Review The Black Thorn Cafe - Ottawa

One of my favorite pubs in the city. Love the summer patio for awesome drinks and the food is not the average pub food you get in Ottawa. Much more creative, fresh and delicious. Highly recommended. Check it out.

Service was inept and very slow. They couldn't' even find goat cheese for a salad when there are several cheese shops within a couple of blocks. Go for a drink and enjoy the ambiance but don't expect good food or service.

Over priced food. Poor selection of wine and the wine glass they served me in had water droplets on the inside of the glass, like it wasn't dried properly after being washed. I'm not a huge wine connoisseur, but I do know you shouldn't serve it in wet glasses.

At lunch time, the service has been very good, and the food is very good at a reasonable price. The dinner menu seems very pricey though.

Nice place but the food is expensive. Perfect for one drink before diner. Check out the back patio!

Good service, good food, pricey.

Good breakfast and brunch food

Good, nice bar

We recently hosted our wedding reception at The Black Thorn and I absolutely cannot rave enough about the service we received. Everyone was beyond helpful and friendly right from the beginning. The planning process was a breeze with Rachelle and Chef Keith at our sides. Their execution of everything we planned was impeccable. Chef Keith and the kitchen team served the most amazing meal. The duck bacon should be on everyone's food bucket list. We could not be happier with our decision to host our dinner there as the staff made it more than we could have ever hoped for. We want to thank all of the staff at The Black Thorn from the bottom of our hearts! Michaela and Tyler Dren

Yummy food, delicious cocktails and very good service :) Enjoyed the night a lot. If I wasn't leaving Ottawa tomoro I would go back for sure!!!

The side patio ... Great people watching location ;-)

Nice patio section! They will be relocating in September so I'm glad I got to try it out. <br/>Prices were rather expensive but worth the food quality.

Service and ambiance were great but the food was really tasteless. I had the chicken Caesar and found that the salad dressing was bland (especially considering it was a kale salad) and the chicken was dry.

Only been here once but would definitely go again! Had the lamb burger with a salad. Very tasty, juicy burger. Service was friendly and attentive. Nice atmosphere. Looking forward to going back

The Black Thorn Cafe has been a consistent choice for me for years. I've always enjoyed visiting here and every time, it has been in the summer, so I get to take advantage of their amazing patio!<br/><br/>Their drink menu is quite diverse, which is great for diverse people :) <br/><br/>Their sandwiches rock and I really like basically everything they make. I've tried a bunch of items on their menu and I haven't been disappointed yet! I do recall ordering 'Bison' and not really expecting to receive just a bigass bowl of bison with toast. It was a LOOOOT of bison. Delicious, but SO MUCH BISON. No longer on the menu.

Love the Black Thorn. Nice comfortable pub. Love the back patio, looking forward to the fountain construction to be done, but still nice.

I really like this restaurant! I celebrated my birthday at the Black Thorn back in October and Heather served us. The food and drinks were excellent and the service was wonderful. The interior of the restaurant is warm and cozy, and I hear this place also has a beautiful patio in the summer. I will be returning!

Website is very deceiving. Researched this spot on their website and decided from there that we would give it a try. When we got there we stood in the entrance for a good 5 minutes before anyone came to seat us. Once we were seated and the only employee working shoved a coaster under our table leg to stop it from wobbling we ordered our $3.54 each sodas. We then received a menu to see that it was not anything from what was on the website. So we stayed positive and ordered. We ordered the chicken and venison. The chicken was hot and delicious while the venison was cold and bland. The portion sizes are to be desired as well. What came with the venison was 2 little pieces of carrots, 2 thin slices of zucchini and one piece of asparagus. After waiting for 30 minutes from ordering to receiving food, we were not impressed. We then again waited about 20 minutes before our plates were cleared and handed our $65 bill. The only employee working the tables was really nice and we did appreciate that. But overall, not so good of an experience.

