excellent spot for summer drinks. it's not much of a bar during the winter, but the patio here during the summertime slaps. read more

Ethel's Lounge - summer time beers - Lounges Near Me - Waterloo, Ontario

Nov. 23/22 Be prepared to tip large at Ethel's. Waitress told me out right she wanted a $10 tip for 2 beers and a burger. Bill was approximately $33 as it was. When my tip was only !0% (why I tipped at all is beyond me) she told me to never return. Such a fun place. read more

We come to Waterloo from San Francisco every summer, and we always make at least one stop at Ethel's. The service is welcoming and on-point, the drinks are tasty, and the food servings are generous and high-quality. It gives the feel of a dive bar, but with a vastly better experience. I love it. read more

Mediocre. Drinks are cheap but food is just okay. Service is friendly and vibes are pretty good. Pulled pork sand-which is good could use some sauce . Nachos are yummy read more

Ethel's Lounge - Chorizo taquito - Lounges Near Me - Waterloo, Ontario

My boyfriend and I decided to go to Ethel's for our dinner date night tonight - BIG mistake. I had to make a list of all the screw ups while we were still there just so I could remember it all. -6 wings for $14. Stupid. -No napkins or wet naps with wings. -no utensils with the Caesar salad. -Only two toppings out of the three I ordered for the THREE TOPPING nachos. It's literally in the name. -Waited close to an hour for any food. There's a two hour seating limit. It wasn't busy. -the table was soaked in rain water, but other tables were dried off. -the "salsa" was just raw diced tomato. -took 15 minutes just to get the bill, the server was too busy serving the already clearly drunk customers more booze. -I tried to ask for a non styrofoam takeout container for my nachos because I have a fear of styrofoam but the server left while I was still talking to him. Brought back styrofoam. Nice. Went there 9 months ago also and I remember not being impressed. Dry meat, below average service. Safe to say I'm not going back there. read more

My wife and I have started going to Ethel's for date night on a Friday. Love this place! Eclectic crowds, wonderful and friendly staff, cold pints, and menu is varied and delicious! We haven't made it yet to the patio because we love the bar atmosphere. Truly a K-W gem! read more

Went for Taco Tuesday, which is where you get 4 "tacos" for $2 with the purchase of a drink. Their "tacos" belong in quotation marks because they are the dumbed-down hard-shell American version, which is a truly pitiful approximation of the actually delightful Mexican dish. Service was acceptable, could definitely be improved. They don't accept health card as ID, which makes absolutely no sense. Still, I can't complain when the meal was literally a toonie (plus the cost of a drink, which could be between $3-8). read more

Ethel's Lounge - Taco tuesday $2 - Lounges Near Me - Waterloo, Ontario

I love this place. You know the saying there's no place like home? Well thats how I feel at Ethels. No matter where we go out to eat I always wish I was at Ethels, so much so that we have basically stopped going anywhere else. I recently discovered that Ethels breakfast is just as delicious as everything else there. My husband and I have some favourites. We enjoy going for both their Monday night special: burger monday as well as Taco Tuesday! On top of that we enjoy their Antojidoes, pulled pork nachos and club house. Everything is homemade and delicious! We can't get enough. The staff is great, and treat their regulars well. . read more

Ethel's Lounge - Recently discovered breakfast at Ethels. The breakfast burrito was delicious and fresh. Homefries we tasty and well seasoned! Yum - Lounges Near Me - Waterloo, Ontario

Went for brunch on a frigid Saturday, and their Gunpowder Chili warmed me right up! It's delicious -- a hearty mix of ground beef, tomatoes, beans; and I love the red onions, jalapeños, and cheese that they give you one the side. Also comes with tortilla chips or Texas toast. The place itself was decently busy, especially the bar, and had a very casual atmosphere. Service was friendly and prompt. read more

Ethel's Lounge - Gunpowder Chili - Lounges Near Me - Waterloo, Ontario

I'd skip it. I mean, it's okay and they are said to have the best antojitos in the city but the place is too dirty for me and no matter how often I have stopped in, I've always preferred the other bars along King St. to this one. They have a big dark patio in their parking lot, and the inside is small and grungy at best. I feel like a bit of a jerk giving this place a bad review after all these great ones but for me, this bar just isn't my thing. read more

Ethel's Lounge - Ethel's patio - Lounges Near Me - Waterloo, Ontario

I quite enjoy this place, which is located on the main strip in Waterloo. While it is no fancy establishment, it has over the years become the go-to spot for mid-afternoon lunch dates with many friends. They do a great job of being able to accomodate large groups of people both inside and outside. While my preference is to be outside on their patio, I have had many a good evenings inside Ethel's as well. It has your classic old style diner feel to it. This place has daily specials (Friday excluded) and my favourite of their daily specials is Taco Tuesday where you can get 4 beef tacos with salsa or sour cream for only $2.00 with any drink purchase. When living in Waterloo it used to be a tradition to go here for these oh so delicious tacos. Ethel's also makes a pretty mean Club House sandwich that is served with carrots pickles and some nice kettle cooked chips! Another favourite of my crew is the Porkadilla wrap which is essentially pulled pork wrapped in flour tortillas. I do recommend checking this place out. Just don't go in expecting a classy place and you'll come out satisfied! read more

