Very good brunch experience!
Went with a friend and we had the french toast & salmon gravlax. French toast was pretty good - the rhubarb compote was tart and complimented the sweetness of the toast very well. Texture of the toast was also good.
The standout was definitely the gravlax, each component came together to make a very well balanced and tasty meal, and the potatoes were simply amazing. Would go back just for the potatoes honestly.
We also tried the croissants - however they were not as good as the brunch food and were a bit dense.
Went to Benny’s Bistro on a recommendation. My friend and I went for Brunch. I had the savory buckwheat crepe, my friend had the poached eggs with potatoes au gratin. Food was excellent, and stood out against the simple bistro backdrop. Would definitely go again.
I’ve been here several times. It’s the best brunch I’ve had in Ottawa (and Montreal even). It’s worth the wait, and prices are totally reasonable for what you get.
I really enjoyed the atmosphere of this small little bistro. Tucked away inside the French Baker (excellent macarons there by the way), Benny's Bistro has a home kitchen/avant garde kind of feel to it. It's cozy, but the decor and the brightly painted walls give it a touch of something special. The lunch is quite good, quality ingredients and very simple but good (love the sandwich), but it's not so amazing that I would recommend this place off the top of my head for brunch.
Had a lovely breakfast, myself the frittata and my friend the French toast! European feel, casual atmosphere, open kitchen. Excellent coffee as well.
Lovely place inside the French Baker. Delicious brunch! We had the savoury crepe and the special (huevos rancheros). Both terrific dishes with great flavour. Only wish the restaurant had windows but it's a nice little place to eat.
Simple breakfast, executed by a master chef, sheer love and affection for his food and life. I have taken all my closest friends and family here. Sometime when my wife and I need to reset our focus, we go here to remind ourselves of how beautiful life is.
Yeah, I know, it's a food joint.
My recommendation - weekday breakfast. Order a mimosa, and close your eyes and point randomly on the menu. Let your taste bud do the rest.
A hidden treasure. Tucked away behind The French Baker, this little bistro is a real gem. I had the pleasure of joining a friend here for lunch recently, and was was pleasantly surprised. While it is on the pricey side, it is worth every penny. I ordered the roasted organic mushrooms, and when it arrived it looked beautiful. I was slightly worried it might not be a large enough serving for lunch, however it was very filling. Every component of the dish was delicious on it own, and it all worked wonderfully together. Also, there is the bonus of seeing the food being prepared in their open concept kitchen, which was impeccably clean, I might add. I will definitely be returning!
Lovely service, amazing food. This is a brunch favourite for me. I always order the potato gratin with poached eggs and it never disappoints.
I love brunch, and this place is amazing! The food combinations are incredible! It is a bit pricey, but defiantly worth the price. I would recommend this place to everyone.
Fantastic. Presentation, quality, taste all good. I loved it.
Really nice brunch. Went for a nice brunch a couple of Sundays ago. I was really impressed - great flavors, a really interesting menu, nice service too. Plus picking up a few extra baked treats on the way out is a bonus.
This is NOT the place to go for a hangover brunch when you're desperate for a giant plate full of fried goodness. If you're up for a more refined brunch it's great.
Brunch gets REALLY busy. Go early if you want a hope of getting a table.
Innovative brunch menu. Every time we go to Benny's for a weekend brunch, I'm impressed by the menu. The standards, such as omelettes, are reliable, but it's the unusual dishes that really attract me. Very innovative!
For example, today I had tuna loin confit with a poached egg with a dab of hollandaise sauce, all atop a radish/fennel salad, with a side of 3 tiny panko-crusted choriso balls, all on top of the most amazing smoked tomato water. Fortunately there was lots of bread to sop up the tomato water, because I wanted every delicious drop. The cafe au lait was fine, as was the mimosa.
Service was good, too.
My only criticism? No air conditioning, so it was hotter in the restaurant than in the bakery at the front of the building and than outside.
Great weekend brunch. I have been to Benny's twice in the past month for their weekend brunch. The middle eastern inspired pickerel was gluten free and unbelievably delicious. Although the serving sizes are small, the quality and flavour intensity left me smiling... I'd also add that the weekend staff is fantastic - super friendly, attentive (and I've had bad service at this restaurant....). Looking forward to trying their weekday menu!
I went to brunch here the other day, and I enjoyed it more than I thought i would! The service was fast and the staff were friendly. And more importantly the food was superb!
