last I tried was the charcuterie board. The candied nuts were soft and spongy. The meats were colours they should not have been. It was served with huge white buns. Everything looked old and weary. It should never have been let out of the kitchen.
Its a pleasure to sit there with a glass of wine but the prices for drinks are outrageous.
I suggest a new menu, better quality ingredients for the food, larger glasses of wine 5 oz for 13.50 is crazy!

Very nice location with a great view. Our server was very attentive and very nice. I will definitely be back.

Terrible food! Terribly over-priced! Mosquitoes everywhere! If I could give this place a zero I would!

I don't recommend this place to any of my friends or family. The scenery and location are awesome, but the food quality, flavours, variety etc all disappoint. I came as part of a rehearsal dinner and got the salmon, the carrots were overcooked, and some tasted sour/rotten. I did not finish my plate

Sad place. So much potential! Great location, free parking. Old plastic tables need updating or replacing.
As a former server, I was also surprised at the lack of service we received.
We went for drinks and dessert.
I asked the server if they make their own bread and desserts like they used to - she looked confused and said she didn't know!?
Our desserts were roughly cut and the plates messy - delicious but no care (at all) to presentation. I wouldn't serve something with that poor presentation to my family at an everyday meal! Our server basically threw mine at me and left without saying anything like hope you enjoy it or anything at all!
Too bad. As others are saying, this place could easily be awesome! Not asking for much here - just good food presented with care and pleasant service is all we want.
If they are to continue in this way, they should lower prices. Prices fool you into thinking you'll get something for your money. You won't. The view is the only good thing and that's free already.
Someone should take this gorgeous location over and make it what it deserves to be.

I had the smoked salmon linguine here and it was absolutely incredible. The atmosphere and service was also amazing.

We just held an afternoon baby shower for about 40 people in the beautiful glassed-in dining area of the Canal Ritz. At 9am when we showed up for decorating the room, all the tables were perfectly set and the owner was on site.
During the party, service was impeccable and the food (including the pizzas) was delicious and beautifully presented. This venue with a great view is the best for lunch, dinner and parties!

Small menu but what they do, they do consistently well. Perfectly sized thin crust pizzas, amazing moules and any of the pasta dishes are winners. Add a little sunshine and you have the beautiful ambiance of the canal to go with a great lunch.

Hosted my baby shower at the Canal Ritz and the experience from start to finish was remarkable. The venue is beautiful, the staff super attentive and accommodating and most importantly the quality of the food was un matched. Highly recommend the Canal Ritz to others as a venue option, definitely will not be disappointed!

This is one of my favourite go to's. No matter what you order, it will be perfect. Try their pizza! And of course the staff is exceptional.

The food was quite good but significantly overpriced. $25 for a pasta dish is a stretch for pasta that is not made from scratch.
The service, however, was fantastic!

We were here with our friends for brunch and we all enjoyed the food, service and definitely the view! A great restaurant in Ottawa!

I love this place! Its at an amazing spot on the canal. The place has been quiet every time I've been, the staff and servers are super friendly. The food looked and tasted delicious. I'd highly recommend this place!

Such a quaint place! Staff are amazing, food is excellent! We will always make a point to dine here whenever we return to Ottawa! We loved it!

Parking for the resturaunt was completely full. We had to walk 3 blocks from where we could find street parking. Service was unattentive (didn't take dishes when passing by, took more than 10 minutes after asking if we needed more time with the menus before coming back to take our orders, never came to ask how the food was, and missed order notes from 3 people). Cutlery was dirty, crumbs under the table covering. My friend spent more time trying to get a wasp off her food than she did eating it. No wasp traps or deterrents to be seen. My salad came with balsamic vinegar. Not sauce, not dressing, not vinaigrette, just straight up vinegar. One of the water pitchers looked like it had been used in a bar for 30 years. Dairy free options were almost non-existent. Only one of us got a cloth napkin despite many being seen around. You would expect for the prices that there would be table bread.

The experience definitely did not live up to the name. The view is lovely, and that's pretty much it.

Great food, waitress (Michelle) was awesome. Great waterfront location. I'll go back in a heart beat.

