Review Whales's Bone - Ottawa

It was our first time at Whalesbone. We ordered Baked and Stuffed Lobster Dinner, and Royal Seafood Dip with Cheese. We called in for a pickup, and they were very friendly in answering! When we arrived for a pickup, they also gave us a free book that consists of story of many chefs and their plates recipes. Thank you! And the food. Yum yum YUMMMMMM!! Everything was amazingly delicious 🤤😋 The lobster, the seafood dip, the potato salad, the kale salad, the bun! I truly really enjoyed the dinner!! I also loved that we got to cook(bake) them ourselves for the final touch, so that we get to enjoy the freshly baked and warm food! I would say this experience was better than a typical takeout and was very Very delicious! 😊

Awesome and delicious prepared Easter dinner for two. Everything was incredible. I couldn't improve on a thing if I had made it myself. It is so great to be able to support such a positive, community-based business. Thank you!

I love love love smoked&candied salmon so it’s great to have a local location to pick up this treat. Also love getting Arctic char and other smoked fish options. I admire the dedication of this business to support sustainable seafood. The takeout sandwiches from Kent St were well-loved in my house, so sad to see they are not available right now, but I look forward to when I can get a smoked fish sandwich again and will support the other locations in the meantime :)

Ordered the seafood platter DIY kit. Excellent quality, fresh everything. Accurately listed as an appetizer for 4 adults. Plenty of delicious accompanying sauces and we had great fun learning to shuck our own oysters. My absolute favorite was the scallop ceviche, the shrimp were delicious and the crab incredibly sweet. Fabulous service by knowledgeable staff. We'll be back!!!

The best place in Ottawa for smoked fish and sour bread. Excellent friendly service. Thank you. Nina

The second that I enter the shop, someone always greats me in a friendly manner (so wonderful). The fish is always fresh, advice and recommendations are on point, and there is an excellent variety. The desserts and the fresh bread are out of this world! Finally, the fresh local produce is a great new addition (in season).

My first trip to this location, and it didn’t disappoint. Such a hearty serving of fish in their sandwiches! Very simple, yet delicious. I would definitely go back.

This place is a must try of you want fresh fish to buy and bring home or to have lunch. The fish sandwich is crazy delicious! They don't cheap out on the portion of fish given either!

Absolutely delicious! Fresh seafood! Best oysters in town. I went a second time and had octopus that melted in my mouth. Great service. One of my favorite spots in the city!

Located in a nondescript store front at 504a Kent Street (just behind the Ottawa Bus Station), the Whalesbone is an amazing provider of sustainably caught/raised fish (both fresh and smoked), oysters, and a variety of other seafood, depending on what is fresh and available. But also go there for the fabulous sandwiches!

The shrimp dumplings are the best that you'll ever have! The ambiance is always very pleasant and the staff attentive and friendly. Go in and you'll see what I'm talking about. Cheers!

This place has amazing service! Sat at the bar for lunch with co workers and chatted up the friendly bartender. Had some incredible fish and chips and will be returning to try some more items off their menu. Co worker had the clam chowder and really enjoyed it! Looking to return with hubby for dinner one evening.

Overpriced mediocrity. Stop drinking the coolaid. Everyone and their uncle seems unable to see this place for what it is. Overpriced but admittedly good food. Many of the reviews mention how their prices are understandable given the quality of their seafood and its sustainability. Years ago I might have agreed but the fact is the seafood industry has seen a massive push towards sustainable products over the last 10 years and these days are available from the majority of suppliers for a greatly reduced price. <br/><br/>What you're paying for when you eat or purchase seafood from Whalesbone is trendiness, nothing more. The products used in their meals are no more sustainable than the majority of other bistro's in Ottawa and certainly not any fresher. As someone in transportation I have physically seen Whalesbone at the airport picking up the identical product as the other larger suppliers in the city and then turning around and charging 40% more than anyone else on a wholesale level (my girlfriend is a chef and purchases from multiple suppliers).<br/><br/>Whalesbone has managed to market themselves to the hipsters and foodies in ottawa and over and over people keep buying in to an utter fallacy. Oceanwise products are no longer expensive or hard to purchase. They are commonplace in the seafood industry. <br/><br/>Before just blindly purchasing from or eating at Whalesbone, do some research and please do not believe them when they say other restaurants or suppliers are not sustainable.

I kick myself if I don't get the brown-bag lunch at least once a week. Ive decided to set an alarm on my iphone to tell me come here every tuesday for the free chowder

