15 Ottawa restaurants dishing out top-notch, affordable eats for $15 or less

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It was easier to do this last spring.

When we previously pulled together a compendium of attractive options at Ottawa restaurants for $15 or less, there seemed to be more choices.

But since then grocery prices have basically risen three per cent a month, roughly half the regular rate of inflation. And, just as you’ve been feeling a more pronounced pinch when you’ve bought food, restaurants have been, too.

Still, we found some satisfying orders that will still leave some change in your pocket, metaphorically speaking. Heck, at the collection’s lead-off business, the venerable Aladdin Bakery on Carling Avenue, you could spend your $15 and probably feed four people surprisingly well.

There are more sandwiches in this roundup because bulked-up platters with rice, potatoes and veg on them are increasingly rare. We’ve tried not to slip too much into straight-up fast food, and our picks do lean into what some might call “ethnic” cuisine as the dishes that attest to the ongoing diversification of our city and its restaurants can frequently be the most value-packed.

Hopefully, we’ve shown that, despite mounting grocery bills, you can still afford to treat yourself to something special cooked by someone else now and again. If you have recommendations for orders that we’ve missed, please leave them in the comments below.

Note: Prices are subject to change following the publication of this article. 

Assorted pies at Aladdin Bakery — $3 to 4.25

1801 Carling Ave., 1020 St. Laurent Blvd., 2020 Lanthier Dr., Orléans, instagram.com/aladdinbakery

If you went to Nepean High School or Notre Dame High School, both on Broadview Avenue in McKellar Park, during the past three decades, you most likely ate your share of flatbread pies from Aladdin Bakery down the street.

Opened in 1996 by Mohamad Farhat, Aladdin Bakery was one of the first, if not the very first, of Ottawa’s Lebanese bakeries turning out flatbread pies. Top sellers star cheese (a salty, stretchy mix of Lebanese cheese and mozzarella), meat (ground beef), meat and cheese, zaatar (a Middle Eastern blend of spices including thyme and oregano) and more. These days, the pieces range in price from $3 for a zaatar pie to $3.25 for a meat pie to $4.25 for a cheese pie to $4.25 for a meat and cheese pie. Taxes are included.

When I told Farhat about this assignment’s $15 limit, he quickly did the math in his head and rhymed off various combinations of pies that could be had to feed a family of three or four. “We’ve kept the prices affordable for everybody, so we have the volume,” Farhat says.

He figures he sells between 600 and 800 pies a day, baked in batches in a large oven, going from raw to cooked on a conveyor-belt ride. Then they are re-heated if needed to order in a second oven, and if customers request, meat pies are seasoned with spices or lemon.

Farhat, 66, came to Ottawa in 1987 from the village of Al-Rafid in the eastern province of Beqaa in Lebanon, trained as an electrical engineer. He worked in his field briefly, but switched to his family owned bakery business. Success on Carling Avenue spawned a second location on St. Laurent Boulevard in 1998 and then a third location in Orléans in 2020.

“This is what Canada gives us, opportunity,” Farhat says. “You’ve got to work hard to get somewhere.”

He’s proud that he has customers who come daily for his pies. Zaatar pies, he adds, are common morning fare in Lebanon, where they’re even thought of as “brain food” for students.

He’s been in business long enough that that former students who have long graduated come to the bakery with their children, and reminisce about the pies of their youth. “It makes me happy,” Farhat says.

Fatteh Yogurt at Allo Beirut — $14.99

1679 Carling Ave., 613-792-9095, allobeirut.ca

Fatteh, a bowlful of simple, but delicious contrasts, is a Middle Eastern breakfast dish that has been increasingly served in Ottawa in recent years. The dish can include warm chickpeas with tahini or yogurt, fried pita bread for crunch, pomegranate seeds, slivered almonds and a drizzle of clarified butter. Meat can be added if desired. At Allo Beirut, the fatteh is excellent and the fatteh yogurt ($14.99) is the one to get for its extra tang compared to the tahini version.

Read Peter Hum’s October 2024 review of Allo Beirut here

Grilled pork banh mi at Banh Mi Girl — $12 

782 Eagleson Rd., Unit 2 (inside Chicha San Chen), clover.com/online-ordering/banh-mi-girl-ottawa

This fresh, baked-in-house baguette from this Kanata shop contains a multitude of blessings, chief of which is lots of grilled five-spice-seasoned pork, plus house-made pate for some funky umami, cucumber, pickled vegetables, cilantro and, if you like heat, some chilis that pop. Even when ordered for delivery, this banh mi comes in under $15.

Koshari at Chickpeas — $14.99

500 Terminal Ave. A-05, 613-789-8999, chickpeasottawa.ca

At Chickpeas, koshari, the national dish of Egypt and a celebration of carbs, is massively portioned and leftover-generating. It’s blessed with macaroni, spaghetti, black lentils and chickpeas that were fresh-tasting and well-cooked, and fried onions that were fresh, plentiful and impactful. Its sauces come on the side, including a bright-flavoured tomato-based sauce and garlic vinegar that brings extra savoury sourness. A third, pasty condiment brought some earthy heat to the meal.

