Overpriced and uninspired food. Dated menu. Complete lack of atmosphere.

We've been to Carben several times and never been disappointed. As always we did the chef's tasting menu with wine pairings. Every dish is plated with care but still aiming to be wholesome "real" food rather than excessively precious haute cuisine. The wine pairings were thoughtful and highlighted every course. It's a strange thing for us to focus on because we're not normally dessert people but the pastry chef is an absolute genius. The desserts alone are worth the visit.

Went to Carben for another great evening. As always the food on the degustation menu was outstanding. We enjoyed each course equally. It was a perfect flow with proper portions, flavours, textures and artfully presented. The miatake mushroom dish and flank steak were exceptional. We have been here at least 8 times and I've never been anything but impressed. CHEF Kevin and his brigade always excel. Caroline's desserts are always works of art and delicious. Her Chocolate truffle was a nice finish. Service was quick and efficient and very pleasant. My only critique was the wine matching as 2 wines were mixed up on the service and the pours were a bit lacking for a 70$ tasting.I also personnally like to see the bottle of wine im being poured. Makes the experience that much better. Perhaps it helped them expedite the service quicker, but thats just me. I'd probably just order a bottle next time. Anyways always a pleasure eating here. See you all again soon. One of Ottawas best restaurants and one of our favourites.

Absolutely amazing food, service and atmosphere! We booked the restaurant to host our wedding reception. From the start they were so easy to communicate with and easy going with planning. The menus they created blew all the guests away and people couldn't say more positive things about the experience! We will definitely be returning for their food!! Wonderful restaurant, wonderful staff, wonderful food.

We had the tasting menu at Carben and it was delicious. The dish that surprised us was the brussel sprouts, my partner is not a fan of them in any way and he wanted more! The tasting menu with wine pairing left us satisfied and full. The food was creative and we enjoyed our experience here! Thank you for helping us celebrate our anniversary. This review was overdue.

Fantastic! We came here for our anniversary and really enjoyed it. Nice little place. Great atmosphere, service, and most importantly, the food is amazing. Cocktails were tasty. We had the salmon small plate as an appetizer. It was very tender and melted in your mouth. I had the steak and it did not disappoint - my first time having the tender "butcher's cut". My wife had the duck, which was similarly tasty and well-plated. We tried a couple of desserts, which again, had multiple flavours. I surprisingly really enjoyed the mixture of the espresso with the vanilla bean ice cream; nice and complex. Recommend you check it out if ever around Hintonburg.

Carben Food + Drink has been on my list for some time and it was worth the wait. • Friendly knowledgeable service staff. Beautiful crafted cocktails, elegant plating, fresh seasonal ingredients, well balanced plates. Overall, wonderful evening both pleasing on the eyes and palates. We highly recommend.

This was our first time trying CARBEN and it did not disappoint, in fact, we were surprised as to how amazing everything was! Starting with the milk buns with the soup, following with a kale caesar salad (the sesame seeds were a great touch), the braised short rib was the most tender we have ever eaten, good job! And then to finish everything off with an amazing cinnamon waffle with praline coconut. EXCELLENT service and food. We will definitely be back for more.

Would definitely agree with the 4.7 star rating. My husband and I went for our anniversary dinner last night. The service was great and relaxed atmosphere. We got the cod cakes, mushrooms and Brussels sprouts for small plates and I have to say you know it’s good when you want to lick your plate!! Highly highly recommend the Brussel sprouts and mushroom plates. We ordered the Guinea hen and beef short rib for larger plate.. still very tasty but a bit expensive for what it was vs the small plates. Dessert was just okay.. but I don’t think that’s their speciality. Would go back again!

Lovely experience at Carben this week. We enjoyed all of our dishes and I loved to see crafted mocktails on the menu. I don’t generally like asparagus but I couldn’t stop eating this perfectly grilled one & the slight citrus flavour on the lobster was great. The pickled mushroom on the crostini of the mushroom dish also took the dish to the next level for me.

