Dunn’s Famous Bank Street Deli

I went downtown Ottawa in the Market and ordered the biggest smoked meat sandwich on the menu. What I got was pitiful. It was tasty but not of value. I left hungry as when I went in. I remembered the Dunn’s on Bank Street and drove there the next evening. Celina and her staff were amazing. I ordered the same thing I ordered the day before and it was like night and day. The smoked meat was massively huge! It was tender, tasty, mouth watering heaven. The restaurant was cleaner, brighter and everyone was smiling. Can’t wait to go to Ottawa again!

This place is run by a bunch of crooks. at 830am on Oct 31, i stopped in quickly to get a western sandwich to go. i didnt want home fries, just the sandwich. they tried to charge me $ 11.30 for a goddamn egg sandwich. I refused to pay it since i didnt want the home fries. Kate the manager told me that the menu price is the menu price, no deductions for not wanting potatoes. One of the owners is a cook there and overheard the entire thing. i had been there before, and that is the last time i will ever be there. i walked out and told them to fix the menu. Gouging customers is a sign of unprofessional and unethical owners. Im tired of shit service in restaurants. Without customers, no one has jobs. But, sadly, in the industry, customers generally are now taken for granted. No one HAS to spend their money at your restaurant. Its a CHOICE. I will be making another choice from now on.

Parking: enough
Environment: clean, casual
Noise: it can get noisy
Staff: very polite
Location: you have to know it exists because it feels outside the city
I love this place for breakfast. There’s a weekday deal if you go in early, it’s probably one of the least expensive 2 eggs and bacon breakfast in the city. Plus I love the potatoes despite the fact that they are pretty basic. The coffee tastes weird though (in my opinion of course).
I’ve had their all dressed poutine (or similarly named). Get ready to eat because it is huge.
Overall its a solid 4. Its great but its nothing fancy. Just a good old diner.

I am a smoked meat snob and I won’t tolerate an average smoked meat sandwich. Don’t blame me; blame my Montréal genetics.
I’ve been satisfied with Dunn’s before with a few visits to their Elgin Street spot. This was my first venture to the deep south of Bank Street to explore Dunn’s South (located about 5 minutes from South Keys strip mall).
We were met promptly by the hostess who gave us a favourable table. Our server was on the spot quickly and she was attentive to our needs throughout the evening.
Our group was a pro (is their an anti-​smoked meat lobby that I am not aware of?) smoked meat crowd, so the majority dug in their heels for a smoked meat, fries, pickle and a drink. The smoked meat sandwich was ample and everyone noticed that the slices were a little thicker than normal. It kinda gave it a «corned beef» look. The taste is always the payoff and the sandwich delivered with great flavours and spices.
Though the fries were plentiful, they looked a little too «fat» for my liking. The rest of the group had no problems devouring them all.
My draught Sleeman was well received.
Overall, it was a good experience and I would recommend this Dunn’s location if you are far away from the downtown core.
Ample parking.

Their smoked meat is juicy and still hand carved like it has been for decades. It’s not Schwartz’s, but it’s the closest you can get in Ottawa. Not something i can eat everyday, but still very good. The service there is hit or miss depending on the server.

I have to admit that this place surprised me… This location was a much bigger space than I expected, and suited our large dinner surprise party to a T! The waitress was pretty good, although she could have used some help serving this large party. She had traded off her other tables so that she could look after us, but I think in the end the party was a bit bigger than she anticipated.
Meanwhile, the food was good and plentiful (Dunns offers a great menu!), and there is a good selection of beverages.
But on top of all this, it’s the décor that wins it for me for this visit — hands down! As you walk into the restaurant, it is quite a bit bigger than other Dunns’ Restaurants that I have been to. The kitchen and display cabinet is facing you as you walk in, and to the right and wrapped around this area is a large seating area and tables. But our large group (+/​-​25 people) was in the large room to the left of the entrance way. It also has a section of couches with a TV and they were showing a movie there — PERFECT for the kiddies! It was so comfortable, it was just like being at home! Better, ‘coz you had service, and didn’t have to cook up or clean up!
Happy Birthday Anna! She was soooo suprised!
I would definitely go back to this place, in spite of the fact that it is well outside of my regular stomping grounds.

Stopped for lunch with my wife .she had a small smoked meat sandwich liked it lots of meat but for the price they could have included fries and coleslaw. I had Myers breakfast 3 eggs bacon ham and sausage with home fries fruit and pancake it was very good generous portions the only screw up was they brought me french toast instead of my pancake. waiter was very pleasant would recommend

This diner was alright, the breakfast was o. k I had «The Big Breakfast» and my boyfriend had fries and onion rings. They weren’t cooked all the way through. And it was a bit priceee.

