Foodies looking to sip and nibble their way through Ottawa’s top culinary delights find happiness with delightfully delicious tours hosted by C’est Bon Cooking.
The local operator specializes in everything edible, allowing visitors to taste their way through the National Capital Region’s most intriguing culinary neighbourhoods on foot as well as testing out their skills in the kitchen via hands-on cooking classes.
C’est Bon’s most popular tour is of Ottawa’s bustling ByWard Market, but for those looking to explore off the beaten track in less touristy spots sign up for an informative afternoon stroll to neighbourhoods such as Chinatown, Hintonburg, Glebe, Preston Street, and Wellington Street West.
Since I had already explored the ByWard Market on my last trip to Ottawa, I was excited to check out an area of the city with C’est Bon’s Taste of Wellington Street West tour.
Located just west of downtown Ottawa, Wellington West stretches along 2 km of Wellington Street West. In recent years the area has seen an explosion of new businesses and residential development. You’ll find fresh food stores, lively cafés and a strong foodie culture, fashion, art and more. You can feel the neighbourhood is in transition but its free-spirited energy is reflected in its eclectic assortment of businesses, which instantly reminded me of Toronto’s quirky Parkdale neighbourhood.
C’est Bon’s Taste of Wellington West tour typically features 8-10 stops depending on what businesses are open and has evolved as new tasty shops open their doors.
Highlights from my 2.5 hour tour include sublime sips at Beyond the Pale craft brewery (relax and enjoy the awesome graffiti in their tasting room), the gourmet food emporium of your dreams which specializes in baking traditional Montreal-style bagels in an old school oven at the Ottawa Bagel Shop, petite pretty cakes blended with housemade soft-serve ice cream at Holland’s Cake & Shake, and a healthy juice and nut milk tasting at Urban Juice Press.