Ethel's is a great place to stop by no matter what your age. The vintage posters lining the walls of concerts taking place around the city are incredible - artists playing university shows LONG before they were famous (Neil Young, Joni Mitchell, Elton John, etc.etc.etc). GET the Porkadilla - a cheese quesadilla jammed with amazing pulled pork. It is the one of the best things my mouth has ever tasted. Really. They have deals here for every day of the week, for example Mondays are 3.99 burgers with purchase of a drink, and Tuesdays are 4 tacos for 2 bucks. You get the idea. They don't have a deep fryer, which will shock people who are expecting "bar" food. All their sandwiches come with chips instead. Wings are baked. No big loss :) read more

Really good place to hang out at for a couple hours with a few beers. Bring a date here if she or he is on the chill side. The staff are cool and laid back, and it's fun to look at all the old posters, lights, and random decorations. Their patio is an awesome place to be in the summer. The best thing to order EVER is the pulled pork nachos. It's a massive plate of cheesy BBQ saucy deliciousness. The one time our server set the huge plate of nachos on our table and shouted, "Are you guys ready for some nachos?!?!" My SO looked at each other like, "YEAH!!!" in unison, haha. Just trust me on this one. Beer and pulled pork nachos go hand in hand, my friends. The only thing I would advise against is their Taco Tuesdays deal. I'm really not a huge fan. They're just not *good* tacos, so expect the price ($2) to reflect the quality. They also only accept cash or credit as payment, no debit. Get with the times! :P read more

Don't come to Ethel's if you're looking for bubbly staff who are enthusiastic to give you a run-down of the day's specials. DO come to Ethel's if you want to have some pretty great food in a laid back environment. Tacos, burgers, pulled pork, and any of their tex-mex offerings are fabulous. I'd say their one big flaw is the lack of a deep-fryer. It's kind of a let-down when you have an excellent burger and are served potato chips on the side instead. But I still give them 5-stars because this is probably the greatest restaurant/bar in KW. There's something about this place that is really special. read more

A few friends and I went on a Wednesday for their wing night. I don't think I'll go back for that. It was 1.5lbs of wings which came out to be only 8 wings for 8.49. Usually at other wing places 1lb should be 9-10 wings. So basically at Ethel's I paid $1.00/wing. Not a wing special to me.The wings are baked which are good but there was barely any flavour or sauce on the wings. This made them less than satisfactory. I'm sure Ethel's is good for other things but not for wings. There are better options for wings in the area. read more

Great atmosphere and service, and the food is satisfactory. The walls are covered in vintage memorabilia. Lovely Tex mex cuisine. We will definitely be returning. Try their Shirley temple with or without alcohol as the non alcoholic one is the best I've had. Pro tip: if your only ID is your health card, don't bother ordering alcohol as it is against restaurant policy for them to serve you. read more

I moved away from Waterloo about a year ago to the frozen north. And one of the things I missed the most was Ethel's. Like, sure, I missed my kids and my friends, but seriously... I really really missed Ethel's. I mean, Ethel's is NOT everyone's cup of tea. It was originally a KFC franchise many many years ago... and was converted into a bar by Glen Smith, who still owns the joint. To commemorate it's roots, there's even a little shrine to the Colonel in the back corner. The slogan is "no live music, one tv". It's not a sports bar.. it's not a dance club. It's that "where everyone knows your name" kind of place. The kind of place where they actually DO remember my "usual" after not serving me for a year. I've been a couple of times in the last couple of weeks.. and I love it. The decor is eclectic. Old kitchen tables (the kind my grandma had) and mismatched chairs. On the walls all kinds of old music posters (from Glen's personal collection.. he was the promoter on a lot of the concerts listed on them).. Old KISS posters.. Old RUSH... just to go see Glen's collection of memorabilia is worth it. The food is always great. Decent price, generous portions, tasty... the Antijitos are always a hit.. the burgers are HUGE... and of course.. TACO TUESDAY. Four tacos for TWO DOLLARS. This is a Waterloo institution. Every poor college student in town (and many others) show to drink up and eat $2 tacos on a Tuesday ... My favourite menu item is the Rajah - Chicken stuffed peppers with spicy cream sauce and rice. Delicious. This past weekend I went for breakfast and instead of the usual eggs and bacon (breakfast is served till 3p on the weekends...) I had the breakfast burrito. Super tasty. Scrambled eggs with cheeses and salsa all wrapped in a tortilla.. TONS of home fries.. Yum yum. Plus, you can get a pint with your brekkie. Can't ask for more than that! ;) Bottom line... it's the type of place you could go on your own, sit at the bar and one of the regulars would chat you up. The staff claims to be surly (they are just sarcastic and fun).. the food is awesome, the ambiance is terrific and all around it's just a fun place. In fact, I love it so much, I think I'll have my next wedding there.. ;) read more

