Ottawa's diplomatic and bilingual character has produced one of Canada's more interesting dining scenes for a city its size. The best concentrations are in the ByWard Market (everything from oysters to shawarma), Elgin Street downtown, the strip of Preston Street known as Little Italy or Corso Italia, the Vietnamese and Chinese restaurants on Somerset Street West, and increasingly the independent kitchens of Wellington West and Hintonburg. Don't ignore Gatineau across the river either — Quebec licensing and culture mean a different feel and some excellent cheap French bistros.