What’s not to like about Westboro? From breakfast to dinner with all sorts of activities in between, it makes for a great day trip in the heart of Ottawa.
Let’s start with the first meal of the day. Often, one of the trickiest things about weekend brunch is choosing a single dish.
At Gezellig, housed in a former bank in Westboro (337 Richmond Rd.), you don’t he to. When I told our friendly server that I was debating between the breakfast sandwich and the banana bread French toast, she explained that I could he both for $28.
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Gezellig’s breakfast sandwich features a fried egg, a buttermilk biscuit, gruyere, garlic aioli and smoked bacon. Photo by Laura Byrne Paquet.
Gezellig’s French toast is made with banana bread. Photo by Laura Byrne Paquet.
Each of my two choices was a small but expertly prepared portion. And the nice thing about breakfast arriving in two little “courses” was that neither got cold while I ate. Both were delicious — not surprisingly, given that the place is owned by culinary tastemaker Stephen Beckta — but I ge the slight edge to the French toast. Gezellig is also open for lunch (Tuesday to Friday) and dinner (Tuesday to Sunday).
Westboro stretches north and south of Richmond Road between Island Park Drive and Golden Avenue. If shopping is your game, you could easily spend an afternoon checking out the retail scene.
Kitchenalia stocks culinary gear of all descriptions. Photo by Laura Byrne Paquet.
Several Westboro restaurants, including vegetarian Pure Kitchen, he rooftop patios. Photo by Laura Byrne Paquet.
The former Nepean Town Hall, built in 1896, is a Westboro landmark on Richmond Road.Photo by Laura Byrne Paquet.
Among the many independent boutiques are Kitchenalia (315 Richmond Rd.), filled with cookware and culinary gadgets; Closet Candy (300 Richmond Rd.) and 3 Wild Women (263 Richmond Rd.), where you’ll find fun, colourful women’s clothing; and Polanco Home (177 Richmond Rd.), a great source of sleek, Canadian-made furniture and lighting. If you enjoy the thrill of consignment finds, don’t miss Rikochet Resale (358 Richmond Rd.), where I once scored a pristine ny leather biker jacket for $95.
A number of Westboro stores are outposts of small Canadian chains. They include Du/Er (348 Richmond Rd.), a Vancouver-based maker of jeans, jackets and t-shirts for men and women in stretchy-yet-fashionable fabrics. For women’s fashion, try La Muse (279 Richmond Rd.), which stocks European labels such as Ichi, Kaffe and Part Two.
One of Westboro’s best-known stores is probably MEC (366 Richmond Rd.), where you can buy almost every kind of outdoor gear imaginable, from carabiners to kayaks. It’s not the only Westboro retailer in its niche; down the street at Ottawa-based Bushtukah (203 Richmond Rd.), you’ll find tents, backpacks, bikes, running gear, swimwear, luggage and more.
Driftwood on Westboro Beach contrasts with condo towers in the distance. Photo by Laura Byrne Paquet.
A mural on Churchill Avenue welcomes visitors to Westboro. Photo by Laura Byrne Paquet.
Want to put some of that sporty gear to use? Head to Westboro Beach on the Ottawa River (745 Kichi Zībī Mīkan). It’s a one-kilometre walk from the corner of Richmond Road and Churchill Avenue; follow Churchill north, then turn left onto Lanark Avenue. At the end of Lanark, you’ll see a small, free parking lot and a pedestrian underpass to the beach. (There’s also a paid parking lot on the south side of the Kichi Zībī Mīkan, accessible from Westboro by taking Island Park Drive north, then turning left onto the parkway.)
Westboro Beach recently received a major overhaul from the National Capital Commission. New amenities include outdoor showers and attractive new pilions housing accessible changerooms and washrooms. Wilderness Tours operates a seasonal waterfront cafe called the Westboro Beach Club, which is also the departure point for river tubing trips (ailable until mid-September). A year-round location of Grand Pizzeria is scheduled to open in the beach pilion this fall.
The Westboro Beach Club cafe offers a sweeping view of the Ottawa River. Photo by Laura Byrne Paquet.
If you don’t he dinner by the water, you could head back to Richmond Road, which offers far too many restaurants to list here. So I’ll just mention one of my fourites, Fratelli (275 Richmond Rd.). Attentive service, a humming but not deafening ambiance and tasty Italian food marked my most recent visit. Try the excellent pappardelle Sila with heaps of prosciutto and wild mushrooms if you’ve worked up an appetite.
Fratelli serves tasty Italian food in a convivial atmosphere. Photo by Laura Byrne Paquet.
Award-winning Ottawa trel writer Laura Byrne Paquet shares her sightseeing tips for eastern Ontario and beyond on her website, Ottawa Road Trips.