Ramps and morels run straight through Fauna's spring menu — tucked into a foie-stuffed rabbit, folded into orecchiette with pine nuts and buckwheat, melted into the ramp butter over a dry-aged PEI ribeye built for two. The kitchen cooks the season as it arrives, and the board moves with Ontario's calendar rather than against it. This is a dinner-first restaurant on Bank Street in Centretown, open seven nights a week from half past five, and its food is Contemporary Canadian in the working sense of the phrase: small plates and full-sized ones, sourced locally where the season allows, plated with precision and no particular appetite for fuss.
The early part of the menu rewards a table willing to share. Beef tartare comes sharpened with gochujang, sesame, orange, and bonito over fried potato, a long way from the steakhouse version. Caviar for two arrives with marinated duck egg, scallion pancakes, gherkin, and crème fraîche, while a half-dozen oysters land under a passionfruit mignonette and a ghost-pepper hot sauce. Scallop crudo — blue potato, miso mayo, ginger, sweety drops, sunchoke chips — is the cleanest first impression going, bright and textural without tipping over into precious. Even the lighter dishes carry an idea: an asparagus salad dressed in lemon poppy-seed vinaigrette with boquerones and puffed rice, a shrimp rangoon finished with herb cream cheese and a tamarind reduction.
The current dinner board gives Fauna clear menu identity through Scallop Crudo, Beef Tartare, Halibut, Stuffed Rabbit, Orecchiette, and Dry Aged PEI Ribeye for Two.
Natural wines, classic and curated cocktails, and craft beer make the beverage program a real part of the visit rather than an afterthought.
A private room, main-floor event capacity, and patio group options give Fauna more use cases than a standard two-top dinner reservation.
Fauna is strongest as a seasonal dinner room, with crudo, tartare, halibut, rabbit, orecchiette, ribeye, and desserts giving the menu a polished but restless shape.
Natural wines are part of Fauna’s identity, and the food gives them work to do across seafood, tartare, pasta, rabbit, and a shared ribeye.
Scallop Crudo and Dry Aged PEI Ribeye for Two give Fauna two clear order anchors: one bright and textural, one built for a shared main event.
Fauna has the pieces for a deliberate night out: polished seasonal food, cocktails, natural wine, a designed room, and enough shareable dishes to keep dinner moving.
The private room, main-floor event capacity, and patio group option make Fauna useful for celebrations and compact group dinners, not only regular reservations.
Share the nuances of your visit to Fauna in Ottawa — the standout dishes, the room, the service.
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