One of the best ways to explore a city is through its café culture, and Ottawa has a cool mix of unique and quirky cafes, showing off the personality of the city and its locals. From cafés adorned with colourful flowers and local art, to spots where you can grab a haircut, do laundry or pick out your new favourite read, Ottawa’s unique cafés are the perfect way to get your caffeine fix while exploring the city.

Oat Couture Café

Breakfast is the most important meal of the day, and Oat Couture Café is bringing back flare to a favourite breakfast staple; oatmeal. Located in Ottawa’s Old Ottawa South neighbourhood, Oat Couture Café has reinvented the traditional bowl of oatmeal specializing in healthy, fun and tasty couture oatmeal bowls.

Build your own bowl with locally sourced steel-cut oats as the base, or overnight oats (soaked in coconut and oat milk for 24hrs), and then add your favourite toppings and stir-in flavours. For those with a sweet tooth, try a bowl mixed with roasted peaches, fresh mixed berries, honey and raspberry coulis, or if savoury is more your vibe, create a bowl with hash browns, bacon, cheese curds, and A1 steak sauce.

All bowl are available in gluten-free, dairy-free and vegan options, and for those craving more than just oatmeal they also offer classic breakfast fare like avocado toast, toasted paninis, hot breakfast sandwiches, baked goods, and all the specialty coffees and teas.

Art House Café

The perfect combination of art gallery and coffee house, Art House Café is a creative hub and popular spot for coffee lovers since 2017. With over a hundred local artists being showcased on the café walls and gift shop at any given time, Art House Café is a cozy and welcoming space for everyone to enjoy both visual art, and the art of great coffee.

Brewing up local roaster Happy Goat Coffee’s delicious brews, they also offer an extensive and unique tea list with flavours like Egyptian Chamomile, Hibiscus, Lemongrass, Ginger Lime, and Toasted Walnut Black-Lychee Congu. Come hungry for lunch and artistic inspiration and devour a soup, salad, sandwich or wrap, surrounded by walls adorned with original art.

Luxe Bloom Flower Café

As one of the most visually stunning cafés in Ottawa, Luxe Bloom Flower Café is the perfect place to grab brunch, a bouquet and a selfie. Located at the bustling Lansdowne Place, this unique Ottawa café is both florist, and café, allowing you to create a custom arrangement onsite while grabbing, a coffee, cocktail, brunch or high tea.

Enjoy one of their inventive and colourful specialty cocktails garnished with fresh fruit or pink cotton candy, or sip on a healthy smoothie, flavoured lemonade, matcha latte or mocktail beside their signature flower wall covered in floor-to-ceiling blooms. If you’re stopping in for a bite, there are plenty of goodies to satisfy your cravings from Nutella and strawberry-filled croissants and lavender cheesecake, to goat cheese salads and avocado toast. If you’re celebrating a special occasion, they also have a high tea for two, complete with a tiered platter of customized sandwiches, pastries, macarons and a pot of tea.

Ten Toes Coffee House and Laundry

Nestled into the space of an old local laundromat, Ten Toes Coffee House and Laundry in Ottawa’s Chinatown is the perfect spot to get your caffeine fix while your delicates tumble dry. Instead of taking out the charm of the local laundromat, Ten Toes Coffee built their retro-inspired coffee house around it, with functional machines ready to rinse and spin as you sip on your morning cappuccino.

Ten Toes has a great selection of food and drink including baked goods, sandwiches, beer and wine, as well as daily specials like mac n cheese, chili, pizza and quiche. On hot summer days locals flock to this neighbourhood spot for a scoop of locally-owned Sadie’s Bean Ice Cream, which pairs nicely with an iced coffee and a rinse cycle. Ten Toes also has a variety of locally made products to take home including, coffee, wine, beer and snacks, and shares their space with local family-owned vintage clothing shop, Quincy James Vintage.

Ottawa Bike Café

As a hub for locals and tourists with a passion for biking and the outdoors, the Ottawa Bike Café is located only steps from Parliament Hill on the pedestrian only Sparks Street. As the most bike-friendly café in Ottawa, this local spot is made for biking enthusiasts and allows you to rent a bike, search for a new ride, find parts and accessories or get a tune up done while you enjoy a coffee and a quick bite. Fuel up for a ride with their menu full of tasty sandwiches, bagels, pastries, and smoothies, or enjoy a post-ride cocktail, local beer, lemonade or affogato after a day of exploration.

CC’s Corner Coffee and Curios

Curious, quirky, weird, and random; only a few of the words to describe one of Ottawa’s most unique cafes; CC’s Corner Coffee & Curios. This spot is truly one-of-a-kind, and is worth the drive to the fringes of the city to Richmond.

While known for their great coffee and tasty baked goods, this family-owned café and oddity has set themselves apart with their unusual and eclectic décor. Peruse the walls covered from corner to corner in crazy décor, from allegator heads and vintage license plates, to skulls and beat up action figures. Soak in the offbeat vibe as your cappuccino foams, embrace your inner weirdo, and feel at home in a café where anything goes.

Headquarters

Need a trim and a tea? Then Headquarters is your spot! Located in the ByWard Market, this unique Ottawa hotspot is part café, part hair salon, giving you the ability to update your look, while enjoying some of the best brunch in town.

Sip on a unique cocktail while getting blow-dried, then head into the restaurant to enjoy their extensive menu full of tasty eats like avocado toast, truffle parmesan fries, cinnamon croffles, and fluffy French toast. If it’s too early for a cocktail Headquarters also has a wide variety of non-boozy drinks including a full coffee bar with unique specialty coffees, fresh squeezed juice, and exotic lemonades flavoured with hibiscus, matcha or rooibos.

Beandigen Café

Experience Indigenous culture and locally-roasted coffee at one of Ottawa’s most unique coffee shops, Beandigen Café. Conveniently located in the heart of Ottawa’s Lansdowne Place, Beandigen Café is 100% Anishinaabe-owned and operated, and supports Indigenous artists from around the region.

Browse beautiful Indigenous-made goods in their café shop including clothing, traditional art, food and craft supplies, then get cozy in their bright and airy café and enjoy a cup of their Ondarez coffee, with one of their specialty pastries like sweet clover bannock or hacksap berry muffins, made by Oji-Cree Pastry Chef Dominique from Kîsisam Patisserie. For those who want to get creative, Beandigen Café also holds regular craft workshops where you can learn traditional Indigenous artisan skills like beading, quill work and block printing.

Black Squirrel Books and Espresso Bar

There’s no better combination than coffee and a good book, and Black Squirrel Books and Espresso bar is the perfect place to get lost in lattes and literary works. Located in Ottawa’s Downtown Bank Street neighbourhood, Black Squirrel Books is one of the few remaining independent book stores in Ottawa, and their cozy café is the perfect place to enjoy a good read, and a good latté.

Browse their carefully curated collection of used books, and settle into a comfy spot to enjoy a locally roasted coffee, matcha latté, pint of local brew or glass of vino. When you’ve worked up an appetite flipping through pages, feed your cravings with a tasty selection of pastries including date squares, cinnamon buns, spanakopita and fresh-baked croissants.