Peace-Garden

Looking for vegetarian food on the day, found the place via the Unilocal app. This place is like a glass booth tucked inside a small shopping mall in the Byword Market in Ottawa.
It has daily specials with North American portion size, definitely will fill you up. Or you can order a-​la-​carte from the limited menu. The samosa is slightly on the dry side, and the veggie spring roll is a little bit bland. However, the lentils was very tasty.
Frankly I am not sure how of the pricing in this place, a single vegetable spring roll is under $ 4 and a single veggie samosa is also under $ 4, my other half had a special of $ 11, so it would have been $ 18 + tax. After we settled the bill, one staff came and said he has not charged my spring roll, and I never thought to check the bill. Later on, it ended up we were paying more than $ 25 or $ 27 for one special, one spring roll and one samosa!!!
Check your bill is what I say.

Lovely atmosphere, staff and food.

I can’t believe that I have never written a review for this place. I have been here over 20 times and it is one of my favourite places for lunch in the Byward Market. Even my husband who is a hardcore carnivore likes this vegetarian place.
So it’s not too easy to find. It’s inside an office building that has some shops on the main level. You cannot see the restaurant from the street. You have to go into the office building. Go into the doors in between Empire Street Grill and Timothy’s coffee and you will see the restaurant in the atrium.
They are not open very late, and occasionally close for «spiritual retreats» so I’ve shown up many times when they are not open. However, if you stop by for lunch during the week, they are usually open then.
My favourite thing to eat at Peace Garden is the Walnut Mushroom Burger ($ 10 and comes with a side salad). However, it is not available every day. It is only available as a Daily Special (and it’s not consistently available on the same day of the week). It’s usually available on Fridays, but not always. The burger is so flavourful and it is covered with the most delicious mushroom gravy. It is way too messy to eat with your hands, so I usually eat with the a knife and fork, lol. The salad is a regular garden salad, but it has shredded beets in it, along with shredded carrots, and mixed greens. They automatically sprinkle sesame seeds on the salad, so if you can’t eat sesame seeds like I can’t, you need to tell them.
They also have a veggie wrap ($ 4.75) that is delicious. This is available everyday. They make it in the mornings and pre-​wrap it in cellophane. It contains TVP (textured vegetable protein), rice, and miscellaneous veggies. It is excellent!
Some dishes are better than others. I’m not too fond of their «Indian Platter» which I felt was bland. Their Pad Thai I also found bland. Their soups are usually good. I have not liked any of their desserts though.
The service is always excellent. All the workers there are very calm, soft-​spoken and polite. The women wear saris. I believe the workers are all followers of Sri Chinmoy, but they do not force their spiritual beliefs on you. Some people that I have brought here told me there is a cult-​ish vibe to the place. I personally have not felt that though.
The place is really small, so not that great for large groups. No liquor license.

I would recommend this to anyone purely on the heartfelt service and tasty dishes! Perfect little spot to just sit, relax and enjoy.

What a nice little place that somehow has a varied menu for such a small place. Really good hearty food that hit the spot on a cold day. And lots of fresh baked goods. I’ll be back for more.

The family was pretty much wandering around and looking a nice tea break when we stumbled on the sign for Peace-​Garden. It’s definitely a nice spot to relax and have a pleasant chat with a friend or just be by yourself.
We didn’t order food even though the jap chae smelled delicious as did the soups on the counter. The green tea latte that everyone ordered was nice, but I definitely preferred the honey carob drink that I got.

We found this place when looking for a nutritious and yummy meal after a visit to the War Museum and Parliament Hill.
Peace Garden is an odd (I mean that in a good way) oasis of calm in the middle of a nondescript shopping mall indoor courtyard. It is built entirely of glass (or Lucite?) and as soon as you enter, you are in a tranquil little refuge.
The guy running the place, who was extremely nice and radiated calm, made our group some delicious pad thai which we all loved. Equally yummy was the soup – some of us had lentil, some of us had asparagus (which doesn’t sound great but had all sorts of vegetables in it). What a great lunch! All of us, carnivores and vegetarians alike, were happy.
As I mentioned, the restaurant is convenient to the heart of historic downtown and is very reasonably priced. I highly recommend a visit to this offbeat restaurant.

