Ottawa's Most Trusted Food Voice Is Taking Requests
Ottawa has no shortage of places to eat, from the buzzing patios along Preston Street to the indie spots tucked into Hintonburg's side streets, but knowing where to go for your specific vibe, budget, or craving is another matter entirely. That's where the Ottawa Citizen's veteran restaurant critic Peter Hum comes in.
Hum, who has spent years eating his way through the capital and filing reviews that Ottawa diners have come to rely on, is now offering something a little more personal: tailored restaurant picks on request. Whether you're planning a special occasion dinner, hunting for the best bowl of pho on a cold March night, or trying to impress out-of-town guests with a genuinely Ottawa experience, Hum's local knowledge runs deep.
Why This Matters for Ottawa Diners
Restaurant recommendations are everywhere, Google, Yelp, Reddit threads that spiral into neighbourhood debates, but curated, expert picks are harder to come by. Hum brings a critic's eye and years of context to every suggestion. He knows which kitchens are hitting their stride right now, which neighbourhood spots are quietly excellent, and which hyped openings have already faded.
For Ottawa diners, that institutional knowledge is genuinely valuable. The city's dining scene has grown and diversified significantly over the past decade, with strong representation across Centretown, Westboro, the Glebe, and Little Italy. But it can still feel opaque if you don't know where to look.
How to Get Your Picks
Hum's personalized recommendation service runs through the Ottawa Citizen, readers can submit their dining queries and he'll respond with suggestions tailored to their needs. It's the kind of direct-to-critic access that food lovers in bigger markets rarely get, and it reflects something genuinely Ottawa about the city's media scene: it's still small enough that the person whose byline you've been reading for years is actually reachable.
If you've got a dinner coming up and you're stuck between options, or you want to venture beyond your usual spots and try something new, it's worth taking Hum up on the offer.
Ottawa's Restaurant Scene Deserves the Attention
The timing is fitting. Ottawa's food scene has been quietly earning recognition beyond the city limits, with chefs like those behind some of the Glebe and Chinatown's most-talked-about kitchens drawing notice from national food media. There's more creativity, more diversity, and more ambition on menus across the city than ever before.
A personalized guide from someone who's eaten at virtually all of it? That's not something you pass up.
Whether you're a longtime local who's fallen into a dining rut or a newcomer still mapping out Ottawa's neighbourhoods one meal at a time, Peter Hum's picks are as good a starting point as you'll find.
Source: Ottawa Citizen