Hefty prices but oh so good. I went there and will be going again. Also note that I didn't lunch there. I only bought fresh fish.<br/><br/>I'm a sucker for good practices. Last year introduced me to buying grass-fed beef from local farms ($1260 for 270 lbs). That beef is really good although eating beef all the time will eventually get stale. I also love seafood but an internet search brings up that some of the more sustainable, high-quality seafood is hard to come by in a non-canned form (which is logical, given Ottawa's location). <br/><br/>This search also brought up The Whalesbone Fish & Oyster supply as the only place to buy fresh wild salmon. I contemplated for some time going there. I truly dislike going anywhere roughly between Woodroffe and Vanier. Then, on a fateful day, I decided to stop being a wuss and give it a shot.<br/><br/>I found the location fairly easily through Google and went there today. There's a lunch counter and a fish counter. The fish counter had maybe a little more than a dozen choices. More importantly, there WAS wild salmon! When my turn to get served came up, I ordered one of those huge salmon fillets and a whole BBQ-ready char, which cost roughly $19/lb and $29/lb, respectively. Obviously, that's a LOT of money for food but as with grass-fed beef, I'm confident that it's worth the price (the beef was a lot cheaper at $5/lb, nonetheless!). Overall, the shop has a nicely discrete ambiance and 25 or 6 to 4 was playing on the radio. The staff was VERY friendly and helpful! They explained why the char was "BBQ-ready" and gave me recommendations on which fish to buy.<br/><br/>When I got home, I vetoed on jumping the wild salmon. (I mention wild salmon often but this is the only place I've ever seen it fresh in the region-- and to me that was an obvious sign that the place isn't just another market). I fired up the BBQ and tucked the char in the BBQ for about half-an-hour total. The "BBQ-ready char" is a whole char that is already spiced in the interior with lemon, dill, salt and pepper. And let me tell you, it was more than BBQ-ready. I'm on a ketogenic diet, which favours good fats and the fish was abundant in those terms. Did I mention the FLAVOUR? Now, I'm not all that passionate about seafood but this char was over-the-top. From a tastiness standpoint, the $50 I paid was entirely justified, if not more than, after the first bite. I'm not entirely sure from a nutritional standpoint, but...<br/><br/>All in all, it was crazy expensive, there is no contest, but the flavour is worth the price. Enough for me to come back? Definitely, though if that becomes a weekly habit, I don't think that the salmon would be sustainable for my bank account. If you love food that is genuinely tasty and nutritious and unless you're tight on budget, definitely check this place out.

The food is amazing! It is not a restaurant but more to take out even if there is a few table. It is not a nice place but it is a real treasure for food! Cheap and great food, you got to go and try!<br/>The guys there seem to like their job and they always make sure you lnow what you are eating!

Yummy lunch spot!. I have been to this place a few times for lunch and every single time it has been amazing! I tired a few of their sandwhiches and they were all great, fresh and full of flavour! The price is cheap it's a perfect lunch spot!

O. M. G. Sat lunch. Oyster po'boy. Sooo great! Love you guys!

Yummy fish sandwiches. So yesterday was tax day. Thought fish would be good for the brain. Got wonderful cod sandwiches, silky "chowdah". Perch po'boy was also yummy, but could have used a few more moments in the fryer. <br/><br/>This really is our go-to spot for quick, fresh, and delicious lunch. The folks are friendly, the buns, fish, and sauces are great - just enough zing in the dressing to make it all hang together. <br/><br/>In the past, we have also enjoyed the smoked fish sandwiches, which are lighter, and super flavourful.

Whalesbone sammich bag. Went to Whalesbone (take-out location) today as my friend mentioned they have a special (affordable) lunchtime menu. Ended up having their special Po boy sandwich (fried shrimp with caramelized onions). It was quite good, albeit I was a bit put off by the iceburg lettuce...had it been shredded it would have passed, but romaine or other would have been better. <br/><br/>It was a quiet day at the store, so when I asked if I could get a couple oysters on the side they made the exception which was nice! Unfortunately, I was not that impressed by the oysters...having had them at Metropolitan, Big Daddy's, and multiple locations in California (nothing will ever beat Hog Island oyster factory!!), I was expecting better. No side sauces other than tabasco, and the west coast oysters were HUGE! So much so I couldn't swallow one whole, I was gagging...maybe just used to smaller ones I guess.<br/><br/>Anyways, all that to say they are a very good place overall (always fresh!), but for $20 for a regular sandwich, sprite, and a few oysters, I was expecting better I guess...

Best best best lunch in town. Well the Whalesbone Oyster House is my fav restaurant in the city so maybe I am biased. My mouth is watering writing this review having flashbacks of the sandwich I had here. No tables, a few places to sit at a bar like table, the place is purpose built. We both had the cod sandwich which had an amazing zing, like new orleans with an aioli that cut right through it. I find some of the sandwich places in town do way too much and you feel terrible afterwards, this was perfect (and I like to eat!!). We shared an order of homemade cut potato fries (as they recommended it was quite large. My husband had the seafood chowder which was creamy, not too much and not loaded up on the cornstarch which is what I find many restaurants do to cheap out and not have to use as much cream. love love love this place and hands down my fav spot to stop in for lunch

Best fish supply in Ottawa!. Nothing comes without a price and their freshness cannot be beat! Given their sustainability initiatives and that the majority of their fish is caught wild, the prices are understandable. And, their brown bag lunches are quite delicious!

Epic food :-), epic price :-(. I walked all the way from downtown to try this out. <br/><br/>The food was amazing. I had a 3 oyster sandwich ($12), a reg chowder ($5). The oyster sandwich was amazing on a chiabatta bun and I am pretty sure the 2 oyster would have done it. The reg soup was very small but tasty. It was a whitefish chowder. The food was worthy of a favorite!<br/><br/>The price was $17.52! My philosophy is good food at a reasonable price. This kept it out of the favorites.<br/><br/>That said I will be taking people there to try it out. Its well worth the price and the walk.