Bland, Overpriced and Disappointing :(. This restaurant had great promise, but unfortunately did NOT deliver. I'll start with the positive... Very nice location, good looking establishment, and great patio. As for the food, the pizza is really good: thin crust and unique topping combinations that make for a fun tasting experience. And after that, there is only negatives...<br/>To start, the crab cake appetizers were awful. So heavily spiced you couldn't even tell or taste if there was even crab in them. They were also overcooked. But the heat from the spice was so overwhelming, that between 4 people, we couldn't finish them. The main courses... the seafood orzo was ordered by myself and someone else at the table, and while it looked lovely, the flavour was definitely lacking. For a red curry and coconut based dish, it was so bland and tasteless. Not to mention, you could count the shrimps that were in the dish (3), even though that was suppose to be the main protein. Another person had the bison dish, and it was appalling what was placed before us. Small hunks of meat and pearl onions floating in hot "beef" water. The flavour was even worse than the bland orzo. 3 out of the 4 dishes ordered were returned to the kitchen (4th person had a pizza, only smart thing to order apparently). <br/>These dishes were also very expensive ($18 for orzo, $21 for bison) and the serving size was very small, and obviously the quality and passion were missing. We didn't have to pay for the 3 dishes and the poor waiter was very apologetic, Definitely a disappointing evening for all of us, and needless to say we didn't order anything else afterwards. I would NOT recommend this place to anyone for anything else other than pizza. Very expensive and very disappointing. Hope this helps!

In addition to my last birthday party, I had my first martini in this classy establishment with a great atmosphere. It's quiet and great for talking. The low lighting and music make it reminiscent of an older European club where standards are high but the prices are reasonable. It's right out of a spy novel. Love it.

Great Brunch. I recently had brunch here and it was delicious. The service was good but the food was easily the highlight. I ordered the smoked salmon eggs benedict and the maple smokiness of the salmon was delicious, the eggs were a little overcooked but the hollandaise made up for it. If you love eggs benedict I would definitely try the ones here!

Terrible Lunch. My husband and I ordered burgers on Sunday at the Blackthorn, my husband had the lamb burger and I the beef burger. I had to send back my fries and the burger it was covered in salt. Not just a sprinkle but loaded. The waiter told us that he didn't like salt either and never ordered it. Then the waiter told another waitress to tell the chef "not to put salt on the meals". He was very angry that we did not like our burgers. Then my husband had ordered a soft drink with his burger and it came when the waiter was clearing our plates. The waiter then started whining that he was in the kitchen and could not get free to get my husband his drink. Sounds to me like the waiter was the one doing the cooking? Not going back, too many other places that know how to cook.

Avoid this place!. Having been to many restaurants in The Market, I can without a doubt say that The Black Thorn is by far the worst. The service was extremely slow (our party of 8 was there for over 3 hours and I'd say we were waiting on food for at least 2) and the wait staff was rude and non-apologetic about how slow they were. With regards to the food, it was overpriced, of mediocre quality, and portions were very small. Overall, my friends and I had a terrible experience and would not recommend this restaurant.

Poor service, fruit is a fruit cup poured into a pretty bowl, McCain home fries. I think I'm done with tplace

My favorite patio in the market for atmosphere. The food is average.

Black thorn is one of my favorite spots in the market. the lobster & shrimp salad was one of my favorite dishes, & I love their back patio.

Good pizza!. Good pizza, lots of beer to choose from. Nice patio too. Service has always been friendly for me.<br/><br/>I'd like to see them replace some of the import beers with Ontario microbrews, but otherwise I have no complaints about this place as a slightly nicer pub option.

Mediocre. Wasn't super impressed with the entrees<br/>food was decent but not worth the price<br/>the service was slow

Certainly not gluten free friendly. After visiting the National Gallery on September 2, we walked down to the Black Thorn in anticipation of a good lunch. On entering we confirmed with the wait-staff that they could handle a gluten-free requirement. We were told that all they could give us was a salad and that they had told mgmt to get off the gf list. <br/>We went elsewhere.

Nothing Special :(. I really wanted to like this place but unfortunately inattentive service and food that was not bad- but not great for the price left me quite underwhelmed. Location is great for tourists and the patio is nice. If you do go, the San Francisco pizza is the better pizza/meal option. Salads and pastas were quite generic. That being said there are much better options for food, service, etc in the Market.

