Westgate Shopping Centre

This dreary place is the saddest mall in Ottawa. The only things it has going for are a decent 24hr Shoppers, ample parking, and a Service Ontario. Then again visiting a Service Ontario is never a good time. There’s a Canada Post inside the Shoppers for all your mailing needs. I guess the other thing it has going for it is really easy access to the eastbound 417 when you leave.
The only real reason I ever come to this place is to hit up the Service Ontario, which is usually super busy and fairly unpleasant. The rest of the place doesn’t have much going on. Maybe some of the older generation will have better luck with the current selection of stores but this place desperately needs some new life in the form of new tenants.

Oh, poor little Westgate. I can’t figure out how the mall hasn’t been gutted and revamped. That, or turned into something else by now.
You’ve likely made your way to this somewhat odd mall if you’re in search of:
1) A 24hour Shoppers
2) A Service Ontario centre
3) A sweet straight razor shave at the barbershop
I’ve come here for all of the above — though not a straight razor shave — HA, but my bf swears this is the best barbershop in Ottawa, and I’ve sat on the bench a time or two waiting for him. Surprisingly, there’s a gem of a salon in this place as well, which I’ve already reviewed (L’Image). Other than those 4 things, and the sweet girls that work at Second Cup, this place leaves a lot to be desired.
It’s old, grey, interior is dreary and the food court has about 3 spots (a Subway, Shawarma Spot and I believe a new Greek place) and the store selection caters mostly to the elderly. Now that I think of it, perhaps this older generation is what keeps this place going. There’s some speciality shoe stores, a dollar store, some clothing stores and a few healthcare spots but really nothing to get excited about.
I suppose it serves a purpose, but I really think a facelift is in order. Bust out some paint and inject this place with at least a little bit of cheer.

Westgate Shopping Centre is a sad little mall :(I shop here sometimes because I feel bad for it. The anchor store is Shoppers Drug Mart, which is open 24 hours a day, everyday, even Christmas and New Year’s! The food court has only 3 selections. A Subway sandwiches, a shawarma place and a Thai place. At every visit, I noticed that most of the people sitting at the food court are scratching lottery tickets. There is also a Second Cup and a sit down restaurant called Rockin’ Johnny’s.
There is a Kardish Health Food Store in this mall, which is cool, and the Marianne’s has lots of specialty lingerie and unique clothes with Canadian brands like Neon Buddha (although a bit pricey). There’s a shoe store there called Carducci’s which looks like a cheap shoe store, but carries awesome brands like Fly London, Miz Mooz and Blondo (at expensive prices though)! There is also a dollarstore, a Wine Rack, a place that sells scrubs (healthcare uniforms, not facial scrubs), and a handful of independent stores. Oh, and an Ottawa Gold (so you can sell your unwanted gold).
This mall would likely be disappointing to anyone who hails from a place with a population greater than 5000. It is not an awesome shopping experience. But I feel that it has its own little charm in a sad pathetic way, the same way that Galleria Mall on Dupont St. in Toronto does (or at least did in the 80s).
Apparently this Mall opened in 1955 and it’s Ottawa’s oldest Mall. Kind of cool for historical reasons, I guess.
Despite its age, this mall is not poorly kept. It is relatively clean. It is not scary or anything like that. It reminds me of a small town shopping plaza. Nonetheless, I go here at least once a month o_​O

Westgate is really quite run down and has lost any excitement it may have once had in the past.
The mall has a lot of local stores which seem to come and go and even some of the larger stores like the gym have closed. The anchor store is Shoppers Drug Mart which is one of the largest in the city. It’s open 24 hours and offers a huge grocery selection. Without the Shoppers Drug Mart and probably the OLG lottery booth I don’t know how this mall would survive.
A typical patron seems to go to the OLG booth and then bring their purchases back to their food court table and repeat.
It’s not exactly an exciting place and goes without saying that you won’t find any kids at this mall!
There’s ample parking as I’m sure back in the day this location used to be busier. It’s fairly easy to get to on public transit or by car but really you’re much wiser to even go to Carlingwood or better yet — Bayshore!

Westgate is the oldest mall in Ottawa. and it really shows. The building is old, and so are the stores. They do have a 24-​hour Shoppers Drug Mart, Wine Rack, and Subway, though most of the shops are no-​name, discount kind of places, with not much selection.
My boyfriend and I were in the area and came here to check out the food court for something to eat. La Grand Pita had pretty good shawarma, and though it was nothing incredible, the service was great. The man was really friendly and happy for someone working at a location that clearly didn’t see much business.
We purchased a bottle of wine at the Wine Rack, and bought a couple of movies at Blockbuster, though, strangely enough, you had to go outside and walk around the mall to enter the store, even though it’s attached to it. Super inconvenient, but we were in no rush. The mall was absolutely dead, and my boyfriend and I wondered how the mall is still alive.

Just not what I look for in a mall. Poor selection of stores. Often there are empty stores avaliable for rent, suggesting a high turn-​over.
The overall feeling is a little dark & dated. The exception is the Shppers Drugmart which offers an amazing variety of products in a bright well organized store.