Take a culinary world tour without leaving the ByWard Market
Looking for the perfect dinner spot after a summer stroll through Ottawa's ByWard Market?
CBC Ottawa food reviewer Kent Van Dyk found three restaurants offering authentic international cuisine in the area.
"I wanted a diverse take on food, I love cuisine from other places, I wanted places reasonably priced [options] and [places] that offered a different experience," Van Dyk told CBC Radio's All In A Day.
Van Dyk made stops at a South Indian, a Mexican and a Korean restaurant in and around the Market.
Here is what he found.
Kochin Kitchen
This South Indian restaurant at 271 Dalhousie St. offers food similar to typical Indian food but with more flavour, says Van Dyk.
South Indian cuisine is rich in spices and flavours such as coconut milk.
The spacious restaurant is well known for its coriander shrimp, onion pakora, king fish curry and masala dosa, which is a paper-thin Indian pancake filled with potatoes and served with chutney.
"If you like a little bit more of a kick to your Indian food then this is a great place to go," Van Dyk said. "It's well flavoured and well spiced."
An added bonus is that the restaurant is reasonably priced, Van Dyk said.
Ahora Restaurant
This Mexican restaurant is a colourful, festive spot at 307 Dalhousie St.
The restaurant features a salsa bar filled with various homemade options, including spicy and mild flavours.
"Mexican food, for a long time has been done wrong at chain restaurants," Van Dyk said.
"When you go to a family-run, authentic place and the food kind of looks similar, you think, what's the difference?"
The difference between Ahora and less authentic Mexican restaurants in Ottawa lies in the quality of the ingredients used and the effort put into the preparation, Van Dyk said.
The restaurant is well known for its tacos, burritos and salads, and is very reasonably priced, Van Dyk said.
Alirang Restaurant
It's easy to spot this Korean restaurant at 134 Nelson St., just outside the ByWard Market, by the line of customers often spilling out its door.
The small restaurant may not have a lot of seating, but it does offer traditional, authentic Korean food.
It offers Korean pancakes, which are made from batter mixed with ingredients such as seafood and kimchi.
The restaurant also offers Korean dumplings called mandoo, as well as bibimbap, which is a rice bowl coupled with a choice of protein.
