Navarra

Went here for a birthday dinner with a few friends. The atmosphere was nice, the service impeccable, food delicious and the presentation excellent. We paid about $ 60 per person for shared tapas and another $ 40 each for wine. Chef was around to mingle with some of the customers sitting at the bar. Nice spot for a date.

We were a table of four for dinner. The food was unreal and the vibe was great. Our server knew the menu inside and out and was very helpful with ordering. We enjoyed everything! Has a great wine list. Maybe some more thought could go into some craft cocktails… Will be going back for sure! Highly recommend

I ordered a few tapas with a friend. I found the food well prepared and presented. The flavors were unusual and tasted incredible.

I don’t understand the hype about this place. The food was ok and the service was ok (if not below par). We had a nice woman and a man (with a beard) serving us. The man showed up to take our order and we picked 3 plates… he said that it wasn’t enough and we needed 5 plates. We still picked 3 plates because we don’t need to eat like pigs and 3 was perfectly fine. We wanted a bottle of white wine and we were not sure which one… we weren’t offered to taste (even if the wine was sold by the glass). I ordered an espresso and a dessert and the espresso arrived before we finished the wine and before the dessert. Is this supposed to be a nice restaurant?

Four of us went here for dinner on a Sunday night. Had I known the chef was the season 4 winner of Top Chef Canada, I would have stopped in much sooner during my three week stay in Ottawa.
I wasn’t that hungry, but the 5 course pre-​fixe for $ 79 with a $ 40 wine pairing was tempting. I couldn’t bring myself to do it, but fortunately, two people at my table got it so I could at least see what I was missing. At some points, I even got to taste.
Here’s the breakdown of what they got:
–Tuna Sashimi (Sunchoke «Waldorf” — apple gel– ruby red grapefruit– maldon)
–Basque Steak Tartare (Beef tenderloin– Catalan bread– Sherry dijon– almond romesco– gribiche– piquillo paint)
–Chef’s Signature Pig Cheek Confit (Mariposa Farms Pig Cheek– Green pea «pil pil” — almond milk air– serrano ham leather– pickled asparagus)
–Spanish Manchego Cheese (Aged 12 months– quince confit– poached pear– toasted pistachio– fresh baguette)
–Dark Chocolate Brown Butter Tart (Foie gras vanilla crème anglaise– passionfruit sorbet– lime leaf– cocoa soil– pickled Thai chile)
I settled for the Taco Mexicano in a Jar (House made chorizo– avocado gel– jalapeño– salsa Mexicana– crème fraîche– pulverized corn chip-​pickled zucchini) ($ 15) and the Chorizo Albondigas (Chorizo pork meatballs– tomato sauce– sauce gribiche– parsley) ($ 17). Between the two, I much preferred the albondigas, which were some of the best meatballs I’ve ever had. The taco in the jar, while inventive, was just a little too outside of the box for me and lacked crunch.
Our waiter needs to work on his Spanish if he wants to be serving dishes written in the menu in Spanish, but other than that, I’ve got not gripes with respect to the service. The intervals between each of the five dishes was perfect.
The cocktails were «meh.» The $ 13 mojito was average at best and there was nothing creative about the $ 14 margarita. It came with a salted rim, but I wanted a little kick so the waiter and bartender accommodated my request and threw some spice on it. Clearly, this is a wine place. Stick to the pre-​fixe with the pairings and you’ll most definitely leave happy.
Five stars for the ambiance. Very cozy, but if you sit outside, be warned of a subtle septic tank smell and the eventual swarm of mosquitos around 8 PM in the summer.

Went here with my girlfriends. The four of us got the Wine and food parings. My tasting combo started with fresh ravioli (to die for!), steak tartare (outstanding!), duck in coffee mole (flavor explosion), pig cheek combination that was so decadent I have no words. Then came the Guinness ice cream and caramel popcorn combo. Do I really need to say any more? Go there! Now.

I appreciate the art Chef Rene Rodriguez masterly creates with is dishes. I was fortunate enough to experience not only his 4 course meal but also his 5 course meal. His dishes are executed with elegance and fusion all at once. I was tempted to pair the meal as suggested by his very knowledgable wait staff. but I couldn’t pass on the opportunity to have an Estrella beer from Spain. I was suprisingly happy to see one my favorite beers served here. I admired the strength of knowledge for each ingredient in each dish presented by the wait staff. This was an experience I will never forget.

This has been my favorite restaurant in Ottawa for a few years but was wonderfully surprised going back today and trying the new 7 course tasting menus. They have really stepped it up a notch. Loved the duck with mole sauce and the chocolate dessert was delicious and loved the dramatic presentation.

When I was invited and read that it was ‘Mexican inspired’ I wasn’t expecting much. But wow, was I surprised. Their beef filet tartare is superb. The lamb dish with soft nachos in it was excellent.
The house wine was reasonably priced and a very good Spanish wine.
The restaurant says ‘tapas style’ but the portion sizes are much larger than what do often get with this presentation style. We were two adult men for a business lunch and two plates were the right amount of food for us.
I will definitely be going here again.

