Brassica

The service was good aside from the server asking at the beginning of every dish, with impeccable timing, what I thought of the food JUST as I took a bite of it. I understand the attempt to check on customers and know you don't want to engage longer than necessary (trust me, I don't either!), but this was annoying to say the least as I had no way to respond while chewing. I left a standard tip, but it would improve things for the future if the restaurant could address this please. The food was quite good. I had the Yellowfin Tuna Crudo (entrée) and the Steak & Fries (main). The tuna was delicious, complex in flavour, and had a lovely artistic presentation. However, the steak & fries was a bit disappointing - I asked for medium rare, and the meat was quite chewy, especially on the end pieces (the steak came pre-sliced; see photos). The atmosphere was top notch. When I went for dinner, the French windows were open, allowing a beautiful breeze through. The lighting was just dimmed enough to create ambiance, but certainly bright enough to see the details of the food and the restaurant well. Overall, it was a balanced experience, but there are also other restaurants to explore in Ottawa.

We went for an eye exam across the street, and afterward my daughter was starving, so I randomly picked this restaurant — and it turned out to be amazing! Every dish was incredibly delicious, and you could really feel how attentive and passionate the staff were. Definitely saving this place — I’ll be coming back often!

Beyond impressed!!! Recently moved into this neighbourhood and heard great things. Tucked in at the bar, privileged observer as Sophia briefs new staff person Nadia. The care and attention to detail are phenomenal. Here solo and enjoyed fantastic conversations with Jason about wines, local cuisine...here is the custom cocktail he re-imagined! Chef's choice (Andrew) for dins - fantastically delish. Well done everyone. A magnicent dining experience.

Had a fantastic experience at brassica restaurant. It was my birthday, and it fell on the Wednesday night tapas. Service was fantastic, constantly clean plates, cutlery, and conversation. Food was absolutely delicious. We got 5 different tapas- each made with tons of flavor, and honestly felt like art on a plate. Everything was fantastic, a few stand outs are that the fries are double fried, and very crispy! A lovely touch, as rarely restaurants do this anymore. The arincini was crispy, and cheesy. The most delicious thing though was the roasted cauliflower dish, I don't know how cauliflower could be this delicious but trust me-- I'm still thinking about it!! The beef sort rib was melt in your mouth, I didn't even need the knife. Everything is prepared fresh and with local ingredients. I truly appreciate the hard work this restaurant put in on the quality of this food, it was truly top notch.

We were a group of 11. The total restaurant capacity is roughly 46, and there is a bar area. The location is not wheelchair friendly. For the table, we started with the calamari. It was perfectly prepared with a light batter and very fragrant sauce. It was really tender. For mains, a few selections were made. The most popular was the Steak&Frites medium rare. It was done to perfection! It was not your average striploin for sure! Melted in your mouth. The Pan Seared Pickeral was also delicious. As for the service, I really can't complain. The staff was very tentative to the table and frequently ensured that the glasses were full and that dishes were taken away promptly. Jason was very professional! Ask for him if he is available! Bread was constantly being refilled without asking. The staff clearly keeps an eye on the table. I did notice that there was no salt and pepper on the table though don't think it is needed. Crushed black pepper offering would have been nice as I do love the extra pepper on my food. Background music was not too loud, so we could keep the conversation going. Washrooms were clean and fresh. Parking is limited on the street. Ensure to book a spot as I suspect it can get busy!

Came here with my family and we ordered the set 3 course and regular apps + mains. The scallop app was delicious and very fresh. All the food came with beautiful presentation and amazing flavour. The desserts were also great! Would 100% recommend the banoffee pie, great flavours and filling. Top restaurant in Ottawa!

The meal was absolutely fantastic! We started with the croquettes and seared scallops. I loved the texture of the croquettes but the scallops were my favorite app - very tender and the depth of flavors on the plate with the pickled raisins, almonds, and cauliflower/cheese puree worked extremely well. I had the beef short rib, which was cooked perfectly to a melt-in-your-mouth tenderness, and went nicely with the hash brown and other flavours. My partner really enjoyed the chicken and we both loved the banoffee pie. I'd gladly have the exact same thing here but there are so many things that looked good on the menu that we'll have to come back and try them all!

Thank you for the experience Brassica. I think it's a nice place to eat, a small menu and very carefully thought through. The risotto balls I don't remember exactly how the named them are good, not excellent but good. For me it was a difficult night to pick something and I was not super happy with my choice. I didn't want to go with chicken because I eat chicken all the time, I selected the soft shell crab. It wasn't so great. The ravioli was delicious and everything else was great. My friend took the vegetarian lasagna. It looked ok. I guess I'm so used to cooking vegetarian food after so many years that I am often very disappointed in restaurants by the lack of taste and choice of ingredients or choice of sauce. He liked it ok, enough to finish it. Will we come back? Probably not.

