Country restaurants [General]

2008 Aug 22
Hi everyone!

Now I'm looking for country restaurants (if that's a correct name) in and around Ottawa. With sunny and not too hot weather, which I believe can be expected in the rest of August and September, it should be nice having a not too long drive out of Ottawa and having a meal in a cute green place, better on the bank of a river or near a lake among the trees. I wonder if there're any places like that? I personally haven't seen many (in contrast to Charlevoix for example where I've recently been and where they have plenty of really nice spots close to nature), but hopefully there are some hidden gems that can be kindly revealed by our co-foodies :)

What I've already discovered:
- Tea Room at Mackenzie King Estate, Gatineau (best nature experience)
- A restaurant at the golf resort 50 km from Ottawa (on the lake... I don't remember the name, but there should many like that one)
- Fall River Restaurant (read about it here www.canada.com but haven't visited yet)
- is that it?

2008 Aug 22
Westport is a great little place for that. I haven't been in a while, but the Cove was fairly nice when I went.

2008 Aug 22
almonte has two nice places, both on the river. fitzgeralds and the ironwork pub.
www.caughey.ca
www.ironworkspub.ca/

for westport, my cottage is near there, so i can recommend a few places. the foley house pub has a nice patio on the lake. i know someone on here had a bad experience with service recently, but i have been many times and never had an issue.
www.foleyhouse.ca/

cove inn is also nice and on saturday nights has decent jazz.
www.coveinn.com/

i really like len's cove galley restaurant at the marina in portland, ontario. about 20 minutes past westport. it is right on the water - literally out on a dock.
www.lenscove.com

also, perth has some great restaurants. my favourite - hungry planet, is not on the water. there are a few that are, just walk down the main street. lots of cute shops, plus a farmer's market on saturday mornings.
www.thehungryplanet.com/

2008 Aug 22
The places I have my eye on that come highly recommended from friends I trust are are L'Oree du Bois in Chelsea:

www.oreeduboisrestaurant.com/

and the Mariposa duck farm:

www.mariposa-duck.on.ca/


2008 Aug 22
"Au Petit Lutins" in Aylmer has a lovely patio that has a very lovely country and river view - the food is just ok, nothing too special - just standard breakfast fare and some diner-type lunch items, but the view made it worth the trip on a sunny morning.

2008 Aug 22
Les Fougeres is in Chelsea and is one of our favourites in the entire city.

www.fougeres.ca/

For casual meals and beer, I like the Cheshire Cat in Carp.

www.cheshirecatpub.com/

There's also Le Table de Pierre Delahaye in Papineauville, QC. Haven't been there in many years, but I trust it is still very good.

www.latabledepierredelahaye.ca

None of them are right on water but all are worth a visit.

2008 Aug 22
Moscovite - I will echo the other's recommendations for The Swan (in Carp), The Cove (in Westport) and The Cheshire Cat (on Carp Road), all are wonderful spots that we like to enjoy on a Summer or Fall Day.

I will also add:

Kelly's Landing in Manotick along the Rideau River. This Gas Bar / Ice Cream Stand / Restaurant truly captures life for a boater on the river. The view is fantastic, and the food is always surprisingly good (and more upscale than one would presume would be at a spot like this). See Kelly's Landing

The Swan on the Rideau - Just down the road from Kelly's Landing, a cute English Pub that serves up ok food, and is a great place to sit on a chilly Fall day next to the fireplace.

The Priest's Mill - On Main Street in Alexandria, this place has something for everyone. A Dining Room upstairs, A Pub Downstairs, and a Patio outside next to the waterfall. Decent Food, and a great historical building with a nice view of the mill pond & waterfall. See The Priest's Mill

2008 Aug 22
The Red Dot Café is one that nobody else has already mentioned, located in or near Osgoode from what I remember... a good family restaurant if that's what you're looking for.

I know distance is a factor in your original request, I'm throwing that to the wind since I'd recommend driving out to Wilno to go to the Wilno Tavern for some baseball sized perogies & sausage & braised red cabbage. Delish.

2008 Aug 22
Chimichimi - If we are throwing the distance factor farther afield (than say an hour) then I'm going to add The Willows Inn in Hudson, Quebec. It is gorgeous anytime of year, but particularly in the Summer and Fall with it's view of the Ottawa where it creates the Lake of Two Mountains, the ferry trudging back and forth, Oka on the hillside, and in the Autumn all the wonderful coloured leaves.