Hole in the Wall Restaurants [Food/Vendor]

2010 Nov 19
I am relatively new to Ottawa but am always on the look-out for great, cheap food at small, unassuming, or otherwise hidden locations. I do realize that a "Hole-in-the-Wall" restaurant has different meanings for different people, but therein lies the fun. Let a newbie know where your favorite HITW spot is.
Our family has found Whitehorse restaurant on Tremblay for cheap breakfasts after music lessons.

I also live near the new Havana cafe and, although I haven't been in yet, I am hoping this becomes another one of my favourite HITW spots.

Let me know your guilty pleasures.

2010 Nov 19
a few come to mind -
meadows (adeline & preston) for good simple breakfast.
rochester pub (rochester & norman) for good beer on tap and the nightly specials are decent.
la cabana (merivale & carling-ish) for el salvadorian food

2010 Nov 20
Not entirely a "restaurant" but they do have tables, with actual cutlery and real plates if you eat in.
Cedars and Co grocery store has pretty good food.

Most days you can get a chicken or beef brochette platter for around $12 something and they cook the meat on a grill while you wait.
I have only had that once, as lately I am not super hungry for such a big meal.
The grocery store also has a very good counter with prepared salads and this week they have dandelion salad (bought some and it was $1.75 for a 250 gram container).
They also have a "eggplant salad" it is made w roasted eggplant,vinegar,garlic.
It is not babaghanouj (that has sesame paste),
I can make the same eggplant salad at home-but it is a lot of bother usually.

You can also get samosas for $1.25 and they are good. Doubt they are made at the store. they have some fried w vegetable or meats or else a baked samosa that is good.

For fish I like Merivale fish market onMerivale rd. prices are very resonable for dishes-the clam strips are good,fish and chips is really good too.

I really like Cafe My House on bank st-everything is fresh and menu is quite healthy it seems.

Glebe Community Centre has a vegetarian tea house/restaurant in it that is open weekdays till 3pm and on weekends where there is special events.
I only had a sandwich there last week-but is was very good.
everything there is pretty much organic and the menu changes

2010 Nov 21
I can't say i agree with most of the upthread restaus as 'hitw' places - Cedars, Havana Cafe and Merivale Fishmarket...??? No way. These places are clean, cute, and very very new (the first two) or a well kept institution (Merivale).

At least in my mind a true 'hole in the wall' is a greasy spoon, ages old, smoke on the walls, original owner, kind of place... and i give you three for your consideration:

HINTONBURGER on Wellington West - Great, great burgers. Seriously, some of the best on Ottawa and beyond. Solid fries and rings too. But wow... ten or so seats, whitewashed walls, not heat, no decor... it looks like the used car lot office i think it used to be. Amazing burgers tho'.

ADA'S on Bank. A true greasy spoon brunch place - crowded, under-decorated, tables and chairs with their own centers of gravity - that does really good food. The 'breakfast sandwich' bacon and eggs between pancakes is especially great.

YRE'S on MacArthur - I haven't been to Yre's since he relocated, but the original location was true hitw perfection from which some of the best chicken take out in the city was served... and it was, in fact and literally, a hole. In a wall. I really do need to try the new place asap.

..these three would easily qualify for that 'Diners Dives and Drive-thrus' show on the Food Network.

2010 Nov 21
Further to ddueck's original caveat about vague meanings, I see "hole in the wall" as having at least two (often non-overlapping) definitions:

1. A dingy, old, unbecoming restaurant, typically with good food for low prices.
2. A restaurant that is off the beaten path or hard to find, and appears non-descript from the outside.

The first definition is clearly the one used by OSoloMeal. The second definition applies to some of the other suggestions. Heck, it might even apply to Atelier, unless there's an assumption about low prices! :-)

2010 Nov 21
i can assure you that my 3 suggestions meet hole in the wall criteria - full of local characters and no money spent on decor, just good, honest food and beer.

2010 Nov 21
The Elmdale and The Prescott would definitely fit into the "lots of local character, not much spent on decor" category. Man I love those places.

2010 Nov 22
Great thread! I vote Mello's, So Good & Ada's

2010 Nov 22
Guess I did not realize that "hole in the wall" meant a really old place?

For "old looking" that is supposed to be good I keep on hearing of Lucky Key on Carling-that old chinese restaurant with the $3.99 lunch special and the good homemade eggrolls.
haven't eaten there,but the newspaper reviews said it was good this summer.

