There is a special place in my heart for the Laf, and it all began in my university days: I was…read moredoing a first year project and the assignment was "study something do to with being in first year" - my partner and I chose...Drinking! We went to all sorts of pubs and bars around Ottawa, tried the food and drink, filmed our experiences, and reported back to the class on the best deals and safest ways to get tipsy - keep in mind, this was long before Yelp was around. As the Laf is one of the oldest bars in Ottawa, it was first on the list. This bar is old school, down to earth, casual, low lighting, seemingly impersonal... so you'll need to use your imagination to picture a peppy, dolled-up first year bouncing (loudly) through the door with a video camera who then immediately thought "this might not go well" - I was SO wrong as it was AMAZING! The staff as well as the patrons we so welcoming, helpful, full of laughter, and even offered me free pop and snacks all night long since I was the DD (and professional videographer) of the night. Our intent was to spend about 15-20 minutes in each bar for a quick drink and experience: we stayed for most of the night and had a blast! All this to say, the environment in this place is awesome! I recently returned to grab some take-out and it was great. Simple food, cooked well, and packaged in a compostable take-out box. We ordered the burger and fries, and demolished it promptly. Service was so pleasant and brought back such happy memories.

Oldest bar in Ottawa - dumpiest dive with decent live music nightly and a security guard with…read moreattitude that thinks he is Hulk Hogan. Lol..! I think one can only drink beer here, it's all I've ever seen. Staff are... there.. but not really. Gruff! The bathroom is tiny but operational. Somehow it all works and I'm sure most like it just how it is! Curious to know how much has really changed in so many decades of it being here. It's not unclean..it's just older than dirt. It is for sure, a destination place and just come as you are. No one is really looking!

I've been to Barrymore's a few times with some friends and I've always had a pretty good time. It's…read morea concert venue and a nightclub, but a lot more casual, which I love. On top of that, the cover charge is either free or cheap, so generally you don't have to worry about paying a high cover. 80s night on Sundays and 90s night on Thursdays are definitely the most popular. It's fun to jam out to all of your old favorite hits, whether it be dance, pop, rock, or old school, and pull out all of your corny dance moves. The screen plays old TV shows and music videos while you dance, and you may even get some bubbles blown from the ceiling. The drinks are also good and completely affordable so it's an all-around great time without having to get all dolled up or spend and arm and a leg.

90s night on Thursday! 80s night on Sunday! TV shows from the chosen decade projected on huge…read morescreens about the dance floor! Stories upon stories of fun! Just a few reasons why I like Barrymore's. The line moves quickly and the cover, if any, is cheap. You then walk up a sweeping staircase and into an enormous concert venue, being used as an epic nightclub. I recently went on an 90s night and was surprised to hear barely any 90s. I suppose it depends on the DJ that night and regardless, the dance floor was packed. So was the stage where both guys and girls can dance it out! *Not sure if it's every single Thursday but on this one, $3 drinks! The glory of it all is that anything goes. You can dress up, dress down, dress as your fave 80s or 90s star, nobody cares. I rolled up in cut-off jean shorts, a tank top and gladiators and no one had a thing to say about it. Everyone's too busy dancing/drinking/having great times!

So I'm being told their no longer accepting their own lifetime memberships, while they try and sell…read moreme on their new yearly memberships that cost hundreds of dollars! I have 10+ free hours saved on my lifetime membership that has just been wiped and they really believe they can get away with such dishonest practices. I've left both the head office in New Brunswick and the Ottawa emails and calls about this with no reply whatsoever so at this time I will be filing a complaint with both the Consumer Protection Ontario and the Competition Bureau Canada to hopefully get this resolved but I will also be making a post on reddit as I've found a civil lawyer and if there is many other whos been effected by this, we could make it a class action lawsuit.

I would give them a -5 star review we came on the 30dec we played 10pm-12am no one asked for any ID…read moreand were 7 people but when we came on the 1st of January we all did not have our ID on us we were all excited to play expecting no questions about ID but apparently we can't play without ID t some come fix this issue I can't having to drive form Kanata to come play at the best 8 pool in Ottawa for me to go back home with my buddies because apparently you're not welcome if you don't have your ID after 6 o'clock?????????

Great food served by attentive staff. THE place in Ottawa to play pool. Be aware that it gets VERY…read morenoisy during a major televised sports event.

