Reviews of Play Food & Wine (Winery)

Matt Zmuda

The food was delicious and the service was great. Portions are very small, they warn you before you order. It's all about the taste. We sat overlooking the chef's kitchen (kitchen bar) which was fun. We got to see all the cooking action. It is a loud seat but fun for a date night.

Chris Saldanha

Wonderful food, every small plate was a gem. Service is great, staff are knowledgeable esp. with wine recommendations. In my recent visit, i wanted to call out a little side item on one of the plates -- a pickled cauliflower which was a fabulous red colour and had the most unexpectedly delightful flavour. It's the care in the details of each dish that make this place a favourite for me.

Gregory Paulin

10/10, would recommend to anyone and everyone. From the sourdough with brown butter to the frites with aioli, the starters are everything you'd want them to be and more. The starters might sound simple, but they are executed flawlessly. The …

Liam Curran

Amazing experience, would definitely come back. The scallops were cooked to perfection. The pork belly salad was to die for, my favourite dish. The hanger steak was cooked very well. And, the Parisian gnocchi was bursting with flavours. …

HyunJung Joung

My friend highly recommended this place. They updated menu so I wasn't able to try the dish that my friend recommended but new dishes were nice too. Especially I really liked the shrimp dish.

Ery M

We came here on a Friday night and were so impressed with the service! The hostess Sophie was very welcoming and helpful. We will absolutely be coming back!

Paul Choquette

This little restaurant is on everybody's top list for a reason. As soon as you are seated on the terasse or inside the art gallery vibe of the restaurant, you are presented with a vast array of wines and cocktails. Although the menu may …

Leslie McKee

Interesting food combinations with great presentation. Service was adequate but not friendly. Desserts were pretty but not tasty. Wine was pricey and just good. Atmosphere was very nice . Hostess very friendly and busboy attentive. Professional service and all good but wasn’t blown away

Yodaman Solo

Great spot in the Byward! I discovered it for the first time and I was so satisfied with the experience. The menu items give you a minimal offering but quality at it’s finest! And it’s nice to be given a wine pairing suggestion next to each …

Jordan Fraser

My wife and I visited Play Food & Wine for our 10th anniversary recently. We both love food - and Play did not disappoint. The food tasted exquisite, with care taken to prepare it to bring out the flavour in each dish. The other aspect that my wife and I both enjoyed was the portion size. Play creates small plates that taste amazing - giving you an excellent food experience without making you feel 'stuffed'. We both walked away saying it was one of the best meals out we've have in a long time. Highly recommend play for your next meal out.

François Marquis

I was looking for a nice place to dine alone and was recommended this restaurant. …

Andre Blanchet

Great lunch. Go get the 25$ for two plates deal, it's a good sized lunch. Had the skirt steak and frites (well seasoned), the duck liver mousse and challah (perfect), grilled haloumi, and pineapple pork ribs (like a sweet and sour jerk marinade). The food was excellent. The decor brings the place down. The tables are nice, the chairs look like they got them at a Walmart (black faux leather and chrome legs). The decor does NOT match the food.

Neil Johnston-MacBride

Amazing and delicious experience!! The patio was well covered and the tables spaced apart to make for a relaxing dining experience. The food was fresh and so satisfying. The service staff were incredibly friendly and responsive. A perfect evening.

Phil Guilbeault

Great food and excellent wine pairings. Service was spot on. Great place to go with friends and share good times. The only reason it's 4 stars is the price point. My suggestion would that the wine pairings be proportionate to the food serving. Each glass is 14$, it adds up when your having multiple plates which is what the experience is suppose to be. Other than that it was amazing!

Faridath Glawdis YESSOUFOU

I liked the idea of small plates that allow you to try different things. The food was delicious. Good variety of food and drinks. Only been on the patio, wondering what vibe is inside. Service was great too

Ice Teddy-Utama

This is my first time coming here. We had the lunch special of $25 for 2 plates. I had bison short ribs and spiced burger. The bison short ribs was really good and boneless. But the spiced burger was just okay. The service was okay and the place was clean. The price was a bit expensive though.

