Ottawa Foodies

1

I went last week with my parents (Bank Street location), who took me out for a nice birthday supper. The service was great: efficient, charming and not too intrusive.

My parents both had burgers which they deemed tasty, but also that they were a little dry. I wonder if they offer a less well-cooked option with waiver like the Works since it's across the street? We didn't ask but I am curious. Dad is a bit of a French fry freak and he was quite pleased with these.
I had the goat cheese salad and the mussels. The salad was good; great honey-chipotle dressing with a bit of heat in it. The mussels were plump and juicy. My only criticism was the broth was on the salty side.

A nice surprise was their house white wine... can't remember the name but it was really good!
The price is about on par with other places of this nature. I'd return and try other dishes. I've heard from friends that their wings are quite good.

1

I've been really critical of their food in the past (and, I maintain, very rightfully so), but it seems like they re-jigged their menu sometime a few months ago (now presented in books rather than laminated sheets, of course). And they've done a really decent job with it, at least options-wise.

I've only eaten one thing off of it, which was their 'Supreme' burger (swiss, cheddar, onions, mushrooms, and bacon). It was standard .. which, to me, is a pretty substantial improvement, and a welcome one at that. The fries were actually really good-- thick cut and well-seasoned.
I certainly don't visit for their food, but it's encouraging to know that they're making a bigger effort in their kitchen should I feel like snacking when I'm there.

Had the seasonal IPA to drink, which was really fantastic. Want to make sure to catch it again before they move on to the next.

This was all at their new Richmond location, somewhat hidden in an indented (that's not the right word..) lot, attached to the new SDM that sits beneath one of the many new condos.

Interesting that they have such a massive space, but they still bring all the brews over from their Bank location (from what I thought I overheard). It's big enough to make me believe they do some brewing at that location, but alas.

They've done a really nice job with it, and I'll be happy to return for a pint or two.

Ate at the Clocktower for the first time in what seems like forever. Market location.

Good: Burger. Had the supreme burger (bacon, mushrooms, onions, cheese etc.). It was quite good -- maybe not as great as suggested below, but a solid burger for sure.

Seasonal IPA. Maybe the best beer I've had at Clocktower. They should make this a permanent fixture. Had a brown and an ESB as well. Both were pretty good.

Service at the restaurant was good. Waitress was attentive and friendly; front of house staff was apologetic... which leads me to the bad.

Bad: Reservation was made for 5 people @7:30 via online reservation. Arrive to find no such reservation on a busy friday night. The host (manager?) asked if I had maybe made a reservation at the wrong location. Since this was a possibility and I couldn't check my email, I didn't want to make a fuss and he tried to find us a table sooner rather than later which was appreciated. We ended up squeezing into a table for 4 about 20 minutes later, rather than wait longer for a bigger table.

This isn't a huge deal to me. However, I checked when I got home and the reservation was indeed for the location in question. This is problematic so I sent them an email to alert them to the reservation problem -- it's been a couple days and I haven't heard back. Lesson: Call for reservations, if you're making them.

Also, while waiting at the bar for the table/rest of party the bartender didn't offer to get us drinks etc. despite my attempts to get her attention. That and the fries that came with my burger were cool -- not ideal for deep fried goods.

All in all, it's a good place in the summer when they have an abundance of seating due to patios and I enjoyed myself. It just seemed to lack a certain customer service that I'd like to see.

1

Ended up at the Bank St. location with friends Friday night. Ordered the giant wonton soup as an appetizer mainly because I haven't had wontons in ages and I wanted salty broth. I was not expecting anything amazing and what I got was mediocre but I was fine with that. There were a fair amount of wontons in the soup. Some of them had a measly amount of filling while others had a decent amount. The wontons themselves tasted fine but obviously weren't up to par with a Chinese restaurant. The broth was a bit weird. I've never had wonton broth that had celery, watercress and shiitake mushrooms before. Regardless, I got what I wanted out of this wonton soup so I wasn't disappointed.

I also ordered the chicken fettucine, which was their pasta special of the week and came with garlic bread. I was pretty happy with this dish mainly because it was saucy and there were plenty of green onions and garlic. The chicken and the garlic bread was alright and tasted better when mixed with the sauce.

