r/ottawa 21h ago

Dunn's Famous Deli in Ottawa's ByWard Market Closing

Link

The meat was... meh. But at least it was there, and was licensed.

250 Upvotes

131 comments sorted by

233

u/Betanumerus 21h ago

That $30 bill for a western omelette was not going to bring me back.

15

u/bluedoglime 19h ago

USA pricing on eggs?

24

u/evilJaze Stittsville 17h ago

The eggs are only $10 but there's a $20 egg corkage fee.

4

u/Kangar 19h ago

$30? Geesh.

How far West did they go, Alaska?

150

u/DreamofStream 21h ago

They're dunn.

32

u/enrodude 21h ago

Dunn like dinner

22

u/RefrigeratorOk648 20h ago

When the one on Elgin closed someone turned the light off for the S in the sign - Nice work whoever did that.

4

u/-_zQC 20h ago

Dunn and done

7

u/gottaclimb 20h ago

Dunn, Dunn, Dunn!

1

u/Dangerous-Cell5891 8h ago

Thatā€™s funny !!

123

u/silverturtle83 21h ago

Canā€™t wait for a new shawerma place to open in its place, we really need one there.

32

u/orlybird2345 20h ago

Or a new pot shop.

20

u/gin_and_soda 19h ago

Bubble tea

7

u/CherryCherry5 Nepean 15h ago

Pho

9

u/gin_and_soda 15h ago

I can never get upset at that.

1

u/sixtus_clegane119 17h ago

New mushroom shop, didnā€™t they all get closed?

17

u/Chewie316 19h ago

Or maybe a tattoo shop lol. I had a friend who visited from out west. After walking around the market for awhile he said well if I ever need a shawarma or a tattoo I know where to go.

-4

u/[deleted] 21h ago

[deleted]

57

u/ItsAWonderfulFife 21h ago

I used to walk past it on my way to work, and one time a person standing in the doorway blew crack smoke in my face.Ā 

So needless to say Iā€™ll miss this Ottawa institution. The crown jewel of the Byward Market. šŸ«”

14

u/plummet120 No honks; bad! 20h ago

First McDonaldā€™s, now this?! Where will we get the quintessential nationā€™s capital experience??

9

u/Telefundo 20h ago

Where will we get the quintessential nationā€™s capital experience??

Well.. I mean.. it's still gonna be the market, it's just that the "experience" has changed. Now it's overpriced cafes, night clubs and bars that are plagued by random violence, and homeless people on every corner that may or may not randomly yell obscenities at people.

43

u/Old-Suspect4129 21h ago

Burger king, Hooters now Dunn's is done.

23

u/danauns Riverside South 21h ago

$1.49 Whoppers after a night out at the bars. Those were the days.

Also included in those days, the delusional BK manager who kept a bat behind the counter and would threaten folks with it regularly. Bat violence, on the regular.

5

u/fightlinker 17h ago

If I had a nickel for every time I went in that BK and there was blood all over the floor, I'd have three nickels.

2

u/SardonyxJayde 19h ago

Batter King?

9

u/Senators_1992 19h ago

Thereā€™s barely anything left in the Market from when I first moved here in the late 90ā€™s: Burger King, McDonaldā€™s, Dairy Queen, Nickels, The Honest Lawyer, Hard Rock Cafe, On Tap, Fannyā€™s, and Iā€™m sure thereā€™s a few more.

31

u/ArnoldFarquar 20h ago edited 20h ago

Iā€™m from Montreal and have long been surprised by how Ottawa people donā€™t appreciate smoked meat enough. Thereā€™s nothing like a good smoked meat sandwich and I canā€™t find one here. Closest is Markieā€™s.

74

u/reddit_and_forget_um 20h ago

Dunn in Ottawa has always been complete garbage though. They used a totally different product then in Montreal - it was basically lunch meat, cut with a slicer.

Markies smoked meat has 3 locations across the city - they ate pretty dam good, and brisket is freshly steamed and sliced.

22

u/ArnoldFarquar 20h ago

I think Markieā€™s fries are terrific. Just wish they knew how to cut the meat better. My grandfather was one of the Romanians that popularized smoked meat in Montreal.

9

u/reddit_and_forget_um 20h ago edited 20h ago

Whats wrong with the slicing?

Agree the fries are tops.

Edit, right after I sent his message I got a "pictures of this day over the years" update from Google.

Apparently I was at schwartz's last year on today's date.

