I was having a conversation with someone asking them what would be 5 recommendations they would give of places to go, things to do & places to eat in their city. They gave me a good list & I added some of them to my list to check out next time I was in their city, but realized I wouldn't have a great list like that to give for Ottawa. So I have thought a lot about it and this is my top 5 things for Ottawa; food, places & things to do.

1. Tomo is my must-check-out restaurant, especially if you love sushi. I can't & never will stop raving about them because it's such a great restaurant that got added into the Byward Market which is full of restaurants but not all as good as Tomo. Their food is bomb; they have events going on in the evenings a few times during the week & their washroom is the spot for selfies: comic book walls...need I say more.

However, if you're not a sushi person, they do have other foods you can get from them but another restaurant you could check out would be Pure Kitchen.

Pure Kitchen is a vegan/vegetarian restaurant that came around a few years ago; I wanna say maybe 2015 it popped up in Ottawa. Since then, they have two locations & have the most bomb healthy food I've had plus it helps that they have dairy alternatives such as almond chocolate milk, cashew cheese, so much more.



I've been a few times & I tell everyone who goes that they HAVE to have  the cauliflower wings. They are like chicken wings but made out of cauliflower, a healthier alternative but still kinda taste like chicken wings and may I say BOMB AF. They are kinda awesome too because if you get a sandwich/burger you can have both salad & fries instead of having to make that difficult choice. They got a variety of things so there is something there for everyone & if you feel like food without meat is not filling, you are very wrong. I leave there stuffed but like a healthy stuffed where my body still feels good compared to places where I feel full but full of shitty foods. Enough of my blabber, here are some pictures of the times I have gone.



2. The Loft or Level One is a chill spot to play video or board games. They started off as having The Loft upstairs & it's been a hit since it's opened with huge long lines to get a seat to play board games from the many they have filling the walls. I'm so happy they have expanded to Level One which is downstairs in the same space & more food is served down there. There is video games there & there is way more space. So when The Loft is full you just go downstairs & get a seat at Level One. It's the best place to test out your friendships because board games can ruin friendships with games such as Catan & Monopoly and you're bound to learn more while there. Sometimes I will come in & just ask the server for a competitive game for however many people there are & they will choose anything, bring it over & explain the game so you definitely won't get bored. If you do, you are always welcome to change your game to anything else that's more entertaining for you.



3. The Prince of Wales bridge is an abandoned railroad bridge over water near Bayview Station. It's my go to spot when I'm downtown & just want a place to chill. In the summer you will see people jumping off the bridge into the water below. It's nice during the hot days to sit there & feel a nice breeze while just chilling. It's kind of a mission to get to & I don't know if it's blocked off because of the construction that's happening there right now but get to Bayview station & find the bike path. When you see it, walk towards the water & you will see the bridge & the way to get up to it.







4. Cool events in the city are always a good time to go to & we have a fair share of them that happen every year. I go to different ones every year but I'll attempt to go to them all this year. Some of the ones that are totally insta worthy & a fun time are: Tulip Festival, Ottawa ComicCon, House of PainT, Winterlude, & Dragonboat Festival. People come down to Ottawa for these events because they are a good time & you won't be able to find it else where, such as Winterlude where you can skate on the longest canal/skating rink in the world I believe, as well as seeing some pretty cool ice sculptures.







5. My 5th & last thing I would say is food spots around the city. Ottawa is very undervalued especially different areas that have great food that a lot of people don't know about so a different food adventure around a part of the city you haven't been to is an adventure in itself especially if your busing there. So go ahead & check out Elgin St, Westboro Bia, the Glebe area & Lansdowne because there is some good food spots hiding there that you won't find downtown.