I drank a pint of the Raspberry Wheat beer. I rarely drink so I don't really have useful to say about it aside from it tasted nice. However, I did not really taste the raspberries.

I had a lovely dinner at the Clock Tower while catching up with an old friend last week.

I had 3 pints of their Brown beer, which I thought was fantastic. The service was great. The girl taking care of us was very nice and she did a great job. note it was her second day on the job - which she shared with us - and she was excellent. We made it a point to tell her superior.

I ordered the chicken biryani and my friend ordered roast chicken with mashed potatoes. Both dishes were great. I wouldn’t call the dish I was served a ‘true’ biryani, since it was more of a biryani flavoured sauce poured over basmati rice, served with mediocre naan. That being said, I’m positive the Clocktower does not have a tandoor oven, so I was happy with the naan they served. The curry was full of biryani-like goodness, since it was filled with almonds and raisins which accompanied the flavourful yet, mild curry. The pieces of chicken were generous and moist. This was a seasonal special, so I’m not sure how much longer this is available. At any rate - it satisfied my anglo-indian pub cravings.

I tried my friends dish, and it was equally excellent. They were generous with the portion and the chicken itself was moist and had a nice flavour. She seemed to love it. It was served with green beans and mashed potatoes. The beans may have been a little over done, but meh, no biggy. The mashed potatoes still had the skins on them and I would bet money that they were made with sour cream and garlic. Fantastic.

Great service, 5 beers and two excellent main dishes came out to about 80 dollars. Well worth a nice evening on a patio in the market with a great friend.

2

Construction season in the capital made it a little more difficult to visit tonight. Had their Clock tower Red. Nice tasting beer with a dark color tasty.We started with their hand made beer battered onion rings. Awful! The predominant flavor was a burnt fryer oil taste. Me thinks they may have been frozen bagged. When biting into them the onion did not pull out of the batter probably usually a good sign but not this time. The special menu looked good with a panko battered cod sweet potato fries with aioli. I was a little reluctant to substitute regular fries for the sweet potato after the ring failure don't want to confuse the fryer guy any more than need be. Surprise the cod was very good neat flavor with the panko bread crumbs. The aioli a nice touch. Fries came out crisp and perfectly cooked weird wonder what happened with the rings. My wife ordered the green Thai curry with fresh market vegetables and chicken with basmati rice. She could have done with a little more sauce but she tends to be a sauce person so there is never enough sauce. We both enjoyed or specials. Sorry about the bad pick the place was a tad dark and the flash did not want to work.

I went here to catch the game with my Dad tonight. I did have the beer, which is the main attraction (bank st location) and as such there is a review below. However, I also did have some food. I had their cheddar and bacon grilled sandwich. I found it to be very enjoyable. It wasn't haute cuisine by any means, but it was delicious, and I would order it again. The wait staff, even though it was fairly busy, was prompt and attentive, and the atmosphere was very nice. I do recommend it.

1

Should one lower his or her expectations for a decent meal because it's a holiday? The Clocktower in the Market certainly acted as if that should be the case on St. Patrick's Day. Count one bland beef barley soup tasting of commercial base and then, brown/slimy greens on a salad.

To top that off, our waitress was oblivious to the untouched salad and had to ask if everything was OK. Automatic tip reduction my dear girl.

4

My wife and I decided to go to the Clock Tower Brew Pub on a whim last night. She had the french onion soup (as did I) and a turkey sandwich on whole wheat with brie and cranberry sauce.

The service was good, but the food unfortunately was sub par. The soup tasted powdery and the sandwich bland (couldn't taste the cranberry).

French Onion soup is one of my favourite soups - it's very easy to make and I was really disappointed by how bad it tasted.

Overall, beer good - soup and sandwich not good.

