Restaurants near Rideau Canal

What a perfect spot for a cozy date night! When we first walked in, the noise level surprised me a bit, but once seated in our corner booth, the ambiance was spot on. Whether it was luck or because I marked "date" on the reservation, the booth was ideal—quiet enough for conversation, and we loved not having a table between us. We decided to focus on wine and appetizers, which was a good choice since the portions are on the smaller side. The flavors and presentation more than made up for it, though! We tried the shrimp cocktail, the summer salad with stracciatella, and the crispy pork with fries. As someone with celiac, I was impressed by the variety of gluten-free options, and they even had a dedicated fryer for the fries, which was a huge plus. To top it off, we shared the flourless chocolate cake—one of the best gluten-free desserts I’ve ever had! The wine-by-the-glass options were limited, but as expected for a place focused on full bottles. I’m excited to return with a wine-loving group to explore a few of the bottles. Highly recommend this spot for anyone looking for a unique and intimate night out!

Aways an amazing placing for a good date night, friendly staff and they will try their best to make the best possible experience for you.

It's a beautiful restaurant, food was ok. We had multiple starters that we shared it was a great experience. But nothing stood out. The gnocchi were actually not great at all. Lobster tacos are ok. The Arancini are spicy (sauce) but not fantastic and we had one more plate can't even remember. Service was correct what bothered me was it was overstaffed and they were all agglomerated around the bar at the end and talking while waiting for the food and drinks to be ready, while we were waiting for anyone to pay attention to us to be able to order our wine... It was disappointing. I have really no idea why there was so many staff on the floor last night the restaurant was not busy from 7 pm to 10 pm on a Thursday. I placed my reservation online the app showed me the only available spot was at the bar. When I showed up 5 min before 7 pm, it was empty! I could have taken any table I wanted. What is this? I will go back, but next time I will call to reserve a table for sure. And make sure I get good service.

I literally broke my foot walking to North and Navy but really didn’t want to miss out on this exceptional spot. The staff took amazing care of me and sent us off with a dessert on the house for our anniversary.

Sofia is a gem! Fantastic service, thank you for being so awesome always.