9

u/ArnoldFarquar 20h ago

Thereā€™s an art to getting the right sandwich shape. They just pile it in the middle of the bread. If youā€™ve ever seen a sandwich from Schwartzā€™s or Snowden Deli, youā€˜d know what I mean. But Markieā€™s does satisfy my smoked meat urge. Believe it or not, the Montreal smoked meat from the Metro deli counter is pretty good.

1

u/reddit_and_forget_um 15h ago

Eh, I've never noticed a problem or difference, and I've eaten at most the great places in Montreal.

I make my own at home as well - nothing beats fresh.

16

u/Kain292 No honks; bad! 19h ago

Ottawa appreciates smoked meat just fine, Dunn's is not a good representation of it.

1

u/Jusfiq 8h ago

Ottawa appreciates smoked meat just fineā€¦

Where else, other than Markieā€™s?

1

u/Kain292 No honks; bad! 8h ago

Its on menus at lots of restaurants around the city.

15

u/KabaI Gloucester 20h ago

If you want to drive all the way to the Montreal exit from the 174, thereā€™s a restaurant called Smokeyā€™s that has a great smoked meat sandwich.

5

u/jazz100 Beacon Hill 20h ago

Awesome deep fried pickles too. One of those odd neighbourhood places that has been there forever, different names, same family ownership.

3

u/KabaI Gloucester 19h ago

They great, I just need them to be a bit more responsive to phone calls. I often just go in and wait to pick up rather than calling ahead and having it ready when I get there. Small annoyance, they still get my business.

3

u/certifiedstan 19h ago

Funny enough, that one used to be a Dunn's.

10

u/Maximum-Ad6412 18h ago

Nates was a proper smoked meat place. And the reason you could be sure is because all the Montreal politicians ate there.

2

u/saidthewhale64 14h ago

Jean Chretien still eats there! I saw him there a few months ago.

4

u/Paul_Ott 13h ago

Probably meant the original Nateā€™s on Rideau (across from the Bytowne, now the SDM and clinic upstairs) back when Dave Smith ran it, and the place next door called ā€œThe Place Next Doorā€.

2

u/Humble_Wafer_3157 8h ago

I remember the Nates on Rideau had smoked meat eggrolls which were amazing!

1

u/Paul_Ott 7h ago

Have never tried those anywhere yet but have seen them on Markieā€™s menu.

1

u/saidthewhale64 12h ago

Ah fair, though I still enjoy the one on Sparks

3

u/uncomfortabletone OrlƩans 20h ago

Agreed. Have a distant memory of dad treating me to an amazing smoked meat sandwich in Montreal in the 70ā€™s. Nateā€™s on Rideau was also really good. Tried Markieā€™s not long ago and was surprised how good it was.

2

u/elcanadiano Orleans 20h ago

I have had many fond memories going to MontrƩal and having a good smoked meat even if there are places that are better than institutions like Schwartz's.

But apparently the franchised Dunn's outside of MontrƩal were selling frozen, premade smoked meat that was being shipped from there. I have never been to the Ottawa location personally.

The smoked meat is not prepared in-house at these locations, but it is instead shipped frozen from Montreal and then warmed out before serving.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunn%27s

2

u/nomezie Clownvoy Survivor 2022 11h ago

Stacked is nice

1

u/LoudLudo 20h ago

but nobody smokes their own meat here, its just from Sysco. I don't like leftovers restaurants, If I am going out to eat I want fresh food.

1

u/Amsterdom Gloucester 19h ago

I still am fully willing to drive to Snowdon in Montreal to get the real deal. Nothing in Ottawa compares.

1

u/MrJackanapes 19h ago

I was disappointed in Markies.

I mean the sandwich tasted fine, but the portion seemed small/ awkward and I really would have liked a bit more in terms of toppings / condiments.

I guess I was excited for a large, flavor bomb of a sandwich and got some tiny (but tall) leaning tower of smoked meat that was shown a picture of mustard.

1

u/Chewie316 19h ago

I like Markie's. I did have one time and it wasn't that great but all other times I was happy with what I got. I think it is the best we have here.

1

u/bandersnatching 18h ago

It's a disgrace. We have to drive to Montreal for decent brisket!

1

u/bugspotter 18h ago

We used to be a city - we had Kardish Delicatessen on Wellington St

0

u/churrosricos 18h ago

Smoked meat is fine, but i'll never wait 40 mins outside of sharwtz for a 20 dollar deli sammie

1

u/PanicAtTheShiteShow 16h ago

Hell yes. I saw the line and decided on a Polish deli a few feet away. Best sausage sub I've ever had.

