Dining After 10pm in Ottawa: A Tragedy in Three Acts

Act I: Hope
You tell yourself it’s possible. That a capital city of a million people should, logically, have something—anything—worth eating after 10pm. You scroll through hours on Google Maps like a gambler looking for a sign, convinced that this time the algorithm won’t lie. You put on your coat with optimism usually reserved for new restaurants or first dates. You believe. This is your first mistake.

Act II: Realization
Ten minutes later you’re standing in the doorway of a place that technically “closes at midnight,” staring at a staff member who is already halfway through stacking chairs. The kitchen closed at 9:45 “because it was slow.” The bartender hands you the emergency menu—fries, wings, nachos if the fryer hasn’t been cleaned yet. Everyone looks deeply apologetic, but also relieved you’re not asking for anything that requires a knife. This is the moment you remember: in Ottawa, “open” is spiritual, not operational.

Act III: The Shawarma
Defeated but functional, you follow the glow of neon to the city’s true late-night dining institution. The shawarma shop welcomes you with fluorescent therapy and the scent of collective resignation. You order the thing you always order. It is warm, heavy, and tastes the way giving up tastes—not bitter, just inevitable. You walk home chewing slowly, aware that you were never really choosing dinner; you were choosing survival. And in Ottawa, after 10pm, that is the only cuisine that never closes.