das lokal

best restaurant experience we've had in a long time!. who would have thought such an amazing restaurant could exist in a repurposed kfc?

from the funky rustic decor to the amazingfoodand drinks, the experience was so worth it! this was the first time in a long time that the starter cocktails actually had alcohol in them. sick and tired of watered down drinks. everything we ordered was exceptionally creative in presentation, taste and texture. the biggest surprise was a dessert with cubed squash, whipped cream and other ingredients that tasted almost like the best pumpkin pie we've ever had! service was amazing, never in your face but very knowledgable, helpful and fast but never rushed. even the bartender was great when she whipped up a surprise spanish type coffee although it wasn't on the menu. turned out whatever she, should be on the menu as it was amazing and they didn't even gouge us when the bill came...impressed!

highly recommended!

loved it! we will definitely be back :). my friends and i went here last night for some late night drinks/food. we got there late, and the kitchen was closed, so we didn't order anything from the menu, but they were still doing cheese and dessert. we each ordered our own chef's choice cheese board - so good and so muchfoodprovided for a modest price. we also enjoyed their drinks - gin caesar was delicious!

the ambiance and decor is wonderful - such a cosy place with so much character. there was also a live piano player - very nice touch. i will definitely return. great value in the prices.

very deliciousfoodand great service. waiters were very attentive. they also had a great pianist playing live. i had the baked cod and my husband the t-pork. great ambiance too.

the atmosphere was very relaxed and the restaurant had great decor. our server was very knowledgable and friendly. thefoodwas excellent. i had the lamb and was very impressed. the prices are a bit steep but you get what you pay for and the quality was excellent.

came here for brunch yesterday, and i tried their savory board, which was a salad, potatoes, bratwurst, bacon, and a frittata.

the salad was a fairly mild & simple, but tasty dressing, which was good to balance out all the rich & savory flavours on the board. the potatoes were okay, i would say about average. the frittata i believe was spinach, and it didn't blow me away. the bacon was thick cut and not fatty, but perfectly cooked and had a lot more flavour than i was used to seeing. the bratwurst was juicy and delicious, and the board cake with 2 types of mustard (one grainy, one not) which paired excellently with them. the portion size was okay, but i didn't find it exactly generous for the price, but the overall quality & presentation were quite good.

the coffee they served was great, some of the better coffee i've had in a restaurant.

the decor was interesting and unique, i quite liked the ambiance.

the service wasn't the best, in my opinion. there were only 2 servers in and the place was quite busy. it took quite a while to be able to.place our order, but we had been waiting for someone. i had to specifically ask for more coffee, as when thefoodcame, my cup was empty and she did not offer more. she came back to check on how everything was, and then i asked for more coffee, and by the time it came out, we had already finished eating. we also had to specifically flag down the server to get the bills.

overall, i would go back, they have a fairly unique menu with interesting options, and i'd like to try some of their different offerings.

i went to this place not knowing what to expect and at first glance it is very warm and inviting. beautiful style and nice servers. we were a group of 7 ladies here for drinks and dinner and a big catch up (as friends were in from toronto). cocktails were delicious and besides the fact we were 'shushed' by a table of elderly folk it was a nice dining experience. as the restaurant boasts their cocktail menu, we thought it would be safe for a bit of a rowdy (30+) table, but without being rude the crowd was somewhat older and maybe not the best for a boozy meal. ourfoodwas small portions for price but very tasty and gorgeous presentation. i would take my parent here for a nice meal but not take a big group of friends next time.

we came in and thought it would be good, and thefoodlooked very good too... however the waitress was so very rude to us, we didn't even order anyfoodand left.

i found the restaurant by accident and have fallen in love. it have been there for breakfast lunch and dinner and thefoodand drinks are consistently incredible!

nice atmosphere and decorations. very friendly and kind waitress. well presentedfoodbut very expensive!!! they also had a pianist which was lovely

excellent food, nice presentation, and great value, make this one of my favourite byward market restaurants. the german-scandinavianfoodand atmosphere is refreshingly different yet comfortingly familiar. cocktails are casually prepared but generous and tasty. totally worth a visit!