Discreet charm of the Bourgeoisie. This place is like a sweet warpped in a brown paper- the bakery with its fragrances may distract you as you have to walk down a long corridor that Fellini would have used for a scene in Roma Roma! The menu is loaded with nice simple but perfectly cooked dishes. I loved their lardons with scallops but also their salmon, and the pork chop was delicious. Bread is needless to say irreprocheable, wine selection the best and they concoct a mean Royal Kir fabulously escorted by a great selection of desserts and superb coffee. Service is fast, and friendly, the place is normally packed whatever be the day so a reservation might be in the order of things. Hercule Poirot woul have not hesitate to come here to mull over the "baseness" of humanity.
Oh sooo good. Last October I enjoyed the scallops with back bacon, white bean mash and kale salad. The scallops and the back bacon amazing. The dish was so good that I cleaned my plate up with the generous side of bread provided. The venue is small and if you arrive at peak time would not be able to find a table. Benny's at the back of The French Baker and the French Baker also has amazing pastries and desserts. The Parisian macaroons are wonderful!
High quality yet simple breakfast. Very good
Great food, good experience. I enjoyed my recent brunch at Benny's. The menu is short. The coffee is great. Service was not fantastic. I am not joking when I say I was asked if I enjoyed my meal 5 times. The server was really distracted. The wait for food was very short. I would return for lunch. It is too bad they don't serve soup on the weekends.
Amazing ingredients, you can tell the quality in preparation and content. The Eggs Benedict has a perfectly poached egg, with a potato square as the base, which works perfectly with the hollandaise sauce. I have been here twice now, and will be here agian whenever I'm in town.
Benny's should be busier. Dear Ottawa: I think you need to show Benny's more love. The food and service are unique and extraordinary, and yet, after the first brunch seating on a Saturday, the place is empty?? At a place of this caliber in Toronto (and they are few and far between), there would be an hour lineup, all the time. This place is a treasure, make sure it stays open!!
Menu is short and sweet, with nice variations on what would be a traditional breakfast. Great coffee and service. Atmosphere appears somewhat bland, but is bright and clean.
Beautiful french cuisine- brunch and lunch dishes. Seasonal menu. Highly recommended!!
Best place in the city for a high end breaky!
When you walk into the French Baker in the market, head down the hallway to the right and Benny’s Bistro will be there all brightly coloured. To start, I ordered a cappuccino and in house fresh bread which is to die for. The first thing I love to do when fresh bread comes to the table, it sniff it. Yes, I smell it. Call me crazy, but fresh bread and butter is one of the best things in the world. My friend ordered Salad Nicoise – seared tuna, green salad, roasted potatoes and a pickled egg. The tuna was cooked perfectly with a nice light flavour and the portion was enough for two people! The egg too, was perfectly cooked. So pretty in pink! The waitress suggested the Benny’s salmon gravlax, warm lemon, caper & fingerling potato salad, informa
D & I decided we should go for brunch at Benny's Bistro.... it has been awhile. Benny's has a special place in our hearts. We've been going for years, even had one of our first Valentine's dinners there (back when they served in the evenings). Hey, we've even met the original Benny (have YOU?)! I love going to Benny's because it always feels like a little hide-away, a secret spot that only the inner Ottawa circle knows about, tucked in behind the French Baker.
Benny's Bistro has been a hidden gem in Ottawa's Byward Market for years. It's a restaurant I recommend to visitors (and many unknowing locals) that want to have REAL food - not the mainly disappointing fare to be found in the Market these days. Benny is the name of the original owners' daschund, who was known to show up in the bakery from time to time. Tucked inside The French Baker (119 Murray Street), you follow a long corridor into a cozy room with a black and white checkerboard floor, filled with colourful walls and photos - a perfect spot for an overcast or chilly day. Besides the wonderful pastries that you can order from the bakery up front, Benny's has a consistently strong seasonal brunch/lunch menu that always leaves me reading and rereading the list of options (never mind the specials!), agonizing on having to select one lovely meal over another. Chef Scott Adams is a master at complex combinations of flavours that burst onto your taste buds - it's difficult not to savou
Our fondness for Benny's Bistro prevailed and so, a little embarrassed, we returned to sample two more dishes. I had the special: panko-crusted salmon belly with poached egg and béarnaise and my pal had the salmon gravlax with warm lemon, caper and fingerling potato salad, informata olive tapenade, and sunnyside egg. We were in heaven. Looked good, tasted even better. Goodbye Ottawa and your surprising gastronomic delights, I'll see you in terrace season!