4 stars for their Malaysian Spring rolls! So fresh, large, with at least one unexpected but positive flavour… I’m not as thrilled about their other food choices, since the last time that I was there, they were offering quite a few faux meat choices, …
I also like that I can grab snack bars made from Stephano’s Bakery, here. With either a yogurt or chocolatey topping. (
This place is found inside a building in the Byward Market. The place is always clean, serene. Whether solo or with a buddy or two, t’s not a bad place to eat; you’ll like the view that you get from this small eatery — clean glass walls, nice decorative touches, plants.
As with another restaurant located downtown, but closer to the University of Ottawa — Perfection Satisfaction Promise, you’ll find inspiring quotes from spiritual leader Sri Chimnoy.
Prices are fair. Not overwhelming.
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A good place for both vegetarians and non-​vegetarians alike.

Peace Garden is not a place that you would casually stumble upon but I wish it was. I only found out about this place very recently through friends when we were making lunch plans. Peace Garden stands like a fishbowl, only glass walls, in the middle of a shopping/​business centre. However, on a hot day, it’s like an oasis.
I got a special of the day, a dahl roti with banana fritter and salad. Everything was pretty good but there was some false advertising going on. For example, I’ve had roti before and this was not it. Yes, there was a filling wrapped up, but it was not a standard roti bread it was a thin and crunchier kind. The filling was very nicely spiced.
Also, the banana fritter turned out to be a spicy banana spring roll. I have no problem with the taste of the spring roll itself (aside from it being on the cold side) but again, it’s not what you’re expecting/​ordering.
Is it weird for the salad to perhaps be my favourite part? It was fresh, vibrant in colours with a simple balsamic vinaigrette on the side. Lettuce, shredded carrots and beets, nothing else was needed.
The staff working here were great, ever-​accomodating and peaceful. you order up front but they bring your plates to you. There are jugs of water for you to refill on your own volition. It’s a nice spot to be.

I read about this place before even coming to Ottawa, so I was excited to try it. When I came here it was kind of a weird time between breakfast and lunch which may be why I was disappointed in the food selection. Maybe I just got them at a bad time. The service was alright, they brought our food out to the table when it was ready, and the women were friendly. I got an egg salad sandwich and I thought it would taste good and interesting based on what the other things on the menu seemed to be. Unfortunately, this was very simple egg salad on a pretty hard ciabatta roll. It came with some fresh vegetables. This and a latte came to ten dollars. Not worth it. I hope I’ll get to eat here again, actually enjoy it, and edit this review. Until then, two stars it is.

While the shopping centre this little café is situated in isn’t fantastic, it is nice to get out of the bustle of the Byward Market and into somewhere calmer & quieter — and cooler in the summer too!
I veered toward the sandwiches/​wraps side of things as I had been out in the heat — the BLT was a great choice as it was not too much food & full of fresh ingredients and flavours. I want to know where they get that tofu bacon from, mmm!
Once i’d finished this off, i’d been sitting looking at the soups for a while and wanted to try the Dal — glad I did, as when I went to fill my bowl (soups are self-​serve) one of the staff offered to fill it from a fresh batch in the kitchen! It was really hearty, and the blend of spices was just right.
The staff are extra helpful and attentive all-​round really, which makes for a relaxing visit.
I didn’t end up having room for dessert after the soup, but there seemed to be a lot on offer — slices, cake, cookies — and a few vegan choices among them too.
I’ve held back from 4 stars, simply because their menu doesn’t state clearly what’s vegan and what’s not — it only says «ask us about our vegan meals». I would rather know upfront what I can eat rather than having to ask every time I think i’ve decided on something. (But again, as I said above, the staff are very helpful when you do ask.)
Otherwise, a great place to grab a nice simple but satisfying bite.

this is a lovely little gem of a café hidden away in some dreadful eastern bloc-​style shopping centre. delightful ambiance, very vegan friendly and nice staff. Indian veggie dining. specials run about $ 8, very reasonable portions and variety. definitely coming by here again the next time i find myself in Blahttawa.