dukes and chesterfield’s serve some of the best ottawa brunch in two very different ways
one keeps brunch classic with hashes and eggs, the other leans into jerk chicken and cornbread, and both have a loyal following.
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dominique bazowski, owner of chesterfield's gastro diner in ottawa brings out breakfast orders into her restaurant's bright, airy main dining room.
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chesterfield’s gastro diner
1300 wellington st. w., 613-680-8990, gastrodiner.ca
apple cinnamon french toast crunch at chesterfield’s gastro diner in ottawa.
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open: wednesday to monday 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., closed tuesday
prices: brunch dishes $18 to $26
access: washrooms are downstairs, steps to the front door, or a long ramp from the parking lot
note: does not accept reservations
dukes ottawa
40 adeline st., dukesottawa.com
the roast beef dipper from dukes ottawa.
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open: 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. daily
prices: sandwiches and brunch dishes $14 to $32
access: one step to a gravelled area, steps with handrail to the front door
having been a 9-to-5 kind of worker for almost 35 years, i look at those who go out for weekday brunch with wonder.
“shouldn’t you be at the office, or home, typing?” i think.
i played hooky a few times over the last few months to eat with those lucky folks who enjoy leisurely mid-morning meals. i tried out two of ottawa’s prime choices for brunch. now, i think i know what i’ll be doing a lot in my retirement.
first, i went to dukes ottawa, which opened last summer on adeline street where alice, chef briana kim’s trailblazing plant-based restaurant had been until it closed in early 2024. (kim is expected to open her new restaurant, antheia, later this year.)
mish-mash-hash of pork, turkey, beef, corn, kale, red peppers, onions, cheddar and potato at dukes ottawa.
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dukes made me feel like i’d gone back in time, not only because of its retro-hipster “summer of ’76” font of choice. a decade ago, i glowingly reviewed a lunch-focused eatery at this little italy address called the rex. then, in 2018, i reviewed the rex’s successor, where i was served mouldy cake, but that’s a meal better forgotten.
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dukes made me feel a twinge of déjà vu, or déjà mangé. after the high-mindedness and groundbreaking fermentations of alice, this space has become lighter, simpler, more casual and even more sandwich-y again.
dukes takes a similar tack to its sibling eatery in chinatown, corner peach, by serving well-made, slightly tweaked versions of familiar fare.
all-day breakfast with bacon at dukes
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here, one of my favourites was the mish-mash-hash ($19), a conglomeration of pork, turkey, beef, kale, red peppers, onions, cheddar and potato, plus two eggs and sourdough toast. like all great hash, this dish was deluxe and savoury, something that tasted greater than the sum of its parts.
on another visit, i splurged on the steak and eggs ($32), which was enjoyable, if marred slightly by a striploin that was a touch overcooked. but accompaniments including fried mushrooms, onions, and fried onions perked up the plate considerably. my companion at brunch had the all-day breakfast ($18), and from its standard components, it was the hash browns that stood out as compellingly delicious.
dukes makes sandwiches too, available on their own or with fries or salad. i opted for the “roast beef dipper” ($23 with fries or salad), and i confess to being let down because it was not a hot roast beef sandwich with jus, but rather a cold (albeit good), all-dressed roast beef sandwich with jus.
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for dessert, we split a blatantly retro slab of chocolate fridge cake ($10) that was appropriately dense, moist and fudgy.
chocolate fridge cake at dukes.
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i also tried chesterfield’s gastro diner, which moved east on wellington street west last year to take over the space vacated when the venerable won ton house restaurant closed in late 2023.
i was pleasantly surprised to see that chesterfield’s, which i reviewed almost a decade ago soon after its original westboro location opened, has retained some of the won ton house’s trappings. it’s fantastic to see its mural of hong kong’s fabled skyline and “peking duck” decoration prominently displayed in the bright, airy dining room of chesterfield’s.
“the won ton house has been part of the community for 40 years, and we just wanted to keep them as a tribute,” says dominique bazowski, the owner of chesterfield’s.
her brunch spot had been looking to move for a while because it had outgrown its previous, 34-seat, location, she said. the wait to get into that no-reservation eatery was as long as two-and-a-half hours. after the roughly twice-as-large new chesterfield’s opened last august, peak lineups on weekends can still be 90 minutes long, says bazowski. as i saw, even on weekdays, the keenest customers arrive right at 9 a.m. to snap up tables.
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in addition to the won ton house memorabilia, there’s a lot to attract guests here, namely what chesterfield’s calls twists on classic diner fare that nod to “a more health-conscious lifestyle.”
jerk benny breakfast with a side of jerk plantains; mango salsa and sourdough bread at chesterfield’s gastro diner in ottawa.
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so, the chicken on our plate of chicken and waffles ($26) may have seemed deep-fried but was in fact cooked in a state-of-the-art rational oven, which uses high heat and steam rather than a plunge in hot cooking oil.
while a friend thoroughly enjoyed his chicken and waffles, i might suggest that swapping out the waffles for crunchy-outside, fluffy-inside blueberry pancakes topped with wild blueberry compote would have been even better.
i also give a big thumbs-up to the jerk chicken eggs benedict, or “jerk benny” ($24, $20 for a one-egg half-order), which bazowski told me is the menu’s most popular item. it came with a slab of cornbread (just a touch dry), avocado, properly poached eggs, a lightly spicy jerk hollandaise, and two sides of my choice. we picked sourdough toast and jerk plantains. the latter brought the most heat to the plate.
pancakes at chesterfield’s gastro diner on wellington street west.
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meanwhile, my french-toast-loving companion enjoyed his order ($20) that was made with brown bread and came with apple cinnamon compote, crunchy cereal, fresh berries and ontario maple syrup. it might have been better still if it had soaked a little longer in the egg mix, he said.
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the dish i liked most at chesterfield’s was its steak hash, which at $26 seemed like a steal, given its well-considered mix of beef tenderloin, roasted potatoes, cheese curds, brussel sprouts, poached eggs, green goddess dressing and more.
fresh-squeezed orange and grapefruit juices ($6) and promptly refilled coffees hit the spot. a blackboard on the wall asks: “boozy brunch?” if you answer yes, there are eight cocktails ranging in price from $12 to $16, plus glasses of something bubbly ($14) and shots of bailey’s irish cream ($6) to add to your coffee.
chicken and waffles at chesterfield’s gastro diner on wellington street west.
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“there aren’t enough brunch restaurants in ottawa,” my brunch-loving boss said to me. with that in mind, i asked bazowski if she had thought of opening a second chesterfield’s.
“no, not right now. we’re happy with where we’re at,” said bazowski, who added that she and her husband and business partner demian dixon have a toddler at home.
but if any other new brunch spots do open in the city, they’ll have dukes and especially chesterfield’s to measure up to.
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