
The Green Door Restaurant & Bakery
Ottawa's oldest vegetarian buffet, serving seasonal, organic, and diet-conscious dishes via a unique pay-by-weight system since 1988.
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The Green Door Restaurant & Bakery
Highlights
Must-see attractions
Ottawa's oldest vegetarian buffet, serving seasonal, organic, and diet-conscious dishes via a unique pay-by-weight system since 1988.
Visit During Off-Peak Hours
Avoid crowds around the buffet by visiting during less busy times.
Try Take-Out Options
Convenient freezer take-out meals are available for enjoying at home.
Quick Facts
Cuisine
Vegetarian
Price
Mid-range
Highlights
Discover the most iconic attractions and experiences

Pay-by-Weight Buffet
Experience a unique pay-by-weight buffet with diverse vegetarian and vegan options. Load your plate with healthy, flavorful dishes.

Hearty Vegan Delights
Savor delicious and satisfying vegan options like flavorful lentil patties and hearty vegetable dishes.

Cozy Atmosphere & Healthy Choices
Enjoy a clean and cozy dining experience with a focus on seasonal, organic, and diet-conscious food.
Plans like a pro.
Thinks like you
Insider Tips
from TikTok, Instagram & Reddit
Visit During Off-Peak Hours
Avoid crowds around the buffet by visiting during less busy times.
Try Take-Out Options
Convenient freezer take-out meals are available for enjoying at home.
Mindful Plate Loading
Pay by weight, so be mindful of how much you pile on your plate to manage costs.
Ask About Specials
Inquire about new or rotating menu items for variety.
Tips
from all over the internet
Visit During Off-Peak Hours
Avoid crowds around the buffet by visiting during less busy times.
Try Take-Out Options
Convenient freezer take-out meals are available for enjoying at home.
Mindful Plate Loading
Pay by weight, so be mindful of how much you pile on your plate to manage costs.
Ask About Specials
Inquire about new or rotating menu items for variety.
What Travellers Say
Reviews Summary
The Green Door Restaurant & Bakery is a long-standing Ottawa favorite for its diverse vegetarian and vegan buffet, featuring seasonal, organic dishes. Diners praise the flavorful and hearty options, the clean eating experience, and the unique pay-by-weight concept. However, some find the pricing to be on the higher side, and a few have noted blandness in certain dishes or less attentive service. Overall, it's a go-to spot for those seeking healthy and delicious plant-based meals in a casual setting.
"Excellent food, very well set up with the buffet and clearly labeled for allergies. I got a bit of almost everything that was vegan and it was flavourful and hearty: I will definitely return! The price is high but it's nice for a special night out.
The lentil patties were particularly amazing."
Mary-Jean Harris
"A great restaurant with a unique concept. Buffet style, you plate your food options and pay by the weight of it.
Food is amazing, very rich flavours and big variety of desserts, salads and main dishes.
Busy place (because of the good food)
Highly recommended place to have a good meal, try it and I’m sure you will fall in love with this place."
Arturo Garcia - Yoga
"You can’t help but feeling healthy coming for a meal at the Green Door Restaurant & Bakery!
This buffet offers so many options, you’re bound to find one or a hundred things you might want to try.
If, like me, you suffer from your eyes being bigger than your stomach, you’ll want to be mindful here as you pay for your food by its weight! You may want to refrain from piling up your plate high 😉
The food always looks amazing, it’s hard not to want it all. I have never had a bad meal here. Everything I have tried has always been absolutely delicious!!
To give you an idea, the plates shown in this post were about $20 each.
The staff is friendly. There are quite a few tables but it does get quite busy. Even so, we’ve never had to wait.
They have takeout containers and also allow people to bring their own to fill.
There is parking on the street or beside and behind the plaza."
nanc.y.b
What People Like
What People Dislike
Frequently Asked Questions
The restaurant operates on a pay-by-weight system, meaning you pay based on the actual weight of the food you select from the buffet.
Yes, the restaurant is known for its wide variety of vegetarian, vegan, and gluten-free options, clearly labeled for easy selection.
The buffet features a rotating selection of seasonal, organic dishes, including hot entrees like lentil patties and stir-fries, as well as a salad bar.
Yes, The Green Door offers takeout options, and they also allow customers to bring their own containers.
Yes, the restaurant is described as family-friendly and even offers high chairs.
Customers often rave about the cheesecakes, chocolate peanut butter balls, and various other tempting baked goods from their in-house bakery.
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The Best Vegetarian Restaurants In Ottawa Canada
The Green Door is a staple on the Ottawa vegetarian scene, having served high-quality buffet-style food since 1988. The range of dishes on offer varies but is largely based around seasonal availability and the restaurant’s close relationship with its local suppliers. The hot food options often include a variety of vegetable-based curries, noodle dishes, pastas and quiches, with the self-serve style meaning you have the option to try many different cuisines and simply pay according to weight.
