ottawa foodies

I was biking through the market yesterday and saw some folks enjoying the sunshine on some of the restaurant's patios.

This is my first summer downtown. So fess up, what's your favourite patio and why?

Pub Italia - best beer selection in town.

Then I shall add the "Patio" tag to Pub Italia! Thanks :)

Just be careful because the patio out front and the one to the right for some reason do not have the same selection of beer. The one to the front has their full selection, and the one to the right only has a partial selection. Not sure why.

I'm going to list my favourites based purely on atmosphere, rather than what's available (as zymurgist has done, and to which I agree):

D'Arcy McGee's is great in the summer for weekends around noon since it get's its sun early in the day and has a great view of the War Memorial area.

The Blackthorn Cafe's rear patio is the perfect quiet spot in the Market. It's in a rarely visited cobblestone courtyard.

The most sunshine is had at Tucker's Marketplace or the Hard Rock.

The most people watching can be done from either the upper floor Auld Dubliner (they open the windows so it's kinda patio-like) or the downstairs bar/resto at the same location.

btw, Black Tomato downtown has a nice patio and a pretty decent if much more limited selection of beer, as well

I like Meditheo personally. Good snacks, wine and people watching.

A hidden gem wrt patio-life is Mezanotte, across from Picolo Grande. I've had several memorable patio dinners there. It is not as crowded as some of the others, but on what other patio can you eat fine food at 9pm, and hear some fine live music escaping the open windows at The Rainbow. And if hidden patio-life is your fare, then Bistro 115 has an awesome patio out back with calming water fountian and 20 year old grape vines hanging overhead. Further, it is pretty hard to beat the 'patio' at Le Cafe at the NAC that overlooks the canal. As for Pub Italia, I've frequented it a lot less since they removed my favourite menu item (Tortelini). Just my two cents.

Unfortunately I believe that Meditheo is no longer around. There was a new restaurant in its place as of a few weeks ago.

As for patios, The Heart and Crown is also great for people watching if you get the right spot.

Mamma Grazzi's also has a nice patio. It's in a courtyard that doesn't have the street noise from cars but a bit of pedestrian traffic so it's good for people watching. They also have a decent pasta selection.

ollie, thanks for the tip! It seems that Meditheo has been replaced with a new South/Central American restaurant: Mambo Restaurante Nuevo Latino Mambo Restaurante Nuevo Latino

The menu looks very exciting! I'm not a huge fan of Kinki but maybe they'll get this one right.

I like the patio at Il Piccolino myself. It's more isolated from the street and is surrounded by an ivy-lined fence strung with tiny white lights - very pretty at night!

HOT... if you like Il Piccolino, you'll love the one out back at Bistro 115.. give it a try!