I've been to several D'Arcy McGee's pubs over the years. I was at this one in Kanata recently with my husband and father-in-law. I would say that this Kanata location is more of a family restaurant as there were lots of kids there than at other locations. Food-wise, they are all very similar, typical pub food. I feel that the food is ok, albeit a bit pricey for what it is.
On our most recent visit we started with the Blarney Fries, which are waffle fries with cheese, tomatoes, jalapeños, and green onions. It also came with sides of salsa and sour cream. I had a coupon for a free appetizer, so for free it was great. However, the regular price is $14.95 which I think is high for the size and what it is (i.e. essentially loaded fries). The waffle fries were crispy, but there wasn't enough cheese (which was actually a cheese sauce, not shredded cheese).
I had the Spinach and Arugula Salad ($12.95) and added a piece of grilled salmon ($5.50) to it. The salad had the ingredients in its namesake, in addition to radicchio, red onions, sliced strawberries and goat cheese. Ingredients were fresh and the fruity citrus dressing complimented the salad well (I asked for it on the side, and it arrived as requested). The salmon was a little underdone for my tastes, but still good. For some reason my salad didn't have any almonds or pumpkin seeds in it. I didn't realize while at the restaurant and as I was writing this review I thought that the salad could have benefited from some crunch to it, it was then that I realized I think there was supposed to be nuts in it, and I checked the menu online and sure enough, it was supposed to have some crunchy ingredients. Oh well.
My husband had the Salmon and Leek Pie $16.50. It came with a side salad. My husband enjoyed his meal but commented that the pie crust was too salty.
My father-in-law had the Steak and Mushroom Pie $15.95. It came on a bed of mashed potatoes and gravy. He was disappointed that they didn't have Steak and Kidney Pie and while he enjoyed his meal he commented that it was mostly mushrooms with a bit of steak.
For dessert my husband and I shared the Apple Crumble, which came with vanilla ice cream ($7). The ice cream was great, very rich and creamy. The apple blossom was too much crust for my liking, and it was a pie crust. I have seen this dessert made with a phyllo crust and I would have enjoyed a phyllo crust much more. The pie crust was also a little underdone at the bottom. The apple filling was not apple slices, but rather apple matchsticks. I probably would not order this again.
My father-in-law had the Brownies with vanilla ice cream ($6.95). There were 3 pieces of brownies and he gave us a piece. He thought it wasn't chocolatey enough, and I thought it was a bit on the dry side.
In my opinion, desserts were not this restaurant's strengths.
In the past I've had their Boxties, which are like potato pancakes (like pancakes made with potato flour, not like rosti or latkes). These are quite good and I rarely see them on the menu at other restaurants (in fact the only other place I've had them in Ottawa was at the Ashton Brew Pub and it wasn't very good there but they did have some other rarities like Welsh Rarebit, but that's another review altogether). I've also had their burgers and their sandwiches, which were also good.
This location is in that row of restaurants with Swiss Chalet, Eastside Mario's and A&W. There's lots of free parking. read more