Happy Carrot

While walking around Ottawa, I was looking for a healthy dining option within walking distance. After some online searching via mobile phone, I decided on Happy Carrot.
The overall experience here was good but not very memorable. The service was pleasant but a little slow. The food quality was good, but not memorably fresh, delicious, or unique.
Verdict:
For relatively healthy dining options, the Healthy Carrot is not a bad choice; however, I wouldn’t go out of my way to come again.

Not entirely sure what the juicing scene in Ottawa is so I’m gonna compare it to the spots in my home city of TO. If this is what you guys have — I’m pretty sorry for you.
The lady working that day was nice but the juices weren’t so great. They have a number of pre-​made juices and it was implied that these were the only fresh juices available. I opted for the carrot which wasn’t that great. My BF, on the other hand, asked if she could fresh prepare a mixed juice for him. She made the pineapple-​orange juice with frozen fruit and added water to it. It didn’t taste so nice either.
I really feel they should indicate on the menu that they do in fact make fresh juices made to order rather than implying that they only sell the pre-​made ones. Also, if they wanna compete on the juicing market, they need to use fresh organic fruit and hold the water.

I went here for lunch with my husband today. It’s a cute little place with smoothies, juices, sandwiches, soups and desserts. The décor is eclectic and funky. They have some cushy chairs, some regular chairs and some bar stools. They have some seating outside too. The place is small though, best for singles, couples or groups no larger than 4.
I had a turkey wrap ($ 6.49), my husband had a turkey panini ($ 6.49) and we shared a mango and strawberry smoothie ($ 4.99). They use real turkey breast in their sandwiches, yay! And they give you a good serving size, not skimpy like some places. The toppings you can choose from are lettuce, tomato, cheese, onions, olives, pickles, cucumbers and hot peppers. The sandwiches were good but tasted a little too ordinary. It would be nice if they had a special sauce, or flavoured the turkey in special spices or just did something to make the sandwiches stand out a little bit more. I felt like it was a sandwich I could have made at home.
I thought the smoothie was ok, but my husband didn’t like it and said it had an artificial sweetener aftertaste to it. I didn’t notice this, but I am much less sensitive to artificial sweeteners than he is. I did feel that the smoothie could have used some more yogurt to make it creamier.
I liked that the food handler wore gloves and they had a separate person manning the cash register. Hurrah for good sanitation!
Now we got there at 11:45am to avoid the noon-​time lunch rush (it was a weekday). And good thing we did, because a crowd of people came in after us. There was only 1 woman making the food and 1 woman at the cash register. We were ok, but the people behind us had to wait quite a while. At around 12:10pm a man came in (I think he’s the owner) and helped, which sped things up a bit. However, I think they need more staff around lunch time. I saw a customer come in and then left (probably because of the anticipated wait).
Service was excellent though. The ladies were very nice. I did not interact with the owner. There’s a card you can get where after you buy 9 smoothies you get the 10^th one free. I wanted one and the lady at the cash register told me that the lady making the food had to sign off on it that I purchased a smoothie. I was going to get her to sign it but she was so busy with a lineup of customers waiting, that I didn’t want to bother her, so I just put the unsigned card in my purse for next time. We ate at the restaurant, and after it slowed down a bit, the lady at the cash register brought over a signed card for me. How nice was that! Now I only have to buy 8 more smoothies until a free one :)
One thing that I noticed on the menu is Bingsoo! OMG, I don’t know of any other place in Ottawa that sells Bingsoo (for those who don’t know, it’s a Korean dessert similar to Halo-​Halo from the Philippines and Ais Kacang from Malaysia — shaved ice with fruits and other toppings on top). Made right, it is so delicious! I will be returning for sure to try this.
Overall, it’s a nice addition to the Byward Market. There is a lot of potential for this place. If they jazz up their sandwiches a bit more, and get some more staff when it’s busy, I could see myself coming here regularly. I will update after I try their Bingsoo!

Awesome food! Nabil the owner is a nice guy and will take care of you. This place just opened on July 1^st. Great place with good food. Healthy choices with lots of options. Good juices and sandwiches.