Read Peter Hum’s March 2025 review of Chickpeas here

Two-thigh fried chicken combo at Crispy’s Resto Grill — $13.50

1433 Woodroffe Ave., 2446 Bank St. unit 104, order.crispysrestogrill.com

Just keep scrolling if you’re averse to deep-fried and decidedly unhealthy eating. Otherwise, order the two-piece, boneless chicken thigh combo with fries and a soft drink for a truly guilty pleasure. The chicken is well-seasoned, shatteringly crisp and halal. The fries are nearly as crispy. Dipping sauces are good, mostly to hide the oiliness and scalding temperature of the just-fried chicken. Ambience is negligible.

Build-your-own sandwich at District Deli — $13.99

220 Carruthers Ave., districtdeli.com

District Deli keeps its menu close to home, naming sandwiches after nearby streets and stacking them to order behind the counter. The Wellington comes layered with mortadella, hot genoa, prosciutto, fresh mozzarella, roasted red pepper and basil mayo; the Parkdale is filled with Montreal smoked meat, Swiss, slaw and pickles with a streak of hot mustard. Even the vegetarian options have heft, like the Bayswater with roasted eggplant, roasted red pepper and fresh mozzarella.

Subs are best eaten on site, as the size and fillings make them messy, and a slow commute home risks soggy bread. Space inside is minimal, with only a few places to sit, but the pace of service is quick and the line moves steadily.

Sandwiches run $12.99 to $13.99, with a rotating weekly feature and the option to build your own. Sides include dill potato or basil tortellini salad, and the counter case holds cookies and bread pudding for dessert. The sheer volume of meat, cheese and fresh vegetables crammed into each sandwich explains why customers leave comparing every other sub in the city to the one they just had on Wellington Street.

Ten dumplings at Dumpling Bliss — $14

111 Cooper St.; dumplingblissottawa.com

A short walk from city hall, the new dumpling restaurant glows with red lanterns strung across the ceiling and the steam of baskets leaving the kitchen. The menu offers fifteen fillings, 10 dumplings at a time, for $14 to $17. Pork and napa cabbage is the most affordable, while the fish sits at the top. Beef comes four ways, with onion, celery, green pepper or black pepper, while seafood choices include a clean white fish or a mix of chive, egg and shrimp.

Tomato and egg or cucumber and egg round out the vegetarian side. Chicken shows up with mushrooms or folded into a curry that holds a slow heat. A basket is enough for lunch, but a table of two can add karaage chicken for $9, cold braised beef for $12 and finish with pumpkin rolls at $6, leaving the bill under $40. On your own, dumplings, a side and dessert come to under $25, a great bargain in Centretown.

Read Sofia Misenheimer’s 2025 review of Dumpling Bliss here

Breakfast plate at Fontenelle Diner — $12

55 Montreal Rd., fontenellediner.ca

Fontenelle Diner has been serving breakfast on Montreal Road for over half a century, and the menu reads like a price list from another era. Two eggs with home fries, bacon, ham or sausage, toast and coffee costs $11.50, while the three-egg version increases to $12.85. Pancakes arrive as thick, homemade rounds, three for $12, and can be paired with maple syrup from a can that costs two dollars extra, or stacked with scrambled eggs, bacon and fresh fruit for an added $5. The classic omelette holds steady at $12.

The dining room looks like an ’80s time capsule, a little dated at first glance, but portions are generous, the fruit on the side is ripe and well-chosen. You can also find affordable lunch options, with a $14 burger and fries, but the real draw is breakfast served all day at prices that undercut most brunch spots in Ottawa. Parking is straightforward, either in a small lot across the street or at the meters out front. For anyone chasing a cheap plate of eggs and coffee, Fontenelle makes a persuasive case for sticking with the old guard.

Sandwiches at Lusa Bakery — $8.99 to $9.99

420 Hazeldean Rd., Kanata, 343-545-5057, lusabakery.ca

At Lusa Bakery in Kanata, Portuguese pastries in the front counter’s showcase are immediate eye-catchers. But if you arrive at lunch time or later, and crave something savoury and eminently affordable, the Portuguese sandwiches are excellent, whether they feature roast chicken, chorizo or pork. The meats are tender, and the sauces in each sandwich dial up the flavours appreciably. And, given that the sandwiches are under $10, you’ll still have room for an $2.75 egg tart or almond tart, which draw people from across Ottawa all on their own.

