Real charcoal is the first thing to understand about Les Grillades. The chicken, the lamb chops, the shish taouk, the kafta and the kabab all come off a live charcoal grill, marinated and cooked to order, and that single decision shapes everything around it — the smoke, the char, the reason a plate of grilled meat here tastes like more than its parts. This is a family-operated, fully halal Lebanese kitchen on Colonnade Road in Ottawa, built to be used more than one way: a quick hummus-and-kaake stop, a savoury weekend breakfast, a single grill plate at lunch, or a family platter big enough to feed a gathering.
The grill menu reads like a tour of the Levantine barbecue canon. Shish taouk and shish kabab arrive two skewers to a plate — marinated chicken breast on one, cubed lamb or AAA beef tenderloin on the other — beside kafta of ground lamb and beef worked with parsley, onion and spices, and lamb chops grilled three to an order. The deeper cut is Lamb Mandi: roast lamb over saffron rice, scattered with nuts, a dish that pulls the kitchen past the standard mixed-grill order into something more regional. Around the meat sits a full mezze table — hummus, baba ghanouj, tabouli, the walnut-and-roasted-pepper mohammara, batata harra fried with coriander and garlic, fattoush under crisp bread. And the kaake, Lebanese street bread split and filled, runs from zaatar to halloum and mohammara to brie with fig jam and walnuts.
The menu is centered on smoke and marinade: chicken, lamb chops, shish taouk, kafta, kabab, seafood, and Mandi make the grill identity clear before the meal even reaches dessert.
Les Grillades can be a quick hummus-and-kaake stop, a breakfast meal, a single grill plate, or a family platter order. That range makes it useful for more than one kind of meal.
The restaurant’s story and current menu point toward a warm, family-run Lebanese format with halal cooking, shareable portions, and gathering-friendly roast and platter options.
Les Grillades works well for families because the order can spread naturally: grilled chicken, rice, salads, hummus, garlic, turnips, breakfast plates, and family platters give adults and kids familiar paths without fussy choices. The halal kitchen and generous sharing formats support mixed-age meals.
The experience is rooted in Lebanese food culture rather than a generic grill format. Fatteh, Mandi, kaake, baba ghanouj, tabouli, muhammara, and real-charcoal meats give diners a clear sense of place, with breakfast, mezze, and family plates showing several sides of the cuisine.
Value comes from menu format. Multi-size mezze, breakfast trays, family platters, and grill plates with sides let diners share widely and stretch one order across the meal. It is strongest for people who order communally instead of treating each dish as a solo plate.
This is a group-friendly restaurant by design: family plates, 10-skewer mixed barbecue, whole grilled chicken, lamb chops by the dozen, and mezze platters all make it easy to build a shared spread without forcing everyone into separate entrees.
The menu is practical off-premise because the core dishes are sturdy: grilled meats, rice, dips, salads, kaake, and platters can travel or be picked up without losing the reason to order them. It suits family takeout nights as much as a single charcoal-grill plate.
Share the nuances of your visit to Les Grillades in Ottawa — the standout dishes, the room, the service.
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