The Whalesbone

In the city just overnight, we decided to try out The Whalebone based on the raving reviews and we were not disappointed! The service was great, our host (sadly didn't catch his name) was super friendly & attentive. As for the food itself it was scrumptious! Every bite is packed with flavor and you just want to go for more. The atmosphere is vibrant and lively, but without it being disruptive to your personal conversation. All in all we left super happy with the experience and definitely will back when Ottawa again. Highly recommend

It was a hot day and I was wondering whether to wear shorts to the restaurant. I looked at the prices on their online menu and decided this is no place for shorts. When we got there we were greeted by a server wearing shorts! This is a casual restaurant. We had the Lobster Bucatini, the Chinook Salmon and the Seasonal Vegetables. The Seasonal Vegetables included sauteed kale, green beans, carrots and broccoli. All items tasted great. The salmon had a nice sweet taste. It came on a bed of "farmer's veg" which were exactly the same as the Seasonal Vegetables side so keep that in mind. The lobster was a bit pricey for what it was in our opinion. Street parking is free after 5:30pm on weeknights.

Oysters are always a favorite here. Casual atmosphere with friendly staff. The burger with truffle fries is so good and big enough to be shared! The scallops and pork belly and the mussels are absolute must try dishes. The lobster pasta dish is the reason for 4 stars; lobster was overdone and pasta was a little undercooked. This is just an opinion but the mussels could really use a side of rice to soak up the yummy broth but delicious nonetheless.

Super cool and super friendly. Seated quickly and without reservations in the cozy patio in the back. Drinks arrived shortly after and our food order wasn't far behind. Delicious oysters with a large number of sauces, did she say scotch bonnet?! The burger was delicious and so were the truffle fries. I'm told the lobster was also quite good.

extremely loud music that is hard to talk over, slightly dingy interior, and subpar food for the price you pay. objectively, the food is priced too high for the quality that you receive. on sundays, the $2 per oyster deal is okay but we also tried some other dishes that were hit and miss. for example, for 6 tiny baked oysters slathered in salty cheese, we paid $34 plus tax and tip. these were the worst baked oysters i’ve ever had in my life because the cheese to oyster ratio was horrifically off and it tasted like you were just consuming baked cheese. this is probably the worst value dish i have ordered in 2022 so far. the chowder, however, i will recommend! it had scallops, baby shrimp, and salmon as well as nicely paired garnishes. in consideration of overall value and ambiance, i will not be returning. the service was also okay. some servers are more friendly than others. i watched our waitress take the oysters sauces platter straight from our table and plop it on the table next to ours without even pretending to sanitize or provide new spoons to the other patrons which was alarming. waiting for our bill also took a decent amount of time although the place was not that full.

Last year, I had tried takeout of Whalesbone on Kent, and was 100% impressed by their food. So this time we decided to try Whalesbone on Elgin. The experience was extremely disappointing. The scallop & pork belly consisted of 4 scallops and 1 pork belly. The scallop had no taste, and felt like rubber. As seen in the picture, half of the pork belly was fat, and eating it was too heavy and greasy. The steak striploin was cooked in a mediocre way, and was too burnt on the edge. It was 3 slices, very small. The mushrooms itself was worth $19, and it was a very plain typical mushroom. Their clam chowder was good. I’ve had high expectations of Whalesbone on Elgin, but the experience was almost a little insultingly bad. It was definitely not worth $150. The staffs were friendly and lively.

Awesome atmosphere, friendly service, great oysters and steak! We had oysters to start (try the bourbon shell shots), 8oz aged steak, and lobster pasta. Everything was fresh and delicious. Good wine and cocktails as well. Got their ice cream Sunday for dessert which might have been the creamiest ice cream ice ever had while still in Canada. Would definitely recommend!