The 2025 Guide to Ottawa's Cocktail Scene
Are you visiting Ottawa and looking for the best bars in town? Or are you a local deciding where to go for a date or a night out with friends? This list is for anyone who enjoys great food, excellent drinks, and smooth music. We have compiled the 10 best bars in Ottawa for you to try.
I’ve been following Ottawa’s cocktail scene for more than a decade. Over the past five years, I made it a personal project to study it closely: tasting, documenting, and tracing the evolution of Ottawa’s most ambitious bar programs and the people behind them What began as a hunt for a well-made Old Fashioned in the kind of bar where Don Draper might have slipped into became a citywide journey. From intimate speakeasies to hotel lounges, from dedicated cocktail bars to fine-dining restaurants, these ten establishments consistently rose above the rest. Together, they capture what makes Ottawa an exciting cocktail destination in 2025.
This small but distinguished cocktail bar has truly elevated Ottawa’s cocktail scene. Stolen Goods stands out because it has it all: an intimate small bar, producing experimental cocktails, and serving expertly crafted small plates. Their beautiful menu, innovative cocktails, excellent service, intimate vibe, and extensive liquor selection make Stolen Goods a must-visit.
📍106 Sparks Street
Bar Ocelli is an expression of excellence. There is an astonishing attention to detail going on at this establishment. Bar manager and co-owner Witek Wojaczek applies his international experience to make this a world-class bar in terms of quality, customer service, staff knowledge, and bar design.
📍17 William Street
Zoe’s is such a beautiful cocktail bar, and it meets the level of excellence that you would expect from Fairmont. The majestic entrance of the Château adds something to the experience. The lounge’s layout, design, and historic character create the perfect atmosphere for cocktail enthusiasts.
📍1 Rideau Street
Riviera is known as a restaurant, but there’s also a major focus on the bar program. Considering the excellent service, the great libations, and the historic location, this is a place worth going to (more than once) for any cocktail enthusiast. We also believe that Riviera is the best bar for Negroni aficionados. If you’re only in the mood for cocktails, grab a seat by the bar or in the cocktail area.
📍62 Sparks Street
Apothecary
We find here a bar with a winning recipe: a morbidly themed cocktail lounge tucked in the stone-walled cellar of a century-old building in a crowded market. You will find here libations of a pharmaceutical nature with menu sections such as “doctor recommends”, “cure for hunger”, “remedy cocktails”, and “placebos”.
📍54 York Street
Drip House has a reputation for doing things properly, and its cocktail bar upholds that standard. It’s become a popular weekend spot, but I’m particularly fond of their weekday vibe. It’s elegant yet informal. Skilled bartenders, quality spirits, and one of the city’s best happy hours make it a place worth returning to.
📍692 Somerset Street West
Bar Lupulus has a great reputation, both in terms of food and beverages. It’s a cozy spot serving elevated dishes, making it a perfect venue for friends or a romantic date night. If you enjoy craft beers & cocktails, or natural wines, you will find that Bar Lupulus is right up your alley. It’s impressive that they have so many specialties (food, beer, wine, cocktails) and execute perfectly on all these fronts.
📍1242 Wellington Street West
Mati is a trendy Italian-inspired live-fire restaurant and cocktail bar. It’s the right place to go when you want to be seen: Seafood towers, tomahawk steaks and every iteration of Clase Azul can be found here. But it’s more than a beautiful establishment: the cocktail program at Mati is solid, and the bar team is very skilled at what they do. It can get pricey when you lean into the food menu, but the quality is always at the rendezvous.
📍428 Preston Street
Perch
This small establishment is one of Canada’s best fine dining destinations. That doesn’t take away from the fact that beverage manager Shannon Marshall puts a significant effort into creating sustainable and innovative cocktails made exclusively from locally available ingredients.
📍300 Preston Street