Ottawa's date night scene runs from a 176-year-old bank building turned dining room to a Venetian-style wine bar in Centretown. This list was put together by reading restaurant websites, OpenTable and Yelp listings, and local food coverage to find ten spots around the city that consistently come up for romantic dinners. Ratings and review counts are included only where they were directly visible in a source read during research.
1. Atelier
Area: Rochester Street, near Little Italy · Specialty: multi-course modernist tasting menu · Since: 2008
Atelier is chef-owner Marc Lepine's tasting-menu-only restaurant, currently built around a single seven-course format called the Zyre that runs roughly three hours and leans on molecular gastronomy technique. It has appeared on Canada's 100 Best Restaurants list ten times since 2015, and the intimate, minimalist room with an open kitchen is built for an occasion, not a quick meal. This suits couples who want dinner to be the entire evening's event.
2. North & Navy
Area: Nepean Street, downtown/Centretown
North & Navy models itself on a Venetian bacaro, a traditional wine bar, and serves Northern Italian small plates built around seasonal game, seafood and vegetables that play off the climate similarities between Eastern Ontario and northeast Italy. It was named to OpenTable's list of Canada's 100 most romantic restaurants for 2025, and reviewers consistently single out the wine list and the candlelit, close-quarters room. It suits couples who want to share several plates rather than order individual mains.
3. Riviera
Area: Sparks Street, downtown · Since: 2016
Riviera occupies a former Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce building on Sparks Street, an Art Deco space built in 1869, with seating for over 100 under a grand, neo-classical ceiling. The menu runs to tartares, crudos and fresh pastas, including dishes like lobster spaghetti, and it was also named among OpenTable's 100 most romantic restaurants in Canada. The scale of the room makes it feel like an occasion even before the food arrives, which suits a milestone date rather than a quiet, tucked-away one.
4. Cantina Gia
Area: Bank Street, the Glebe
Cantina Gia is North & Navy's sister restaurant, a neighbourhood Italian spot with an attached wine shop that leans into candlelight and a cozier, more casual room than its downtown counterpart. It has also been named to OpenTable's Canada's 100 Most Romantic Restaurants list, and it suits couples who live in or near the Glebe and want an easy, walkable date night without a long drive downtown.
5. Sidedoor Contemporary Kitchen & Bar
Area: York Street, ByWard Market
Sidedoor brings Southeast Asian street food into a sharing-plates format, led by chef Jonathan Korecki, a Top Chef Canada finalist, with a menu built around Asian-inspired tacos, curries and hand-made donuts. The room is dim and close, designed for sharing a spread of small plates rather than separate entrees. It suits couples who want a livelier, more casual date night in the market rather than a formal sit-down dinner.
6. The Moonroom
Area: Preston Street, Little Italy · Since: 2008
The Moonroom is a small cocktail lounge on Preston Street serving Mediterranean small plates alongside an inventive drinks list, with a compact storefront that opens onto a back garden and a covered side patio. Its size and the garden seating make it feel more like a hideaway than a typical restaurant room, which suits a low-key, conversation-first date rather than a big night out.
7. Vittoria Trattoria
Area: Riverside South
Vittoria Trattoria traces back to Vittoria Veal and Delicatessen, which opened on Bank Street in the Glebe in 1991, and now operates from Riverside South with a menu built around traditional pasta and risotto. It's a fit for couples in the south end who want a proper sit-down Italian dinner without heading downtown.
8. The Belmont
Area: Bank Street, Old Ottawa South · Since: 2014
The Belmont is a 38-seat small-plates restaurant known for natural wines and inventive cocktails in a cozy room built for private dining and small groups as much as couples. Its size keeps it intimate by default, and it suits a date that leans more toward wine and conversation than a formal multi-course meal.
9. NeXT
Area: Hazeldean Road, Stittsville · Since: 2013
NeXT is chef Michael Blackie's restaurant in Stittsville, known for a Blind Tasting Menu alongside an à la carte menu that blends Canadian ingredients with Asian, Latin and European technique. It has built a reputation as one of Ottawa's leading independent restaurants since opening, and it suits couples in the west end who want a destination tasting menu without driving downtown.
10. Parlour
Area: Wellington Street West, Wellington West/Hintonburg
Parlour is a restaurant and event space in Wellington West offering chef-driven, seasonal menus built around elevated comfort food meant for sharing. The room doubles as a venue for larger events, but the restaurant side is set up for a sit-down dinner five minutes from downtown, which suits couples who want a newer, design-forward room over a long-established one.
How We Built This List
This list was compiled from public web sources, including restaurant websites, OpenTable, Yelp, Tripadvisor and local Ottawa food coverage, current as of August 2026. It is not a paid placement and no business on this list is affiliated with ottown or its operator. Star ratings and review counts are only included where they were directly confirmed on a source page read during research; several entries here omit them because no verified figure was found.
Sources: OpenTable: Diners' Choice Romantic Restaurants Ottawa, restaurant official websites, Yelp and Tripadvisor listings.
