OpenRice Asian Fusion & Lounge

Ordered a few days ago off Justeat. I’m from the US so maybe the Canadian palate is way different from ours, but this is some of the worst Chinese I’ve ever had. The sesame chicken was completely bland, not even salted, just steamed chicken & veg with sesame seeds thrown on top. I had to recook it in some jarred grocery store sauce for it to be edible. The ginger beef wasn’t much better and didn’t taste like ginger whatsoever, even with the long ginger fibers still present in it. My husband’s pad thai was similarly bland, and a really off-​putting pink-​orange color. The appetizers we got (egg rolls with plum sauce & pork shu mai) were delicious and flavorful, so I don’t get how the rest of it was so bad. Oh, and they want $ 2.25 per can of soda, plus they charge extra for rice with protein dishes. Lol, what? Never again.

One Friday night, we wanted to order in and decided to try this place. We ordered Pad Thai and a curry.
Both were huge disappointments. Although the food arrived hot, there was very little flavour. The Pad Thai noodles were stuck together in clumps and there were very few toppings (bean sprouts, peanuts, lime slice etc). My husband could barely eat his curry. It was very runny instead of creamy and lacked flavor too.
We won’t go back for Thai food but we might be willing to try some Chinese dishes.

On a chilly Autumn evening, I was craving Chinese take out. OpenRice really hit the spot!
I really enjoy how you can order online and either pick up or have them deliver. Their menu has great items, everything from phở to pad thai. They have everything for meat eaters and vegetarians. I honestly wanted to try half their menu, but decided to take it slow. lol :)
I decided to get a couple vegetarian spring rolls, vegetarian pad thai, garlic broccoli, hot and sour soup and some steamed rice. (see photo) Not one complaint. Food was tasty, portions were good, price was justifiable. I must say, their hot and sour – omg, I just loved it!
Definitely recommend. I think I may have found my new go to Chinese take out joint-​yay!

Being from out of town I trusted the reviews and tried this place. The Food was disgusting and a total waste of money, brings shame to authentic asian cuisine. Its sad that these people haven’t had a chance to try real Chinese/​thai food before writing a review.

Exellent food and services!!! I am very IMPRESSED… I will definately visit again!!!

We really enjoyed our dinner here. Amazingly it was almost empty on a Friday night — though I have to admit it is a bit awkwardly located on St. Laurent around the 417 area, not exactly where one thinks of going for food!
Prices were a bit higher than at a typical hole-​in-​the-​wall asian food joint — however, you get to take in a beautifully decorated room, music and asian fusion good.
I left this review too long to remember the details of what we ate — but everything we tried was great.
Would I return: yes — and we’ll also do takeout.
Would I recommend: Yes. Given it’s location, if you are driving by St. Laurent exit on the highway, could be worth getting off for a bit to eat. I probably would not drive across the city just to eat here though.