Hintonburger sounds really good-will have to go check it out.
Was in that area 2 weeks ago,hopefully they have something other than beef burgers (do not eat beef burgers).

2010 Nov 22
Meeting the above criteria big time is.

maps.google.ca,+Ottawa+Division,+Ontario&gl=ca&ei=CUPrTN2KCMXAnAf45qGLAg&oi=geocode_result&ved=0CBsQ8gEwAA&ll=45.43676,-75.664709&spn=0.001182,0.002999&t=h&z=19&layer=c&cbll=45.436747,-75.664882&panoid=rxGrSNy8WtixszmQG8mTxw&cbp=12,155.57,,0,-10.7

A poutine place that i swear had stolen hotel bar fridges for sale in it one time. You can meet/see lots of unsavory types in here but the owner knows his potatoes and makes a very good poutine. Get the meal one with ground beef and onions if you are very hungry. Seating is outside in the summer and non existent in the winter its just a small counter inside.

Best way to find it is head east on montreal rd from vanier pkwy turn left at the burger king (hanna st.) go down a couple blocks to deschamp turn left and left immediately in to the parking area. it is the rear end of a building facing hanna st with the front store area having been vacant since i found this place 3 years ago!! This place is actually hard to find if you havent been there. Tell me what you think if you go.

2010 Nov 23
prettytasty - definition for you:

hole in the wall -
a small unpretentious out-of-the-way place;
a small or obscure place, such as a restaurant;

2010 Nov 23
All Seasons in Gloucestor (Startop and ?) - true mom/pop place. If you like peameal bacon, and hate the paper thin stuff usually served, go give this place a try! Nice, thick peameal, real homefries. They have good lunch specials as well.

Reynold's, just off Carling is also a very good breakfast spot. Good variety, large portions. Lunch is great as well. Excellent club sandwich, friendly service, mainly regulars and there are quite a few of them.

D'Irienzo's for takeout pasta/sandwiches...of course they're pretty well known now, but still a pretty unassuming place if you weren't aware of it.

2010 Nov 23
The best one that I think is now closed was that tiny place on Beechwood (just around corner from Prescott) where it was the husband and wife team. He cooked everything, she served. Their western's and club's were outstanding and cheap. I'm not sure what happened, but that place was lined out of the door (would have to be if more than 4 orders were placed), with ambulance crews, police, locals...Nicholas Cafe, I think it was called....the cook/owner was Nick.

2010 Nov 23
Golden Palace on Carling is quite unassuming and not exactly up-to-date decor, but I really enjoy their food, and especially their EGGROLLS!!

2010 Nov 24
Golden Palace was the one I meant to say..Lucky Key is the uglier building further on Carling.
Golden Palace is the one at Carling and Merivale...kind of mixed those two up.
They still have a sign up for $3.99 lunch special-I'm kind of afraid to go and try it.

For "hole in the wall" maybe I'll say Golden Baguette qualifies.
Even though it is a very visible sign on Bank street-if you are walking by, you can not see a sign and their door looks very old and it is always a bit dim inside-so hard to see through the windows.
But they do serve a hot lunch and have pho,stir fries and soups, rice paper rolls and apparently make breakfast sandwiches.
Everything is fresh and pretty cheap overall (not much meat tho unless you pay for extra meats).
The bakery is located at the corner of Bank and Lisgar, and if you did not know they had lunch items,you might think it is just a bakery.
Take out only though.

Romeo's pizza on Merivale might qualify.
It is very small, in a strip mall and has had the same cooks and ownership for at least 30 years (or so an old family friend tells me).
The pizza is quite good (similar to Colonade) and their homemade baklava is really good and sold out half the time.
Their beef donair w sweet and sour sauce was very good before-have not tried that in a few years though.

2010 Nov 25
re" hipfunkyfun
i can assure you that my 3 suggestions meet hole in the wall criteria - full of local characters and no money spent on decor, just good, honest food and beer."

I don't need to belabour the point, but to avoid anyone going anywhere for the wrong reasons, Merivale Fish Mkt is the only one of those three that serves alcohol. I agree with you entirely on the food, hitw or not.

@vandanle, that IS a good one.

May be stretching my own hitw standards, but LITTLE INDIA CAFE near the Coliseum is rediculously tiny and understated and makes the BEST Indian food in the world. or at least Ottawa.