Atmosphere 8/10
Service 8/10
Food 2/10
Beer 8/10

1

Went with my Dad to the Clocktower tonight to watch the game with him. We delved into the beers there. He had a cask-conditioned red, and a bytown brown, while I had the Kolsch and the Raspberry wheat. Now, more the matter, I love dark beers with full flavour, and don't much like lighter coloured beers. So....yeah, shouldn't have ordered the Kolsch and Raspberry wheat. That being said, if you like lighter beers, I would recommend them, because, even though they were not to my taste, they were still pretty good. My Dad generously let me have a sip of his beers, and they were steller. The Bytown brown was hearty and had a nice coffee pre-taste, which means that the next time I go back, I will order nothing but it. So, to summarize, really really enjoyed the beer.

Just got back from a Brewers' lunch at the Bank Street location. Had the new Organic Wheat, which I think is only a seasonal for the summer. It is fermented with a "normal" yeast, so does not have any of the funky flavours associated with Belgian or Bavarian Wheat beers (and their respective special yeasts). So it classifies as "American Wheat". It was an extremely good beer - very quaffable on a hot summer day. Crystal clear. Kudos to Patrick the brewmaster - very well done. It was so good that I had to have a 2nd :-P

EDIT : Oh, and got to meet Orleansfoodie for the first time (waves)

Was here for lunch today. The Koelsch (sic) and Wishart's Bitter were both absolutely fantastic! Their beers have really improved since they hired a real brewmaster - go Patrick!

I have to agree with Zym: The Kölsch here is a deadringer for the yummy Dom Kölsch which you get in Germany...Köln specifically. Might be my favourite beer. Then again, anyone from Köln will tell you that Kölsh stands alone.

Yum!

Went in for a quick beer and burger yesterday while my kids were in an activity nearby. The Koelsch was a dead-ringer for the ones I've had in Cologne - in particular I'd say Dom Koelsch with it's slight sweetness. For those not in the know, this is the same type of beer that Beau's is brewed after, so anyone who likes that, should love the Clocktower Koelsch.

Just last week I had the ESB and the Brown and I enjoyed both. The ESB was especially flavourful. As far as brew pubs go, it's them and the Draught Horse out in Navan, and that's it to the best of my knowledge. But fortunately a lot of places these days are carrying micros. Click "Beer" on this site for some of my recommendations.

It just wasn't good beer. Not flat to style, but flat as in stale. If you can recommend some good brews they make I'm always willing to give them a chance.

Frequenting brew pubs in Montreal Boston and Toronto for the past decade and a half I had high hopes for Ottawa. Are there any other brew pubs in Ottawa I can try? Localish breweries whose products I love are Millhouse, McAuslen, Heritage. From the New England area, Harpoon, Sam Adams, Dogfish. I lean towards complex hopped beers.

Just curious which beer you had Shamus. If it was one of the cask beers that would explain the flatness since cask beer is often flat (by design)

Have I just been unlucky? Some of the worst pub brew I have ever had has been here. I've tried the location in the Glebe and in new Edinborough and both times the beer was almost undrinkable - flat and flavourless. I am a huge supporter of crafted beer and really wanted to like the Clocktowers offerings but sadly I cannot do this.

Been there a few times the last few weeks since my son is in an activity around the corner. Went for lunch today. $3.45 is the regular price for their own brewed beer! Glass is at least 500ml if not a British Pint (even bigger). Wow! And apparantly Tuesday nights are wing night and beer is half priced!

Confession: I haven't eaten a burger in...hmm, probably 8+ years. It's not that I've made a point of avoiding them, we just haven't crossed paths - i.e. maybe I need to get to more barbeques.

Last Thursday, I was here (Bank Street location) with a couple of friends, both burger enthusiasts, for dinner. They often speak of the excellent burgers here. I read the description of the Angry Goat Burger and it also spoke to me: Herbed goat cheese, banana peppers and spicy mayo. I chose the side of salad: a generous amount of mixed greens with grape tomatoes and balsamic & olive oil dressing (on the side) with a bottle of San Pellegrino - they have a nice 500 ml size.
The burger was hugely delicious and perfectly done. So good, I was back Saturday evening with my sister eating the same. Again excellent. Service was friendly, quick and efficient. I really like this place.

Another absolutely perfect burger today! That will be all ...