Make Your Next Night Out Great With The Best Restaurants in Ottawa
One of the best restaurants in Ottawa, especially for vegetarians, The Green Door Restaurant is one of Ottawa’s oldest vegetarian dining spots, offering a diet-specific buffet with a hot buffet and salad bar. On the hot side of the buffet, the Green Door offers tofu broccoli stir fry, mushroom spinach lasagna, red lentil patties, and basmati rice pilau, to name a few options. For the salad bar, the Green Door offers avocado salad, Greek salad, pesto noodle salad, and much more.
Delicious vegetarian and vegan food in the Ottawa area
The Old Ottawa East neighbourhood, located a five-minute drive from downtown Ottawa, is home to the beloved Green Door – an Ottawa staple since 1988. Follow your cravings and choose from the many savoury and sweet dishes served in the pay-by-weight buffet, like tofu broccoli stir fry, quiche and avocado salad. Dishes are all labeled to indicate which are organic, vegan, gluten-free, or contain dairy, egg, gluten, wheat, nuts, soy, or sesame.
Vegan Restaurants Ottawa | Our Favourite Spots
First established in 1988, The Green Door is the oldest and perhaps most well-known vegan restaurant in Ottawa — and for good reason. This take-out-only restaurant continues to serve up some of Ottawa’s most delicious plant-based and organic food, all made from scratch. Located at 198 Main Street in Old Ottawa’s east end, this neighbourhood favourite has kept its menu current, offering a sumptuous array of vegan-friendly meals.
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A local Ottawa gem, The Green Door serves up a vibrant vegetarian buffet featuring fresh, organic, and locally sourced ingredients, plus an in-house bakery with irresistible desserts and breads. The menu features coffee, wine for adults, a salad bar, quick bites, small plates, vegan options, organic dishes, and more. Everything is served in a cosy and casual atmosphere with high chairs available if you have toddler in tow!
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Open Tuesday to Sunday from 11:30 AM to 8:30 PM, The Green Door offers an incredibly self-serve buffet that allows you to tailor your plate to your needs. This means you can get all the benefits of a dining-out experience without picking around the extra calories that come with your entree. Whether you’re looking to dine in or grab takeout, this Main St. restaurant has all the healthy snacks and meals you could want!
10 Delicious Vegetarian and Vegan-Friendly Restaurants in Ottawa
A mainstay on Ottawa’s vegetarian scene since 1988, the Green Door restaurant is a familiar favourite with veggie loving locals. With a rotating farm-to-table vegetarian menu complete with vegan and gluten-free options, Green Door offers nourishing and organic meals in an unpretentious, casual setting. Load up your plate from the self-serve hot buffet and salad bar, and pay for your food by weight.
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The Green Door Restaurant & Bakery is one of our favorite spots in Ottawa when we are in the mood for healthy, vegetarian food that tastes amazing. It’s a buffet-style place, so you get to pick exactly what you want from a wide variety of fresh, organic dishes. We love how everything is made from scratch using mostly local ingredients, and you can really taste the difference.
11 Best Brunch Buffet Spots In Ottawa, Canada
Enjoy a Sunday brunch buffet in Ottawa at the Green Door Restaurant, which is another wonderful food establishment in Ottawa popular for serving tasty brunch buffet. If you are vegetarian or vegan, you should definitely go for the buffet here. This food establishment offers you scrumptious organic vegetarian meals and delectable vegan options to satisfy your appetite.
Best Healthy Restaurants in Ottawa
As Ontario’s oldest vegetarian restaurant (established in 1988), The Green Door Restaurant is a veteran in serving their customers succulent vegetarian and vegan food. Their nourishing meals will have anyone at their Green Door-step. We highly recommend to anyone looking for healthy food in Ottawa, or those after unique vegan, vegetarian or gluten-free options.
Highest-rated Restaurants in Ottawa, According to Tripadvisor
- Rating: 4.5 / 5 (429 reviews) - Detailed ratings: Food (4.5/5), Service (4.0/5), Value (4.0/5), Atmosphere (3.5/5) - Type of cuisine: International, Healthy - Price: $$ - $$$ - Address: 198 Main St, Ottawa, Ontario K1S 1C6 Canada - Read more on Tripadvisor. You may also like:Highest-rated cheap eats restaurants in Ottawa, according to Tripadvisor
The 5 Best Vegetarian Restaurants In Ottawa (#2 Is The Best)
Located at 198 Main Street, The Green Door Restaurant & Bakery is renowned for its vegetarian buffet that features organic, locally sourced ingredients. Established in 1988, this restaurant has been a staple for vegetarian and vegan dining in Ottawa. The buffet allows you to pay by weight, thus ensuring you get exactly what you want in your meal.