I love the burgers from this place, they really can't be beat.. they have that great homemade taste and I highly recommend you get the "Sriracha" to put on the burger if you like it spicy. Note, they don't serve fries, but provide chips. Mondays is cheap burger day by the way Tuesdays is Taco Tuesdays... read more

This is my favourite bar in the universe. True uptown realness. Great food, atmosphere and people. read more

Ethel's Lounge - This is all that matters really, but Taco Tuesdays is a bonus. - Lounges Near Me - Waterloo, Ontario

Came here on a Monday for their $4 burger special with drink purchase. Their patty was much bigger than what I was expecting and was extremely filling. Also, I didn't realize but the burger comes with a side of chips that were very crispy. It also wasn't too salty unlike most chips. Definitely will be back again. read more

Ethel's Lounge - $4 on Monday. The patty is a lot bigger than I expected. - Lounges Near Me - Waterloo, Ontario

Awesome bar, great food, reasonable prices and the crowd is usually pretty cool there. There's no loud music, so if you want to talk you can talk! The daily specials are great, very cheap. I've never had something to eat at Ethel's that I didn't like. I wish the patio was nicer but oh well you can't have it all, I still give this place 5/5! People saying it's dirty? I wouldn't agree with this at all, it may not be the most modern place in the city but it isn't dirty for sure. Another big plus is that there is not too many "bros" at Ethel's, it's a very relaxed crowd which I absolutely love. Great staff too! read more

we went on taco tuesday and i had the enchiladas,they where very good with a combo of beans and rice, great atmosphere

Two words: Taco Tuesdays! It is, however, the only time it is ever worth going to Ethel's. I've tried some of the regular menu stuff and it's all okay. Even the tacos themselves are mediocre, and you can only have them in a hard shell option. Service is okay, and interiors are everything you would expect. They have a patio which is nice to sit out on in the summer. read more

I went there a week after patios were allowed to open after the Covid-19 Pandemic they gave us a 2 hour limit for seating, which would be reasonable but the food took 45 minutes for the chicken wings I ordered and 15 minutes for the bill at the end of my meal. The portion was underwelming for the price of 6 wings for $15 .when I was served my wings they didn't give me any napkins or wetnaps until halfway thru my meal. Next I ordered the meal caesar salad and wanst given cutlery for my salad at first. The person I was with order the nachos, the "salsa" was diced tomato and was missing toppings. Blatantly drunk customers were kept being served alchol and being disruptive. The service was friendly but below average. One of the worst restaurant experiences I've had. read more

I went to Ethel's a couple of times. The most memorable was when I asked the bartender to make me 4 "Adios Motherf*ckers", he didn't know the recipe, I gave it to him and he was more than happy to make them for me. 4 stars just for that! read more

I heard a lot of sketchy stories about this place and from the outside it kind of looked like it too. After my friend convinced me that its actually good and not sketchy, I went there for there famous taco Tuesdays. They have cheap food and you get quite a but for what you pay and the quality of it too. There tacos on tuesdays are pretty good for only 2 dollars but arent the best. You should be prepared they only accept cash. read more

Ethel's has become my "go-to" bar ever since Caesar Martini's closed. Love their tex-mex menu (items are alacart, so you can order sides separately). They smoke their meat on site (unfortunately Glen the owner's a little set in his ways, so the ribs are still dry as h---). Regarding the comment that they only accept cash - not true. They accept credit and have an ATM on site. Home-made soups are awesome! Wings are every Wednesday and every full moon (their full moon wingding). Their wings are awesome! Baked, not fried and not breaded. - 4/5 stars! ****Amending my review (Feb 2016) They only have I think 1 member from the kitchen crew when I gave that review still working there. The menu isn't nearly as good now. I used to love their breakfasts - nope, they always mess them up now. Their wings, while still baked, are a train wreck. They simply can't seem to cook them properly (me, I think they have the oven too hot). I've even tried ordering them well done, to try to not get pink wings - nope, burnt on the outside, still pink on the inside. Sorry, pink chicken meat is just a bad thing (unless it's pink because it's been smoked). I was a regular here for years...sad to say I won't be going back. With the change in management and kitchen staff, there's really no reason to go here anymore. read more

We came here looking for a proper local diner and we found it! Their sandwiches and burgers are so fresh and their portions very generous.

