The Whalesbone Elgin Street
The Whalesbone Elgin Street things to do, attractions, restaurants, events info and trip planning
Plan your stay
Posts
A Seafood and Steak Extravaganza: A Highlight of Ottawa Travel
AveryAvery
152
Wow! You would be remiss to skip by the Whalesbone on Elgin. A very neat and eccentric dinner spot on Elgin St. The long bar offers plenty of sweating for a casual cocktail and dozen oysters. There is plenty of indoor seating as well as a small outdoor patio! 4 of us went for dinner. We had some fresh brioche table bread brought over by staff. We sipped on red wine, the Oyster Caesar and Moscow Mule. The Caesar was refreshing and came topped with a shucked oyster. The Mule was good, however a slight negative was the size and lack of copper mug. It is a mule after all. For starters we had oysters which were freshly shucked along with a plethora of home made accoutrements. The calamari was lightly battered, crisp outside yet extremely soft insides. It was fabulous. The beef tartare was also incredibly good however lacked a bit of salt. For mains our wives went with the burger. They were huge with a heaping plate of fries. The burgers are cooked to your liking as well which is sometimes hard to find. My friend and myself split the meat platter. It came with a half jerk marinated Cornish hen, 6 meatballs in a delicious red sauce, a perfectly cooked Striploin steak, 2 hunks of pork belly, 4 beef croquettes. Im not entire sure what they were, but my best description is shredded beef with a cheese mixed in, light battered and fried. This was the highlight of the meat platter! Believe it or not after all that dessert was ordered. We split the chocolate mousse cake. It was velvety and not overly sweet. It was heavenly. The food quality, the staff, the everything was perfect for a night out. It is a bit pricey but you get what you pay for. Do not miss out on this place
Rob MorraRob Morra
00
Our experience was genuinely phenomenal. Service - although the servers seemed slightly snoody and annoyed, at times they were friendly and at the very least they were plentiful and on you like flies. I felt very well taken care of despite. Food - we had the cold seafood platter. This is where the gripe begins. And I say that with melancholy. The crab legs were perfect. Tasted like they were straight from the sea. The lobster was slightly tough and the scallops practically raw, but the sauce for the scallops was fan-freakin-tastic. The tuna was nicely prepared and tasty. Funny enough the muscles were amazing the sauce and fixings were well matched. They give you 4 xl shrimp for some reason, it doesn't add to the value of the dish that cost 135$. In my opinion given portion size it was a 100.. 110$ dish at best. So a 25-30% gap in price which doesn't make a difference if it's perfect. But it wasn't. We also had oysters. They give you 4 bucks a shuck and they brought put 4 types of oysters. The sauces were fairly delicious. But a choice of which oyster you can order would be appreciated along with a description when the order is being placed... so there is no surprise when it arrives at the table. All in all I say phenomenal. A few small areas of improvement (and I say small) would merit a 5 star review.
Adam BouchardAdam Bouchard
00
My experience at Whalesbone left me with mixed feelings. On one hand, the food quality was undeniably exceptional, delivering a truly delightful and tasty dining experience. Each dish was prepared with care and boasted rich flavors, showcasing the use of fresh and high-quality ingredients. However, the restaurant's atmosphere was quite disappointing. The noise level inside was unbearably high, with many intoxicated patrons causing disturbances by yelling loudly. This greatly detracted from the overall ambiance and made it challenging to enjoy a relaxed meal. Unfortunately, the service provided by the waitress was far from satisfactory. Throughout the meal, it was evident that she lacked enthusiasm and dedication, which ultimately impacted the overall dining experience. The waitress rarely came to our table to check on us, and we had to flag her down to get her attention. This lack of attentiveness was disheartening, especially given the reputation of the restaurant and the level of food being served. One specific incident that stood out was the waitress's failure to proactively clear our table of empty snow crab shells, which had accumulated as we enjoyed our meal. It's disheartening when you feel like an afterthought in a restaurant that prides itself on delivering exceptional service. To make matters worse, as we settled the bill, the waitress casually mentioned a promotion for seafood platters, offering a 15% discount on Mondays and Wednesdays. We were disappointed to learn that this promotion was never mentioned when we placed our orders, leaving us feeling a bit misled and taken advantage of.
Yiyu WangYiyu Wang
50
To start, the staff were pleasant, polite, and attentive. Our server was really nice, and even let us stay longer than the 2 hours we were initially told we'd be allowed to keep the table. The oysters were also good and the selection of sauces they brought to the table were fun. It was an excellent start to the evening. However, the main dishes were very disappointing. So disappointing that the french fries were the best part. My lobster and shrimp roll lacked any flavour at all, and the seafood seemed to have been just recently thawed. The "top cut bun" either is, or may as well be, a slice of Texas style bread. The bread was fried on one side, like a grilled cheese would be, but it was a cold style roll. I have nothing good to say about it. Even thinking back on it now, all I can remember is the taste of celery. My wife's lobster bucatini was very unappetizing. Lobster chunks that did not taste fresh perched on top of crispy feeling bucatini. The tomato sofrito, if it was there, as well as the small amount of pasta, were masked by leafy greens that completely overtook the dish. It was more of a salad a than a pasta dish. The fact that she had to suffer through a lobster dish, eating only the chunks of lobster, caused her to not desire lobster for a long time. This is disappointing to say the least. In our view this is not somewhere you want to go for dinner, especially considering the price (our meals still would have been disappointing even if they were cheaper). That said, if you want to grab some drinks and oysters before going somewhere else for dinner, this place is perfect.
Matthew OwenMatthew Owen
20
extremely loud music that is hard to talk over, slightly dingy interior, and subpar food for the price you pay. objectively, the food is priced too high for the quality that you receive. on sundays, the $2 per oyster deal is okay but we also tried some other dishes that were hit and miss. for example, for 6 tiny baked oysters slathered in salty cheese, we paid $34 plus tax and tip. these were the worst baked oysters i’ve ever had in my life because the cheese to oyster ratio was horrifically off and it tasted like you were just consuming baked cheese. this is probably the worst value dish i have ordered in 2022 so far. the chowder, however, i will recommend! it had scallops, baby shrimp, and salmon as well as nicely paired garnishes. in consideration of overall value and ambiance, i will not be returning. the service was also okay. some servers are more friendly than others. i watched our waitress take the oysters sauces platter straight from our table and plop it on the table next to ours without even pretending to sanitize or provide new spoons to the other patrons which was alarming. waiting for our bill also took a decent amount of time although the place was not that full.
AnneAnne
80
Nearby Attractions Of The Whalesbone Elgin Street
Parliament Hill
CF Rideau Centre
Canadian Museum of Nature
The National War Memorial
Ottawa Marriott Hotel
The Westin Ottawa
Lord Elgin Hotel
The Business Inn & Suites
Confederation Park
Ottawa Sign, ByWard Market

