Black Cat Bistro

Came here for valentines dinner and had an amazing time.
They had a prix fix menu for $ 55 with 3 – 4 options for each of your starters, mains and desserts which made things a lot easier.
My favourites were the steak tartar, their duck, and all of their desserts.
Food was amazing, wine was good, ambiance was great. 5 star experience for sure.

Finally visited BCB after months of wanting to visit but difficulty finding time with the bud! We tried snails and curly tails (pork belly with escargot), beef tartare, scallops and shrimp chowder (substituted with crab and jerusalem artichoke base as per allergies), and their venison burger. Our favourite dish was definitely the beef tartare as it’s hard to find a place in ottawa that executes a perfectly seasoned and COLD tartare! I also loved their tempura egg addition! The rest of the dishes were less memorable where the star was definitely their tartare! The staff at BCB were also very attentive and provided great service! I’ll definitely be back for some tartare!

Food was fine. But my wife and I ordered Albacore Tuna, which is recommended to be served rare. The rarer the better, as far as I’m concerned. It came well done, tasting just like tinned tuna. We sent them back and had to wait a long time for replacement dishes, which were prepared to our satisfaction. We had to wait so long, that our dinner companions were drinking their coffee when our replacement main courses arrived. No one from management came over to apologise, either for the ill-​prepared food or the subsequent delay. Also, I don’t expect to have dishes comped in such a circumstance, but perhaps offer at least a coffee at the end of the meal, or some bread to nibble on while waiting.

Tasty! I was in Ottawa for one night only and this is where we ended up going for dinner with friends. It was the first time I was seeing one of them in a couple of years and I didn’t want anyone to be disappointed with the food. My friends entrusted me with the responsibility of finding something good… TALL ORDER AND HIGH PRESSURE!!!
Conclusion: SUCCESS.
So, the food that stood out for me were:
Tartare — not overly seasoned, fresh.
Mushroom Risotto — light creamy texture without being too heavy or mushy (it was an app). Too many restaurants serve undercooked or congee-​like consistency risotto. Not here.
Cornish hen — it was wrapped in bacon and had this braised sauce where I dipped my bread into it. The hen was not overcooked, AND it was juicy.
Steak for 2: flavourful. Good balance between the fatty part to bring out the flavour and the tenderness of a medium-​rare steak.
Our reservation was there for 6.30pm and we left at 9.30pm. the place slowly filled up over time and it turned out to be such a fun place to hang out with friends to catch up over good food. The service was prompt.
I don’t live in Ottawa so cannot compare value against other Ottawa restaurants but, the quality of the ingredients in the meal and care in cooking the food is noted. It was better compared to other Toronto restaurants at the same price range. Most entrees are $ 20-​$ 30.
Too bad I didn’t take any pictures because the food was devoured as soon as it arrived. It was that good! Everyone walked out with a happy food baby.

I went to The Black Cat Bistro a little over a week ago with my mom for a birthday dinner. I had been eager to try the restaurant out as I always saw it as I drove and walked on Preston. I cannot say anything poor about the friendliness of the servers, and the taste of the food was spectacular… But the service time was awful! For a simple slice of cheese to start took over 15 mins, not to mention our main dish took over 30 – 40 minutes to be brought to the table. At that point I had to force myself to eat. I would understand the delay if for one the restaurant was extremely busy (which it wasn’t), and also if the waitress was aware of the delay or lengthy wait to let us know (which she didn’t).

It was an enjoyable meal save for the steak frites… the frites were amazing but that shouldn’t be the best part of a dish. Steak was «ok» but portion was small and far less tender than I would expect for $ 40.
Service was friendly.
At this price point you can do far better in this neighbourhood.

We were looking for a good dinner but this place just isn’t worth the 122 $ + tips that we paid for the meal. We ordered the 36 ounce steak for 2 and I asked the waitress what is the definition of medium. She said it’s pinkish which is fine although I prefer reddish pink or medium rare. Since the steak is shared between 2 people and my wife prefer pink I was fine with medium. Well the steak came out well done, even my wife thought so. On top of that the wait was long. The waitress knew that we weren’t happy and was avoiding us.

