Best Bites in Ottawa: PI*RHO, Barrio, Sidedoor
- Johnathan Callingham
- Aug 6
- 4 min read
By Kiersten Vuorimaki and Hannah Manning on August 6, 2025
In this feature, Apt613 asks blog contributors and local food lovers about their recent Ottawa area restaurant highlights to help you find new tasty treats to discover or revisit when someone inevitably asks, “Where do you want to eat?” We want to hear about something that you ate and loved! Leave comments below, and if you’d like to contribute to a future edition of Best Bites, email <editors@apt613.ca>.
Best Bites this week:
PI·RHO serves up Mediterranean inspired goodness and is one of my favourite spots to grab an easy meal perfect for a summer picnic. With a mix of chef-curated bowls and pitas, or the option to build your own, it’s quick, easy, healthy, and delicious. The marinades, dips, spreads, and dressings are all made in-house, and service at the two locations I’ve visited has been top notch. My go-to is the avocado bowl with harissa chicken, rice, greens, feta, hummus, olives, and mixed veggies. I was warned that the harissa packs a spicy punch and love the depth of flavour it brings to the bowl.
While I haven’t tried them yet, I’ve heard great things about the baked zucchini and chickpea cakes. Bowls are around $15 and pitas are around $12 and you can order online ahead of time for quick and easy pick up if you’re on the go. I’ve heard from gluten-free friends that many of the menu items are gluten-free and there’s a list of allergens available online.
-Hannah Manning
To tell you that I was excited for new South American restaurant Barrio to open, would be an understatement. South American food is criminally underrated and under represented in town, and Chef Lizardo Becerra is single handedly bringing it into the mainstream. After his impressive result at the Canadian Culinary Championship and building on the success of the gorgeous Raphaël on Elgin, Barrio is emerging as Raphaël’s hip, young sibling on the busiest corner in the Market. Not wanting to miss out on anything, my best friend and I ordered half the menu to share, to try as much as possible.
The Choripán featuring locally made Argentinian Chorizo was juicy and flavourful, with a delicious herby-ness that balanced the fattiness of the sausage. The baguette was fresh and chewy, and the green dijon mixed with the bright chimichurri gave the whole sandwich a very punchy brightness. We had the salad on the side, which was a very simple, generous heaping of fresh lettuce in a light vinaigrette.
The empanadas were all wonderful, we especially loved the Criolla, which is an authentic Argentinian beef empanada with raisins and olives inside. Do NOT knock it until you try it. The spiced beef was juicy and the sweet raisins and briny olives cut the fattiness of the meat with a touch of salty and sweet. The corn Paisa empanadas came in a pair, and the crispy corn exterior was exquisite. The Patacones were a surprise favourite, with a tangy fruit salsa to dip the salty, crispy plantains into. They were the perfect side, and I could have eaten another 10 pounds of them.
Patacones and Choripan sandwich at Barrio. Photo Kiersten Vuorimaki
The cocktails were delicious, and the vibes are fun and casual. The patio is lively in the evening, and it looks like the menu is going to be changing regularly, so there will always be something new to try.
We did find the prices a bit high for the street food vibes, with the $25 Choripán, and $12 for the empanada duo and the side of patacones, but I can’t imagine that sourcing authentic ingredients in Ottawa is all that easy, and with new menu items coming in regularly, I trust chef Becerra to find the right balance of vibes and value!
Ottawans love our bao buns, and for good reason. Recently, while on a delicious patio hop we got the chance to try some of Sidedoor’s bao buns, and I have to say, they are divine. We had the colourful Karaage Spicy Crispy Chicken and the Tempura Enoki Mushroom, and both were a crispy, savoury delight. The Karaage Chicken is not too spicy, with a sweet jammy tomatillo relish, fresh snappy green onions and a gentle drizzle of flavourful chili oil. The Enoki Mushroom is a fun shape, and the tempura is perfectly light, fluffy and cripsy. The earthiness of the mushroom with the brightness of the fresh lime and Thai basil is perfectly balanced with the Toban aioli which brings a little creamy kick to the whole thing. The bao are perfectly soft, and cushiony, with excellent structural integrity to hold the saucy, crispy fillings inside. The buns themselves are smaller than you might find elsewhere, but there are two buns per order, for $20, and they are a great sharing item for a small plates style meal.
Sidedoor Bao Buns. Photo Kiersten Vuorimaki
Service at Sidedoor is always top notch, and the vibes are so sexy and upscale in the evening that it’s the perfect date night spot.
Do note that they will be losing their patio for the rest of the summer starting next week, for NCC construction throughout the whole Clarendon Lane Courtyard (mega bummer).
The buns are on their lunch, dinner, and special Tastes of Summer tasting menu. Your protein options are BBQ Pork Belly, Karaage Spicy Crispy Chicken, and the Tempura Enoki Mushroom. Get them all?
-Kiersten Vuorimaki
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