I’ve driven by this restaurant several times and finally decided that tonight I would try it. I was so tired of the typical over-​sweetened Chinese food I’ve been eating in Ottawa. There is nothing worse than a meal that consists of lumps of low quality meat smothered in corn syrup and soy sauce.
Open Rice did not disappoint!
Restaurant:
The atmosphere of the restaurant is very nice. The bar and seating areas are both beautifully designed. It’s not too big so you don’t feel crowded. To be honest, I didn’t see many people in the restaurant. At any given time there was only three tables occupied. I’m quite surprised as I did find the food really nice. Seems like it just might not be known yet.
Service:
I found the service to be good. When I walked in one of the two waiters on shift was sitting at the back of the bar area having his dinner break. When he saw me walk in he immediately came to seat me as the waitress was in the kitchen.
They have impeccable timing with the food and drinks. Just as I was almost finished my appetizer my main came, which was served in a hot stone bowl and needed a minute to cool off anyways. I was promptly served water when I sat down and my order of tea was served to me immediately after ordering. I didn’t have to wait long for the food at all.
The staff checked on me once to make sure the meal was ok and removed dishes as soon as I pushed them aside. I hate when waiters seem to be asking you questions every couple of minutes so I really appreciated this. They are really observant without being in the way.
Food:
The menu is a nice mixture of different types of East and South-​East Asian fare. It is mainly Chinese but there is lots of Thai and a bit of Vietnamese, Korean and Japanese. It offers a full-​range menu including appetizers, soups, salads, entrees categorized by meat, rice, noodles and vegetarian.
Tonight I had the Crispy Spring Rolls, Bi Bim Bap and Jasmine tea.
The service is prompt. I was served my tea within minutes of ordering it and the spring rolls arrived shortly afterwards. I received two spring rolls for $ 4.00. It is a bit pricey but it is very good. I’d be hard pressed to share with someone else though as the portion was perfect for one person. The spring rolls were piping hot, right out of the fryer. They had the perfect amount of crisp to them and the filling was nice and juicy. It was served with homemade plum sauce which was also very tasty. The presentation was nice and neat.
The Bi Bim Bap was the most exciting part of my meal. It’s served in a hot stone bowl and will come out sizzling. Some things to note though, the menu does not mention that it is topped with a fried egg and served with a side of kimchi. Kimchi on it’s own is a $ 4.00 side which I had been considering ordering because it did not say it was included unlike one of the other Korean dishes on the menu. Glad I didn’t waste my $ 4.00. I’m not a big fan of fried egg as I do not like runny yolk. The bowl is so hot that you can easily break the yolk and it will end up cooking. The meal was delicious but I wish there was a little something more in the flavour department. It didn’t taste like the meat or veggies were seasoned, although you do receive a chili sauce bottle. Perhaps this is just because I’m not used to eating Korean and I suspect that most people would grab a mouthful from the bowl as well as a bite of kimchi. The kimchi was nice and spicy by the way. I’ve had kimchi that’s leaned more on the sweet side. This had a nice bite of chili in it. It’s a good idea to stir your bowl up as well as it is hot and the rice at the bottom will burn.
Overall it was very good and super filling. After the two spring rolls and half the rice bowl and kimchi, I was very satisfied for the rest of the evening. The Bi Bim Bap will make a delicious lunch tomorrow I’m sure.
Overall the ingredients seemed to be very fresh and the lack of thick sweet sauces was great because I am trying to eat healthier.
Price:
I felt that the spring roll price might have been a bit high, but they were very tasty so I didn’t mind. Otherwise, I think the rest was a fair price for the quality. My $ 10.00 Bi Bim Bap bowl has made two meals for me which I can’t complain about. I would have had to pay virtually the same price for a far less healthy and filling meal at McDonalds.
Definitely a recommend!

We didn’t go in to OpenRice, but we ordered delivery via
, which is a great option that this restaurant gives, a bonus in itself. The food was delicious.
We ordered Singapore rice noodles and sesame chicken. Both have trouble with being dry from other Chinese food places, but neither fell into that trap. I could not believe how amazing the broccoli in the sesame chicken was! I was going back for the veggies even more than the chicken! There definitely wasn’t a ton of meat in the sesame chicken, but it was enough for two.
The noodles were also really great, with just enough sauce to ensure they weren’t too dry. The flavor was also very nice and there was a good mix of the chicken in there too.
The take-​out was expensive, with the two items and delivery totaling $ 31, but it was so tasty I think we’ll definitely try again!

Feeling a cold coming on and a switch in the weather, I begin frantically searching for the largest bowl of soup I can find. My first instinct when deciding which phở restaurant to conquer is to check the time, since most phở places close relatively early in Ottawa (with the exception of China town which I’m determined never sleeps.). Sadly for me,
I’m no where near China town, otherwise this would be easy… So after a quick Unilocal search I found a familiar restaurant 2 minutes away (like you don’t Unilocal everything as well… Psh.), Open Rice fusion restaurant which is open until 10. I walk into the empty restaurant and grab a seat at a very narrow booth and ordered soup and summer rolls.
My past experiences here have been more pleasant, however I was a little unsatisfied with tonight’s order. The shrimp in my soup (P10) tasted as though it had been defrosted too long in the microwave. Considering I arrived at 8:50pm and the restaurant was dead, I could only assume that the kitchen had closed early and was unprepared for a late arrival.
I have eaten here multiple times and recommend the spicy squid if you aren’t in the mood for phở, and the summer rolls are always equally as delicious. I have found items on this menu that I love, and haven’t yet experimented with the rest of it.
Overall, the food is good, the service is friendly, and if there is a problem, they fix it without question.
They frequently have groupon offers.