Our last visit just reaffirms that this place is my favourite restaurant in Ottawa.
3.5 stars Unilocal?u crazy !
Ordered 3 apps and they were all ridiculously supercalifragilisticexpialidociously amazing.
Chicken liver Paté, ridiculous
Smoked Mackerel? You made mackerel taste ridiculously awesome?
Beef taretare? Fantastic !!
Mains were also superb !
Duck confit very niceeeee.
Chicken very moistttt.
Steak frites me likey !
Server super nice (girl with the nose ring), if I was single, and you were single, well well well !!

My expectations were really high given all of the reviews I’d read, and while I did enjoy the meal, I wasn’t overwhelmed.
Ambiance: I like the look of the restaurant, it is modern and clean. One of the art pieces on the wall is by a local artist I like so I enjoyed spending the evening with that in my sight lines. I did find it quite noisy though, mostly due to a table of 6 next to us (and in the middle of that dining room) that was quite loud. That isn’t necessarily the restaurant’s fault, but it does detract from the overall experience.
Food: We had the sharing plate, which seemed mostly to consist mostly of some of the items on the appetizer menu (terrine, beet salad) and a couple that didn’t or which I hadn’t seen (popcorn, tuna aioli). I admit I was hoping for something a bit different and exciting, but it all tasted good. I had the chicken, which was tender and tasty, but on a plate I was told was ‘hot’ (which invariably means it has been on the pass too long). My wife had the scallops, which she said were not hot but she didn’t want to send them back because my food was there. I had cheesecake for dessert, which was tasty but came in a jar that was tough and awkward to eat from. She had something chocolate which she said was good but not great.
Wine: We ordered a bottle of sauvignon blanc, which was $ 55 and nothing memorable. I think that was the cheapest wine (or thereabouts), which I found a bit pricy overall.
Service: Service was good, but not spectacular. He sort of dropped the bottle of wine on the table after pouring the first glass (not container to put it in), which I found a bit odd. And I thought that with the sharing plate they would bring extra plates, but didn’t. I assume I was expected to eat straight from the big plate, which I didn’t, so I ended up using my bread plate instead.
Overall: If I’d paid $ 150 for the entire meal I would have thought it was fair value, but at $ 210 (tax and tip included, but keep in mind we didn’t have coffee or aperitifs) I didn’t find it was good value. For that price I would have expected at least one food item I thought was fantastic and memorable, but I didn’t. It was decent, but not great. By way of comparison, I spent $ 110 one night for two at Brother’s Beer Bistro and found it not just better value but better overall.

Good: Classic cocktails are mixed very well (try the caesar and negroni if you’re a fan). Unfortunately the wine by-​the-​glass and beer menus are a bit lacking.
Better: Our food expectations were high as many people consider Black Cat Bistro one of the best restaurants in the city. I thought the food was quite good, but it didn’t live up to the hype.
The beet salad, while not adventurous, was fantastic and the truffled popcorn was tasty and fun. The tuna tataki and pork rillette were underwhelming. The burger is for true meat-​lovers — thick and juicy. But, as my boyfriend says, «if I’m paying twenty bucks for a burger, the patty had better crawl off the bun and clean my apartment.» Suffice it to say that it prompted a conversation about the top five burgers we’ve ever had, and while this one was pretty good, it didn’t crack the list.
The fries are good but could have been a touch more crispy. The truffle mayo enhanced them nicely.
Best: Service is friendly and top notch. We were given appropriate warnings (for example, that the food would take some time to be prepared and that the burger is very filling) and he came by the table just often enough. This is probably the biggest reason I would go back for a second meal (that, and the rocky road dessert that we were too full to try!)
I was really impressed with the atmosphere — romantic, nice playlist and no pretension.
Dollars: $ 105 for a large appetizer, burger and fries (very filling), four drinks, tax & tip.
The burger is only available from Tuesday to Thursday.

Easily one of the most delicious dinners I’ve ever had. I came with friends on a Saturday night. We booked an early reso which was key to getting in such a big group. They even dimmed the lights soon after we arrived. Fancy!
These guys are part of the slow food movement, so don’t expect Micky D’s type expediency, but do expect deliciousness beyond the regular.
I knew this place would be awesome when the cocktail menu started with a Pimm’s cup (I had two) and had other old timey drinks on offer like Old Fashion’s and Cosmo’s.
I didn’t have a starter, but I ordered seared beach scallops and sticky pork belly as the main. There were thinly sliced green apples, bok choy, shiitake and a creamy cauliflower purée that brought all the flavours together beautifully.
I had vanilla crème brule for dessert with an americano.
Attentive wait staff, I never had an empty water glass — awesome! Can’t wait to visit Ottawa to eat here again.