Was told when I walked in that all meat is smoked in house. Order coors lite and brisket on white. The meat was rubbery and tastes like balogna. Aswell tasted like deli meat. I ask waitress after and she informs me that the brisket is infact not smoked in house. So I didn’t eat my sandwich. Only my fries.
So for dessert as I was still hungry I order a strawberry cheesecake. Well that wasn’t close to fresh either. The strawberries on top were old and shrivelling up. So all in all very very disappointed. Surely is not famous.
Foot note*** I eat a lot of Texas BBQ and smoked meat. So I know real smoked me and this isn’t even close to it.
Highly reccomend you going somewhere else!
Waitress was nice though!

We were there for a late lunch last Friday. The food was very good with the exception of the Salted caramel cheesecake which was dry and tasted old. The service was terrible! There were only 2 other tables occupied when we were there so getting a glass of water should have been easy in my opinion, it never came. I will probably go back because their smoked meat is delicious but I wouldn’t expect much more.

Went back to Dunn’s for round 2 and enjoyed it again!
This time, I ordered the pulled pork poutine… now, being french, I’m a tough poutine critic… but this poutine was delicious! The fries were good, the pork was juicy and tender and the sauce was tasty as well. They added some diced peppers for a little crunch which was a nice touch.
My wife had the club and enjoyed it, and our guests had smoked meat sandwiches and OF COURSE enjoyed those.
Sadly, the beer menu is still minimal… not much selection for drafts. I’ll assume its because they’re new, but hopefully they sort it out soon. I don’t eat out often, but when I do, a draft beer is a treat I look forward too.
The staff is very new and our rookie waitress made a few mistakes, but she was friendly and smiling the whole time. I probably would have spent more if they came to ask if we wanted drinks more often, but I’m sure my wallet appreciates that.
At the end of the day, 100 $ for 4 meals, 6 beers, a rye and coke and pop (for the pregnant wife)… pretty good deal!
You can’t go wrong at Dunn’s!

Great experience!
My spouse and I had been meaning to come here for some time since (I understand now) it’s a relatively new location. Great to see the delis branching out from the downtown core.
Seating was quick. The décor has a darker feel which suits the deli style, with a lot of darker woods and dark carpets used throughout the restaurant. There is a small corner with a big screen TV set to cartoons and couches for kids to watch while they wait for their food. An interesting concept, although the kids were still disruptive of the other patrons’ experiences.
I ordered the «Jumbo Pop» combo: a large smoked meat sandwich, coleslaw, a pickle, and bottomless soft drink refills for $ 13.99. My spouse ordered an Expo Burger with poutine.
The food came quickly (about 10 minutes) and was hot and fresh. The smoked meat itself was tender, juicy, and flavourful. The rye bread was soft, fresh, and had a small helping of mustard on it. Although the seasoning on the smoked meat itself was good, I felt the overall sandwich needed some more flavours, so I dipped the sandwich in ketchup. My spouse’s Expo Burger was hot: the bun was soft and the thick burger patty was charred and had the cheese melted just right.
My fries and my spouse’s poutine were excellent. The poutine gravy was perfect and the cheese curds melted nicely. The fries were fresh cut with skins on and they tasted exactly as they should. Both of us were disappointed with the coleslaw: it was shredded cabbage and carrots, but there didn’t seem to be anything else! No seasoning, no dressing to make it taste anything like a good coleslaw!
Once food was delivered to the table, unfortunately the service dropped off. It was as if we were «done» with our order, as we had to get the waitress’ attention for pop refills, clearing plates, etc. Nevertheless, delicious food!
This location also has their famous smoked meat and various pies/​cakes/​desserts on display at the front counter. We were too full to try any of the desserts, but we’ll definitely return just for some pie and coffee!
Excellent experience.

Poor service, bad food.
I was excited to have a Dunn’s opening so close to my home, but I was terribly disappointed by the quality of the food and service I had there.
The poached eggs where hard after specifically requesting them to be done soft. When the new eggs were brought after a long wait, they were floating in water. I requested more hollandaise sauce since the sauce had mostly been on the hard eggs. I was not told that I would be charged $ 3 for something I would not of ordered if they had not messed up.
The home fries tasted of old oil. I had to ask for a refill on my coffee even after the waitress had been by a number of times.
My wifes pancake was not warm enough to melt the butter she put on it. She also had to ask for syrup.
The server said she would give us a discount due to the issues with the meal.
We we given a 10% discount which is a special that is going on anyway.
Over all very disappointed. Will not be returning.