Tucker's Marketplace — Restaurant in Ottawa

What a sad shadow of what was an amazing Ottawa restaurant.

We went as a group of 4. Myself and my partner had amazing memories of the place from when we were children. (He hadn’t been back since he was a kid, but I was there in 2017).

We wished we hadn’t gone. Our fond memories of varieties of interesting food had been cut back to two very sad tables of bland food, most of which wasn’t changed enough. Everything had clearly come straight from the cheapest food provider and been heated and put in trays. Despite it being strawberry season, the only fruit on offer was unripe pineapple, melon, and orange. Nothing seemed hot enough or clean. The stir fry station was a disaster, a mess with very few ingredients and a staff member that seemed confused by what he was doing. Similarly our server, while friendly, was clueless. He didn’t know what a pitcher of beer was (it’s okay not to offer it, but to not know what it is?). Despite the fact that we finished our drinks long before even going to buffet, no one ever asked us if we wanted more drinks. And the drinks were actually really good.

A key issue may have been the entire staff looked to be their teens, and seemed to lack any kind of experience. It’s great to give inexperienced people their first job, but on a Friday night in June in byward there should be someone who knows what they are doing. We didn’t blame them, this was clearly a lack of training and management.

We left feeling like we just dug up a beloved dead pet. No matter how much we missed it, we should have let it be just a fond memory.

Would encourage change (because you clearly once knew how to do this well). But your claim that you are Ottawa’s Favourite Buffet is now a lie. It may very well have been true 20 years ago, but by making this claim now, you are just making Ottawa...

So we saw that the restaurant was open again so we thought we'd give it a try.

After we told the greeter that we wanted a table for 2 he questioned us like he was the police about how long we would be seated for. He specifically told us that we were only allowed 45 minutes to eat and if we took longer we would be asked to leave. Not a great start...Now, the restaurant was at least 60% empty at this point. There were virtually no people.

We were seated and proceeded to get our food. The food was hot, fresh and tasty, but there is absolutely nothing remarkable about the food. It's generic, unimaginative and pedestrian.

Lets get back to the atmosphere...There were at least 2 tables of screaming children. Not like being loud once in while, but continually screaming. I understand that this restaurant is trying to create the illusion of fine dining but you'd think after 45-50 minutes of screaming children, you would think the manager would ask for them to quiet down their children. I get children are loud sometimes, but we are talking ear piercing shrieks. No I'm not exaggerating.

Now you might be asking yourself...Tank...how long were you there since you were only allowed 45 minutes and would be asked to leave if we were longer? Well, we were about 45 minutes. There were 2 other tables that were there in the middle of eating when we got there....when we left, the table of 6 walrus' behind us were still pounding food into their gullets and the table in front of us left at the same time we did, but we were specifically allotted 45 minutes to eat. Sit rep on the table status when we left...approximately 45% empty tables when we left.

Service was meh at best, but I must say the staff was polite.

We won't be going back. I don't need to be scolded and timed about how long I will be....

NOT THE SAME MOTHER TUCKER’S YOU REMEMBER! This was the worst buffet i have ever been to. Stale, cold and old food that is definitely not food safe due to sitting out for long periods of time at cold temperatures. When I was younger Tucker’s was the funnest place to go, and I have fond memories of the old version. Now, Tucker’s has downsized and offers far less options. I came here Jan 3rd for my gf’s mom’s birthday. The food was cold, stale and all tasted bland. The salad was limp, the bread was stale and the fruits were dried up. All the food tasted super cheap and fake, especially the “chocolate fondue” which was really just chalky chocolate syrup. When we got there the fondue station was empty, and it wasn’t refilled once during our whole stay. I tried it with some dried up fruits, and it wasnt good. The only thing remotely good was the pizza, but the staff weren’t regularly preparing it, and I only got the chance to try 1 slice. When I finally tracked down the pizza guy, he said he could make a pizza in 20 minutes because he has 2 other orders. If two pizzas shuts down the whole operation, why even offer pizza at that point? Part of the reason we chose to come here was because there was supposed to be fresh pizza. Also, the pasta station was so painfully slow and all the toppings were depleted, and the worker didnt refill them. Once he ran out, sorry too bad. Unacceptable for 6pm dinner service. It was actually crazy how old and disgusting the food was and how nothing got replaced during our entire stay... Girlfriend’s dad got sick after and puked. Our bill was 170$ for 6 people, 200 including tip. Honestly, we left feeling scammed, ripped off, and disappointed. I will never return, and will make sure I warn others of this disaster of an...