Ruby's opens in ByWard Market with elegant small plates and ambitious wine focus

The ByWard Market has a new upscale neighbour. Ruby's, which opened in late June on York Street in a heritage space on National Capital Commission land, is Adrian Vezina's second restaurant — a more polished sibling to Belmont, which he opened on Bank Street in Old Ottawa South in 2014.

Named after the Corgi-Collie mix Vezina had as a kid, Ruby's occupies the spot where Oz Kafe operated until 2024, when that veteran eatery folded owing the NCC nearly $40,000 in unpaid rent. Vezina describes the food as "Belmontesque food with a little more elegance, a little more elevation." Executive chef Phil Denny oversees both kitchens; Jakob Van Regan, an Ottawa native with experience in Toronto kitchens and a stint at Arlo Wine & Restaurant, runs Ruby's kitchen as chef de cuisine.

The menu is a tight one-page document grouping items as "snacks," "smaller," "larger," and "desserts." Among the standouts: fried Humboldt squid ($20) arrives with a pungent, fish-sauce-based dip that rewards palates preferring bolder flavours; shrimp toast ($19) — the Hong Kong classic of minced shrimp paste deep-fried in bread — comes dressed with Dijon mayo and tobiko vinaigrette. A plate of superior smoked ham ($15) with pickled mustard seeds, caper berries and lardo impressed even ham skeptics.

Of the "smaller" offerings, a roasted maitake mushroom ($26) topped with truffle miso and enoki delivered umami depth. A warm salad of farro, asparagus and carrots ($24) sang with lemon tahini dressing. A scallop crudo ($30) balanced seaweed-cured seafood with thoughtful contrasts.

Vezina sees Ruby's as part of a broader shift in the ByWard Market. "There's a shift in what's happening in the ByWard Market. It feels like the city is trying to actively change things," he said, noting the neighbourhood's challenges since the pandemic. For now, Ruby's is a solid reason to venture down York Street.