Service Without a Smile

There was a time when dining out meant walking into a room and being met with a smile — a small acknowledgment that you were welcome, expected, maybe even wanted. Now, in some of Ottawa’s busiest dining rooms, that warmth has been replaced by something cooler, more deliberate. The host barely looks up from the reservation book. Your server delivers each course with the cadence of a podcast ad read.

It’s not rudeness, exactly. It’s style. The new service persona isn’t there to charm you — it’s there to signal that you are somewhere important, somewhere where enthusiasm would feel gauche. This isn’t unique to Ottawa, but it has found a comfortable home here, woven into the city’s appetite for trend adoption without excess personality.

Some diners prefer it. The absence of over-the-top friendliness can feel refreshingly professional, especially for those who bristle at too much small talk. For others, it’s a quiet erosion of what makes eating out different from eating at home: the theatre, the human connection, the momentary illusion that this night is about you.

There’s a fine line between polish and detachment. Too much in either direction and the experience tilts — into forced cheer, or into something that feels like an airport security checkpoint. The best service walks the line, adjusting the tone to the table. Ottawa’s best restaurants still do this well. The rest may want to remember that style is memorable, but warmth is what brings people back.