Ottoman Cuisine — Restaurant in District of Canberra Central

The first thing I want to say is. Honestly. My husband and I LOVE this restaurant. Every experience we have had there has been 5 stars. We have gone for our 2 anniversaries and my birthday and each time it was amazing. So we decided to have our wedding reception there. That is why the review has dropped.

The first issue we had was we were placed into a corner. We understand being placed away from the main restaurant space we were a group of 12 after all. But we were pushed into the corner of a large room which had a much larger table taking over the space which would later become inhabited with a group of very excited and very loud young ladies with babies. Presumably celebrating a reunion.

I don't want to say I didn't like sharing the space. But our table was dwarfed by theirs and literally pushed into the corner. The waiters could barely fit around the people to take orders because we were squirrelled in. It definitely made it feel like an after thought despite giving decent warning time when we booked.

Part of the reason we were so looking forward to our reception here was because we loved the intimacy of it. We've been on nights the place is full to the hilt, and it was still quiet and relaxed and wonderful. But due to this group we were sharing with, we had to shout over the table if we wanted to have a conversation or order food.

This may possibly be why when my mother in law stated she was allergic to chilli they brought her an entree that was made with chilli. Unfortunately because of the skilled chefs the chilli could not be tasted at all, and the mistake was not realised until after my mother in law began developing a swollen throat. She spent the rest of the night drinking milk and trying not to cough.

While my husband and I were very clearly in wedding clothes we were asked a few times who we were with or if we had been seated yet (one time ironically directly after we were walking back to the group because I didn't want to cry at the table. I had said to the groom "it's painful feeling like you're forgotten on your own wedding day").

There was some confusion with orders, though I don't blame them for that, we were a group of 12, there was a massive table also being served by the same people as well so all being said they handled it very professionally.

The final concerns came when all night the waiters had been asking my parents what we wanted them to do, with drinks, food, cake etc. It wasn't until my father kindly reminded them maybe the bride and groom have an idea of what they'd like to do on their wedding that they asked me whether I would like to have candles in our cake. Genuinely I would normally find this funny and very cute. Little mix ups and misunderstandings happen it was a young waiter so it's understandable. But after a night of people not seeming to understand that this was indeed a wedding, we were in wedding clothes, and now we were cutting yes, a wedding cake, it became a little too much emotionally.

The end of the evening was my Mother in Law succumbing to her allergy and needing to be rushed to hospital. My parents had to run out to drive them (they were visiting Canberra for us and were unfamiliar with the area), my husband and I carrying all our cards, the leftover cake, organising who could drive whom home, and general chaos. We spent the rest of the night apologising to family and getting updated on the state of my husbands mother.

Honestly, we TRULY love this restaurant. We loved it enough to want to celebrate our wedding there. But we walked out so disappointed. We had never had an experience this poor with them before.

If you've read this far and you're still thinking of eating there, I would recommend it a million times over, I have, to friends and family countless times. I just wanted to share our disappointing experience so hopefully the restaurant will see it. We don't have any ill will, we'd just love to try and make this...

I have no idea how this restaurant received two hats. One of the worst customer service experiences I've had to date. We went for lunch and it took us about 20 minutes to flag down a waiter to take our order (literally waving at them, standing up and trying to get their attention - it was a joke) I had to get up and call them over. Great start to a horrible experience! Following this I ordered two glasses of wine, not only did the waiter have no idea about the wines they had by glass, only one glass arrived. When our dishes arrived and we started to eat, a waiter came over and wanted to take the dishes away because he decided we were done (we literally only had a few bites at this point). This became a trend with this waiter, he kept coming over asking us if we were finished and wanted to take half eaten dishes away, I couldn't believe it. It felt like they were trying to kick us out. I asked the waiter if they were in a rush to close and he said no, he just wanted us to be comfortable with an empty table, I literally had no words to what he said...The waitress that brought over the dishes wanted to re-arrange some of the dishes on our table, I politely told her we were happy with the way the dishes currently were and she got offended, huffed and puffed at us and stormed off. The waiters were all very young and seemed as if they received little to no training and had no clue as to what they were doing. Meanwhile the whole time there was no air conditioning on a 35+ degree. Some of the dishes were made too spicy without being mentioned they were spicy on the menu. It was an awful experience overall. I was expecting a far better experience and was looking forward to this restaurant for weeks, extremely...

We recently returned to Ottoman Cuisine Restaurant after experiencing it a few years ago, and it was every bit as exceptional as we remembered—if not more so. I cannot speak highly enough of the experience. From start to finish, every element was handled with the utmost care and professionalism.

Our party of four chose the banquet menu, and it surpassed every expectation. Each course was artfully presented and perfectly seasoned—truly a testament to the Chef’s skill and creativity. These are dishes you simply won’t find anywhere else—their originality and depth of flavor make them truly one-of-a-kind.

What set the evening apart, however, was the impeccable service. Staff were gracious and attentive—anticipating every need without ever feeling intrusive. We were guided through the menu with genuine enthusiasm and thoughtful recommendations were made.

One member of our party has intolerances to seafood and lamb; the chef accommodated this seamlessly, substituting dishes with no compromise to taste or presentation. It was clear that dietary restrictions here are treated not as an inconvenience, but as an opportunity to showcase culinary versatility.

The ambiance is warm and inviting: soft lighting, tasteful décor, and just the right level of background music, all contributing to a relaxed yet sophisticated atmosphere.

In short, Ottoman Cuisine delivers an extraordinary dining experience—flawless cuisine, polished service, and an atmosphere that invites you to linger. We cannot wait to return. Highly...