We came by one night after getting a last minute reservation for a larger party size.
I’ll start off by saying the place is pretty nice inside. The parking situation in this area can be a pain but there’s lots of street parking in this area, though you may have to walk a few blocks.
The space is very clean and has a decent size for seating. I wouldn’t recommend trying to organize a large group here but they can accommodate for sure. Our server was very nice though a little green.
They have a decent wine menu and their menu seemed pretty delicious. On this trip we ordered the sharing plate and I ordered the steak frites. The sharing plate was interesting. It had beet salad, tuna, popcorn with truffle oil and pork rillette. I like the beet salad. It was pretty delicious but I notice a lot of the menu’s across Ottawa seem to have a competition of their local sourced food. A lot of restaurants serve the same items around town around the same time so it turns out to be a competition for who makes the best (insert produce here). The tuna was alright, I mean it was pretty fresh but not the best tuna I’ve had this year. The popcorn I was not a fan of and the pork rillette is one of those items that are always fatty and something you love or hate. I don’t mind it at all but it wasn’t the greatest.
My steak frites arrived and I have to say the steak wasn’t bad. It’s much better than other steaks that you can get at most restaurants but please don’t expect a delicious dry aged piece of steak. The fries though were terrible. Mine tasted like they were warm McDonald’s fries that were slightly rubbery and had cooled off and been under the heat lamp for a little bit.
Overall the meal was a bit of a let down. The service ended up good but minus the beet salad there wasn’t anything I’d order again. As for the beet salad there are better beet salad’s in town so you can go and explore.

Great service and good food, but you have to be patient with the kitchen — don’t be in a rush.

We tried about a dozen restaurants near the Byward Market and Parliament Hill area before we tried this restaurant and this turned out to be among the best restaurant that we tried. Parking is also very convenient. The dishes are not identical to what’s offered everywhere else and everything tastes fresh. The neighborhood is also pleasant enough for an after-​dinner stroll, though it’s not a huge area to explore even on foot. Very attentive service too.

Great Ottawa bistro, one of the capital’s best. Everything good, try the specials and tasting menus.

This place is funky, cute and pricey (the menu only has a few mains priced under $ 30). We decided to check out the Tuesday — Thursday $ 20 Angus Burger special. Covered in cheese, bacon and secret sauce, the burger was delicious. The accompanying fries and mayo were great too. The portion was so generous, we didn’t have room for dessert.
The house white, an Ontario Chardonnay, was ok but nothing special.
Our server was professional and friendly. However, the person who greeted us appeared to be apprehensive to accommodate us arriving 20 minutes early for our reservation despite the restaurant being half empty.
Setting aside the strange welcome we received, I would definitely return for the burgers and to try other menu items.

I really enjoyed my time at Black Cat Bistro! The atmosphere was outstanding, the food was delicious and the merlot was bold.
The restaurant was relatively quiet for a weekend, and our server was not only pleasant, but extremely knowledgable. He was able to give us lots of details about the items on the menu and even recommended a wine.
We started with the beef tartare, which as the menu stated was «traditional». Delicious and flavourful it was perfectly paired with with the BCB potato chips. These were outstanding, and far above the standard of the traditional tartare accompaniment. If they sold these chips in stores, I would likely be mildly obese.
We both had the special, veal cutlets that were nice and crispy tossed in an asian sauce and served with a medley of traditional stir fried vegetables. I thought that the dish was outstanding! Unique but still exactly what I anticipated from the description the server gave us. My boyfriend claimed that he «did not get enough to eat» but his average serving could sufficiently feed and adolescent elephant.
I will absolutely be returning the Black Cat Bistro, and can’t wait to get my hands one their famous burgers! They looked so delicious coming out of the kitchen and I absolutely got «orderer’s envy» once I got a wiff of how delicious the smelled!
Ambiance and atmosphere can absolutely make or a break a dining experience and Black Cat Bistro will remain under my «make it» list. The lighting was dim, but not too dark and a sequence of indie music was featured. I am a little pretentious with regards to my taste in music (admitting it is the first step!) and hearing The Mountain Goats, Belle and Sebastian and Bön Iver play while I enjoyed my meal certainly enhanced my dining experience!
Will I return? Yes.

It is one of the many restaurants I tried in little Italy area of Ottawa. The atmosphere is romantic and classy. The menu doesn’t have many options, but the food is really delicious.