Morphia32

Play is a typical family restaurant trying to standout in the Ottawa tourist district. They tried to be creative but the dishes didn't quite come together. The steak in the steak tartare was not as flavourful as typical, but it was different seeing a soft boiled quail egg. The fat in the pork belly was not sufficiently rendered and the skin could have been crispier rather than chewy. I enjoyed the boar sausage, but the red deer sausage had a rough texture possibly being overcooked otherwise it was paired with a well made pasta noodle. A generous serving of watercress as a side was very well received. The fish dish could be skipped as it lacked flavour and did seem like it came frozen. In regards to the service, the dishes were released from the kitchen very slowly, and the bill took a long time to arrive.

Michel Desjardins

DING DONG! Olivia was amazing! We had four starters with pairing wines. Amazing experience! Delicious food and wines. Especially the chocolate bomb and late harvest Spanish wine. They even made Brazilian coffees for us. We will come back again.

Dor B

Great service, food and wine! Love the small plate style menu, good gluten free awareness and accommodation. No hand sanitizer at entering was surprising but otherwise great covid protocols and cleanliness. Made a great evening out, we'll be back!

Gabriel Major-Marothy

Definitely an adventurous menu with some splendid wine selections. Impeccable service. Since the menu changes often some dishes may be less to your liking but you can always expect to find something new on your next visit. There are also multiple vegan choices which is appreciated.

Rita Maria Salameh

Nice and cosy french tapas bar. The service was very good and the food as well. Part from the mushroom soup being very hot spicy (lots of tabasco) the rest of the food was tasty. Friendly staff as well.

Thomas Welden

Food quality and taste was breath taking. Service was polite and prompt. The cocktails were well balanced and delicious.

Dana Mailloux

The food was amazing. The service was good. The prices were what you would expect. The layout unfortunately makes it very loud. Worth a visit.

Nicole Meehan

Delicious and beautiful food, perfect wine pairings. The dinning room was spacious, calm, and quiet. The server was professional and very knowledgeable on the menu and wine selections

Les F

Because of COVID, we have been somewhat reluctant to dine out. After almost 18 months of abstinence, we decided to go with German friends. And chose Play due to an excellent experience we had many years ago. …

Minh Doan

Play is one of the best restaurants in Ottawa. They offer the more modern small plates to share approach which allows you to taste a number of dishes instead of the old fashioned big plate of protein/veg/starch. The food is always outstanding, with a service and attention to detail to match.

Bryce Deathe

Every dish was a new experience of flavours, each with a build up of individual parts that were spiced and seasoned excellently to combine into a beautiful dish. Definitely recommend for anyone looking for layers of roasty sweet salty spicy flavours.

Maham Saeed

What a lovely place! The entire staff was so kind and attentive. Food was amazing, a little pricey but it's not a surprise. The duck gnocchi is amazing!!

exhālō spa

A magical experience after such a long time of social distancing for our Dream Team! Jocelyne arranged every covid-safe detail along with an incredible dining experience upstairs for our private party. Everyone raved about the food, awesome servers and the ambiance. It couldn't have gone better, thank you PLAY!

Jin Leong

Excellent meal as usual. Love the variety of choices on the menu. My favorite part about Play is the smaller portions which let's me sample 2 yummy plates. The cod in broth with noodles was absolutely perfect!

Katie Edwards

Fanominal restaurant. The service is stellar, staff effortlessly make you feel well attended without hovering. The food is delicious and affordable. The lunch special is 2 for $22 is well worth it! I highly recommend this place both to anyone visiting Ottawa and to the locals.

Jessica Wang

I did quite a bit of research before selecting this restaurant when we visited Ottawa and it did not disappoint. Our party (of five) came for lunch on a Sunday. We were early, so the place was quite empty. It did fill up a bit later. The deco was simple and clean. We were promptly seated by the window. The waiter was very friendly and knowledgeable about the menu and wine/beer. They offered "small plates", each around CAD$15. But at lunch, you could have any two plates for CAD$22 (what a steal)! Beer and wine were also reasonably priced. We picked five different dishes and had two orders for each to share. The fried frog legs, grilled hanger steak, and duck breast tacos were all excellent. The pork belly was ok, but a bit too fatty for my taste. Clam with cucumber was only average. The portion size were very good and we were quite filled up. Only one person of our party had a sweet tooth and she ordered the Pure's gelato. She enjoyed it.

