Press and media:fromOttawa data,quotes anddownloads

This is the press page for fromOttawa (fromottawa.com), an insider look at Ottawa and Gatineau. We are not a publisher, and we are not connected to University of Ottawa Press. If you need to reach us about media, please use hello@fromottawa.com.

We rank places on lists using one published formula. It uses public Google Maps ratings and review counts. Data was pulled on 2026-10-29. We will update in 90 days, on 2027-01-27. All numbers on this page carry that date, so you can quote them as of 2026-10-29.

You can't buy your way onto a list. That goes for any list, any rank and any badge.

fromOttawa currently has 56 ranked lists, with 6,174 ranked rows. We have 31,718 place records in our store, and only those that meet the rules below make a list.

Our biggest list is best restaurants, with 1,309 qualifying locations. Because branches of the same business share one row, that list has 1,171 ranked rows. Next come best parks with 539 qualifying locations and best auto repair with 519. Our smallest lists are best ramen and best hardware stores, with 9 qualifying locations each, and best steakhouses, with 12.

These numbers come from each list's data file, which is dated 2026-10-29. If a number changes when we refresh our data, the list page will show the new data date.

The formulaScore = (v / (v + m)) x R + (m / (v + m)) x C. R is the place's rating on Google. v is the number of reviews for that place. m is the median number of reviews for places in that category, held between 20 and 200. C is the average rating of qualifying places in that category. Basically, if a place has a low number of reviews, the formula pulls it closer to the category's average rating until it has enough reviews to stand on its own.

A place needs at least 10 reviews, has to be open, must have the right Google category for that list and must sit in the list's Ottawa-area scope. If there is a tie, we use more reviews, then a higher rating, then alphabetical order. We do not include chains with 10 or more locations in Canada. We also leave out bars, breweries, liquor stores, casinos, any kind of alcohol or gambling venue, and places that are permanently closed.

Social media talk, badges and editor notes will not affect a rank. You can read the full method, with worked examples, on our methodology page. Our editorial policy covers what we will and won't publish.

Each list page is built to offer a CSV and JSON download of its rows. Each row has the rank, place name, rating, number of reviews, address and category, as well as the data date. You can find all of our lists in one place on our data hub. If a download is not working yet, please email us at hello@fromottawa.com and tell us which list. We will send you the file.

We have not published any data studies yet. When we do, they will be on our data hub, with their own date and method. Until then, our 56 lists are the full data set.

If you find a place with a wrong address, a place that is closed, or a business in the wrong category, please use our corrections page. We log every fix, and a fix to the data can change a rank. Asking us to rank a place higher will not.

Please credit fromOttawa by name, with the date of our data and a link to the list you used. A short form works: "Source: fromOttawa, best restaurants list, Google Maps data pulled 2026-10-29."

Our ranks change at each 90-day refresh. If you are publishing after 2027-01-27, please check the list page for a newer date before you publish, or clearly mention the older data date.

Please do not present a fromOttawa rank as a review, a visit or a taste test. We do not visit, taste or test places. The rank is a calculation on public Google Maps ratings, and it should be described that way.

Any ranked place may show a "Ranked on fromOttawa" badge with its current rank and the data date. When our data changes, the badge should show the new rank and date, or come down.

There are no paid badges. A badge is never sold and never changes a rank. UpWhiten and HUSH, two businesses connected to the owner of fromOttawa, will never receive a badge, whatever their rank.

fromottawa.com has been online since September 2026. Our editor's name, Alex Laurent, is a pen name of the site's owner, and we say so openly. You can learn more about our editor on our editor page and about page.

The owner of fromOttawa is also connected to two local businesses, UpWhiten and HUSH. If UpWhiten makes a list, it is ranked by the same formula as any other place, and we mark its row. HUSH will not be on a list until it has 10 Google reviews and meets the same list rules as everyone else. In the 2026-10-29 data, neither business is on any list.

fromOttawa has not been covered in the news yet. We will not display any press logos or "as seen in" claims, and we will add coverage here only when it exists.

Media contact: hello@fromottawa.com. We have no phone line and no public street address, by design. Reporters can also use our contact page.

• fromOttawa homepage (media contact hello@fromottawa.com; no phone or street address shown). Checked 2026-10-29.