As others have noted in their reviews, this place seems to be confused about its identity. Other than the name and a couple of Russian-themes menu items, there’s is nothing Russian about this place. It felt more a classical New York City restaurant, with Frank Sinatra music playing. The salmon blini were good, but should have been an appetizer. The 10 bite sized cold pancakes felt like an odd dinner item. While the 6 perogies, would have worked better as a bigger dinner plate. The Moscow meatballs were nothing like Russian meatballs, though they were good meatballs. They also had no tea, for a tea room, that’s shocking.

Never happened to me something like this before... By the name you might think it has something to do with Russia and Russian food... Not at all... Menu more look like sushi bar... We were waiting for a food for 1 hour.... Orange juice i was waiting 20 min ( not joking) ... Food was just ok...

Very friendly stuff! Great atmosphere and interior, but being Russian and going to a place called "Moscow tea room" I expected to find on the menu at least variety of teas and Russian/European desserts. Entres hopefully too. Was big time disappointed when I found that somewhat Russian on the menu only crepes and 17 names of vodka (cheers to stereotypes!). Maybe I expected too much from this place, however calling the place Moscow Tea Room and not serving anything that brings you to that Moscow makes as much sense as calling a steakhouse Punjab Sweet House.

This was a very disappointing experience. We were celebrating my husband's birthday with friends and the food took over an hour to arrive. We were later told there was a problem with the grill. My husband's dinner was $48 and the tenderloin was not tender and the asparagus was stringy. Don't waste your money here. There are a lot better places right in the area.

Amazing cocktail, we share their charcuterie board, and Duck Le Bleu. Each plate looked amazing and tasted even better. Thank you for an amazing date night out. Then we stayed for cocktails and the DJ.

This is a wonderful establishment with incredibly friendly and helpful staff. I took my Mom here for their high tea for Mother's Day and it was absolutely fantastic. The atmosphere is welcoming, the menu has a wide variety of delicious foods and drinks, and the staff were incredibly attentive,, accommodating and respectful. I will happily return any day!

My boyfriend and I went there for high tea. The service was excellent! 1) About the tea: They have the TWG tea, with I found out to be a fancy, delicious and expensive tea. I had the milk oolong tea, which seems to be milk: it smells like milk and it's creamy like milk, but it is not milk. It is amazing the way it is, no need to put honey or sugar. My boyfriend had the white sky tea, which is more fruity and flavorful. Honey goes very well with it! 2) About the snacks: They have 3 plates, as you can see in the photos. The first one consists of 3 savory snacks, the second of one small scone and the third of some pieces of cheesecakes. The savory ones they served some different than the menu, but that was ok because everything was delicious. The scone is good, but it is too small for the amount of clotted cream and jam that they serve. They should serve at least 2 scones. The cheesecakes were good. 3) Things to be improved: For the price, they should serve maybe one more savory sandwich and at least one more scone. Overall, all the high tea experience worths it! Everything was delicious and the place is very beautiful. It is a wonderful way of spending an afternoon with a good friend.

Booked a table. Showed up and ordered our drinks. Waited 45 mins while others came and received their orders. Reminded staff of our order. Never came. Got up and left and even told "thanks have a great night" with a smile as we left. The service at this place was trash even though the decor tried to to give the illusion of elegance. Would NOT recommend!

I’ve always had a great time. Aim for 10-11pm on a Friday/Saturday for cocktails and dancing. Always great music, a mix of hip hop and afrohall. The staff are friendly and attentive. Decor is lovely. The university students don’t surface here. What more could you want?

Had a great time at Joy tonight! We made a reservation easily on open table and we were seated very promptly with quick and attentive service. We ordered a few appetizers to start. The marinated olives were amazing served warm. Great bowl of black and green pitless olives with bread. The truffle fries were just alright - a little cold but had great flavor. We each ordered a different main. They were all good but just a tad salty - but that’s fine, we ordered lots of wine and the servers brought us water. I personally had the tenderloin and it was cooked medium rare and came with potatoes and asparagus. The other dishes - salmon, duck, and mussels - were presented very beautifully as well. The ambiance was nice overall.

This place came so highly rated I wanted to try it. So disappointing. I had the duck with a blueberry risotto and a cranberry au jus. The duck was cooked well but the risotto was a disaster swimming in oil not an au jus.. tried two bites ..was inedible. My partner had the tenderloin, again beef cooked well but overcooked asparagus, and the potato dauphinoise was grainy. On the positive side the drinks were excellent and the service was very good, but their entrees were lacking.

They are currently undergoing a rebranding of their restaurant. It is more of an upscale place now, which better matches its decor The menu has also changed to reflect a more upscale setting. For instance, caviar on the menu. Could be good for a date night potentially or a fancy dinner. The waitress/server we had was super friendly and made us feel very welcome.

Beautiful setting to enjoy quality tea served in a fancy tea service! Also have excellent cocktails and fabulous art! This place is a must see when visiting downtown Ottawa!

Good looking restaurant, ambiance was good, its a really nice warm looking restaurant! Had really good service… however very over priced, bottle a wine 58$ when its actually a 13$ bottle at the SAQ! We ordered the cheese board and charcuterie board and they were almost the same, you would have thought that the chef would have done something different, or put different things on them :-/ but service was great!

Very pretty location, the decor inside fits the theme and it’s a nice ambiance. I will be sticking to the drinks and desserts as I found the food to be average and overpriced.