Amazing brunch! Benny's has some interesting takes on the normal brunch items and does them to a whole new level of yumminess! I would totally recommend it here!
The waiter was very polite, followed by the waitress who come to check on us (not particularly a happy fella but kept on filling our cups). More and more people came in, an overall classy crowd of all ages.
Though, the service at Benny's is many many times better than what Parisian Bistros are reputedly known for. The Saturday morning we visited, the special was an omelet ($14), which is what I feel, a fresh take on New York Nova and Eggs; an omelet with roa
...delicious plates of food like this salmon cake with poached egg and hollandaise sauce from Benny's Bistro.
My last day in Ottawa. Sad to leave J behind. Decided to go for brunch. Strolled into Benny's Bistro (attached to The French Baker) at 12pm on Sunday. I thought I would get a seat. That was a dumb thought. I ended up getting a seat at 2pm (after doing som
The fact that it took me this long to visit this impeccable little gem makes me very sad. Many years ago when I used to work in the market, I heard they had great soup, and would duck in and get some to take out, not even looking at the rest of the men
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I used to live on Murray street and thought The French Baker was a pet store because of their dog logo 😅🤣. Turns out, it’s a bakery that’s been in Ottawa since 1995 and opened a small brunch spot in the back called Benny’s Bistro in 1999. I think I read somewhere that it was a “hidden gem” in Ottawa so I wanted to try it. And now I understand why!! They start you off with some fresh slices of different baguettes. I was super excited because I was already thinking about buying baguettes after my meal but now I get to try some first!
The French Toast was unbelievably good.. they used baguettes for the French toast, the outside was crisp and the inside was so soft. It came with apple compote, almond oats, and a salted caramel sauce. The flavours complimented each other so well, I’ll always come here for my French toast cravings now.
We also got the Yukon gold potato gratin, with a maple cured pork loin, and a soft poached egg. As well, we added a side of the double smoked bacon & fingerling potatoes. We didn’t want to feel super heavy so we didn’t add hollandaise to our poached egg & potato gratin, but you can for an extra $2.
We throughly enjoyed everything and will probably be back to try something else, and also get the French toast again 😆. The server’s are very friendly, and are super quick with cleaning and attentiveness. We only had to wait 10mins today but I’m sure it varies between 10-30mins depending on the day and time.
While the food is delicious, service from Scott, the owner, was especially impeccable. He graciously explained the specials to us, replaced a glass of wine I broke. Between the excellent meals I've had here, and the service, this restaurant deserves a visit, and I'd return anytime.
Haute Cuisine for brunch ? This small restaurant's food exceed our expectations! It was worth to wait in line (they are popular and their space limited). Very friendly polite server and staff. It's quite interesting to see how efficient they are in that small open kitchen. Bravo!
Great little restaurant! Had to wait a bit as we missed the brunch time, but it was well worth the wait. I had the organic mushroom dish and my boyfriend had the smoked salmon and it was amazing!! Highly recommend you take a stop here if you get the chance!!
Had breakfast here: Two eggs sunny side up, with bacon, salad and potatoes fingerings. Since they're making everything from scratch, the bacon and potatoes are super crispy and delicious. The eggs and the salad were great as well. The place is quite small and I can imagine it being super packed on the weekends (brunch is offered). Special shoutout to our waiter who was super friendly and gave us tips for our trip to Montréal.
Tl;dr: Tiny, delicious, recommendation!
An uncomplicated menu with delicious food. Start with a croissant and some coffee then order breakfast - wait and enjoy the amazing smell from the kitchen. Went twice when we were visiting Ottawa for a week.
Ottawa has a great reputation for delectable brunch spots, but this one really did it for me!
The French Baker, a cute Parisian style bakery (as its name implies), is worth the visit in its own right, delicious pasteries and coffees, a charming atmosphere... but oddly hidden in the back is the real pearl!
Benny's Bistro is camouflaged behind the bakery. A windowless, smallish space... this usually wouldn't be my jam! But the homey service, delicious food, and unique little charm makes it more speakeasy than claustrophobic. And what really steals the show is the food! Delicious options with generous portions, this is THE brunch place to be. And for a little extra you can add a non-stop mimosa refill option which is great for a breakfast amongst friends.
The setting is extremely intimate and often packed with locals and visitors alike so do make sure so show up a good 30 mins before open. The wait is more than worth it!
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