Food was extremely satisfying. Chef is obviously very skilled. I had medium rare duck, with 4 other courses. Expensive, but all plates were wonderful.
Serious problem was with the server. He was rude. He told us (a table of 6) that we had to vacate the table in 3 hours. He did it when we first came in and 45 minutes into the meal. He did not discuss the plates with everyone. Three of us had the same beer initially, but they ran out of it. That was a bit amateurish. The atmosphere is very loud, so explaining a plate to a patron at one end of the table does not help others. He was inattentive.
Tables are very close together so one can hear one’s neighbour patron better than some of one’s own party. I would not recommend the place. A $ 67 meal at minimum plus at least $ 37 for an additional course is too rich for the experience. Choice was limited to two options, both featuring pig, turned off some guests. Wine puts a meal well over $ 125 per person. The excellent variety of restaurant in the Market causes this patron to advise you to go elsewhere.

Navarra Chef is Canada Top Chef Season 4 Winner Rene Rodriguez. But it does not really matter with food that was prepared with care, excellent ingredients and resulted in balance of taste and every bite was that wow experience.
I am though a fan of more bold flavour so I love all the jalapeño and spices uses in all the dishes.
We came here for lunch. I have to thank the staff for being so accommodating! I made a reservation for 3 then I changed to 4 then I added another one the day before to 5 then ended up only 4 people. (I really don’t like to dine or organize gathering with people that not committed, but those were not my friends…)
The interior of the restaurant is small and cozy. Perfect for a date or just gathering with close friends.
We shared:
— Lamb shoulder chilaquiles ($ 19) with Serrano chile salsa, feta, radish, jalapeño, marjoram
— Roasted trout filet ($ 21) with pommery mustard creamed potatoes, pickled onions, herbs
— Chimichurri mushrooms ($ 17) with potato-​onion sofrito, gran padano cheese, fresh herbs
— Spanish tortilla ($ 16) with potatoes, jamon Serrano, onion, piquilla paint, greens
Love the presentation and the plating. All the dish just feel like it is full of energy and colourful and photo worthy!
This may probably the best meal we had during our Weekend in Ottawa.
Will be back for the New Taster Menu. It is that good!

Spent one night in Ottawa and friends had recommended Navarra. In their words this food here made their mouth tingle. Made reservation two weeks in advance and glad we did since the restaurant is quite cozy and seats are very limited but still accommodates larger parties.
We originally wanted to try their Quebec Pig Cheek but apparently the pig cheek weren’t delivered in to be prepared so we opted with Roasted Duck Breast, Salt Roasted Pork Chop and Cauliflower Tempura. The duck breast was amazing, perfectly cooked and very creative and unique. The cauliflower was pretty good and paired well with pig cheek bits. The pork chop didn’t wow me though; my girlfriend liked it might be personnel preference.
My only complaint is that the drinks were overcharged; $ 10 for a can of beer is probably the most I have paid at any restaurant.
I would recommend this place to food lovers that wants to try unique dishes and don’t mind splurging.

Outstanding ! Almost didn’t go in because when I arrived for my 6 pm reservation the place was empty so I was thinking is this the right place. Went in and within 5 mins the place was full. And now I know why. simply put WOW

Not a satisfied experience.
Service: Meh to ok
We made a reservation and arrive in time. When we arrived there were quite a few open tables. But they gave us the table that’s close to the door. We didn’t want to take it because it was a cold night and didn’t understand why we can’t get a table inside when there were so many of them still open. The waiter explained we reserve our table late or we were almost the last ppl to reserve a table for the night. Which didn’t make sense in any case. We reserved the day before and there were still many opening either before or after our booked time by the time we booked it. And there were many ppl arrived way later than us. The server seemed to did some rocket science to arrange another table for us and warned us that: «for future reference» they can’t do that again… Sure if I am coming again…
Then when we asked questions about thr menu, the waitress didn’t seem to be interested in explaining their dish: «what’s burrata? ««it’s a cheese (period and no more)»…
Later for some reason the service became better.
Food:
Meh…
This place is definitely better than Chains like Apple Bee’s, Friday’s etc. But seriously? I read in other review the chef is a Canada’s top chef. Wow… That’s really sad for Canada then. Nothing outstanding, food you can get anywhere and very overprice:
Taco: the best part of the dinner, ok tasty, though the guacamole is a bit yellow in color and weird taste
Foi gras: so burnt… I don’t think a restaurant is good when they can’t handle their fire and get burnt black food on the plate! I could taste the bitterness. :P
Squad: OK. nothing too impressive,
Not too bad
Pig cheek: burnt and black again!!!
And it’s basically a piece of FAT! Literally! Very little lean meat and 80% of it was just pure FAT! Flavours were bad too. And you basically pay 30 something bucks for a piece of pig fat: O
You are not getting what you pay for.
Ottawa has very limited number of good restaurants and this one is definitely not one of them! We dined in Play Food and Wine with way better service, food quality and ambience yet lower price.
Do not recommend.

