The Whalesbone Oyster House

I have been to the Whalesbone in the past few years for lunch at least 6 times, had a good experience each time. Dinner there however is quite a different thing. On March 28th for 8pm we had booked the large table in the front so we could introduce our friends their food. Our experience was something less than pleasant. In summary it will be impossible to ever get our friends to visit this place for dinner again. I can no longer recommend this restaurant. A detailed review is on TripAdisor

The Best of All Worlds

This is truly the best of all culinary & entertainment worlds! Obviously "the best" is subjective, and if you like big chain joints, stuffy service and soft music, this isn't the place for you. But if you like an intimate, dark and cozy atmosphere, fantastic casual service, the crackle of vinyl while MJ, James Brown or the Boss rings out across the bar all while eating some of the best food you've ever tasted...The Whalesbone is calling your name. Perhaps the best selection of oysters I've ever seen (even rare Pacific oysters from BC and NZ), professional bartenders/oyster shuckers keeping you "hydrated", fed and entertained, and a well-trained & highly talented (and VERY fun) staff make The Whalesbone a great place for lunch, dinner or just drinks with your friends! Try it out if you've never been, I know you won't be dissappointed

Oyster Lovers!

Rustic looking place. If you enjoy oysters, this is the place to be in Ottawa, Montreal or Toronto! They have the best assortment of oysters I have ever enjoyed and I have been around many places in the world. Their menu is small, but very interesting. Everything is always fresh food and the fish is amazing. The present chef, Charlotte, seems to incorporate fried eggs on a few of her plates, which I do not like, so we ask her to do it without. The previous chef had this amazing raw fish with truffle oil on a board... the best ever! They should bring this back. They play vinyls behind the bar and you can request your favorite oldies. The service is casual and friendly, and the atmosphere is great. We enjoy sitting at the bar and watch trays being loaded with freshly chucked of oysters. Pricey, but where else can you have that kind of food combined with amazing atmosphere.

I think that you have to get over the fact that the place is extremely small and the atmosphere is very casual. After that you can enjoy the very fine food, knowing that it is supposed to be enjoyed in such an atmosphere. Whalesbone is, in my view, the very best place in Ottawa to enjoy oysters. The menu is not extensive but everything on it is very much worth trying. I have always had a good time there.

The day we went the menu consisted solely of oysters and some appetizer options. The staff provided great recommendations to help us decide. We were thankful for that, having never realized the number oyster options available. We both started with the sashimi appetizer, it was very tasty. For our main we each had a large dish of oysters. They were very delicious, but this is the first time I’ve ever had all oysters for a meal – it was a bit much for my taste. .