Black Thorn Café

Very rude and awful manager to foreign tourists! Not a bit of friendliness and effort for customer service. we came earlier than the other guests at the other tables and they handed them the menu and served them first. We were the only Asians that time. Nothing special in the menu. drinks and food are blah so go somewhere else worth your money.

Met some friends here after work. They had gotten their a bit earlier, and had ordered some sangria to start. Once I got there, I found it very hard to get the server’s attention. When we finally did, we asked for a drink menu and she didn’t come back for quite a long time. My friends ended up finishing their $ 30 sangria pitcher before she had returned and at that point we decided to go elsewhere. The sangria itself was expensive and tasted like watered down grape juice. I don’t think I’ll be returning.

Really nice place. Patio is perfect. The menu is nice, food was exceptional as well as the service. The price was midrange. I would recommend it.

This was a nice stop after wandering around the market area looking for a place to eat. Service was initially slow, but friendly and the pace eventually picked up making the experience a good one. Two of us had the jambalaya which had good flavours and the right amount of heat. Another had the lamb burger which was good, but they could not cook it medium for health considerations, hence a little more cooked than desired. Then there was a vegetarian lasagna, reportedly very good and would be ordered again.
So, four of us give thumbs up and would return which is always a good test of any eatery.

Grabbed lunch here and the food was good but not anything to rave about. The restaurant itself is tiny and very… hmm… vintage. I ordered the Mariposa Chicken Supreme and my friend ordered the beet salad… the chicken was pretty good but I probably could have made it at home. My friend’s beet salad and had a block of breaded+baked goats cheese and it looked delishhhh. Our waitress was efficient, polite and refilled my water every 10 minutes without me having to flag her down. Everything here from the food to the service was just OK soooo 3 stars only.

Decent place. Service was average. The sausage was too salty. Big space. Good for groups. Had a nice bar in the front. Convenient downtown location.

I went to this restaurant with a friend for brunch and was unimpressed.
I ordered a cappuccino and eggs Benedict.
My cappuccino arrived 15 minutes later dripping all over the cup, although still full.
I asked for a glass of water and got one with a defined lipstick mark. Had to send it back and got another. Our food took 30 minutes to get to our table from the time we’d ordered and I could see other tables who’d ordered after us getting their dishes beforehand.
However, we were seated in the back patio which was very pleasant
Overall disappointing for a first time at Black Thorn Café.

My experiences with Black Thorn have always been during breakfast/​brunch.
They’ve had some staffing issues, where service was horrible, but things seem to have taken a turn for the better.
If you want a classic brunch but at a moderately nicer setting then your local breakfast joint this is the place to go (not in winter). Their patio which is at the back of the restaurant that looks into the «Tin House Ct» is just amazing on a Spring/​Summer morning.
One thing that really makes this place stand out form the rest and gets the 4^th star is the coffee which they serve. Yes, the coffee makes the difference. They actually brew Lavazza coffee which is very tasty.
Don’t come here with super high expectations, sit down, relax, enjoy the wonderful coffee, the classic breakfast/​brunch menu and I’m sure you will leave with a smile on your face.

I not that kind of person to be negative and nagging about stuff. This was my worst experience at a restaurant ever. Very rude waitresses and we didn’t get what we ordered. I am really disappointed. try to avoid this place. I had never seen waitresses this rude and specially in Canada.

Our best Ottawa meal. The drinks were great, the service was wonderful the place is nice. The food was very large in portions, done right and served beautifully. Even though they were busy it felt like we were the only people there and we never felt rushed through our four courses. Must visit when in the area.

I rarely give 3 star reviews. However, since for time being, I’m in a small city I intend to document most of the restaurants I visit.
The Black Thorn had a nice patio and polite staff.
We went for the «thin crust pizza» since Ottawa has a reputation for having terrible pizza joints.
This place didn’t change my mind about that. The dough wasn’t crisp. It was flat (as in, had not risen) and pasty white. The toppings were good quality and Neopolitan-​style.
Their «spicy oil» was lame as didn’t add much kick to the pizza. I would have appreciated a shaker of chili flakes more.
We might go back to check out what else there is, but likely wont be back for the pizza.

Good service. Nice outside seating. Salmon (smoked in house) Eggs Benedict were really nice. Potatoes were fried as opposed to grilled.