After seeing Top Chef Canada, we came here to try in the summer to see the food this Top Chef Canada winner pushed out. We did not see him there that night at all as the food were prepared by his sous or other line chefs.
First of all, this restaurant is not that vegetarian friendly at all. My daughter is a vegetarian. She could have starved that night with the very limited and not-​so-​friendly vegetarian choices.
Food wise, most were all right and some were just OK. The best dish was the lamb Mole for sure. I would say that is the only dish that was worth the price. Very very small portions I may add. Some of the appetizers/​tapas were really tiny for the price they charged.
We all had appetizers, a main, and dessert but still felt hungry afterwards. Normally, we don’t even have room for desserts whenever we dine out. I would not recommend if you have a big appetite and tummy :). It is more like one of those try-​once only restaurant for me but I would come back for the Mole for sure on a not-​so-​hungry day.

I was so excited to try Navarra, as I watched Top Chef and was very impressed. I had heard great things on here, and was ready for a phenomenal experience. Not so much.
1. The chef, in a very open concept kitchen, did not say hello when he walked past us waiting in the non-​existent lobby (basically a hot glass tiny hallway in front of the building). He spent the entire night texting and drinking, and I didn’t see him taste his food once. He seemed grumpy and disinterested in everything going on, and left frequently to talk on the phone. Maybe he was having a bad night, but when you’re in the hospitality business, you can’t send bad vibes into your own restaurant.
2. The food was mediocre. The best was the appetizer, and the rest was mediocre. The duck was dry. My mom had to take some of the leftover liquid from the ceviche to make her fish edible. Meh. Nothing amazing. The desert was awful.
3. Ambiance. One word — CRAMPED.
4. Service. Valiant — they tried there very best, obviously, but there was no room to move, very few servers, too many tables crammed in to a tiny space and despite their effort they couldn’t fix it.

This place was great! A little pricey, about $ 150 for two people (one appetizer, 2 entrees, 2 glasses of wine), but I thought it was worth it… food was fantastic!
I had the Duck Breast and my friend had the Carbonara… we both joined the clean plate club that night. We also had the blue crab salad, I think, which was good too.

Some of the dishes were great (chillequillies, mole, pork belly, potatoes) others were ok. Really enjoyed the complexity of the mole. Kudos for making everything easy for the gluten and dairy free members of our party. Also great explanations, our server really understood how everything was put together.
Major complaint was the cold by the window, although they gave us blankets, it is Ottawa and you should expect to eat in a warm space, not bundled (literally) up.

We visited here for our first time on Wednesday night at 7pm after hearing rave reviews from friends and Ottawa publications listing it as a top restaurant. The restaurant wasn’t too busy when we arrived, but picked up around 8 – 8:30pm. The décor is beautiful, warm and welcoming. Unlike many restaurants we did not feel cramped in this space. Our server was really lovely, albeit the service was rather slow. She was also positioned at the bar and we felt our table was put on the back burner on a few occasions.
We ordered a caesar and I asked for a vodka cocktail concoction. She used pineapple purée, cranberry juice, something vanilla infused… deliciousness…not on their menu. None of the drinks stood out much for me, and their house wine, from my hometown of Prince Edward County, was not available, but I was very happy with her creation.
We began with the Mexican Bricklayer. Tomatillo salsa, crumbled feta, avacado ‘dip’, 3 tostadas, radish, crema and cactus. It was not bad, but I did not love it. I felt like it was overpriced for what we received. $ 17.00 I felt as though this tapas dish was lacking something. It was mediocre.
As our main courses, we choose the two and only vegetarian options on the menu, the Organic Chimichurri Mushrooms (black corn paint, fried onions, pecorino cheese, coriander). Very coriander-​y. Delicious. Even my partner who does not love mushrooms enjoyed this dish. It’s quite strong though, but I enjoyed it. We also ordered Al Pastor Mushroom Quesadillas with pickled pineapple, shaved radish, serrano chile salsa and house guacamole. Guacamole was simple. The Serrano Chile Salsa was quite good. Very spicy, but maintained a flavour. Each dish was $ 17.
We passed on dessert, though the table next to us who enjoyed dessert were having an experience of dessert with dry ice and chocolate being ‘rained’ all over their table. Interesting.
Overall, service could have been a bit quicker, food, though good, could have been slightly cheaper and the drinks were delicious. It is worth a try, though I would not visit here again.

So after letting people know that Navarra might be the best restaurant in the Byward Market I was able to convince a handful of people to go and we pretty much ordered the whole menu. Seriously no joke we ordered the whole menu :)
As mentioned the menu’s influence is mainly Mexican, Spanish and even some Italian. It’s a tapas formula with slightly larger than average tapas dishes. Since the menu changes I don’t want to run through it all since it might be slightly different when you show up.
Highlights were anything pork and lamb related. They were extremely good.
Most of the meat based dishes were delicious. Foie is foie, you love it or you don’t. The vegetarian items were also good.
This might only be me but I have a hard time with the seafood in Ottawa. It’s decent but not nearly as good as other menu items at any of the restaurants that offer it and you’re paying a premium. I feel the same way about the seafood items from Navarra. If you really want seafood, order it but it’s not nearly as delicious as the other dishes.
They have a nice wine list selection and the staff are always great and accommodating.
Want to show off to your date? Bring her here, you can’t go wrong :) If you strike out here… please don’t blame me: P