what's your favorite restaurant in the Byward Market? [General]

2010 May 19

2010 May 19
That all depends on why you ask. I think we need more to go on here: atmosphere, price range, cooking style and so on. Are you looking for a vendor, or actually a sit down restaurant?

Straight up, my favourite restaurant is the kitchen in the back of La Bottega. The food is incredibly fresh (whether it's from the sandwich bar or the kitchen), and while the service isn't particularly friendly, I can count on consistency and good price.

For more special occasions, I would pick Play or Navarra, with a strong preference for the latter.

That said, some of the best dining experiences that I've had came from outside the market and some of the market's best food does not come from the restaurants.

2010 May 19
Favourites right now, are Mezzanotte, and Navarra.


2010 May 19
My favourite lunch spot in the market right now is Planet Coffee.

My favourite dinner spot would be Sweetgrass.

2010 May 19
Murray Street and Play are in a constant battle for my love.

Play's got a better wine list and a more diverse menu.

Murray Street's got better charcuterie, has a bigger focus on those "big eff-off meat" dishes I often crave, and a weekend brunch menu that's actually brunch.

Both of them are awesome, and scale nicely depending on how much you want to spend.

2010 May 19
Mezzanotte has wickedly oily pasta... as in 2 tablespoon's worth per dish.

2010 May 19
For my dining meetings with adult children and out of town guests last weekend.
Ahora-very reasonably priced, good mexican food; Cheaper eats, ok ambience, a bit busy.
Chez Lucien. good, solid food , nice pub atmosphere, food decent and enjoyable because of pub ambience
Mezzanotte-really nice atmosphere-wickedly delicious deep fried smelts with garlic sauce! Also nice atmosphere and everything we had was unquestionably delicious. Upscale ( and price), very nice service. (most expensive, but wonderful)
Murray's Street so-so with service and one of us (out of 4 ) thought the serving sizes were small. I can't comment-I lean more to the lesser meat and sizes in general so this is not my forte style menu! As you can see-tourists from west carleton in the market!
Hit the Prescott on Sunday (now open for Sundays) -might have been the best hit with meatball sandwiches and square pizzas--I know they aren't in the market, but not too far off the beaten path and nice atmosphere for visiting!!