2010 Nov 25
osolomeal, i never mentioned merivale fish mkt? i did say rochester, it has a nice selection of beer.

once again, my suggestions were

meadows (adeline & preston)
rochester pub (rochester & norman)
la cabana

i would totally agree with elmdale & prescott, plus add also vina del mer (chilean). i am sure there are lots of others, but would need my copy of cheap eats ottawa to remember them.

2010 Nov 26
It's a link to another website, but go here for really good information as well:
www.cheapeatsottawa.com/
You can get the book at most of the bookstores in town and it doesn't cost much. I try to contribute there as well. I get the book every couple of years.

It's a good resource for finding ... well ... cheap places to eat. The reviews are pretty good and thoughtful.

2010 Nov 26
@hipfunky - my apologies, i mixed your post up with Prettytasty's.

2010 Nov 28
Yum - I second La Cabana

I really love Sangiuccio Cafe on Preston. I'm not sure if it even has a listing on this site but it's great.

Basically it's a one-man operation that serves wonderful sandwiches on rosemary garlic bread. I highly recommend the all-day-breakfast sandwich of eggs, tomato, onion, lettuce and homemade sausage.

The only problem is that your order will take at least 20 mins so be patient. In fact, have a searing hot latte while you wait!

2010 Nov 28
I'll add Harmony Chinese restaurant on Gladstone. The food is good, prices reasonable but the decor is very no frills. The staff are very pleasant.


2010 Nov 28
jules - thank you for recommending sangiuccio cafe. it is in our neighbourhood and just today we walked by wondering to each other what it was like. that spot had always had very iffy looking establishments (protien juice bar for weight lifters at one point). now we will make a point to definitely check it out.

2011 Jan 26
I'm a little late to this party, but I do believe Sangiuccio is owned/operated by the same man who ran the juice bar. He just reinvented himself. Regardless, it's fantastic. I've only been once for a sandwich, though. The rosemary bread is what makes it special. The owner prided himself on the fact that his products are all-natural and preservative free. He makes all his own stuff in store.

I was sort of accosted by an unsavory construction worker during my visit though. I'll need to go back again with a guest.

2011 Jan 27
Donna's Express at Churchill and Scott was a favorite place for breakfast when I lived in the westboro beach area. Mello's yes. Golden Palace definitely yes for the wings and the fried chicken livers alone. Lucky Key I am strangely drawn back to, even though the food is not great. There is something appealing about going to a place where the decor hasn't changed since the 1950's, the staff are all roughly 60-ish, lunch is still 4 bucks and you get a giant plastic squeeze bottle of plum sauce with your eggroll. Can't say I go there for the food though. Every time I go I think that it can't possibly be around much longer.

2011 Jan 27
La Fontanelle on Montreal Rd near Vanier. Great cheap breakfast. The clientele is colourful too.

2011 Jan 27
speaking of colorful clientele, is Castel in Hull still open? I saw a drag queen bounce a guy's head off the counter in there in the middle of the night once. A huge chunk of arborite flew up in the air, and for years I thought of that every time I went there and saw the damaged counter which they never repaired.

2011 Jan 27
Nothing says 'Hole in the Wall" better than the decore containing remnants of drag queens brawling during the wee hours of the morning.

Reminds me of Puzzles that had a gouge in the rail of the bar from some guys teeth. RIP Puzzles !

2011 Jan 28
thanks ddueck for the post about the white horse cafe. Never would have found it without reading about it here, and had a great and very cheap breakfast this morning. Coffee included in the price with the second cup charged at a whopping 50 cents. Need to go back and try it for lunch sometime.

2011 Jan 29
I think Super Duper Pizza might qualify.
it is a take-out and delivery place and has bars on the windows.
Just drove by there this week and that area of town is not so good.

Their fried chicken is really good and made to order with fresh chicken,
it is better to call ahead as it takes at least 20+ minutes to make (for me it is around 40 minutes w delivery).

Their club sandwich uses only real chicken breast meat and is very good.
Same for the hot chicken sandwich- they use only real chicken breast meat and you get a lot of it.

But for a really good sandwich try the "Super Duper Wrap".
They use a thin bread made from pizza dough that they seem to make just when you order and it is filled with chicken,beef or a vegetararian option.
The small size is almost 12" and enough for 2 people.
I have never been able to finish their "small" super duper wrap.

The chicken shawarma is good too,but they do not seem to use tons of chicken.
Also no pink turnips? in it,still tasty though.

They have their menu online at:

www.superduperpizza.com

Their pizza is good too, reminds me of Colonade pizza!

Hopefully a take-out place qualifies?