Royal Thai & Palais Imperial Restaurant

Royal Thai & Palais Imperial Restaurant sits on Dalhousie Street in Ottawa, ON, in a stretch of the city where Asian dining has long anchored the streetscape. The name itself signals two distinct culinary traditions brought together under one roof, and understanding what that pairing actually means on the plate — rather than assuming it is one generic "Asian fusion" menu — is the first thing a newcomer should know before walking in.

What you find on the menu and who it suits

The combination named in "Royal Thai & Palais Imperial" points to Thai cooking alongside Chinese-style dishes typical of a Cantonese or pan-Chinese "palace" menu, a format common in mid-size Canadian cities where a single kitchen serves two related but separate culinary vocabularies. For someone unfamiliar with the terms, a quick primer helps: Thai cuisine is generally built around a balance of sour, sweet, salty, and spicy elements in the same dish — think a curry sauce, a stir-fry with fish sauce and chili, or a noodle dish finished with lime. Chinese "palace" or banquet-style menus, by contrast, tend to organize dishes by cooking method and protein — steamed, deep-fried, braised, or wok-tossed — and often include family-style platters meant for sharing rather than single-portion plates. A guest who knows this distinction can order more confidently: asking for a curry or a noodle soup leans into the Thai side of the kitchen, while asking about a whole fish preparation or a stir-fried vegetable and meat combination leans into the Chinese side. This dual format tends to suit a wide range of diners: solo visitors picking up a quick lunch, couples wanting a mid-week dinner without a long commitment, and larger groups or families who want to order several dishes and share them across the table, which is very much how the Chinese half of the menu is designed to be eaten.

Because the restaurant draws on two cuisines rather than one, first-time visitors sometimes appreciate a short explanation of unfamiliar terms directly from staff — what distinguishes a red curry from a green curry, for instance, or what "sweet and sour" actually refers to as a cooking style rather than a single dish. Asking is a normal part of ordering here, not an inconvenience, since the menu format is built around variety and combination rather than a single tasting-menu path.

Busiest times across the Ottawa calendar

Weekday lunch hours draw the heaviest foot traffic from nearby office workers looking for a fast, satisfying meal within walking distance, while weekday evenings tend to be steadier and better suited to a relaxed sit-down meal. Weekends bring a different crowd: ByWard Market is one of Ottawa's most visited districts on Saturdays and Sundays, pulling in both locals doing their weekend outings and visitors exploring the market stalls, shops, and surrounding restaurants, which naturally increases interest in nearby dining options including this one. Seasonally, the warmer months from late spring through early fall coincide with Ottawa's peak tourism period — driven by events on Parliament Hill, the Rideau Canal in its summer form, and general foot traffic through the market district — so a Dalhousie Street address can expect a livelier pace during those months. Winter shifts the pattern: once the cold sets in, lunch and dinner crowds lean more heavily on nearby residents and office staff rather than tourists, and a hot bowl of Thai noodle soup or a shared Chinese hot dish becomes a natural draw against the weather. Holiday periods and the weeks around major federal or civic events in the capital can also push demand higher, simply because the surrounding district sees more visitors overall.

Ordering, sharing, and what people notice on repeat visits

Regulars and newcomers tend to notice different things about a two-cuisine restaurant like this one. First-time guests often need a moment to get oriented, since the menu essentially offers two paths rather than one, and the vocabulary — curry pastes, wok temperatures, degrees of spice, steamed versus fried preparations — is not always intuitive. Returning customers, by contrast, tend to have already settled into a pattern: some stick to the Thai side and order by spice level, while others favour the shared-platter approach typical of the Chinese menu, ordering two or three dishes for the table rather than individual entrées. That flexibility — being able to order a single Thai curry for a fast solo lunch, or a spread of Chinese dishes for a family dinner — is part of what makes a combined-menu restaurant practical for a mixed downtown clientele with different needs on different days. Various payment methods are accepted, which keeps the ordering experience straightforward regardless of how a table chooses to pay after splitting a shared meal. For anyone new to either style of cooking, asking about spice levels before ordering a Thai dish, or asking whether a Chinese dish is meant to be shared, is a simple way to avoid surprises and get a meal suited to the occasion, whether that is a quick weekday lunch or a slower weekend dinner in the ByWard Market area.

Frequently asked questions

Is the restaurant accessible for people with reduced mobility?

Accessibility details are not listed in the information on file for this Dalhousie Street address, so mobility needs are best confirmed directly with the restaurant by phone before visiting, particularly for older commercial buildings in the ByWard Market area where entrance and washroom access can vary from one storefront to the next.

Can you show up without reserving or preparing anything in advance?

A restaurant offering both Thai and Chinese dishes in a walkable downtown location is generally set up to welcome walk-in guests, whether for a fast solo lunch or a larger shared dinner, though calling ahead is a reasonable step for bigger groups given how popular the surrounding market district gets on weekends.

Is there parking or a transit option nearby?

Specific parking arrangements are not part of the information on file, but a Dalhousie Street address in the ByWard Market area sits within Ottawa's dense downtown core, where street parking, nearby public lots, and OC Transpo bus routes are typical options for reaching restaurants in that district.

Guests looking for a quieter visit generally do better outside the core weekday lunch rush and away from peak weekend hours in ByWard Market, since a mid-afternoon or early weekday-evening visit tends to see lighter foot traffic than the height of the lunch hour or a Saturday afternoon in the market.