We dropped in for a bite on a quiet Wednesday night and were blown away by the quality, care and love this chef puts into his food. I had the $90 tasting menu, great value with 6 superb courses of delicate, complex flavours, each more delightful than the last. Scallops, black cod and duck satisfied my hunger for fish and meat, while the mushrooms and brussels sprouts surprised me with hearty winter takes on favourite veggies. Unbelievable artistry and presentation all around. Service was top notch with Emily, whose knowledge of wine and cocktails made the night that much more special. Everyone should know about this Ottawa gem. We will be talking about this place for a very long time. Two thumbs up. We will be back!

Great tasting menu. Loved the cod and sweet breads. Awesome bourbon fudge. Lovely staff.

The dishes are delicious and creative. All meals start with some warm bread buns. There is now a chef's tasting menu but we opted to try some other items from the menu. The plating is beautiful and the customer service is lovely. Also a great ambiance and decor inside.

2022 03 19 - A very nice discovery! The octopus was impeccable. Loved the mix of flavors. Whether it was the duck, beef or black cod, everyone enjoyed it. Well crafted dishes. Beautiful presentation and attention to detail. Efficient service. Very nice evening. We will be back.

Had a great dinner at Carben, took my brother to try his first tasting menu experience and he had a blast. We couldn’t agree on what our favourite dish was because they were all so tasty. Service and atmosphere were great, professional but casual enough to not feel overwhelming. Had to edit and add that the milk bun was the best thing I’ve eaten in a long time. No picture because we ate it so fast.

Outstanding food and service. We had the tasting menu with a wine recommended by the server. All the food with the wine were excellent. Our favorites were the broccoli, asparagus, ling cod and pork belly dishes. You can order these off the menu if you do not want to go for the whole tasting menu.q

It was a wonderful and delicious experience😊 100% would come back

Great food and wonderful flavor kudos to the chef. However, both food and alcohol are overpriced, IMO. To be fair, the restaurant was half full on Friday evening so it could explain the pricing strategy by the management. Otherwise it would have got 6 starts. While I won't go back, we enjoyed our food

Cocktails are delicious, we took the tasting menu (7 courses) it was one of the most delicious food I have ever tasted. I highly recommend this place.

The food was so delicious and waitress was super nice! We ordered tasting menu and their signature cocktails. I can't describe which was the best because everything from glasses to plates was perfect! And we got two compliment sparkling wine to accompany with our heavenly taste deserts! Definitely would go back!

I liked the restaurant decor, especially the lights from the cieling. Overall, it was very modern and neat. We had the hanger steak and the trout. The dishes were really good!! I loved the fingerling potatoes and I would totally come back just for those!! Sadly, the reason I cannot give a 5 star rating is because the dishes took a rather long time to come, maybe 35-40 minutes...

We ordered Thanksgiving dinner from here. It was delicious! We'll be ordering again for sure!

Delicious food. Friendly service. Creative menu. Awesome desserts. This is the kind of small, family restaurant every foodie would want in their hood. Scallops and short rib were my faves.

I came with my girlfriend and it was such a nice experience there! Meredith was an amazing waitress, we called a week in advance to reserve and still remembered everything we ask! They made vegan option for us even tho we didn’t ask! We just said we were vegan and took care of everything! We came for a second time the next time and they even made us special appetizer for the occasion! I highly recommend and definitely will come back :)

I had a great Thanksgiving giving meal from Carben. There was small a mix up in my order. The owner met me the next day when they were closed and went above and beyond to make it right! Excellent food and service. We'll be back!

My wife and I waited eagerly for Carben's reopening of indoor dining and last week that happened. AS ALWAYS the meal was EXCEPTIONAL! We had the 5 course tasting menu which was really more than we could eat but we didn't want to miss the opportunity to savor all of the chef's masterful creations. And every one was delicious! The restaurant's covid protocols were very good and my wife and I felt very safe there. Our waitress, the lovely Meredith, at least I think she's lovely behind her designer mask, made sure we never lacked for anything through the course of a terrific evening. If you've never been to Carben, all I can say is GO! And if you have been there, you know exactly why I say that!

What a fantastic meal. There were 5 of us and we each ordered an appetizer and main and every one of us absolutely loved our dishes. Truly one of the best meals I've had in Ottawa. And we had fantastic service. Our water was incredibly attentive but not overbearing. The ambiance is also very nice. We went on a Sunday night so it was mostly empty and quiet, which was nice. Menu changes frequently except for their mushroom appetizer which was outstanding. We will definitely go back again soon.

