Signatures Restaurant

Reviews

• John D.

  star star star star star 6 June 2026

  This is one of the restaurants that I won't soon forget. The kitchen is staffed by the chef instructors and some of the students but the quality is the food is incredible. Very French ambiance but it wasn't stuffy. The service was a bit formal but that's to be expected.... but the servers were still super friendly and welcoming. We ordered cocktails and they were perfect - I mean perfect.
  
  The food was unbelievable- my beef carpaccio was some of the best I've ever had and my beef tenderloin was incredible. My wife had the blackened cod and she said it was phenomenal. This place is a 10/10. For those who say there are no good restaurants in Ottawa, think again. This place is amazing.

• Gordon K.

  star star star star_border star_border 1 June 2026

  The food was good, but could be improved, which i will detail later.
  
  The taster. The parmesan on top was a nice touch, but it lacked a sort of fruity/tangy sauce to compliment the flaky dryness.
  
  Bread provided was not really special and to be frank, the $95 price tag made me expect to at least warm up the bread as it was room temperature. For restaurants within this price range, i would expect at least something similar to that or more than just plain bread.
  
  The amuse bouche was good. I especially liked the mushroom foam. It made it nice and light, but still had the depth and the flavor stood out where it met the foam.
  
  The quail and foie gras was a dish that did not stand out too much to me. I liked how it all tasted together, but the porte compote was a single piece, which didnt match the size of the terrine. And i ended up using the bread with the leftover terrine.
  
  I liked the poached lobster and crab risotto. The lobster was a bit chewy, but the risotto was well done.
  
  The halibut fillet sauce was good and it was nice with the truffle cream sauce. My partner thought thr leek had a bit too much salt, but i thought it was OK.
  
  For the seared beef, it was done OK. It was tender, but a bit dry and the sauce was a tad too overwhelming for the beef. The conchiglie was not done similarly from dish to dish. Mine was not touched by the sauce, whereas my partner had hers drowned in the sauce.
  
  The desset was nice, but the meringue made it taste like it was melted marshmellow with a bit too icy ice cream. I didnt like the chips accompanying the dessert mainly because there was a lot of it on top of the meringue and the taste wasnt that great even with combining it with the ice cream.
  
  The presentation needs a bit more work. The servers were OK, but they definitely had some moments where it showed that a few lacked experience.
  
  The waiter behind me didnt have full knowledge of the menu. He was clear and openly admitted that he needed to check up on it, and the one who provided me the menu, also did not know what was on the valentine's day course menu, only the regular course meal. They waterboys were prompt on filling up the drinks though. The waiter provided us the cheque for the wrong table. It was the table on the other side of the room, and it was for approx $130, whereas our meal should be a minimum of $200, so that was a very costly mistake. We let him know about the error when he came back with the machine.
  
  The waiters were friendly and despite the other parts that i mentioned where i docked off points. They were excellent.
  
  The atmosphere itself was muted. The lights were extremely dim. It made it difficult to get conversation after a while because it made the entire room feel extremely sleepy and conversation pretty much altogether ceased at one point. We were seated in a small room with approx 5-6 other tables compared to the main room, extremely brightly lit, much more spacious and the bar room. The dishes needed to come out faster. On a 5 course meal, i reasonably expected to be seated at 7:30pm, but finished by 8:45/9pm latest. It was almost 10pm by the time we got out as dishes averaged 20+ minutes wait time in between.
  
  Another side note. I noted that our entire room was only seated with asians. I took a look in main dining room and it was mainly caucasian. I shrugged this off as a huge coincidence, but it bothered me slightly that i cannot help but point that out.
  
  Note: Due to the $95 course meal price tag, i have compared this to other establishments within the same price range. The food was overall underwhelming and the presentation needs a bit more work as the portion size within the dish needs to be better balanced. There was a few basic errors that the waiters need to correct, such as spot check that the check is correct as well as deepening their knowledge and memorization of the menu.
  
  Food: 3/5
  Service: 3/5
  Price point: 3/5
  
  Overall: 3/5

• Kat F.

  star star star star star 31 May 2026

  This place is a must go to if you're in the city!  The food and service is great, the desserts are amazing !!  The restaurant is a little small and when the women at the table next to us were talking, we heard everything so there's no privacy lol

• Xin Q.

  star star star star star 18 May 2026

  It has been more than two years and I still miss it. We were there for a weekday lunch so we got a great deal. Food, service, environment... Everything was just wonderful. Will definitely go there again if I ever got the chance to return to Ottawa.

• Victoria C.

  star star star star star 16 May 2026

  We had the pleasure of dining at Signatures for the first time on Saturday and this restaurant did not disappoint. The food was absolutely spectacular. We were a bit hesitant about making special requests, but the chef gladly accommodated and this made our experience even more enjoyable. Being new to Ottawa, we love exploring the city. This restaurant made it to our #1 choice so far. We will most definitely make Signatures our regular spot.