A flaneur’s paradise: The cafes of Lowertown
By Peter Gould
Everywhere, from the teahouses of Nepal to the espresso bars of Italy, the neighbourhood cafe has a humble but important role in daily life. The explosion of interest in coffee beverages over the past twenty years has led to a proliferation of new cafes across Canada, mainly franchise operations catering to the demand for coffee to go. Lowertown was once home to Cafe Le Hibou, a folk-music mecca for talented performers such as Bruce Cockburn and Joni Mitchell, and Cafe Wim, a bohemian hub for students and intellectuals. Both closed long ago, but today Lowertown has an impressive variety of independent cafes offering residents and visitors eclectic menus, a unique ambience, and in some cases entertainment.
The Usual Suspects
The two Tim Hortons locations in Lowertown, at 99 Rideau and 360 St. Patrick at King Edward are strictly take-out operations with no seating area. Starbucks has a Lowertown presence at 47 Rideau inside Chapters. Canada’s response to the Starbucks phenomenon, Second Cup, is located at 224 Dalhousie Street and caters mainly to students, with a large seating area offering views of the busy street life on Dalhousie and Rideau streets. The Ottawa-based coffee chain Bridgehead, which offers fair- trade coffee, has a location at 224 Dalhousie, with seating in an environment that curiously blends homey and institutional decor.
The Home Away from Home
Bluebird Coffee at 261 Dalhousie epitomizes the traditional neighbourhood cafe. Coffee fragrance from the micro-roaster wafts through the large and welcoming salon. Patrons can recline in the comfortable armchairs arranged around a large low round table looking out on Dalhousie Street, or hold meetings at a nearby high table. The Bluebird is very much a community hub, with posters on cultural and arts events pinned along the espresso bar. Paintings or photographs by local artists grace its walls. You can receive a palm reading from Jolyn every Wednesday from 4 to 8 p.m., and chansonnier François Champagne performs on Sundays from 2 to 4 p.m. Soups, panini sandwiches and muffins are available, and all are prepared fresh on the premises, as at all the other independent cafes surveyed for this article. An expanded menu of baked treats is coming soon.
With floor-to-ceiling rolling glass doors looking out on bustling Byward Market Square at George and William streets, the Byward Cafe (55 Byward Market Square) offers one of the best views of any cafe in Ottawa. The Byward Cafe no longer has its own summer terrace area but there is plenty of outdoor seating on the recently renovated adjacent square. In addition to coffees, the Byward Cafe serves desserts, cakes, soup, salads and panini sandwiches as well as beer and wine.
Tucked away on cobblestoned Clarendon Lane, Planet Coffee (24a York) has been a beacon to lovers of the stylish bohemian cafe experience for over twenty years. Planet Coffee doesn’t have Wi-Fi, because it wants to attract a clientele seeking opportunities to socialize rather than catch up on Facebook. In the summer, Planet Coffee spills out onto the neighbouring lane, and an eclectic mix of tourists, students and style mavens can be found relaxing in the sun in perhaps the most historic setting in Ottawa. Planet Coffee is famed for its rhubarb-square dessert.
Its leatherette booths a nod to its vintage diner origins, Ideal Coffee (176 Dalhousie) is an oasis of languorous repose on the North Dal strip of fashion designer boutiques. You are welcome to play a vintage upright piano, and on Saturday mornings from 10:30 to 12:30, Katie plays guitar and sings country and folk music. The owner, Luciano, hails from Brazil and so pao de queijo (cheese bread) is among the snacks on offer. Ideal Coffee is also a coffee roastery. Ideal has applied for a liquor license and hopes to soon offer wines and beers, along with an expanded food menu.
Origin Trade (111 York) has a gentle hipness and quietly inviting atmosphere. Exposed brick walls and a large polished-concrete bar impart some of the ambience of a vintage neighbourhood tavern. In summer, there is a small terrace in front on York Street. Origin is licensed, and in the evening the small salon transforms itself into a lounge. On Monday nights, amateur performers flock to Origin for an acoustic open-mike event, and on other evenings DJs provide ambient music.
And Now for Something Completely Different
Upbeat Italian pop music, clean white lines and stylish salon chairs set apart Mantovani 1946 at 87 Murray as a special venue for that first date or for a fine dessert with a friend in a stylish setting. Mantovani 1946 also serves lunch entrees such as Italian pasta dishes and arancini (fried rice balls stuffed with tomato sauce and cheese). Gelati, prepared to the recipes of the Mantovani family from Naples, are a major attraction.
HQ (113 Clarence) offers the unique opportunity to enjoy a coffee while watching clients at the neighbouring hair salon getting highlights through a glass wall that runs the length of HQ. HQ is spacious, with sleek white walls and marble tables. In addition to serving coffee beverages such as espresso, HQ has an adventurous kitchen, offering innovative appetizers and entrees such as a clam chowder prepared with jalapeño peppers, potatoes and Manila clams.
The flagship store for Canada, Starbucks Reserve at 62 York caters to both everyday java junkies and connoisseurs. In addition to traditional beverages such as lattes, Starbucks Reserve serves various specialty coffee beverages such as nitrogen cold-brewed coffee on tap served at a long tasting bar. A drinks menu also offers craft beers, Ontario cider, and wines.
A sign on the brick heritage house at 119 York depicts the classic image of the Mad Hatter, and at The Tea Party Cafe you can indeed experience a bohemian version of the traditional high tea. The clients are mainly students. There are occasional poetry readings, and on Fridays aspiring acoustic performers assemble for an open-mike evening. The Tea Party menu includes not only teas, coffees and scones, but Indian specialties such as buttered tofu, as well as craft beers and wine.
Il Perugino is a small but lively cafe at 176 Dalhousie that also transforms itself by night into a lounge. Eclectic decor such as gold pillars and red leather upholstery sets Il Perugino apart as a cafe with a rare pizzazz. Wednesdays, Il Perugino hosts an Italian card-games night. On weekend evenings a DJ plays Spanish and Italian pop music. The food menu includes pizzas, pasta and sandwiches, and for dessert, cannoli (Italian cream-filled pastries). Il Perugino also serves wine, beer and spirits such as amaro (a bitter Italian liqueur).
Since 1994, Oh So Good Dessert and Coffee House (25 York) has been an institution on the Byward Market for Ottawa dessert lovers. Oh So Good opens at noon, as it is predominantly frequented in the evening by the after-dinner crowd seeking extraordinary desserts such as their chocolate raspberry truffle cake. The wood-paneled, low-lit salons of Oh So Good extend deep into the rear of the building, and feature an impressive array of work by local artists.