Read Peter Hum’s May 2025 review of Lusa Bakery here

Brisket (Suadero) Sandwich at Mi Amor Tacos — $14.99

9 Bullman St., miamortacos.com

Mi Amor Tacos, Gloria Salazar’s shipping-container-turned-kitchen in a parking lot near Tunney’s Pasture, makes not only divine tacos, but also a hearty brisket (suadero) sandwich ($14.99) that’s a meat-lover’s dream. Chopped lettuce, tomato, cheese and pickled jalapenos make it even more awesome. Alternately, you can get your suadero fix in a burrito ($14.99) or tacos (two for $14).

Read Peter Hum’s October 2024 review of Mi Amor Tacos here

Pork schnitzel sandwich at Schnitzel Works — $15

1400 Cyrville Rd., schnitzelworks.com

Tucked away on an industrial strip in Ottawa’s east end, Iveta Lukacovicova’s 15-year-old schnitzel eatery is a modest affair. But her menu brims with “worldly,” open-face, $15 pork schnitzel sandwiches that must be tried and enjoyed to be believed. (For a dollar more, you can have a chicken schnitzel.) The “Canadian” schnitzel is topped with back bacon and cheese, the Slovak, which nods to Lukacovicova’s homeland, includes ham and a sunny-side-up egg, and the Mexican is made with hot peppers, salsa and cheese.

I went with the German schnitzel topped with gravy and sauteed mushrooms, and marvelled at its full flavour and crisp-tender texture, which Lukacovicova attributes to “very fast, in and out” deep-frying. The meat obscures the massive Portuguese bun and the whole thing is tricky to eat, likely requiring some fork-and-knife work before you can close this sandwich and pick it up. If bread’s not your thing, you can order the schnitzel all by itself for a few dollars less, or make it the star of a platter with potatoes or spaetzle and other sides for a few dollars more. 

Rice bowls at Sula Wok — $14.88

184 Main St., sulawok.com

The Main Street eatery, which is optimized for takeout, serves a wealth of Asian-inspired dishes that will make you swear that fusion cuisine is a good thing after all. Dumplings, Asian tacos and fried rice dishes are all under $15. But, for culinary thrills, what’s recommended is the vibrant and generously portioned pad kra pao rice bowl, ordered extra spicy.

Pork wonton soup at Shanghai Wonton Noodle — $13

178 Rideau St., downtownrideau.com/directory/shanghai-wonton-noodle

If you’re used to the appetizer-sized wonton soups served by Chinese-Canadian restaurants of yore, this bowl is the same thing, but considerably up-sized, more authentic and tastier. At this well-established hole-in-the-wall on Rideau Street frequented by Chinese students and young expats, $13 gets you a bowl of 10 massive and tasty house-made pork dumplings in a commendable broth. Three kinds of dumplings are available: pork with mushroom, pork with shepherd’s purse (an Asian green) and just plain pork. If you want to skip the soup, you can order the dumplings deep-fried or served with peanut sauce and you still won’t break the $15 barrier. In keeping with its name, the modest, always affordable eatery also serves big bowls of noodle soup.

Saffron chicken kebab wraps at Vasta Bakery & Sandwich – $12.99

1950 Merivale Rd., Unit 11,  instagram.com/vastabreadandsandwich

South of Hunt Club Road in a Merivale Road strip mall, Vasta Bread & Sandwich grills some commendable kebabs that will please parsimonious carnivores seeking marinated, tender meat. At this five-month-old bakery, sandwich shop and grocery store, a saffron-tinged chicken kebab, garnished simply with roasted tomato, lettuce, pickles and a lightly herbaceous sauce, was tasty and filling. The lamb chenjeh kebab was a fine red-meat choice that’s still under $15.

Bubble tea and ramen at Xing Fu Tang — $12.99

175 Main St Unit 2, instagram.com

At the bubble tea shop on Main Street, pearls are made by hand in small batches throughout the day. Staff mix Taiwanese brown sugar and tapioca starch into dough, roll it into pieces and simmer them in syrup until they take on a caramel gloss. The result is chewy without being heavy, and the pearls are the primary source of sweetness in drinks that otherwise rely on fresh fruit and milk. Banana milk comes from whole fruit blended to order and finished under a brûlée torch, fruit slushes are threaded with strips of candied lychee, and mango smoothies arrive capped with a molded coconut jelly rabbit. A separate container at the counter holds oversized herbal jelly “boba,” translucent spheres that slide easily through a wide straw and are unique to the Ottawa location.

For customers who want more than a drink, ramen has become part of the menu. A $7 or $8 tea can be paired with a $4.99 bowl in flavors like kimchi, cheese or meat-based broths, either prepared by staff or handed over for customers to cook themselves. “We added ramen because people wanted something warm to eat with their drinks, and we wanted to keep it affordable,” owner Rose Nguyen said. At about $12, the combination turns a drink that already leaves most people full into one of the cheapest hot meals in Old Ottawa East.

Read Sofia Misenheimer’s 2025 review of Xing Fu Tang here

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