Flipper's Seafood Restaurant

Number one seafood restaurant in Ottawa as far as I'm concerned. The lighting, music, and overall mood are warm and peaceful--some might say romantic--and the food is incredible. Good variety on the menu without choice paralysis. The cod I had genuinely gave me a flashback like the critic in Ratatouille.

Lowering my rating from 5 to 3 stars. On our second visit, the waitress was not very friendly at all and and the food was just "ok" . The calamari were undercooked and overly "squishy". Will not return for a while. We had an absolutely fantastic experience at Flippers. From the moment we walked in, the service was warm, attentive, and genuinely welcoming. The staff went above and beyond to make sure everything was perfect. The meal itself was outstanding—fresh ingredients, beautifully presented, and bursting with flavor. Every dish felt thoughtfully prepared, and the pacing between courses was just right. Whether you're in the mood for seafood or something more classic, Flippers delivers with finesse. We've lived in the neighborhood for 5 years, and we were both quite surprised that we had not tried Flipper's before. We will definitely be back!

Price decent for the flavour and taste, portion sizes left a little to be desired Flavour 5/5 Atmosphere 5/5 Service 5/5 Overall recommend. Support our local businesses!

My - and my friend's - first time at this restaurant, although I've lived in this city for decades. I think they're running on old news at this point. I will give them this - the view of the Glebe from the top floor is marvellous. The rest of the decor is extremely dated, especially the yuck curtains brushing against the table. The fact that the menus are all hand-written in cursive is definitely going to be a turn-off for the younger generation (although my friend, also older than 50, needed my help deciphering them too). The fact the menus were also dirty is a turn off for anyone who bothers to shine a flashlight on them, but the lighting is so dim it's a wonder anyone can read anything. I had the shrimp wonton soup and the walnut-crusted salmon with mushroom teriyaki glaze (served on the side). The broth for the soup was delicious, the shrimp wontons were "meh". I love mushrooms, teriyaki sauce, walnuts, and salmon. Combined, they did not taste good for some reason. The salmon was dried out completely - it's a sad day when you pay $30+ for something you could cook as an amateur at home much better. I did love the potato croquette and the vegetables. We split a dessert and didn't finish it. Oh I did order an "old fashioned" cocktail, which tasted pretty much of straight bourbon over ice. Not bad, but not really a cocktail. At 50+ yrs old myself and my friend were among the youngest to be seated. There's an audience for this place but I don't think the audience has changed since 1980. We came, we tried, it was food, there's better.

So happy that this restaurant survived the pandemic. We’ve been a few times in the last year and the food is excellent. Fresh oysters to start, always delicious, tonight I had blackened swordfish and it was so good. The crab, mango, avocado salad is lovely. Have had the cod before and it was great. Staff are low key but efficient, and attentive, not gushing all over you. We will always come back. Recommend to our friends and family.

We had a last-minute reservation, and we were a big group. They were able to fit us in. Great menu, not TOO much, just the perfect amount of choices. Staff were friendly and even offered my kids paper and crayons to kill time. We had calamari. My 5 year old had a whole plate of lobster ravioli to herself. And my 2 year old had the fish and chips. I had a surf and turf myself. Nothing to complain about, it was all delicious! The whole group had an amazing dinner!

The food was decent but one of our orders of linguine was salty and oily, the other 2 were good. The portions are smaller specially in the appetizers, so don't order them to share as a larger group. The picture of the calamari was after no more then 10 were taken off the plate. The salmon was beautifully cooked with what looked to be hand cut sweet potato and I should say that the pasta seafood was generous. Service was a little slow but it was a holiday and it was semi busy.

Got forced into eating at this restaurant selected by friends. Checked out the menu before and the website and menu didn’t exactly excite me. Well the atmosphere is eclectic to say the least. The fact that it wasn’t busy on a Friday night was an inclination. The wine and bar selection was good. Service was mediocre given the pricing of the food. The food came, portions were small. I ordered the sable fish which I believe was really Talia. It was over cooked and the vegetables were very al dente. The only thing that was good was the croquette. My wife had the jumbo shrimp in a Thai curry. Shrimp were over cooked, broth was flavour but they gave a very small portion of undercooked rice. It was over priced for the quality of food we received. First and last visit.

Shitty! Place is unexperieced! Staff are wearing Jeans! Too bad about the old lady running the place, when the staff actually knows what's going on.

Indifferent service. Mediocre food. Way overpriced. The only positive thing I can say is nice decor and neighborhood. When we arrived, no one greeted us at the door. Lots of wait staff just kept walking by, not even acknowledging us. When the scowling hostess finally seated us, 15 mins after our reservation, it took another ten minutes to get menus. The food was definitely edible, but just not anything special, considering what we paid for it. There was no cashews to be found on my cashew crusted haddock, which was overcooked.

