Sometimes, there’s nothing as amazing as a big bowl of French Fries with cheese curds and flavoured gravy.
Poutine has been on the Ottawa food scene for a very long time. The French-Canadian dish has relatively become one of the best foods for Ottawans. Poutine is made with French fries, cheese and flavoured gravy of Chicken, turkey or beef.

For the rooted Canadian or a lover of its culture and cuisines, poutines will almost come as a second-nature favourite to you. However, even though this potato chips, cheese curds, and gravy dish is commonly found across the city of Ottawa, you will still need to know where to find the best.

If you are looking to get a poutine fix, here is a list of the best poutine in Ottawa:

Smoke’s Poutinerie
407 Dalhousie St, Ottawa, ON K1N 9K4, Canada

At Smoke’s Poutinerie, you will find ‘fresh hand-cut fries, squeaky cheese curds, and Smoke’s signature gravy’. Their basic traditional poutine features their signature gravy and Quebec’s cheese curd while the Veggie traditional comes with a veggie gravy. You can take your poutine to the next level by having their pork, beef/steak or chicken inspired options. It is a small casual place but they are truly interested in serving your poutine just how you like it.

The Great Canadian Poutinerie
200 Deschamps Ave, Ottawa, ON K1L 1A7, Canada

This is a simple family owned and run business that serves various poutines from the classic dish type to other poutine infused dishes. Their vegetarian-friendly poutine comes truly meatless with no beef or chicken sauce served with it and it still tastes delicious. The butter chicken poutine which is gluten free and pulled pork poutine are some favourites with customers. All their poutines come with abundant cheese curds and gravy.

Zak’s Diner
14 Byward Market Square, Ottawa

This is a classic diner which offers breakfast, lunch and dinner menus. It is a comfy setting to dine with family and children. They have a selection of poutine dishes on their lunch & dinner menus including the 4 Cheese Poutine which comprises cheddar, swiss, montrey jack and cheese curds. There is also the La Grande Poutine, Basket of Fries, Rings or Spicy Curly Fries and the Big Basket of Sweet Potato Fries.

Occo Kitchen
3018 St Joseph Blvd, Orléans, ON K1E 1E1

There are very few dishes in this world that are better than the Poutine from Occo Kitchen. The take-out restaurant mostly serves fast food menus. They pride themselves in using locally sourced ingredients and making everything from scratch in their kitchen. Apart from the burgers and tacos which are plentiful on their menu, they serve the basic poutine dish made up of cheese curds, beef gravy, and hand-chipped Yukon. Their Newfoundland dressing is a favourite among customers to go with their poutines. You can order a few drinks to go with the Poutine and start a party for yourself.

Alice’s Village Cafe
3773 Carp Rd, Carp, ON K0A 1L0

The Poutine at Alice’s Village Café is out of this world. The cafe is a great spot for casual eats which includes their coffee drinks, panini, poutine and other breakfast dishes. It is a cosy warm setting which kids will find fun and the poutine in the kid’s menu, a delight. You can also have a side dish of poutine to another of your chosen options. It’s an amazing dish to share and you’ll be satisfied after eating it at Alice’s Village Café.

Aulde Dubliner & Pour House
62 William St, Ottawa

This Irish pub situated strategically in the Byward market area serves a unique variety of poutines including stew and poutine, the pulled pork poutine which comes with the Guinness added flavour. There is also the traditional poutine dish if you just want to stay on the basic. Their fresh are hand-cut and their gravy, very tasty.

The Works
326 Richmond Rd, Ottawa

With three restaurants situated across Ottawa, The Works is a favourite place to get the Canadian staple. They offer poutines with some outside the box ideas that give it extra appeal. They proudly tag their poutine menu as a ‘Not-so-Routine Poutine’. There is the basic Poutine Chez Guy, The Longhorn which comes with a brisket in a BBQ sauce, the Get Baked has add-ons of bacon, sour cream, and green onions and the Poutini Martini has the edge of crispy breaded onion rings. The poutine at the Works is definitely worth a look-in.

Elgin Street Diner
374 Elgin St, Ottawa, Ontario K2P 1J7, Canada

This is a classic dinner to have a combination of casual eats and also a full breakfast, lunch or dinner menu. They are more famous for their poutine which comes in seven varieties including the Smoked Meat Poutine which is topped with Montreal smoked meat, the Four Cheese Poutine has a mix of St. Albert cheese curds, mozzarella, Swiss and cheddar and if you have a thing for the spicy, their Chili Poutine topped with their in-house made chili will be a great option for you.

Pure Kitchen
357 Richmond Rd, Ottawa

Pure Kitchen has gone all out with their tasty poutine. With two outlets in Centretown and Westboro, Pure Kitchen is a great place to get rich varieties of vegan poutines. Their vegan poutines are particularly popular with their infusion of the cashew cheese or with the tofu curd. The vegan poutine’s high point for many customers is found in the mushroom gravy and the side addition of goddess greens.

Mill Street Brew Pub
555 Wellington St, Ottawa

Having palatable food or small bites is a low point for many pubs. However, at Mill Street Brew Pub, you can be certain of getting nice poutines to munch alongside your chilled drinks. Their Montreal Smoked Meat Poutine comes with smoked meat, Quebec cheese curds, gravy, pickles and honey mustard. They also serve their poutine with chicken gravy. It is no wonder they call their poutine – their flagship dish.