This was a really culinary experience. The combination of small and big plates makes a foodie be happy. You need at least 2 hours to enjoy the full experience and a shared bottle of wine. They have a set price for a taste of everything and highly recommend taking that option if you and your partner enjoy tasting different kinds of food.

Elegant and very very tasty fine food. You won't be disappointed here!

Take out valentine's dinner was amazing!

Incredibly delicious plates, almost too beautiful to eat! Really enjoyed the cozy atmosphere. Edit to add that the cocktails were lovely too. My one disappointment was that we ordered the sweetbreads for an appetizers, making sure that there was no red meat listed as ingredients in the menu (my partner doesn’t eat red meat), and only after the first spoonfuls did I taste meat and clarified with the server that it was veal… had we known we would have ordered something else to share the entire dish’s components.

We got the 8 course tasting menu for 85$ per person which consisted of 6 savoury courses followed by 2 desserts. The dishes were beautifully plated and incorporated Asian flavours and ingredients. The savoury courses were filling, but we did find most of them to be on the saltier side. We really like their desserts which were not too sweet as well as their cocktails! Follow me on Instagram for more food content: @lyliaxfood

A must experience!! Food so beautiful you almost don't want to eat it, but so delicious that you can't help but want more. Relaxing environment and the staff were so warm and welcoming I felt like I was and old friend returning for a visit. Will certainly come back every season to enjoy what they come up with on the menu! Thank you for such a lovely time.

Superb service and extraordinary food

Stopped by many times for cocktails, wine, and dinner. Very friendly staff, great atmosphere, excellent background music, and absolutely delicious food - flavours will knock you out of your seat. Will be back!

THRILLED that brunch is back at Carben! Their eggs benny & fresh squeezed orange juice for mimosas is delish. Highly recommend!

We went for dinner. The food was excellent and the service was friendly and prompt. They have good Covid protections in place.

Came for drinks and sharing plates and were very impressed! We were served by Meredith and she was extremely knowledgeable and friendly! Food was great and we will definitely be back!

The food and the service are amazing! This place deserves a spot of the Canada's 100 best restaurants list! Some of the best food we've had in Ottawa!

Very unassuming restaurant that gets it all perfect. Pork belly starter was the star for me. Rarely do I come across perfect dishes. This one was that. Chef Kevin pays attention to the texture and flavor combinations, in a way that elevates good dishes to outstanding. Service and atmosphere are laid-back in the positive sense of the word. You will get an explanation of what every dish contains, but also peace of mind and privacy. While the menu doesn't state it, most of it, is gluten free. For my fellow Celiacs, please notify ahead of reservation so that the kitchen will have a chance to go beyond non sterile environment. Highly recommended.

BEST FOOD IN OTTAWA. Everything on the menu is delicious, even if it sounds like something you wouldn’t like, trust me you would like it. Service was excellent, and I can’t wait to come back.

Amazing food, super nice staff and really delicious mixed drinks! Looking forward to the next visit! Their menu is constantly changing too.

Food and service were both exceptional! Ordered some appetizers to share and our table absolutely loved both the pork belly and potato dishes. As for the entrées, the sablefish and chicken were both cooked to perfection. Will definitely be coming back soon!

I ordered a 3 course meal from Carben this evening. Exceeded all expectations! I highly recommend this restaurant, the food is absolutely delicious and the owners are just gems! Thank you Carben!

The place is very lovely, quaint and cozy. You can come casual or dress up which makes the restaurant super versatile for small get together or a fancy date. Tried a couple of drinks but they are more on the common side nothing too different. The appetizer was delicious ! But the main fell a bit short on taste. The food looked better than it tasted. The presentation is on point but the food lacked a bit of cohesiveness.. there was too many flavours going on at once in each of the mains I tried. Would try this place again when they have new dishes to try!

One of the best restaurants I have visited in Ottawa. The food is extremely delicious and done with care. The flavours are wonderful. Highly recommend the wood ear mushroom dish. Also, the service there is phenomenal, the lady that helped us was knowledgable and very friendly and have us enough time but was very attentive. Highly recommend.