The Black Thorn restaurant is homed in a beautiful heritage building located in the Byward Market on Clarence Street in the Tin House Courtyard. There is a large front patio and an even bigger back patio which is partially covered. In the evening the back patio which is in the courtyard is quite romantic with nice lighting and a quiet not found in most of the market. The back dining room is best for a sit down dinner as the front part of the restaurant is small and home to the bar so it is quite a bit louder and much better for drinks and socializing. For a small group the nook just off to the left side of the bar is a small and intimate space.
The food is excellent. Bruch is very good. My favourite brunch dishes are the French Toast and the Eggs Benedict. For lunch, by far the best sandwich on the lunch menu is the Duck Confit Grilled Sandwich; although the Lamb Burger is quite good as well. Unfortunately the sandwiches are only offered until 4 PM.
The pizzas at The Black Thorn are individual pizzas, thin crusted with fresh ingredients; however if you aren’t that hungry you can easily share one. For a classic pizza, try the Black Thorn Pizza. If you are a bit more adventurous there is the Texan Pizza, topped with duck and BBQ sauce. It is unique and worthwhile. My favorite pizza though is the San Francisco Pizza which uses a pesto base.
Notable appetizers include the PEI Mussels, the Warm Spinach Dip, and the Bruschetta. As for dinner main courses the best dish is the Wellington Country Beef Tenderloin. All of the desserts are worth a try. Enjoy!

As a single lady spending much of her time in the dating scene, this is one of my favorite places to go. I have never had a bad experience here with the staff or food. The front patio is cozy and sweet, and the back patio is great for late night twilight atmosphere.
The charcuterie and the pizza are my go-​to dishes, as is a few glasses of the Kingston Estate Shiraz.
It’s certainly dateable!
If only they can do something about those teeny-​tiny washrooms.

Service and food are excellent. Although pricy and menu limited in selection for dinner a good spot if your in the market.

This is now my second time popping in here and I’m really a fan.
They have a great selection of beer on tap, and decently priced martinis and wine. They also have a great menu.
Their food isn’t that much more expensive than most places but the plating and delivery makes it seem higher quality. Not to mention the ingredients and taste.
The Black Thorn has both a bar and a dining room, which is nice, you can have a causal meal or drink or a nicer evening by the fireplace.
The staff are super friendly and attentive, my beer didn’t stay empty long :)
I got the beet salad which had arugula, cranberries, pecan and a baked goat cheese round. It was really delicious, the salad was really fresh and the perfect size.
My friend had the butternut squash ravioli, which he said was really good but unfortunately was not super butternut squashiy so that’s a bummer.
I think I’ll try to come back some time during the day to try their burger as well!

Just went to the Black Thorn on Sunday for a late lunch and ended up having brunch instead because it just looked soo good at the table next to us.
I had the farmers breakfast and quite enjoyed it. I’ll have to go back again and try what I was supposed to try (thin crust pizza).
In addition to the good food, the location also has a lot of style with a nice patio overlooking one of the Market’s courtyards.
There is a fair amount of space with a front patio and side patio which has a covered part so you can enjoy the outside if the weather goes foul.
Definitely one of the places I would recommend others to go.

Such a cozy little gem in the Market! The inside reminds me of an old english estate with dark wood, heavy curtains and a fireplace. The outside boasts two patios — one in the front of the restaurant overlooking Clarence Street, the other off to the side and has a great view of the courtyard.
I enjoyed the New York thin crust pizza, boyfriend had the PEI muscles and the Chicken Farfalle which both looked awesome! My pizza was nice — the met had a smokey flavor to it. They server also accommodated us when we asked for some ranch dipping sauce and suggested a delicious garlic one instead. Yum!
The prize dish had to be my cousins. She had the lobster and shrimp salad and it was to die for (I obviously snagged a bite). The service was fast and friendly and they had a good selection of drinks including my fave (Fruli), a few craft beers (Muskoka brewed Mad Tom, Mill Street) and a ton of other Belgian beers that were crowd pleasers as well.
I can’t wait to go back and sit out on the back patio — it was full of warmth and conversation and looked like a great place for drinks.

Had an absolutely delicious lunch here recently while in town for work. Was there with three other folks, and we were all members of the clean plate club — which is a nice indicator of the quality of the food. Solid beer list. I did not have to pay so I can’t speak to the price, but the food, beer and service were all solid. The patio in back was nice and shady during the noon hour.

I ate here this past weekend with three other dining companions. We had picked out this restaurant after seeing it earlier in the day and asked to be seated on the back patio. The back patio is cute and overlooks a peaceful square with a fountain.
For my dinner entrée I had the lobster and shrimp salad and split an order of PEI mussels with the Spanish creole sauce. The salad came out plated nicely with the lettuce separate from the seafood which was spilling out of the cornucopia-​esque advocado rind. The salad as a whole tasted pretty good, especially when mixing together the seafood and lettuce. I felt that the mussels were a completely different story though. The mussels themselves were decent but the sauce was incredibly bland leading me to not enjoy them. This seemed to be similar to some of my other companions meals as well. They even had a hard time making a mojito which was one of their drinks.
The bottom line for me is that I would not head back here in the future. The atmosphere was nice but the food wasn’t that great, especially for the price.