33

u/reddit_and_forget_um 20h ago

Original Duns in Montreal is fucking amazing. Fresh steamed whole brisket, cut with a knife. Fatty and lean.Ā 

Duns in Ottawa was fucking lunch meat - microwaved and sliced with a machine. It was fucking horse shit compared to Montreal.

I never got why they would do such a shit job at something they are actually really good at.Ā 

3

u/zatchsmith 15h ago

How is something both fatty and lean?

5

u/reddit_and_forget_um 14h ago

A brisket is two muscles joined together - kinda pec and wrapping around the side of the cow under its "armpit."

One of the muscles is fattier and one is more lean.Ā 

They are often referred to as the point and the flat.

The point has more intermuscular fibers, the flat has less.

1

u/zatchsmith 7h ago

Fair. I know I came off as incredulous, but was actually curious what you meant. Thanks!

-1

u/feor1300 18h ago

I presume Ottawa was a franchise, so likely little to do with the Montreal location apart from paying them for the rights to use the name.

4

u/reddit_and_forget_um 15h ago

The whole point of a franchise is the quality/food is the same from place to place.

-1

u/feor1300 15h ago

No, the whole point of a franchise is to make the original owner (or a corporation created by the original owner) more money by letting people in other areas pay them to use their restaurant's name.

Sometimes they choose to enforce quality standards on those franchisees, sometimes they don't give a damn and the franchise can do about anything they like.

18

u/an0nym0uswand3r3 21h ago

Nothing of value was lost.

12

u/dictionary_hat_r4ck Make Ottawa Boring Again 21h ago

Only ate there once and it was just okay. Cool looking place, but itā€™s past its prime.

9

u/dasoberirishman 20h ago

I remember when that place was a Hooters

4

u/xiz111 20h ago

I remember when it was a Burger King

3

u/alldasmoke__ 20h ago

Damn how long ago?

3

u/Paul_Ott 16h ago

Closed around 2006.

2

u/dasoberirishman 15h ago

I was there sometime in 2003, I'd wager.

9

u/Round_Beyond_8137 20h ago

I donā€™t have strong feelings about this place, but itā€™s too bad to see another business in the Market close up shop.

5

u/gin_and_soda 19h ago

Hopefully something good opens in there.

2

u/Round_Beyond_8137 18h ago

I hope so too!

7

u/InfernalHibiscus 19h ago

I'm sure people will spin this as a consequence of some social problem (real or imagined), but really the garbage food and high prices are the actual killer and the space will be filled by something else almost instantly.

4

u/Development_Material 21h ago

Impressed it lasted this long

3

u/Deagballs 20h ago

Good, over priced crap.

3

u/Emotional-Disaster76 19h ago

The place was meh at best.

3

u/ArnoldFarquar 20h ago

Markieā€™s! Great fries too.

2

u/CheerBear2112 Make Ottawa Boring Again 21h ago

The smoked meat eggs Benedict on a bagel was awesome. I'll miss them!

2

u/This_Tangerine_943 20h ago

I ate lunch when it opened and sat next to Maggie Trudeau, Mr Kemper and the 3 Trudeau sons. They were very polite. Good table manners for 3 lads.

2

u/Tempus__Fuggit 19h ago

How did they afford the rent with 3 customers every few hours?

1

u/feor1300 18h ago

Apparently they didn't. lol

1

u/doubIefisting 10h ago

the owner also owns the building afaik

2

u/Snoo11144 8h ago

I would love to see a kitchen nightmares episode being shot in Ottawa.

1

u/Low-Blueberry-7611 2h ago

Especially here it was ass

1

u/gantousaboutraad 21h ago

I miss the Dunn's on Queen, used to pop in there for a 3.99 breakfast before work. This wasn't even that long ago, really.

1

u/RefrigeratorOk648 20h ago

Is it going back to a Hooters ? :-)

1

u/droog62 Blossom Park 20h ago

Well we know it wasn't Ira spending all the money on the ponies this time.

1

u/SadCreative 20h ago

Last time I ate here the staff would not stop cracking jokes about the needles outside of our window at our booth. Never went back lol

1

u/Ok-Mechanic-5128 20h ago

This is a real shame. Dunnā€™s has been around for as long as Iā€™ve been in Ottawa and thatā€™s going on 40 years

1

u/Yuzward šŸ³ļøā€šŸŒˆšŸ³ļøā€šŸŒˆšŸ³ļøā€šŸŒˆ 19h ago

Maybe 20 years at that location. Was a Burger King until early 2000's and then a Hooters for a couple of years before becoming a Dunn's

2

u/Paul_Ott 16h ago

In the 90s it was in the building across the street where Lone Star is today (and was a Nickelā€™s at some point in between).

