Cafétéria des Beaux-Arts

I came to the National Gallery of Canada during Doors Open and got a little hungry. I heard there was a cafeteria here so I dropped in for a quick bite.
The menu looked really good! Unfortunately for me, between the Van Gogh exhibit and Doors Open all the items I wanted to try were sold out. I settled on my default meal of a burger.
The burger came pretty quickly and I walked to pump on some mustard and pay for my burger. The cafeteria is pretty nice… for a cafeteria and I chose to sit by a window which has a nice view out to some greenery. I took a bite of my burger and it sucked. It tasted like an overcooked Costco patty that might have sat for a bit and was cooked again.
Honestly some of the other items looked good but if you are thinking about the burger you might want to avoid it. If you can’t cook a burger better than that on your BBQ or grill, then maybe you should stick to take out: P
If everything else is sold out I’d recommend trying something other than the burger.

This is the best kept dining secret in the market. Imagine sitting in a glass rotunda or patio overlooking the Ottawa River, enjoying the best view of Parliament (the library), with green lawns and million dollar sculptures all around? Now imagine paying less than $ 10 for a very tasty lunch (add $ 6 if you want beer or wine). Sound good? You, my friend, are sitting in the cafeteria of the National Art Gallery.
Here’s why it is excellent:
1 — It’s for both visitors and art gallery staff so prices are super affordable. (Subsidized for federal employees? Why not, as long as the rest of us can enjoy it too.) The special last Friday was $ 6.50 for baked salmon with pasta and roasted vegetables. For $ 5 I had half of a smoked salmon sandwich on pumpernickel with cream cheese, capers, tomatoes, onions and lettuce along with a good-​sized bowl of housemade minestrone soup.
2 — Yes, it’s a cafeteria but food quality is excellent. The cake bar, featuring giant slices of Red Velvet cake for $ 3.75, was amazing. Salad bar was well stocked and tempting. Daily hot specials, and a great panini /​short order grill. Beer and wine are available as well as soft drinks.
3 — You do NOT have to pay gallery admission to visit. Just go to the front desk and ask for your free cafeteria tag to put on your jacket.
4 — Gorgeous, gorgeous Safdie building — especially on a grey day in Ottawa. Just walk on by the wealthy saps in the atrium restaurant who are paying a whole lot more for their victuals. Turn right past the children’s art displays and you’re there.
5 — Open for breakfast and lunch and surprisingly un-​busy. There is lots of seating and as long as you pick a day when there won’t be a ton of school groups visiting or eat at an off-​peak hour, you should definitely have access to the primo patio and rotunda seating.