Punjabi Canteen — Restaurant in Ottawa

I've had a few dishes here over the last year or so and have always come away impressed. So far I've tried the Saag curry, Biriyani, Samosa's and Naan. I'm writing this review because I think I just ate the best ever Garlic Naan yesterday and I've had Naan from all over the world in various Indian places. This one was amazing - resilient crumb, generous size delicious with a Mutton Saag.

They have an extensive desert display and I have no idea what I'm ordering there but we made up a sample and found everything delicious. If you have a sweet tooth ask for a recommendation. I'd appreciate some tasters but never thought to ask about that. I need education on these beautiful deserts.

I'd say the portion sizes are generous. I always find Indian cuisine expensive but at least here the food quality is excellent so it's a good value. I often make three small meals out of a curry or Biriyani or two generous ones.

I'm white so usually it's hard to get enough spice (as in heat) in foods from India or Thailand for me without a conversation. This place is no exception but the flavours are awesome even without the heat levels I like. I like the 5 star heat systems some places have where 5 is native and 1 or zero is "I like big macs".

The staff are all pleasant. Service can be a bit slow for takeout though I have not tried calling ahead yet, but waiting 10-15 minutes is no issue for such quality food in such a modest establishment. I do wish they had a beer license also.

Highly...

I would give this place 0 stars if it meant I could express how angry and disappointed I was after ordering from them. I decided to order takeout here for my family… big order. The lady on the phone was not familiar at all with the menu. I ordered chicken seekh kabobs ($18) and asked how many pieces that would include because the menu showed FULL regular sized kabob pieces in the photo. I wanted to make sure there was enough for my family. FALSE ADVERITSING. She didn’t clarify it would literally just be one kabob cut up in tiny pieces. FOR ALMOST TWENTY DOLLARS. I also ordered chilli wings which weren’t properly cooked from the inside and went in the trash. No one could finish eating them. Ordered butter chicken poutine, went in the trash. The only thing that was okay was the butter chicken. But the whole order was for over $100, and nothing was made correctly. Ruined my entire family dinner experience. If I wasn’t occupied with a newborn I would have went to the store and complained at how disgusted I was with the food and service. Never ordering from them again unfortunately which sucks because moving to riverside south, I was excited to have a desi restaurant nearby for convenience. Money went...

At last, a second restaurant in Barrhaven! I ordered 4x in the last two weeks and can confirm the quality. However there is one chef, who is exceptional and I will be trying to determine which nights they work. The lamb is fantastic in both Bryriani and Korma. We requested on the last order-NUT FREE FOR ALLERGIES and they were Fantastic (in appears the butter chicken may normally have cashews) adapting to our request and delivering with gratis galub jaman. I should say I am comparing to the best in Boston Washington and across Canada, and this little jewel in Barrhaven can hold its own!!! Curries are served with a lot of sauce so extra rice and extra garlic naan are a welcome necessity. The Alo Gobi (on best chef night) was Very good. I wish these brave entrepreneurs all the best, and encourage you to splurge on one of Barrhaven s new best restaurants! (P.S. we may have been lucky and received the galub jaman on the same day it was made, but in all my travels, I have not had better). Spice to your preference but medium for us...