Ottawa - coffee shops and bars

Bérénice Renard
Aug 16
2 min read

Hi there, I've been Ottawa for 2 days and loved it! To be honest I've heard that this city was not a must do so I was not expecting anything crazy. Luckily, my friend's cousine lives there and she gave me precious advise and cute places to visit. (Thank you Camille!)

I litterally loved my time there, the weather was perfect, people are really kind and I discover very cute places !

Note: I stayed at the Barefoot Inn, it was great for two nights, not the best location but great spots are a few minutes walk away. It was clean and the women at the front desk was particularly nice with me, really appreciated it.

Coffee shops

Little Victories - refined coffee shop

The Happy Goat - unadorned coffee shop

Equador Coffee Roaster - fair trade organic coffee roaster

Outside bars

Tavern on the Falls

& Tavern on the Hill

Coffee shops you need to try when visiting Ottawa:

Little Victories - refined coffee shop

This place is sleek and spacious. They have good coffee and the staff is really nice. It has kind of a minimalist spirit - few tables, just a coffee bar, high ceiling. Thanks to the large window, it has a lot of light, which gives it an even more luxurous look.

Loved the terrass & their granola bar!

The Happy Goat - unadorned coffee shop

They have different location in Ottawa, I went to the Cumberland Cafe, it was great, good coffee, quiet (but not too much - loved the playlist btw). It is between buildings and the walls are black so it gives the feeling of a raw place, is a bit dark - straighforward.

Equador Coffee Roaster - fair trade organic coffee roaster

This coffee place is located inside the National Art Center. I struggle to find it (enter by Elgin St / Laurence Freiman Ln), but it was worth it!

It is really spacious and there are plugs (good!), you have a view on the trees & castle which I really liked. Oh, do I need to mention how their expresso are good? You can really feel that it is high quality coffee beans.

Outside bars you need to try when visiting Ottawa:

Chill at Tavern on the Falls and / or Tavern on the Hill:

Those two places are outside bars, one is closed to the falls, the other one is more in the center of the city. I went to both (on the same day, oops) and loved it!

The views are nice, you will see the sunset from both. They serve some local beers and good food.

I can not really decide what's the best. Tavern on the hills is bigger and has more confortable seating and the one on the falls is really original as you can see and hear the falls. Try both!