Disappointing. We showed up at 8 pm, 7 of of for drinks and appetizers. There was not much space at the bar or the front patio but there was lots of space in the restaurant and because it was cold outside, we wanted to sit inside. The hostess advised us that because we were not ordering main courses, we could not sit in the restaurant and so it would be better if we tried another restaurant. Pretty awful. We went somewhere else and collectively spent about $400.

Great Pizza. Went here a couple of weeks ago with my girlfriend and it was just a great meal all around.<br/><br/>We sat in the patio looking at the courtyard, and it was fantastic. Its a bit off the main stretch which is nice, easier to talk and great atmosphere. We had actually walked through the area before and mentioned how nice it would be to live in the apartments that over looked the yard and now its even better.<br/><br/>Great drink menu. Would like to see a slightly larger beer menu but there was a lot of variety in the cocktails and wine.<br/>Excellent, polite service. Never felt unwelcome or rushed, the waitress made us feel right at home.<br/>Amazing pizza. Never had pizza that good in my life, and for $13 its a great price. The pizza's are so big my gf and I actually swapped half way through to try each others.<br/>Crème brûlée was spectacular. My only complaint is that I wanted more! I especially loved the dark chocolate.<br/><br/>All in all a great meal, though a bit expensive (poor students). Totally great value though. Going again tonight, and if this place has consistency it could be a regular spot for us.

Meh - Ok. One of the better pub-like places in the market serving sandwiches and salads - nothing special though.

A nice quiet dinner. I dined here with my boyfriend on January 30th 2011. We were having a late dinner and popped in to check out the menu. We were a little deceived because the front bar area is more "English Pub" but the dining room menu is a little more upscale. We shared the Black Thorn Charcuterie which was an excellent assortment of cheese, meat and jam. I ordered the Stuffed Conchiglioni which was also delicious, I was full from the charcuterie though. My boyfriend ordered the Steak and Frites which was also good. <br/><br/>I would recommend this restaurant for dinner.

I was happily surprised with the seafood orzo. It was delicious. The restaurant per say is ok, I'm sure the patio adds alot (when in season). Service was average.

Lovely patio. I've come here twice for dessert and drinks. I've gotten the brownie both times which was very delicious but not very big. My boyfriend got the cheesecake the second time which was a mistake: it was actually embarrassingly small! I think the reason we are drawn to this place is because of the amazing patio that is located in the courtyard. It's the only restaurant in this particular courtyard so it is nice and quiet and relaxing. Wish the portions were bigger given that the desserts are each $9! Might just go back for drinks?

Fresh fresh food! Great gormet pizza! Nice atmosphere. Great patio.

Great. We went to this restaurant because my aunt from out of town has Celiac disease. They had several options on the menu for her, which is amazing to see. Also we brought our baby, which we were nervous about, because we were uncertain how baby friendly the establishment was, but they accommodated us with a high chair.<br/><br/>All six of us really enjoyed our meals because of the excellent food and the service was great too! My husband had the swordfish, which he commented was the best seafood he's ever had.<br/><br/>Overall, this was an excellent experience!

Great brunch, fun evenings. Although I have spent a lot more time at the Black Thorn in the evenings, I have to say I like their breakfast the best. It is fresh, colorful and delicious. This is not a pub-style breakfast.<br/><br/>I like the blackthorn for a few reasons that may or may not attract or be relelvant to most people<br/><br/><br/>- There is almost always a high-top available, even on weekends<br/>- Weekend evenings it tends to fill with industry staff (usually friends of the bartender) and they make a fun, friendly and lively crowd after being stuck working the supper shift at various restos across the market<br/><br/>for me, the black thorn replaced the Brig when it got too popular to be able to enjoy a few summers ago.

The Black Thorn is a hidden gem in the market, nicely tucked beside the Memories cafe and at the end of a beautiful ally in the Market. At first the venue looks quite small but the restaurant extends to a larger room in the back and a gorgeous patio out back.

During our most recent visit, Jenn's vegetarian friend took us to the Black Thorn Cafe for thin crust pizza. While she ordered something vegetarian, I ordered the "New Orleans" ($16.00), which came topped with basil pesto, "cajun" shrimp, sundried tomatoe