Unfortunately, we went there tonight for dinner and had planned on playing some pool or darts for…read moreour daughter's birthday. We got there at 6:15. The waitress took 40 minutes before she came to our table to even take a drink order when we realized how long things were taking, we decided to give our food order as well. It took an hour and 20 minutes before our food even came to us with us not having a visit from our waitress. We actually had to walk to the bar to try to order our own drinks and We had asked her if she can give us an ETA for our food, she said she would. She never came back when our food finally arrived an hour and 20 minutes or an hour and 30 minutes later it was cold. We said we were not happy about it and then the bartender came over to tell us how displeased he was because we were questioning the food and questioned our tone. All we did was ask when our food was gonna be ready. We were just looking for an ETA. We had told her if the food took any longer that we would rather not have the food. Our bill was $170. We paid it and of course they waited till we paid it to come and tell us that they didn't like the tone that we had we didn't have a tone we asked for an ETA. All we needed to know is how long our food was gonna be and we said to her if it was gonna be after waiting an hour and 20 minutes if it was gonna be another 15 2030 minutes that we no longer wanted the food that all we needed to be told that you know if they can't bring the food if it's busy or if there's an issue, we would just have our drinks and leave. Not a good experience. I will never go back there and I will never recommend it to anyone. The service was horrible. The food was cold and horrible and that's it. They don't need to deserve a one star. If I could give a zero star, that's what I would do. The staff were rude.

A large group of us met for dinner recently at The Elmdale…read more Dinner was great, a little overpriced. Our server was amazing. We were happy -- it was a celebration. Then came the part that defies common sense. After dinner they were clearing space for a DJ. We had settled our bill. I went to order a drink at the bar and was told I had to walk to the front door to pay a $5 cover before I could buy a $10, one-ounce drink .... after I had already spent nearly $100 on dinner. When I politely asked how this possibly made sense, the manager stepped in and argued that we had to pay. I have decided that I will not mention his name despite how insulting I found this to be. I'm choosing to give someone the benefit of the doubt. Maybe he was having a bad day. So let's do Math 101. An empty bar. Paying guests. Good-tippers. A lively group ready to keep spending. And you stop the sale over $5 and talk down to your customers. This felt like a perfect example of what I personally feel is going wrong in society today -- people blindly enforcing "rules" without applying any human judgment, common sense, or situational awareness, and mistaking a small bit of authority for good decision-making. In fairness, perhaps he doesn't have the power to override silly little penny-pinching rules by owners/mgmt. We walked out immediately -- on principle. It wasn't even about the five dollars. That single interaction left a worse taste than anything we ate. It takes real talent to turn happy dinner customers into walking warnings. I have to say, everyone else, including the doormen outside, were really super nice (hence the 2 stars).

A nice spot in Hintonburg, with lots ofindoor and outdoor seating as well in the summer. Lots of…read moreseafood options, and a few options for those who don't eat seafood like steak. The staff is very friendly and kind , very attentive. If you come early in the evening on weekend, you won't have any issues getting a table It has the same owner as whalebone , so if you enjoy their restaurant downtown, you will enjoy the spot as well It is a spot that is a casual dining experience without being pretentious, while also being a nice date like spot for a more casual person

This place is amazing. The staff are super warm and helpful, the food and drink are tasty and…read morecheap! What more could you ask for? Also, The Matrix was playing on the TV in the background, which was nice. An extraordinary experience!!!!!!!

The brunch is HEAVENLY! It's open 10am on weekends despite what Yelp says…read more We had the Boss burger and waffles stuffed with pulled pork. The house fries that came with our orders were crispy perfection! The cornbread with blueberry pepper jelly is also worth ordering. It was deserted when we went Sunday morning.. but we were shocked by how good the food was. A total hidden gem!

Overall: D // 2 stars…read more This bar does not live up to the great name of the Andaz hotel chain it shares presence with. Their drinks had quite unmemorable flavors and mundane aesthetic. I also found their bar menu to fit the theme very well as the dishes sounded more like plated dining rather than finger foods or sharable plates. Additionally, while the establishment has very pleasant rooftop views of the city, I found the staff to be generally aloof or neglecting throughout service and failing to take advantage of this great ambience; we had to actively chase them down for water, the menu for bar snacks, and the check among other things which lowers my opinion of this establishment. (Golden Hour: B) - An easy to palette, fruit and sugar-forward cocktail that works well. I do wish the presentation was more elaborate. (Sights & Spritz: C) - Another drink thats lightweight and easy to palette. There are notes of lemon and lavender that come through, but it feels like its missing character. Food: E Presentation: E Price: E Atmosphere: +1 Service: -1 Menu: -1 Overall: 2 stars Insta/Beli/Yelp/TikTok: @amei_eats

Located inside the Andaz Ottawa hotel on the top floor, this is an patio restaurant with appitizers…read moreand cocktails. The venue was very busy so try to book ahead if you want to get a seat. The main attraction of this place is that is has the absolute best view of the Ottawa skyline overlooking parliment hill. A great chill spot to get a few drinks and get in the views. If you can try to book so you can see the sunset over the city. My only gripe was they imposed a strict 60 min limit for the next guests so make sure you make your time worth it.

Best karaoke place in town! Huge selection of English and Asian songs! Highly recommend itread more