10 Ottawa Spots for a Savory Vegetarian Dining Experience [2024]
The Green Door Restaurant & Bakery has been a beloved vegetarian spot since 1988, offering nourishing, organic, farm-to-table meals. Their self-serve buffet is the star of the show, letting you create your own plate based on your appetite and nutritional preferences. This reflects what’s in season, so you’ll always find something new and fresh.
Where to eat and drink in Ottawa
The Green Door has been serving vegan and gluten-free food in Ottawa for over 30 years. This vegetarian buffet uses only fresh, organic ingredients and offers a diverse selection of vegetable-based meals, such as tofu broccoli stir fry, two-bean chilli, Greek salad and mushroom and spinach lasagna. Location: 198 Main Street, Ottawa
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Since its inception in 1988, The Green Door has served nothing but wholesome and natural foods to the people of Ottawa-with a slew of gluten-free, vegan and organic options on a hugely varied menu. In fact, there is no menu!. Everything is provided based on the availability of quality ingredients, though some dishes never go away.
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The staff is friendly, the dishes are light and the cafeteria-style setting is calm, home-y and casual. Along with their selection of main courses–which rotates daily but features options like hearty stews, soups, Indian-style lentil dal, and pasta–they also have a great selection of gluten-free desserts.
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There’s a lot that Green Door Vegetarian Restaurant & Bakery has to offer as a local Ottawa restaurant that specializes in vegetarian fare. From a weight-based buffet and pre-made online orders (for meals and desserts) to catering options, this is undoubtedly a vegetarian, vegan and gluten-free haven.
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This Main Street staple is one of Ottawa’s oldest vegetarian places, and it doesn’t disappoint. It features an amazing hot and cold buffet, and a large selection of meals to go. All buffet items are clearly labelled, so it is convenient for people eating a vegetarian, vegan, or gluten-free diet.
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This unique vegetarian buffet is loaded with healthy, nutritious, and delicious vegan options, so bring your appetite. The Green Door is self-serve so create your own plate (or multiple plates!) to suit your cravings and appetite. Payment is by weight to help ensure very little food is wasted.
Family-Friendly Vegetarian Restaurants in Ottawa
Ottawa’s oldest vegetarian restaurant is back with buffet service. Their dishes range from stir fry, lasagna, quiche, oodles of salads and desserts galore. You can preorder from their bakery with 12 hours notice, order something from the freezer, and order online for take out.
Vegan and Vegetarian Restaurants
The Green Door is the restaurant in Ottawa to start out as a veg curious, vegetarian or vegan. Even the most carnivorous of your loved ones will love this place. Features a huge selection of hot bar foods like curries and stews as well as many salads, soups and fresh desserts.
17 Amazing Buffets in Ottawa for an All-You-Can-Eat Feast [2025 ]
Are you a vegetarian who wishes there’s a buffet restaurant that caters to your preferences?. Well, now your wish has come true because The Green Door Restaurant and Bakery exists in Ottawa!. This buffet restaurant offers only vegetarian dishes.
Ottawa’s Best Cheap Eats Under $25 (April 2025) — New Purveyors
📍198 Main St, Ottawa💰 ~$7–20 (priced by weight) Vegetarian, but far from boring. This pay-by-weight buffet lets you build your perfect plate from scratch-made salads, curries, and baked goods. The takeaway option is perfect for weekday lunch.
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The Green Door Restaurant serves up a wide variety of vegetarian meals. You pay based on weight ($2.40 per 100 grams). If you're someone that usually only eats veggies when you go to other buffets, then this spot is perfect for your next meal.
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Green Door Vegetarian: This Ottawa-based restaurant is a great choice for vegetarians and vegans. They serve organic, locally sourced, and seasonal produce, and have been recognized as one of the city's most eco-friendly restaurants.
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You were brought a quart as a matter of course; only girls were brought pint bottles. The servers all had bus-driver change machines hooked to their belts and could carry at least 20 quarts and four jugs on a tray, with one hand.
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If you’re looking for a delicious and healthy meal, look no further than The Green Door. This vegetarian-friendly restaurant has something for everyone, with vegan and gluten-free options available.
Looking for some gluten-free restaurants : ottawa
I also really like Green Door, but my brother in law, also Celiac says he didn't feel great after eating there once. It is buffet style and they do bake with four there.
Ottawa Plant-Based Restaurant Guide
Packed with creamy, perfectly ripe avocado, tomato, and a zesty lime dressing, this is a swoon-worthy dish. The millet croquettes are also good.
Any Good Gluten-free Restaurants In Ottawa?
Of course, The Table and the Green Door are awesome vegetarian/vegan restaurants with the best quality g.f. food you'll find anywhere.
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