Ottawa Restaurant Reviews

By: Victoria Garland

A Vanilla Vanilla Cupcake from Glitz

These sweet little cakes have finally made it to our side of the city. Having heard of many cupcakeries located in Ottawa, especially in the Glebe along Bank Street, I was delighted to notice two that have recently opened around the corner from where we live in the Byward Market!

We first noticed The Cupcake Lounge while it was under construction. It’s located next to the Blue Cactus at 6 Byward Market Square, between York Street and Clarence. We ended up walking by during their early grand opening and Alex and I were lucky to be able to purchase and preview their delicacies. They only had a limited menu, and the majority were all sold out! Alex left with a Chocolate Chocolate and I with a Vanilla Vanilla.

Alex’s cupcake was “Belgian dark chocolate cake with bittersweet chocolate frosting” and covered in little chocolate piece sprinkles; mine was “Classic Madagascar bourbon vanilla cake with vanilla bean frosting” and covered in vanilla pearls. They’re quite big in size and not overly sweet, as some cupcakes (especially vanilla) can be! They go for $3.25 a cupcake, or 12 for $36.

We enjoyed the cakes so much we brought two of our visiting friends to The Cupcake Lounge to try out a few other flavours. This time around I ordered the Key Lime which is described as “Pure lime infused cake with lime zest and cream cheese frosting”. This cake was equally as delicious as my previous Vanilla Vanilla cupcake. Our other friend tried the Chocolate Coconut which is described as “Belgian dark chocolate cake with toasted coconut cream cheese frosting” to which he had nothing but good things to say.

The other cupcake shop we discovered in the market is Glitz Cupcakes and Company. Located at 11 Murray Street, we discovered this little place while sitting out on the patio for lunch at The Earl of Sussex Pub. We stopped in to try their cupcakes and the décor is really quite cool. Black furniture and dark wood, with light purple accents and mirrors, very similar to the décor of the Anna Sui make-up counters! We popped in right at the end of the day so again, our menu choices were limited.

This time Alex and I both opted for their Vanilla Vanilla cupcakes, although they had a few mini vanilla and Chocolate Chocolate left. They were adorned with purple sugar sprinkles and a purple star sprinkle atop a swirl of pretty ivory vanilla frosting. Although they were a bit smaller than the cupcakes offered at The Cupcake Lounge they were a little cheaper. I found these cupcakes to have the same savoury flavour (read: not too sweet!) as the Vanilla Vanilla at the Cupcake Lounge.

When I first discovered these two cupcake shops I thought for sure I was going to review how one was better than the other, but to my delight and surprise, they were both excellent! Both places offer quality cupcakes at reasonable prices in very chic little shops. The only difference between the two is that Glitz offers you larger lounge-style seating, while the Cupcake Lounge (ironically) only offers a few seats. However there is a bench located in the front of the store to enjoy a little people-watching in the market.

The only downside I have to state is that Glitz Cupcakes and Company have not developed a proper website other than a main page with the address and their hours. I would have loved to look at their daily offerings and descriptions of the cupcakes.

Our Review:

The Cupcake Lounge – 4.75/5

Glitz Cupcakes and Company – 4.25/5

Urbanspoon’s Opinion:

and
Glitz Cupcakes and Company isn’t on Urbanspoon yet!

(As I’ve only been to Glitz once, I will update this score upon my second trip and/or upon their implementation of a proper website)

The Works Gourmet Burger Bistro (visit their homepage)

580 Bank Street
Ottawa, ON
613.235.0406

1 order Belgian Frites as appetizer
1 Greek Goddess Burger
1 Avril’s Avocado Avalanche
2 medium Milkshakes

Total Bill for two people dining: $48.36

Reviewed by: Alex Massaad

Victoria and I arrived a little after 3pm, right after I finished a mid-day magic show for my other job as a magician in Ottawa. The first thing I can advise is BE PREPARED TO WAIT.

This place is packed. Which for me was a good thing since it’s always a good indication of a delicious menu. We waited about 35 minutes in total, more than enough time to read their extensive menu and get your tummy grumbling. They took our drink orders about half way through our wait, which was a clever way to keep us in the restaurant rather than head elsewhere.

When we finally sat and ordered we were greeted with our milkshakes, mine was a strawberry banana and Victoria opted for wheat grass juice (!!!). Adding to the “flair” of The Works is their measuring cup delivery of all non-alcoholic drinks (you can still get pint glasses if you’re drinking beer though, I’m tempted to see if this is the one place on earth that might serve a pitcher with a straw . . .)

Their Belgian Frites, according to their menu are “a trio platter of fresh-cut Factory Fries, crispy breaded Onion Rings & our amazing Sweet Potato Strings & 3 cool Dipsticks for dipping.” They were more than enough for both of us and by the time our burgers arrived, with their own sides, we were almost completely stuffed.

The burgers were fantastic and made for excellent leftovers the next day. We only managed to eat half of the burger. I give this a rating of 4 out of 5, which is a lot since I generally rate highly on the experience. While I’m not running out the door to go back, I definitely will, when I’m prepared for the wait though! Also since I was driving I could not have any beer, I think this would also improve the entire dining experience.