Jean-Michel Lafrance

The wife and I went there to celebrate our 12 years anniversary and it did not disappointed. The food was incredible with our personal favourite being the gnocchi. We are both vegetarian and our server Libby was excellent at listing all our option. Libby was amazing at serving us and educating us with all our wine question. Definitely recommend for a special night

Steven Barry

In Ottawa for a couple of days. Stopped by at Play, for lunch. Food is great, loved the luminosity of the space and our seat at the bar that permitted me and my beautiful wife to people watch outside and in. The person that sealed our …

Brogan G-C

Fantastic service! The food was really lovely. We got three cheeses, the beef tartare, the gnocchi and the pork belly. The beef tartare was my least favourite but still good. The gnocchi was surprisingly light and refreshing. The cheeses were delicious but served with very little fixings. Didn't show very beautifully but honestly amazing cheese. The pork belly was the best part of the meal. The pork melted in your mouth, and the Dijon, sauerkraut and spätzle complimented it very nicely. The restaurant itself was not visually interesting, I really didn't like the open kitchen. This can be successful but the kitchen didn't look that nice.

Didier L.

It’s a great place to dine if you want top quality food and service. I ‘be never been disappointed in the last 4 years, it’s my top place to have dinner in Ottawa. The only negative point and the reason why they don’t get a five stars is that the menu is kind of always the same if you’re a regular customer.

MN M

We had supper at this place on Saturday night and took the recommended 2 plates for $40 per person. Overall, we were statisfied with our meal. The atmosphere and decor are very pleasant. Our waitress was attentive and friendly. The food was tasty and well presented. We had the trout, the scallops, the steak and the quail, and our selection aimed at having a good variety of plates as we shared among the two of us. The servings are fairly small and 2 plates per person was not sufficient for us. We also found the meal pricey as we had the four plates and two glasses of wine, and it came to $115 + tip.

Lee Robinson

It was nice to be out again. Service was a little clumsy and awkward but hey it's probably all new staff so we overlooked it. Table was a bit crowded though for 4 people. It's all sharing plates so it was a very messy table. They should probably look at bigger tables or adding a little one to the side or something. Food was absolutely amazing so again we were fine with overlooking the clumsiness and crowded table.

Michael Sims

We had a pretty good experience. The ambience was nice and the food with its concept were all well received. The wine and sommelier all worked to create a pretty nice evening shared with another family. However, we were disappointed with the cheese and charcuterie platter as it had 2 small pieces of cheese and was $30.

Jonathan Jones

Really enjoyed our dinner yesterday evening. We chose the egglant, gravlax and trout plates, with a side of warmed olives. We had two glasses of white wine, and it was all delicious. Our server was friendly, funny and attentive to just the right degree.

Nancy Brandsma

My husband and I decided to visit Play for some wine and dessert on our 26th wedding anniversary day in October. Its the perfect place for a special night...right in the Byward Market, romantic setting, great wine selection, delicious food and excellent service. They treated us really special...was it because it was our anniversary or because my art is on the walls? ???? ???? We will definitely visit again. Highly recommended!

John Thompson

Play, Food & Wine is a real gem. It is a Wine-Bistro with a great selection of wines and an ever changing menu of 'small-plate' dishes designed to complement specific wines. Once in a while the kitchen produces some ill-conceived offerings, but overall the quality is terrific. It is a place that once tried will make you want to come back.

LP

Went there on a Saturday night. The ambiance was awesome and food was amazing. Highly recommend the Pork Belly, Sablefish and Crispy Quail. All shareable plates are priced around 20$ which is fairly reasonable. Highly recommend!

Hiba Al-Bahrani

Service was great, our waiter was so friendly and checked on us throughout the night. The food tasted good but the portions were so small it was almost laughable. Come here if you have a high budget or a tiny appetite

Clare Lord

This is my fifth time dining at Play…it is my go-to resto when visiting Ottawa…and our guests loved it to. Our server was incredibly knowledgeable about the wines, we love the small plate concept and it has a laid back vibe while serving haute gamme food. Go! You won’t be disappointed!