das lokal seems to be the top dining destination among locals in ottawa, this statement may be true in the first few months of 2014, but it isn't the case anymore.

my roommate was raving how good thefoodwas at das lokal. but for no apparent reason, the quality of thefoodand service has simply gone downhill. our evening did not start when the waiter asked us if we had reservation, then going to check in their system if they can squeeze us in a half-filled restaurant at 7:30pm. no new guest showed up after 8pm.

food was really good except dessert, service horrible. maybe 12 for dinner is to much, they had 2 people sitting at the end of the table locking elbows! let me just say that apologizes are not big..... perhaps small wine glasses, $10. glass of wine that looked like 4 oz, waitress agreed and said she would top it off and came back saying we were wrong..... "the glass is big,so it looks like less". not that we didn't consider this, but the bottom part is not as fat as the middle - we weren't going to argue after she agreed with us. next was dessert, they ran out of brownie, only one person got that, the others had to pick something else, the shortcake which was dry. the creme brûlée was the worse, we assumed it was traditional only because we were not told any different, had we been told it was chamomile flavour we would have past. i told the server the creme brûlée had a terrible taste, she said it was chamomile and would talk to the manager about taking it off our bill. manager came over and asked about our meal, then got defensive and said they offer 3 different creme brûlée flavours was the reason i guess that the menu only says creme brûlée, she talked over us maybe because the piano player was back! finally the shortcakes and creme brûlée were taken off our bills. my husband and i have been several times, not sure well be back which is a shame as we live 2 blocks away. i was embarrassed as i has suggested this restaurant for our friends and therefore felt compelled to voice my disappointment.


-----25 jan, 2015-----

somewhat disappointed in service. let's just say thefoodwas great and the portions were generous. we live in the neighbourhood and suggested our group of 12 go to das lokal for dinner last night. firstly, the restaurant is too small for a piano player, when he finished playing were people clapping for relief........... we were not happy with the service, yes were were 12 (2 people sharing the end of the table..hardly comfortable, their elbows kept knocking). also, they should perhaps use small wine glasses, at $10. it barely looked like 5oz, we brought it to the servers attention and she agreed "yes, it doesn't look like 5oz, let me just take that and top it off", returning with the glass "sorry it is 5 oz the glasses are measured with water at the beginning of the evening"....... then the desserts another sign of poor management....... 2 had ordered the brownie but they ran out and only one person got brownie, so 2 other guests chose what looked like a shortcake.....bad choice, it was so dry, they left some on their plate. next the menu had "creme brûlée", 2 people ordered it thinking it must be traditional type as nothing was mentioned.......that was horrible, we all had a taste and left it. i asked the waitress what was in it because it was inedible, she said it was chamomile creme brûlée, she would talk to the manager. someone came over, didn't introduce herself and started asking about our meal and the dessert, she talked over me, i don't think she heard a word, but then the piano player was back!! she was defensive about the menu and said the board only says creme brûlée because they have 3 kinds!! we were never given a choice and while i was at it mentioned the dry shortcake! they removed the shortcake and creme brûlée from our bill. not sure i will be back, too bad since we've been a few times and liked it except for the piano and we live 3 blocks away

very pleased. i brought a group of visitors there on my first visit and everything we had was wonderful - the steak tartare was really nice, and the duck for dinner was excellent. the egg nog crême brulée was weird but very enjoyable. pleasant staff, a nice amount of noise from all the happy tables, and lots of goodfoodmade for a great night. it's on the more expensive side of things, but certainly worth it.

it's too bad they have 'sittings' and that you might need to clear out before a certain time, but we were lucky in that there we no later reservations for our table.

rehearsal dinner. we had our rehearsal dinner with das lokal and can only come up with great things to say about the beauty and aesthetic appeal of the space, incrediblefoodand extremely personable staff. we've eaten there a couple times before and will continue to do so. das lokal is our favorite ottawa restaurant. eat there!

disappointed. this is my third time there, and sorry to say i doubt i will ever be back.
1. bad service
2. price for what you get
3. small menu that just gets regurgitated for brunch, lunch, dinner in various forms. thefoodis fine, did not enjoy the chips at all though.

service will always be the dealbreaker.