TL;DR/The Short Version: Food was delicious and service was excellent at this restaurant in Westboro that true to its name, had lots of brassicas (cruciferous vegetables) on the menu ;) The Long Version: My husband and I had dinner at Brassica and it was fantastic. We started off with the Crispy Brassicas ($20). It was Brussels sprouts, cauliflower and broccoli. With a sprinkling of pistachio nuts. It came with hummus and creme fraiche on the side. It was really good and made us feel virtuous that we were eating our vegetables, haha. I got the the pan-seared pickerel ($37). The pickerel was tender, flakey and very tasty. It came in a lemon butter caper sauce and was accompanied by peas, roasted potatoes and roasted cauliflower and broccoli, all of which were delicious. The portion size was European (read small, compared to what we are used to in North America, lol). My husband got the braised beef short ribs ($38). It came with roasted beets and a potato cake. I had a taste of his dish and it was also delicious. The beef was tender and the potato cake was great. It was shredded potatoes and the whole thing was deep fried. The inside was soft and creamy and the outside was crispy. I could have just had a whole plate of these potato cakes, haha. The portion size of this dish was also...European. The food was delicious, but the portion sizes were small in my opinion. After us spending over $100 on dinner I was still hungry, lol. I need to shrink my appetite or grow my wallet ;) Service was excellent. Our server was friendly and attentive without being intrusive. The space is nice and decorated with several real live plants. A great place for a date. Brassica opened up after the owner's previous restaurant, Allium, closed down due to a fire. We had dined at Allium and really enjoyed it, so we weren't surprised that we liked Brassica. We're not really sure why it took us 5 years to try it though. Especially since it's in our neighbourhood. Brassica opened in early 2020. Prior to that it was Vittoria in the Village. It was Lapointe's Fish House before that and Fratelli's before that (Fratelli's moved further east on Richmond Rd). We weren't living in the 'hood prior to that ;) Street parking only. Review #130 (2025)

Anybody else missing Allium? I got you! The Allium crew have opened up a new place on Richmond Rd in the old Vittoria in the Village space called Brassica. I think it opened Friday night. I was lucky enough to get in Saturday night and enjoyed an excellent night there. The restaurant still has a lot of the classic dishes from Allium like the mushrooms on toast, beef tartar, a couple of salads, duck confit and steak. Our table ended up ordering all of the above (minus the steak) and roast chicken, fried chicken, a cavatelli dish, fried cauliflower and a couple of others. They were all up to their old standards and more. There looked to be more than a handful of new dishes we didn't have a chance to try like shrimp spaghetti and a few others. Additionally there was a brunch menu which looked great and I'll have to book that sooner rather than later. Staff and service were excellent as well.

A friend took us here. It is one of her favorite restaurants. I can see why. Appetizers and main dish were very good. They have a chef's special and they do not tell you what it is. They told me I would not be disappointed and they were right. Try it.

Managed to book a table at 5:15PM on a Saturday which was nice considering that the restaurant got packed by 6:30PM. The interior was nice and cozy and the lighting a bit dim creating that nice atmosphere to enjoy dinner. We got our coats taken care of and constantly throughout the evening were attended by 2 of the staff members no matter how busy it was. Service was really professional. For environment and setup, this is a great spot for dinner. Let's move to the food. Tried the special appetizer which is a breaded pulled pork bites! I would never have thought of that myself, but the result was extremely delicious. We also got smoked salmon cake which was kind of breaded lightly fried salmon similar to the pulled pork. Interesting again, but a bit salty. Main dish was the braised beef shortrib. There was a lot of meat on that plate, soft and tasty. It felt like a pretty traditional meal, so if you're not up for surprises you won't go wrong with it. What's really nice is that there are plenty of options on the menu for every taste - duck, pork, fish, beef. Actually, my only issue with the whole dining was the variety and I'm not talking about the meats. Maybe it was our luck, but both appetizers and 1 item in my main were exactly the same concept with different ingredients. Not much imagination. It won't stop me from revisiting on another occasion, but be careful when ordering. I'd suggest probably some of the vegetarian appetizers as there's plenty of meat in any of the mains. The continuous lock downs have definitely inflated prices, so not much point in discussing that topic.

The quantity of the food was insufficient, felt very much disappointed. Additionally, they charged high price for such a small portion was unacceptable. As a customer, I expect to receive a fair value for my money.

What a great meal. Everything was really good. We were with others so tried lots of different options. The Caesar salad was so delicious and different with roasted broccoli. The fries with their aioli were crisp and so yummy. Duck breast was done medium rare and so good. The steak tartare was excellent. The others raved about the pork belly. What else can I say but I will be back

We enjoyed a fabulous night out to celebrate our anniversary. The staff were lovely and gave us a cozy corner table for 2 with a view. We shared the roasted beet salad with fried Brie. The presentation was beautiful and tasted delicious. Then we had the mushrooms on toast, which was spectacular. We had many versions of this mostly in Europe, but this was the best ever. It was fabulous with the Cabernet Sauvignon we selected. They also brought us a bowl of chips, when I saw other tables having them with the tuna tartare. To finish they brought us a lovely celebratory dessert. Thank you for a wonderful evening.

I had the mushrooms on toast and the duck confit and it was delicious. I'll go back again and, if it wasn't crazy, I'd be back many times a week.