I got the seafood salad ( gross idea what was I thinking ?) the food took about an hour and I feel like the server was putting all of their time into tending to his other tables because we were far much younger then everyone else there . I went with 3 people and we all had negative things to say about the food and the service . And also the olives had this like really hard thing in the middle ? Almost broke my tooth what's that all about

Very nice seafood place in the Glebe. Imaginative specials. The desserts are also quite tasty. I always have the chowder to start. It is always on point. The atmosphere is cozy. A good place to contemplate life while dining by yourself.

Had a great dinner last night while visiting for the weekend. We had oysters which were fresh and very good. I had the pickerel dinner and my husband had the seafood linguine. We both left very satisfied. This is a nice cozy little restaurant. Ask for a window seat and you can have a nice view of Bank St where you can people watch.

From what I've read from these other reviews, I feel like they must have changed the chef or something. Our experience was excellent! We were set up at a table of 12 for an anniversary party. I was super late (my parents fault) but there was plenty of wine to tide our friends over! The bread was delivered to our table almost as soon as we sat down, we decided on almost every appetizer on the menu. I ordered a crantini...well I tried to order a girly drink, but the server wasn't as knowledgeable about a girly drink menu I got a chance to try the spring rolls, calamari, and escargot. The spring rolls were crispy on the outside and soft on the inside, very flavourful. Calamari was top notch! Escargot was never a favourite of mine, but I couldn't help myself had to try it, it was wonderful, a little chewy, but texture is what freaks me out...anyway, the garlic and bread that accompanied the little snailies was excellent! I ordered the Walnut Crusted Cod with Coconut Cream Sauce! What a flavour rush! The walnut and coconut were lovely compliments to each other. The wine was flowing and I don't remember much more...we left and had a Champagne and cupcake toast back at the happy couples' house * see my review for a cupcake shop soon!

We went for lunch and it was so good. The service was fantastic and the seafood linguini in a mushroom cream sauce was delicious!

I dined last night with my wife and two adult friends. Had not been to this restaurant in years. Both the food and especially the service were very poor. We waited an hour between appetizers and the main meal arriving. The halibut I ordered was relatively tasteless (though it came with a dipping sauce), while the accompanying vegetables were simply steamed and served without sauces or spices of any kind. Our server had to temerity to get angry at our table because several of us made motions for him to attend to us!!

Me and my friends were craving some seafood, so we ended up visiting this cute small place. Everything we ordered was amazing, the fish and chips, grilled salmon, bass and crab meat. The service was very friendly, and the servers greet you with a smile. Will visit over and over whenever I crave fish. The overall experience was enjoyable. The strange thing is that I have been living in the Glebe for three months and walked on Bank Street a countless number of times. However, I never noticed this place. I would recommend them to have more signs if they strive to get noticed.

My husband thought it was pricey but I thought it was appropriate for the quality of food. The service was fantastic- really nice people and they were very accommodating. We booked our reservation late and they made room in the private dining room area. There wasn't much for people who don't eat seafood but in fairness it is a seafood restaurant.

I have been coming to flippers for years and it is consistently great quality food and great service and ambiance. The jumbo shrimp and fries are soo good and the calamari is the best I've had!

Dear Flippers, No rouille, no croutons, only some version of steamed mussels (with some salmon, sea scallops and squid thrown in - and over cooked)? That's not bouillabaisse. You oughta know better. And half-rotten lettuce in the salad? The broiled shrimp was just fine, but don't lay it over lame flavorless rice. Please. You've been around a long time. Either hire a new chef or close your doors.

I had my worst dining experience, possibly ever, at Flipper's. An experience this bad made me open a Yelp account. The decor was kitchy, so we thought it might be cute. Turns out the decor was just as outdated as the cooking style. First we had fresh oysters. They were warm. We also had a fried appetizer that was tasteless and sad (it's been awhile now, so I can't remember exactly what we got). The entrees were the worst. Even though the two of us each ordered two really different fish (ahi and mahi mahi), the sides were exactly the same - white rice, asparagus, and strawberries. What? It was a weird assortment of items with contrasting to no flavor. I order a seared ahi and I received overcooked fish. Not just over-seared, but actually all the way over-cooked. The only thing that was good was the bottle of wine. White and in a bucket of ice. However, I'm pretty sure it is that it was waaaaaay over-pierced. Speaking of the price, we ended up pay about $130 for this disastrous meal. We could have gone to Whalesbone, spent the same amount, and walked away soooo happy. The service was also bad. Cannot un-recommend this place strongly enough. I wish I could give it No stars. Save your pallet and your wallet and just grab a delicious sandwich across the street at Wild Oats!

Awful service took forever. They simply dont care. Was better before but really bad now. Ruined the evening.

Upstairs, very artsy, good fish,nice people...that is why it has been around for thirty years.