A handy-​dandy Groupon led us to OpenRice, which turned out to be a nice little place in an odd part of town. It was not busy when we arrived, which meant that we were seated and served quickly. The waiter (who seemed to be the only one working) was polite and multitasked well.
I had the shanghai noodles with BBQ pork, and my partner had the beef lo mein– both generously portioned and reasonably priced. I enjoyed my meal very much.
OpenRice seems to do a brisk takeout business, but it’s worth stopping by for a dine-​in experience: modern décor, relaxing music, etc. I would eat here again.

I’m rarely on the other side of town, so when I was I definitely wanted to try out a new restaurant.
Wow, this place is beautiful. The décor is elegant and it seems like a very trendy place, with decent prices. We felt a little dressed-​down compared to the other customers who were very glamorous and stylish.
The food was excellent. The soups are fantastic. This would be a great place for takeout (if only I lived closer)!
One note of criticism though– the servers were very nice, pleasant and polite, but they seemed frazzled and didn’t know the menu or what was in the dishes. And for a place that they said had been open for a few months, they should know what they’re doing. We had three different servers approach us and try to take our order. They do not seem very organized if you ask me.
But, once the staff figures things out and becomes more knowledgeable of the menu, this place could be a real hit because the food, atmosphere and ambience are great.

I went here for an early dinner (5:30pm) with my husband recently. We were greeted and seated promptly (there were only 2 other occupied tables — a couple and a group of 4).
We started with an order of egg rolls (2 egg rolls for $ 3.50). Presentation was nice as on the plate was a little nest made of lettuce and carrots. The egg rolls were on a bed of crispy fried vermicelli. The plum sauce on the side is home-​made. The egg rolls themselves were good, crispy, full of pork and veggies, and not too greasy, but a little pricey for what they are.
We had the Beef Pad Thai and General Tao’s Chicken for our mains (and a side of brown rice). The Beef Pad Thai ($ 12) was ok. I asked for no bean sprouts and they accommodated my request. The pad thai was not too sweet and only mildly oily. I would have liked it more if they added some tofu, because the beef wasn’t all that plentiful so at the end I was just eating sauced noodles. The pad thai did have some green peppers and red peppers, but those weren’t plentiful either. They were too generous with the peanuts in my opinion — the top layer was coated in crushed peanuts.
The General Tao’s Chicken ($ 13.50) was good. It came with red and green peppers and it had a nice spicy kick to it. The sauce was a deep brown colour, which looks a lot more natural than the weird neon red that some restaurants do. This dish was the best dish we tried.
The side of brown rice was $ 2 and rather small for the price. However, it was well cooked, not too dry, but not too mushy.
Service was excellent. Our waters were refilled frequently and without us having to ask. They brought the bill quickly when we asked for it. The servers were polite and nice.
Overall, food was ok but portions were a little small for the price. The décor is nice though, very trendy, and much nicer than I would expect for a restaurant in a stripmall on St. Laurent.
I would come back if I’m in the area and craving some Asian food. Their lunch time specials seem more like a good deal though were you get a soup, spring roll, rice, veggies and main for about $ 12.

A new Chinese delivery place! Awesome! Seeing as most that deliver to my area really aren’t good, I was more than excited to see that this place delivered. Not only do they do Chinese, they also do Asian fusion. You can find phở, some Korean dishes and Japanese dishes too.
I opted for the egg rolls, the gyoza dumplings and kung pao chicken, since I was mostly in the mood for that delicious fake Canadian Chinese. The total was around $ 30, they told me I could expect a 45 minute delivery time.
Well, I wish they just would have told me a realistic time to expect my food to come, because an hour and a half later I got my food. Luckily it was good. The egg rolls were some of the better ones I’ve had in Ottawa, filled with nicely seasoned pork and veggies. The gyoza were the highlight of my meal by far, they were sooo good, the meat in them was savoury and delicious and the sauce was AWESOME, I ended up dipping my egg rolls in the sauce they came with.
The kung pao was also pretty good, especially in comparison to other places that make it. It actually came with peanuts, a lot of places don’t actually put peanuts in their kung pao despite the fact it is totally supposed to have peanuts in it. It wasn’t that spicy so I ended up drowning it in sriracha, so that was a bit disappointing, but the sauce was tangy and tasty and the veggies tasted fresh.
I would definitely order from here again! Even just for the gyoza dumplings!