Parliament Hill
4.7
(13.4K)Click for details

CF Rideau Centre
4.3
(7.2K)Click for details

Canadian Museum of Nature
4.7
(5.5K)Click for details

The National War Memorial
4.8
(1.7K)Click for details
Nearby Restaurants Of The Whalesbone Elgin Street
JOEY Rideau
Elgin Street Diner
Level One Game Pub
The Grand Pizzeria and Bar
Aulde Dubliner & Pour House - ByWard Market, Ottawa ON
Bier Markt
3 Brasseurs - Sparks
The Lieutenant's Pump
Johnny Farina
KINTON RAMEN OTTAWA

JOEY Rideau
4.5
(2.7K)$$
Click for details

Elgin Street Diner
4.4
(2.6K)Click for details

Level One Game Pub
4.6
(1.8K)Click for details

The Grand Pizzeria and Bar
4.2
(1.8K)Click for details
Basic Info
Address
231 Elgin St, Ottawa, ON K2P 1L6, Canada
Map
Phone
+1 613-505-4300
Call
Website
thewhalesbone.com
Visit
Reviews
Overview
4.5
(975 reviews)$$$
Ratings & Description
attractions: Parliament Hill, CF Rideau Centre, Canadian Museum of Nature, The National War Memorial, Ottawa Marriott Hotel, The Westin Ottawa, Lord Elgin Hotel, The Business Inn & Suites, Confederation Park, Ottawa Sign, ByWard Market, restaurants: JOEY Rideau, Elgin Street Diner, Level One Game Pub, The Grand Pizzeria and Bar, Aulde Dubliner & Pour House - ByWard Market, Ottawa ON, Bier Markt, 3 Brasseurs - Sparks, The Lieutenant's Pump, Johnny Farina, KINTON RAMEN OTTAWA
The Hit List
