It was my birthday last week – woohoo!
I did not plan anything because I was too lazy to plan. But I did not have to. A few days before, the boy told me he had booked a weekend away for us at Wakefield Village in Quebec. I had heard about Wakefield, and I had wanted to visit, but it never felt like it was a good time. I was often engrossed in work, so I hardly took time off (don’t be like me); and even when I wasn’t working, I resorted to star-fishing on the couch to recover from work. Thanks to the boy, I can now tick Wakefield off my list!
Wakefield is an easy 30 – 40 minute drive from Ottawa, depending on which part of the city you start out from. So, if you’ve planned a trip to Ottawa and are wondering how you might fill your time, tack Wakefield on to your itinerary. I was surprised to find out that it is located close to some of the trails in Gatineau Park. I have been to Gatineau Park many times, and never once figured that I was a couple of kilometres (or less) from a quaint little village.
We arrived on a Friday evening and checked into our hotel room in the Eco Lodge section of The Wakefield Mill Hotel. The hotel has two restaurants, a spa and a couple of hot tubs guests can use until 11:00 pm each day. If you are unsure if you want to stay in the main building or the hotel extension, choose the main building. The hot tub behind it is right next to the river and is probably the most relaxing experience you will have. I did not get to use it because the idea of walking from the Eco Lodge to the main building was a tiring thought. There is a hot tub near the Eco Lodge, but it doesn’t have the same river effect. Probably an enjoyable experience regardless.
The day we arrived at the hotel, we decided to check out the food scene in the village for dinner, rather than eat at the hotel. I was ‘hangry’ when we arrived and was in that mood where I needed to be wow-ed to eat anything (does that only happen to me? I don’t like to waste my hangry state on mediocre food). We walked downhill from the hotel to Cafe Le Hibou, but it was filled to the brim, with more guests waiting in a queue that went all the way to the door. We decided to walk towards some of the places we had seen when we drove in. We stopped at a pub I wasn’t too keen on, and considered going to a cafe across the road. But, it was the boy’s insistence that we find a place called Luigi’s that led us to a fantastic restaurant that night. While walking down the street trying to find Luigi’s (which is unfortunately closed due to struggles during the pandemic), we saw a small house with a delicate sign that read ‘Isabelle’. It looked like a day-time cafe so we were not sure if it was open for dinner.
While we stood by the door, trying to peer inside, a woman with bright eyes and a warm smile opened the door, and asked if we would like to come in for the dinner service.
“Well, yes. What kind of food is it?”
She explained that the restaurant was only open for dinner service once every two weeks, and it just so happened to be a dinner service day. How lucky!
Isabelle, she explained is a cafe by day and known for delicious pastries and French-inspired cuisine. During the bi-weekly dinner service, the chef prepares a fresh menu each time, paired with suitable wine options. That night, the main course was a lamb shank and Moroccan couscous. She did not need to say more. Isabelle took me from hangry to cutesy in less than thirty seconds. The food was delicious! I was so happy just to be in such a quaint beautiful restaurant, eating with eight other diners. I did not count, but I think Isabelle seats less than 15 people. That dinner set the tone for us to see the beauty in Wakefield Village and enjoy our stay. If you are looking to visit the village, these are some of the things we did in the village and a couple of additional recommendations:
- We ate at Isabelle …. twice! We went there for dinner on our first night and had the most delicious cheese and ham croissant for breakfast on our last day there.
- We walked to the Wakefield Bridge. The bridge is a landmark in the village and certainly worth visiting if you are keen on getting photos of landmarks. It is also a good way to see the village. The walking trail to the bridge is next to the river, so it’s scenic and calming. Along the way, we read bits of history about Wakefield (did you know there used to be a train from Ottawa to Wakefield?). We also visited the General Store and La Confisserie (the confectionery) where we got some hot chocolate and maple candy. By the way, if you are worried your French is not up to scratch, you will be fine in Wakefield. People greeted in English by default and only spoke French when we spoke French to them.
- We visited the gift shops: Khewa is a beautiful gift shop that sells Indigenous art and pieces. It has a wide selection of unique gift items if you’d like to get something for yourself or for others. Across the road from it is Jamboree – a freshly-scented store you might spend more time than you intend in, because of the selection of cute home items in it.
- We ate at Cafe Le Hibou at last and at the Village House (La Maison du Village): The food at both restaurants was great. Cafe Le Hibou is a more relaxed vibe with tacos, nachos and burgers on the menu, while La Maison du Village offers a bit more. Unfortunately, the day we visited the Village House, it was so busy, it took an hour for us to get our food. We didn’t order dessert because we were too tired to wait. Instead, we went back to our room and had some chocolate-covered strawberries which we had ordered at the hotel when we checked in.
- We tried the croissants and Les Quebecoise at the Pipolinka artisan bakery. Everything we ate from here had me wanting more! The croissant was crispy outside and soft and buttery inside, and the Quebecoise, which I think is a blueberry Chelsea bun is the the best Chelsea bun I have ever eaten in my entire life.
We really wanted to go hiking on the Gatineau Pink River trail, but couldn’t because the trails were all still covered in snow and some parts were slippery. We could have probably seen more of the village, but walking around the Village Centre was enough of an activity for us. There were some music performances, including by an Irish music band at Cafe Earle and some live music at La Muse – the highly-rated restaurant in the Mill that we could have gone to. We could have tried the La Muse discovery menu where you can try five different dishes that are whipped up by the chef, but for a weekend stay and so much to do, we just did not get to it.
I’ve banked all the could-haves for our next visit. It does help to know that when summer arrives and we go to Gatineau Park to hike, we can tick off some of these things bit by bit. Looking forward to the next visit already. It certainly helps that we can do a day trip from Ottawa to Wakefield.