The decor is beautiful… that’s the only good thing I can say about this place … we waited for more than an hour for our food, after we were done, we asked for a take out container and the waiter brought us a cardboard box with the price tag on it , claiming it was their take out boxes … after we said this is absolutely not cool… magically normal take out containers appear … for every drink we had to wait for more than 20 minutes … just waste of our time and money, sorry …

Joy has an amazing atmosphere, great drinks and even better food. Went there for an event hosted by Ava and everything was great. The margs were delicious and so was the ravioli. Definitely want to go back soon.

Nice spot with a lot more potential. The food and service was great however it was very cold...not just for us but other guests as well, some who decided to wear their jackets for dinner! This got me thinking that some nice fireplaces would compliment the ambience and also might keep the guests warm. We will try it again once the winter is over to give it another chance.

The place was dead on a Friday night, so that should have been a giveaway. I really liked this place when it was the Moscow Tearoom, but not so much now that it's changed names and owners (I'm assuming). We were a group of 8 and it took us forever to get our cocktails. Then we ordered tequila shots and the server took forever to come back with salt, so we just took it without it, paid, and then left. Not sure if I would come back.

The pros: great ambiance, drinks, location, staff and service. The negative: food vs cost. The menu needs a revamp. If the food quality and execution would be top notch it would justify the price but as is it, it’s a very basic menu and not well executed. Watermelon salad: soaked in balsamic vinaigrette- limp lettuce and cheap feta Charcuterie board: was primarily salami and cheddar cheese surrounded by a bit of nuts and marinated veggies. 36$- no art to the presentation and there were not 4 meat on it as the menu stated. It was mainly salami and 3 pieces of prosciutto. For the cheese, yellow cheddar should not even be an option on a restaurant charcuterie board. Mushroom ravioli: pasta undercooked and sauce had congealed and was thick. Overall this would be a great place for cocktails only. My suggestion is to revamp the menu and just have tapas -a few- ensure the execution and ingredients are representative of your restaurant …Opulence and Luxury as advertised. Not sure what the Russian inspired refers to. There was no Russian inspired bites. It was French inspired food if anything. In the end it was disappointing experience.

Attended a dinner for a large group of Carleton, uOttawa and Algonquin students and to say I'm beyond satisfied with my experience would be an understatement. Joy's location is easily accessible being in the market but isn't a part of the main hustle and bustle. The layout of the venue is intimate yet spacious. Their food and drink selection was incredible and reasonably priced. The staff were not only pleasant but incredibly attentive. The owner even came around to introduce himself to every table (at least 10) and made sure we were enjoying our experience MULTIPLE times. Will definitely need to go back!!

I have always liked going on joy on Sussex, the servers are really kind and the food is finger licking good 💗 the kitchen staff Jayant has always pleased me with his handmade ravioli, looking forward to visit this place again!

Very disappointed 😞... I had a ravioli with mushrooms ..the portion was VERY SMALL...something that my 8 year old would eat and still be hungry.. I won't be recommending this place to eat..good taste tho ..

Went here on Saturday night with my girlfriend. Thought we'd stay for a drink and ended up staying until close. An amazing atmosphere, great staff, and some of the best cocktails. The service was impeccable and can't wait to come back when we are in town again!

Such a joke location. We made a reservation, showed up, ordered drinks, was brought a bottle???, had strangers DRINK OUT OF OUR BOTTLE, then got yelled at by managers saying it was our fault because we didn't bring enough people so they don't care...... my friend got yelled at by the manager in front of every guest. LITERALLY AN EMBARASSMENT OF AN ESTABLISHMENT. Being hospitable isn't difficult. Be kind. Figure it out.

Great food, relaxing and romantic environment. Would recommend for a date night or just a nice dinner with friends too. Excellent service as well!

I tried the Black Forest cake cocktail and wasn’t disappointed. Loved the perogies and sushi there as well, the service was very good :)

Bartender was very attentive and knowledgeable and overall seemed to have a good head on his shoulders. Food was expensive but well worth it. I had the beef tenderloin and it was delicious. Interior decor and lightning set a nice vibe. Would eat there again.

beautiful decor inside the restaurant, but it seems that the restaurant isn’t sure of it’s identity anymore. I was expecting caviar, borscht, and other various delicacies instead it’s wakame salads and sushi rolls, which for a name like “Moscow tea room” is just hilarious. Definitely not the famous nyc russian tea room - if that was the inspiration initially.

Amazing service provided by Marquise! I am not familiar with tea but he suggested and informed me on a variety of teas offered, and turned out to have an amazing experience would definitely go back

Awesome experience! We loved our diner there. Cocktails are well done and they helped us find the best wines for our main courses. The food is delicious as well!

Food was amazing! Atmosphere is great, love the vibe. Staff was super friendly, location is perfect, right down in the Market. Prices are high but totally worth it for a quality date night.

So sad. Sat for 15 min and never got served . I love Moscow Tea Room this has never happened before. Brought my friend who has never been and was unfortunately disappointed tonight. :( However the guys at the door lovely men and totally on point. Thanks guys for being such gents.

My most fav place in Ottawa! I had brought someone very special over here, and he really liked the place I remember. The area behind the restaurant always makes my heartbeat faster lol, but also extremely nostalgic. Really precious memories!