The Location was perfect but the food and attention of staff I have to say otherwise. I am someone with many allergies and the menu was extremely limited. I ordered a chicken sandwich they could not provide me fries, a salad dressing or the house mayo for the meal as they could not accommodate my allergies. When the meal arrived it was dressed with many of the allergens I am unable to eat, when they brought the meal out a second time it was could and the bread for the sandwich was soggy. I paid just over $23 for this meal and don't think I should have based on the situation.last our table found the staff very hands off and not attentive to us, we waited long periods of time to get drinks, food, dessert etc.

July 15,2021: After my niece and nephew left, my mom went for a walk. My dad messaged her asking if she wanted to meet for lunch and she said why don’t we meet at @canalritz and Josh could come and discuss comedy. So my dad and I walked over and we had a lunch that was unofficially in celebration of me winning last night’s comedy contest. Anyway, my mom and I got delicious pizzas. The food is good. The view of the canal is obviously beautiful. It feels like eating at a country club.

Pretty location beside the Rideau Canal.
Service is friendly but seemed disorganized. We received incorrect drinks and missed appetizer until we brought it up.
MANY fruit flies circling our heads while we ate dinner.
The food was ok. Nothing great and nothing terrible.
Pricey for what it was in the food department. I guess you pay for the view of the canal?
So much potential but highly overrated based on our experience.

Pasta was under cooked the restaurant did not look clean only good thing was service was really good.
(I Won't be returning any time soon)

Gorgeous location on the water, great menu, excellent food and service, reasonable prices. Ample parking nearby on Fifth. Accessible.

Long waits for food and drinks to arrive. Mediocre food quality and portion sizes. Postmeal espresso arrived cold. The only redeeming feature was the setting alongside the canal.

Expensive and limited parking, but delicious does not cover exactly how tasty the food is. If you want a chance to have some fancy food at a place that looks like you should dress up.take the time to visit this gem.

This is a restaurant that has only the view! The food is too ordinary, but the waiters need more common sense (not intelligence, COMMON SENSE) while serving customers.

A favourite spot for lunch with an out-of-town guest. The coffee is not great. I should remember not to.order any.

Ambience, food and drinks were fantastic. Our server was very friendly, polite and took excellent care of us. Would definately eat there again.

Awesome location, chairs are not comfortable, food is above average- can be better. Restrooms are disappointing. Service is good.

Great view of the canal and all the food we ordered was delicious and good portion size. Only had to wait for parking as it was full on a Tuesday evening.

Good restaurant, decent food, stellar service, with one of the best location and patio in Ottawa!
Unfortunately, they do not offer baby changing tables in male restrooms, in spite of having handicapped size toilets.

Bon restaurant, nourriture correcte, service délicieux, niché dans l'un des plus emplacements et terrasse d'Ottawa!
Malheureusement, ils n'offrent pas de table de change-bébé dans les toilettes pour hommes, bien qu'ils ont des toilettes de taille handicapés.

So happy that the patio is open again! Lovely spot to sit and enjoy a drink/meal while looking out onto the canal. Excellent variety of beverages and I've never been disappointed with the menu.
Staff have always been friendly and helpful - this is a great restaurant to dine at.

The Canal Ritz lives up to the reputation - large patio with excellent water views, very good service and overall ambience. The menu is slightly limited and priced on the higher side but given the overall experience, worth it!

I was extremely disappointed with the food here. They have the worst charcuterie I have ever ordered, all the meats/cheese were low grade. Pasta was under done and contained small amounts of mushrooms/prosciutto. Turkey sandwich was dry and bland. Do not be fooled by the "Italian gelato" We ordered the pistachio flavour and it was the exact same tasting ice cream you would get from a buffet. 1 star for the service, 2nd for the view. I do not recommend coming here if you're looking for a good meal.

Good food but servers were like robots. They weren't rude but they also weren't very personable.

Just beside the Canal, amazing location to enjoy your lunch or drink. The menu is quite good with good variety of pasta (is an Italian style restaurant). I missed more variety in meat (too much chicken from my point of view) however the canal ritz burger was delicious (see picture). Not too much beers In the card neither. Overall a nice place to enjoy a Sunday morning, with correct prices (no cheap) beautiful patio and friendly service. By the way there is a parking for the clients which is very good due to the restaurant location.