Absolutely perfect! Served on a scrumptious kaiser bun with pickles, lettuce and onion. Big burger, and very flavourful. Tough to imagine a better burger.

Once again a very wonderful burger!

Had the "Black and Blue" for lunch today, with blue cheese on it. Mmmmmm, stinky cheese! Everything about it was great except I'm not sure if this was the "black" part or not, but the burger was charcoal black on the outside. Luckily it did not taste really burnt so it was still yummy. I'll try it again next time I'm there and hopefully it won't be so charred. Yummy pickle on the side, served with lots of onion and tomato and lettuce.

Once again, perfect french fries.

Another 2 strong thumbs for their fries. Perfectly crisp on the outside, tender on the inside.

Had fries (w/a burger) here on Friday and I'm still thinking about them -- they were very good. Home-cut fries are so rare these days.

The home-cut fries I had yesterday were absolutely perfect!

Was back at lunch today and this time had the fries with my burger instead of salad. They appear to be home-cut and were very yummy. Nice and crisp on the outside and tender inside. Good job clocktower!

I paid a visit to The Clocktower Brew Pub (Glebe) last night for their Tuesday night wing night (Reg $9.75, Tuesdays $4.95). The Clocktower has a good range of flavours, all the heats, including Malaysian (suicide), Sweet Chilli, Hot & Honey, Spicy Maple BBQ, Honey Szechuan, Jerk, or Cajun Dusted. I decided to try the Spicy Maple BBQ for something a little different. They're sufficiently saucy and have a hint of sweet maple and BBQ flavour, they are not spicy though. I was a bit surprised that no carrot sticks, celery or sour cream came with the wings (sour cream is extra), but this would only really be an issue with the hot wings for me. In any case, its definitely worth a visit on wing night, and at the Bank St. location at least, go early! We hung out near the bar for about 30mins before finding a seat in the bar area and ate there - a seat in the dining area didn't come up. The Clocktower has a good selection of their own microbrew as well as other beers, so waiting isn't an issue, trying to stay out of the way when there are no seats is.



To note: My friend had the 5 spice chicken - his review was that it was alright, the veggies seemed to be the best part though.



Wing Size: 7.5

Sauce: 6.5-7.5 (6.5 for advertising them as spicy, 7.5 because they're still good)

Recommended Beer: I had a Fenien Red, which is a little sweet and went nicely with the sweet wings, as well as a Wisharts Bitter which had a nice contrast to the sweet...I wouldn't actually recommend alternating though. Pick one and stick with it.

Best wings in the city.
Cheap on Tuesdays...

Today is Tuesday, allllllllright.

Had a very nice side tossed-salad with my burger today, instead of fries. The veggies were all fresh. They had a choice of maybe 5 different dressings, I chose the blue cheese which was delicious.

I'll order it again.

I am excited to announce that the Clocktower (on Mackay) has changed/added to their menu! As a frequent customer to this pub, I pretty much have their menu memorized and stick to the same old, same old.
So, here is the tuna...I don't think I have the name right but it's the only 'tuna' item on the menu. This was the first time I've actually had a tuna steak, so I really have nothing to compare it to but I really, really, enjoyed it. They serve it on pumpernickel bread (grilled, I think) with some nice wasabi mayo. Such a nice treat having unique choices at a pub. They serve it with either fries or salad...I got the salad which is their standard salad that goes with all the dishes...mixed greens, red onions, grated carrots, chunks of tomatoes, and a honkin' pickle. Dressing is usually on the salad, but I get it on the side!

Can't wait to try the other new items! I'll let you all know of course....

Fresh Foodie: Do you think there should be two separate tags for each Clocktower location? I'm pretty sure that zymurgists' reviews are from the location on Bank, while mine are from Mackay.

There are 2 types of veggie burgers : those that try to look and taste like a hamburger, and those that don't. In my experience the ones that do try are often pretty terrible, while the ones who do not try are often pretty spectacular. Unfortunately, this was one of the ones that tried to look and taste like a hamburger, and while it was not terrible, it was not very good either. I certainly won't be having another. It tasted like soy sauce. Yuck.