Teri Essa Lacroix

I absolutely love this restaurant! It has been my go-to for a fancier night out for a few years now! The service was great, as always. The food was very good, but I must say that I was a bit disappointed with the cheese board. It was plain and not much going on - literally just cheeses and crackers with a tiny bit of piment jam! I would also like to recommend adding more red wine choices in the “by the glass” section! Other than those two small remarks, everything was perfect. Highly recommend!

Missthang

This little gem exceeded expectations! It's so refreshing to find great food, good value and excellent service all in the same place. We loved all the tasting plates we tried, but if you go, definitely add the crispy quail with cornbread and slaw to the lineup.

Mark Hummel

Fantastic food as always. One of the plates we ordered was the charcuterie board, which had an incredible homemade pate. To die for. If you are looking for a great, upscale dining experience in Ottawa, this is it!

Hans' Marketing Mailbox

Menu prices are misleading. Hanger steak was supposed to be $18 (see menu), but they charged me $21.

Mary Flynn-McRae

Took the family out for a special dinner, the atmosphere was great, the service was excellent. For the price of each SMALL plate, the quality was good but not great. Every dish was a miss in some way, the steak frites had too much soy …

Andrew Liang

Parisien Gnocchi: Absolutely delicious. The gnocchi was crispy on the exterior but creamy in the interior. It was punctuated by bits of duck throughout which was a delight. Scallops: I found the cauliflower a bit too vinegary to eat on its own. However, when eaten with the earthiness and depth from the scallops, bacon, and beet purée, really brings the dish together. It’s not the best scallop dish I’ve ever eaten, but it’s up there. Crispy Quail: Also delicious. This cornbread was also moist and lovely to eat. I didn’t get a chance to eat the kale coleslaw, but my friend who normally never eats coleslaw raved about it. They made him a coleslaw convert. Soy Hangar Steak: The only weakness of the evening, and it was still pretty good. I think the steak was in the marinade a little too long cause it was just a touch too salty. The fries were very enjoyable but I think the garlic aioli could use more punch. Bread with brown butter: An absolute must order. Ruins all other bread and butter at other restaurants. Service was also excellent. Attentive while not being bothersome. I don’t remember what wine we ordered with dinner. That said, it was also very enjoyable and went well with dinner. I’m already looking forward to revisiting this restaurant.

Maegan Extross

Chose this place for a small team dinner due to the good reviews and it definitely lived up to them. All the dishes I tried had fabulous flavour. Service was great. Will definitely be back.

E P

Good wines, good service but the food is hit and miss. Cheese plate is way too simple. Pork was dry. Beef and scalpel were very good.

Annie B

Wonderful dining experience and a great way to try lots of options. Very friendly wait staff, who ensure you get the right glass of wine for your taste and your meal. The gnocchi was out of this world. Will absolutely be back!

Pierre T

Delicious food and great staff. Just on the outside corner of the Byward Market. Outside patio is very nice too! Check it out if you're in town!

AlwaysFlawless Makeup

Wow! We loved our experience at Play tonight. Every step was perfect from when we called to make our reso, when we arrived, our server Sabrina and, of course, the amazing food! Sabrina was on point, her service was impeccable. The food was absolutely amazing - we never get dessert, but had to try one tonight given how good the entrees were! This was our second date night since having our son and it was certainly a memorable one! Thanks guys, we’ll definitely be back!

Elspeth McKay

I had lunch at Play Food and Wine today, the food was fantastic, four small plates, including prawns, trout, hanger steak and gnocchi. We ordered a beautiful cotes du rhone wine. The service was really good, the atmosphere was nice in a heritage building. I highly recommend this restaurant. I like the fact that they offer lunch on the weekends too.

Chris Bernard

Our favourite restaurant in Ottawa. The service, the food and the wine are always excellent. Can't recommend it enough, my go to for date night!

Sarah M

We loved it! It was awesome that there was a little vegan section on the menu! I tried two out of the 3 vegan dishes and they were awesome!!! ???? The plates were small, but they were like fancy food presentation plates so that's kind of to be expected. They have a huge selection of bottled wine to choose from as well. We will definitely be back !

Florence Baghdi

We went me and my boyfriend and it was our first time we are not from the area. The food was AMAZING!!! Our waitress was Lauren and she gave us an excellent service from the beginning to the end. I would say my favorite plate was the trout …