How To Travel As A Vegan In Ottawa, Ontario

18.09.2023 - 14:53 / forbes.com

Ottawa is a food lovers paradise and creative chefs are continuously elevating the culinary scene and creating new and unique plant-based dishes. Canada’s charming capital city has vegan options in all types of restaurants ranging from healthy to indulgent so you are guaranteed to find something to satisfy your cravings and dietary choices. My son and I, both vegan for over a decade, visit Ottawa annually and each time we find a restaurant, bakery, or café with new plant-based options to tempt our taste buds. Located along the Ottawa River in Ontario, this family friendly destination is just a 20-minute drive from Ottawa International Airport and there are flights from most major cities in Canada, the United States, and Europe. It’s also a great autumn road trip destination or hop on a train from Toronto. Ottawa’s restaurant scene is packed with delicious vegan options and here are six ideas to get you started.

This unique vegetarian buffet is loaded with healthy, nutritious, and delicious vegan options, so bring your appetite. The Green Door is self-serve and you create your own plate (or multiple plates!) to suit your cravings and appetite and pay by weight to help ensure very little food is wasted. This family owned business has been a neighborhood fixture in Ottawa since they opened their green doors in 1998 with the philosophy to provide local, healthy, and seasonal food to customers.

All food is made from scratch on site using a variety of organic grains, beans, pastas, and lots of fresh produce. Menu items change daily helping make this establishment more sustainable and includes salads, stir fries, noodle dishes, hearty stews, and unique soup (vegan food is labelled). While my son was enjoying a decadent chocolate brownie for dessert I was savoring the best lavender vegan cheesecake I ever had.

Peace Garden is a small hidden gem in the Byward Market, one of Canada’s oldest and biggest public markets first established by Lt-Col. John By in 1826. Peace Garden is situated inside the lobby of a building and surrounded by flowers and plants. This down-to-earth restaurant is vegetarian with lots of vegan options on their ever changing menu. They have done very well by word of mouth (There is no website), so you know the food must be top-notch. Dishes include fresh salads, wraps, soups, smoothies, samosas, thali platters, and a delicious sweet potato burger. Every nook and cranny of this cute eatery has something interesting to check out such as ethically sourced baskets and mediation books for sale. Complete your meal with a fair trade coffee or hot spiced chai tea and a vegan cookie.

Chickpeas is a fully vegan restaurant perfect for lunch or a healthy meal to go. This family business has been