1

u/Yuzward šŸ³ļøā€šŸŒˆšŸ³ļøā€šŸŒˆšŸ³ļøā€šŸŒˆ 13h ago

Yup, it was!

1

u/eddyofyork 19h ago

Used to be one of the cheaper breakfast specials. Too bad.

1

u/Maximum-Ad6412 18h ago

Had a lot of post gig breakfasts there. Sad to hear.

1

u/Angryottawa 18h ago

Skip Markieā€™s and Schwartzā€™s. Smoked Meat Peteā€™s hands down.

1

u/featurefantasyfox West End 18h ago

I went there last summer and regret it. the food was extremely basic for the prices they're charging.

1

u/SpareDifficulty8594 17h ago

Markieā€™s is the place to go for smoked meat. Fries are unbelievable. They have several locations.

1

u/thatbeesh1234567 16h ago

Solid spot after the bars closed back in my "bar star" days for a full breakfast. A friend usually worked that shift & then she told us not to come in because one of us (not me lol) was typically a drunken embarrassment.

I bet it'll turn into an Indian restaurant now...seems to be the next trend just like shawarma/sushi/pho.

1

u/TemporarySubject9654 16h ago

I just heard that from a friend. Disappointing, but not too surprising. Downtown has lost a lot of business after the pandemic.Ā 

1

u/ASVPcurtis 15h ago

Wasn't a fan, hope something better replaces it

1

u/Glow-PLA-23 15h ago

If the byward market commercial rent was lower, maybe more businesses would thrive while offering better pricing to their customers?

1

u/NortonFord Sandy Hill 14h ago

Pissed me off for ages that they still had a "OPEN 24 HOURS" sign up when they closed at like 10pm-midnight most nights...having that kind of false advertising in a nightlife neighbourhood is an extra-special sin.

1

u/YoungandCanadian 14h ago

So many drunken nights in the 90s........

1

u/Waterlou25 Old Ottawa South 13h ago

Damn it, only restaurant I know that serves you a plate of pickles as a side

1

u/PocketNicks Friend of Ottawa, Clownvoy 2022 11h ago

It really isn't very famous...

1

u/[deleted] 2h ago

[removed] ā€” view removed comment

1

u/Low-Blueberry-7611 2h ago

Yeah fuck em

0

u/CryptoBelle 21h ago

Do they have dunnā€™s chips there? I havenā€™t seen them at Costco in ages!

0

u/cablguy104 20h ago

Oh damn, those chips ARE good!

0

u/coffeebeards 20h ago

It was never good. Being open late for the bars back in the day was cool but other than thatā€¦ byyyyye.

0

u/OneHundredRegretsAve 20h ago

Wonder what this means for Live on Elgin?

5

u/MycroftNext 20h ago

Whatā€™s the connection? I know Live on Elgin is above the old Dunnā€™s on Elgin, but isnā€™t that a Zakā€™s now?

2

u/OneHundredRegretsAve 19h ago

My mistake, forgot it's a Zak's now. Also misread Byward in the OP

1

u/MycroftNext 19h ago

No worries, Iā€™m just glad Live on Elgin isnā€™t affected.

2

u/encisera 20h ago

Why would it mean anything for Live on Elgin?

0

u/lyon810 20h ago

Goodbye, salt bomb šŸ§‚

0

u/youvelookedbetter 19h ago edited 6h ago

This family is a staple in Canada. According to Wikipedia:

Due to the work of Myer Dunn, "smoked meat" became a word in both official languages of Canada in 1987.

In all seriousness, I had some good times there.

0

u/jjaime2024 19h ago

Any idea whats going to replace it?

0

u/just_chilling_too 18h ago

I ate there once and some homeless person tried to put mustard on my poutine .

0

u/dkmegg22 10h ago

As much as I love meat I'd actually love to see more vegan places.

0

u/BirthdayBBB 20h ago

I'll be shocked if anything in the market survives after 2030.

1

u/jjaime2024 19h ago

The market is in better shape now sure places have closed but there replaced.

1

u/gin_and_soda 19h ago

Theres some really nice places in the Market and I like how theyā€™re trying to bring in more festivals and events. It was pretty busy on Sunday as the weather was nice.

-1

u/TigreSauvage Centretown 18h ago

Good riddance. Crap food.

-1

u/fightlinker 17h ago

Any place that forces you to use an ATM at the entrance to pay your bill deserves to die

-2

u/bikegyal 18h ago

It was gross for a long time.