My salmon unfortunately was overcooked. As for the salad dressing, all I could taste was horseradish. Did not enjoy my meal. At least the wine was ok and the service was excellent

An absolute delight - one of my favorites in the city. Fantastic food (highly recommend the chicken parm) with beautiful views of the canal.

Even with COVID restrictions, patio dining was a lovely experience! Seating was comfortable, we were allowed to sit with masks off. Only had to wear masks when waking through the restaurant. Did was delicious! I had the smoked salmon salad with capers. Just the right size and salmon was flavorful, on a bed of crisp, fresh spring mix of lettuce. (I omitted the onions, and dressing on the side). My friends ordered the Canal Ritz fettuccine -so decadent! And they are picky eaters! LOL! At 1: 30pm on a Tuesday, we had no problem making last minute reservations. The restaurant was about half full when we arrived at that time. We were able to have a nice table on the waterfront. I would suggest bringing a hat if you plan to sit outside, as the umbrellas don't cover the full table. Only 2 people were able to be in the shade. If I had had my sun hat, I would have been fine. Just good planning for outdoor dining in Ottawa!

Service was on point, kind of a glorified cafeteria for food, mussels were just ok, and not enough, ceasar salad was bland, they need to learn how to cook a steak properly, was a good piece of meat but ruined by the chef this day. Might go back.who knows, great location, pleasant enough staff, but it's all about the food for me.

Wow, really impressed by the service. Food was great, location ideal for skating and getting together with friends

Consistently great food in a warm and inviting atmosphere - and that view of the canal just can’t be beat! Many options for celiacs and vegetarians too.

The double espresso (neat) was terrible, even the second time they tried. It tasted like plain coffee, didn't have the creamy texture normally associated with a well made espresso.

Food was good, service pleasant and attentive and the atmosphere nice.

I came here for my friends wedding and was very impressed. The food was good and fast and the server was really really great! We had a very fun time, thanks ritz!

We had our reception here September 2019 and dinner was absolutely fantastic! Chris and Yvette were wonderful during the planning process and the staff were able to arrange the upstairs tables and place a few decorations I delivered the day before. Truly appreciate the friendly staff and delicious food. The soup and salmon, especially, was to die for! I only wish I got the name of the soup so I can attempt to find and make that recipe at home.

Service was excellent however for our large party lots of food was served on the colder side and the food was a bit bland. It's a beautiful spot!

Food isn't good. Chicken burger has pretty much no chicken, fries are greasy. Just not for me. Extremely expensive for a low quality food.

A beautiful lakeside restaurant. Unfortunately, while you can be dropped off here by ferry, you have to find your way back a 40 minute walk to get back where you started.

The service was impeccable.
The food could be of better quality. I ordered the bbq burger and I asked if it would be wrapped in lettuce (I didn't want the buns) and the waitress said yes. That wasn't the case and I wasn't impressed by the plate either.
The restaurant itself could be a little bit neater. I could see spider webs on the little chandeliers.
The view is amazing! I think a lot of people go there just for the view.

Ideal restaurant for lunch or supper. Good view of the Rideau Canal. Good food in a relaxed surrounding. We highly recommend it.

This place is just stunning. I am a nature lover and it's position along the rideau river make me want to return over and over. The staff was amazing; everything we asked was given. They also proposed to take a picture of us after seeing us struggling to get a better angle. Definitely a beautiful restaurant with great food.

Ils nous ont donné des menus en anglais seulement. Il a fallu demander les menus français qui existent. Malgré ceci, ils nous ont donné une serveuse unilingue anglaise qui ne s'est pas du tout forcée pour dire au moins quelques mots. Manque de respect. Bonne soupe malgré tout et excellente vue sur le canal.

Sits against the Rideau Canal making for a great view. Would recommend getting a spot outside along the fence so you can be right along side the water. Food and desert was really good and came in a timely manner. A nice clean place and not overly fancy but the prices aren't too expensive either. Regardless, a great spot for a romantic dinner becuase of the view. Highly recommend.

Had a fantastic lunch on the patio. Great view and pleasant atmosphere. Our server, Rebecca, was extremely knowledgeable and made our experience truly delightful. So many specials to choose from and great portion sizes. Will be back for sure.

The location is great and the food is pretty good. I eat a low carb diet, so the menu is limited for me.