Ottawa Citizen Best Restaurants returns with a new twist

As exciting as last year’s first ever Ottawa Citizen Best Restaurants event was, its follow-up this fall promises to be bigger and better, with 200 more tickets, a larger venue, and a more diverse selection of chefs.

In line with the paper’s steadfast commitment to keeping readers in the know about Ottawa’s premier places to eat and drink, the Citizen is throwing a cocktail reception-style bash in partnership with the National Arts Centre, on Monday, Oct. 19 from 6 to 9 p.m. Sixteen excellent Ottawa restaurants, bakeries and food businesses — selected by yours truly — will be offering their wares to guests. Alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverage purveyors will also be on hand to slake your thirst, including Beyond The Pale Brewing Company and Casa-Dea Estates Winery, who are both returning to the event for the second year.

This event offers a chance to not just taste some of the best bites the capital has to offer — but to meet the chefs on the cutting edge of Ottawa’s creative culinary scene, and mingle with fellow Citizen readers, and newsroom types too.

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In 2025, our inaugural event attracted a sell-out crowd of 400 people to the Canadian Museum of Nature, where 13 restaurants served sweet and savoury small bites. We’ve moved this year’s party to the much roomier Canal Lobby of the NAC, and we’ll cap ticket sales at 600 guests. Regular tickets are to go on sale on Wednesday, Sept. 2 at 1:30 p.m., and the Citizen and NAC will be donating a portion of proceeds to the Ottawa Food Bank.

Citizen subscribers will get exclusive dibs to the first wave of 120 deeply discounted tickets priced at $150 per person. That goes for those who opt for the newspaper’s sweetheart-deal, introductory six-month online subscription for just $1, too.

Citizen journalists including myself, editor-in-chief Nicole Feriancek, city columnist Bruce Deachman, digital editor and fellow food reviewer Sofia Misenheimer plus many others newsroom writers and editors will be on hand throughout the evening, and we’re looking forward to meeting and chatting with readers. I’ll be happy to talk about Ottawa’s dining-out scene, which fascinates me on a daily basis, and to give out and receive restaurant recommendations that will surely figure into my ongoing coverage.