Really enjoyed this restaurant. Tuesday is taco night, you get 4 tacos for $2. You have to buy a drink with it, but thats a give-in anyhow. read more

One of my favourite places for good food that is reasonably priced in a relaxed atmosphere. The beer is cold, the patio is hot and the service is always entertaining. The specials will never dissapoint, Monday has a $3.99 burger with drink purchase, Thursday is meatloaf with mashed or scallop potatos and Saturday is Enchiladas which are my favourite. Any of the dishes with pulled pork are great and the tapas platter is a great starter. This place is a dive, nothing fancy, tacky and dark decor, but great food and always a good time. Check it out, you won't be dissapointed. read more

The prices are great but you are also getting what you pay for! It's $2 for 4 tacos with the purchase of a drink on Tuesdays. The tacos are hard shell, so not the best quality tacos out there! read more

Good food. Good patio. Good staff. I've been here many times and usually leave satisfied. Laid back and casual. Good portions - cheap prices. They make a good Caesar. read more

It's a bit of a hole, but great food. The staff and service is usually great, and although it's a bit grungy, they have a ton of great food options. Personal favorites include: Panzerotti with chorizo, Pulled pork with baked Beans, or if you're feeling adventurous, burger with pulled pork on top. read more

I'd been here once before with my buddies and had an extremely attentive, friendly server, so I did not think twice before coming back. As it turned out, this was a big mistake. I went to Ethel's Lounge with my girlfriend recently, and had horrendous service by one extremely rude waitress. Firstly she was dressed in an inappropriately low-cut top and short shorts. Then when my food arrived I discovered long, brown hair in it- same colour as the waitresses. I and asked her about it, she became extremely defensive and said it must be my girlfriends (she's blond). The only other 2 people working were men with short hair, and I have short hair as well. My girlfriend stated the hair is obviously is not hers as she's blond, and I nicely asked her for another dish, and the waitress said I would have to pay a 2nd time. I had not even touched my first dish. So I asked for the cheque and left. Left a 5% tip, which was more than she was worth. I've had a good time here once before, but this last time left me with an extremely foul taste. Stay away. read more

Their "pulled pork" dish put me three days in bed and four others in the proximity of the bathroom. Overall it took me about 10 days to recover completely. I find their declared commitment to food safety a joke. I am pretty resistant to food poisoning, but something in the dish was probably already contaminated with bacteria toxins. We used to go there often in the summer, but now I do not think I will ever eat there. read more

I've never written an on-line review before; I do so now because of my annoyance. I have been going to Ethel's regularly for almost 5 years. The food is great but there is one bartender (looks like David Hasselhoff with a pot belly) who is beyond rude. Flirts like crazy with the women 15 years junior to him but won't pay any attention to the males when you sit at the bar. Seems incensed when you ask him if you can order a drink and will always be drifting back to the women before you've finished your sentence so you have to again flag him down to order food or have some cutlery (which he of course never provides when he brings you the meal). Must be the son of the owner to get away with what he does. I've finally stopped going. Urge others to do the same. read more

I have been looking forward to checking Ethel's out, since I moved here last year. After hearing the owner on CBC last week, my husband and I decided to finally stop in tonight, just for a drink or two, maybe some dessert. We were really impressed by the decor, and went and sat on the patio. The bar was pretty empty, but there were quite a few people on the patio. We talked to a girl cleaning a table and asked if we could sit down - so someone knew we were there. About 20 mins later with no service I went to the bar to ask for a drink. The same girl who had been cleaning said there was a server outside and was quite pleasant. The server came up and said "oh, I'll come in a bit." Since we had already waited 20 minutes I asked to order from her now. She didn't want to take my order, since she wouldn't know where we were sitting. I explained, twice, and since we were right by the door it shouldn't have been hard!! Finally - drinks. Beer was flat and margarita was tasteless. Very disappointing after such a long wait. We finished our drinks and tried to get our server to bring our bill... But she was sitting at the table next to us. Finally, we got the bartender to let us pay (she was quite helpful!). We did not tip. As we left, we heard the server say "AND no tip". No. You didn't do anything!!! There is casual service - and then there is plain rude. read more

Pretty good food , staff was nice. Probably won't make it a regular place though . Not good enough for me to crave it .

place is bomb. taco tuesdays are awesome ($2 for 4 tacos, they're not amazing but they're great for $2), and I always come here when I'm craving mexican. best fish tacos I've ever had and best refried beans. LOVE the rajah read more

Ate here with a few friends a week ago! My food wasn't anything special but everyone else liked what they ordered. The service was slow and and not that helpful. It was a quirky sort of place which was cool but kinda surprising that in they don't take debit but they do take credit and cash. I would go back just to try something else! read more