The Ottawa Tavern

Great inexpensive fresh food. Attentive friendly staff. Very well curated tap beer & cider selection. Diverse music from broad genres from punk to contemporary - The night I went a new band was on stage every 30 minutes. Sound quality was awful to shrilly horrific. For a place that takes pride as a Live Music Venue, this is unacceptable. Yes, the musicians should adjust their volumes and mixers better - They are after all ultimately responsible for the delivery of their own performance art. (I get that punk is loud, but it should still have musicality and should Not burst eardrums like cluster bombs exploding in a Kitchenwares Shop - nonstop.) I couldn't make out the lyrics nor the individual instruments on ANY if the 5 bands I heard 90% of the time. I couldn't even understand the monologues of the band leaders most of the time. The Club / Tavern itself has the most responsibility. I say this as the former owner of a live music venue... The Ottawa Tavern is mostly hard reflective surfaces: hard walls/ceiling/floors, stainless steel bar, etc. Worst is the long bank of plate glass windows - the absolute bane of musicians! Covering these windows (& other hard surfaces) with heavy drapes would ameliorate a lot of the crashing, screeching sound reflection & reverb issues for cheap. (I sat furthest from the bands, but still needed earplugs the entire time.) Secondly, club management should be active in some policing of sound volume... Bands hear their performance through stage monitors, not through the loudspeakers that are pointed away from them. Bands, especially young bands, also have an inherent predilection for continually cranking up the volume little by little throughout their performance, and they can't afford sound engineers to monitor the the way it sounds to the audience. Club Management must monitor and remediate with the band leader, and, if necessary, compel them to maintain a volume that protects the musicality of the performance. After all, it's all about the customer experience, right? I'll gladly give The Ottawa Tavern musical experience a 2nd chance... Because I love and respect the opportunity they're providing for local artists. But I will definitely come better prepared with higher quality earplugs! (Btw, I have never in my life had to wear earplugs at a live performance - so I am not exaggerating.)

I came in and attempted to order food at 10 minutes before their kitchen was closed then I told one of the owners about it and she said their was nothing she could do about it because the grill was already turned off which I thought was a pathetic excuse not to have the chef cook me food. I’ve never been denied food service anywhere else that I’ve gone and ordered food 10 minutes before their kitchen closes. And on top of that the chef gave someone a togo order just before telling me the kitchen was closed not happy!!!

Great food, great drinks, great atmosphere what more to ask for. Edit: After reopening in 2022, the menu has been reduced roughly 50%. Sadly, the things that I came here for are no longer. The food and drinks are still great but it no longer feel special to me. I will still go here not it will be fewer and further between.