Ottawa Foodies

4

3

Date of Visit: March 16, 2013

On the last full day of my recent week long trip to Ottawa, I felt like a relaxing day of doing not too much. I had been everywhere I wanted to go, seen what I wanted to see, and a pleasant afternoon reading in nice surroundings while being served a little food and drink seemed perfect. I settled on the Earl of Sussex Pub down on Sussex Drive and was well-rewarded in my choice…

Shepherd's Pie ... Rating: 3 out of 5

Overall
Someday, I would love to visit this place in the evening when there is a bit of a crowd but, for a Saturday afternoon, it is a very nice and comfortable place to while away a few hours (well… almost 6 hours, in my case). I don’t see myself rushing back there for the food, especially, but I still enjoyed my meal and received excellent service. Rating: 4 out of 5.

See full pictorial review at: sybaritica.me

Great location but needs new ownership.

Third bad meal so we are giving up. Consistantly poor food and snoty bar star waitresses. Last time I pointed out that the salad was in fact rancid and they might want to toss it out before it was serverved to someone else. This was greeted with an ambivalent shrug as the waitress seemded to say what did you expect.

Will not return until it is under new management, good one to buy...great potential in that location.

2

TO foodie and SO continuing to eat their way through Byward Market, we stopped at Earl of Sussex for a late lunch. We ordered a Guinness and the St.Ambroise Apricot ale which we both liked a lot. One of my foodie goals had been to have the apricot ale on tap and it was crisp and refreshing!

For food SO ordered Henry's BBQ chicken pizza which came on an obviously prepackaged, perfectly round dough round. The bbq sauce underneath was too sweet towards the third slice and too sweet for me in general. Overall probably not the best thing to order.

I had the fish and chips and we both enjoyed the fries a lot. They were seasoned with some herb and spice mix which was different and tasty. Fish was cooked nicely but the batter didn't stick to it and it fell off it soggy/crunchy bites. I liked the house made tartar sauce but it could have used a bit more acid to it.

Atmosphere was quiet and expected for the time of day. Service was okay. I would love to come back and enjoy the patio which looked great. TO patio is a bit scarce and sometimes comes at a premium.

I've always enjoyed the Earl of Sussex - great patio in the summer and the interior has a lot of character. There are many beers on tap and a great selection of food. However, I would stay away from the wings. I ordered medium wings to be safe, after discussing their spiciness with the waitress. The wings arrived in a lovely stacked display on lettuce, with ranch dipping sauce. I found the wing sauce was generally flavourless. They didn't even have enough spice to be considered mild! A friend with me, who has a low tolerance for spice, tried them and also commented their lack of flavour, despite having some bland red sauce on top of them. At the Earl, go for the nachos or burgers...stay away from the wings.

Size: 8/10
Flavour: 4.5/10
Beer: Guinness, it was the tastiest part of the meal!

Solid and pretty good atmosphere. The fish and chips were great and the chicken quesadillas were also fairly tasty. The fries were a little sub par, but the selection of beer is extensive. I really liked the service as well. I would definitely stop here again. the location is perfect for a day out at the National Gallery and the Byward Market.

Decent but not worth the other problems of the restaraunt.