ottawa foodies

We've been going to "The Wood on Wellington" fairly regularly, once week or so, for about two months now and have been impressed every time. The beer selection is average for a pub but they have Harp and Guiness so all is good. I personally would love to see a weissbier on tap but over the years I've come terms with the fact that I'm in the minority.

Our main surprise at The Wood has always been the food. The pizzas and calzones are excellent. We've had the "anti-pasto plate for two" a couple of times and enjoyed it very much. It certainly comes with enough for two people looking for nibbles. The prices in my opinion are very good with just one exception which is the breaded zucchini appetizer. I've never tried it but at $9.50 it seems excessive no matter how large the serving the might be. We have tried their trio panini platter and their nachos and both of those were great and priced well.

The service has always been very good with someone quickly arriving to deliver menus and then take orders for drinks and food.

There are a few (but not too many) pub alternatives in the area but in any event The Wood is our current favourite.

We headed to the Wood last night around six for appetizers and snuck a table for two by the bar. While there was a limited beer seletion the beer was priced very well at $5 for a standard pint of Canadian or Molson M.

The Bruschetta was great but the amount(four rounds) was rather small for the 9.50 they were charging. It had a nice twist on the original subbing in Brie Cheese and a fantastic blasamic.

We also tried out the Zuchinni sticks and loved the dipping sauce and the homemade flavour. The jury is still out as to whether they were baked or deep fried, but the lack of grease compared to the traditional pub staple was nice.

Ten TV's line the walls and there didnt seem to be a bad spot in the house when it comes time to catch the local sports team in action.

Overall I would definatly head back for another taste, perhaps to try one of the yummy burgers we saw passing by our table.

This has to be one of the best places to catch a game in the city. Beer selection is decent, with a good number of major import brands. Most importantly, the beer prices are reasonable with the "Woody" sized 36oz mug being the best deal at around $8.00.

The service here is phenomenal, and there isn't a bad seat in the house due to the multiple plasma displays and projection screens.

The food is also far better than your average pub fare. I highly recommend the steak sandwich which is dressed with a delicious horseradish sauce.

Had the Smoked Salmon Pizza: Smoked Salmon, Goat Cheese, Leeks & Roasted Red Peppers with Olive Oil & Basil Pesto.

Waaaaaayyy tooooooo SALTY...

I know, I know, smoked salmon and greek cheese are already salty, but this was still way overboard. Could have been just a slip by the cook. A whoops.

Not a bad place to 'watch the game' with a few 32oz mugs of beer.

Been here a handful of times now. Most menu items are well prepared, except on all occasions the pasta was subpar (either ordered by myself or others in my party). I enjoyed the burgers and sandwiches they had to offer, the steak sandwich stands out as memorable, as well as the peppercorn burger as F-i-H mentioned in her previous post (check there for description). They had an alright beer selection, I ended up getting Guiness every time I went there since that seemed to be as exotic as it was going to get. A great place to go for watching a sports event on HDTV while having a pint with some buddies. Oh, must be mentioned, one instance where the pasta was abominable, the waitress took all correct measures to ensure we were satisfied and ended up comping us for it, which was very nice! Service has always been good, in my experience.

Sis and I dropped in after our high school reunion (Fisher Park, class of '87） I was happy to see Harp on tap, some of the pubs don't have it.

We only wanted snacks with our drinks, we had an order of cajun dusted chicken wings to share and although it wasn't offered as a side on the menu, we asked for an order of sweet potato fries (I think we paid $3.50 for the fries). The sweet potato fries were really good, but one order is a little small for sharing. The wings were excellent, but definitely not priced like bar food at $9 an order.

ETA...apparently we paid $5.50 for the sweet potato fries, $3.50 is what we would have paid for regular fries. Again, not bar food prices.

Boyfriend and I dropped in for lunch here today - we wanted a place nearby with a patio since it was such a beautiful day, but short of the The Royal Oak, there wasn't much choice. The Wood however has those big open "garage" type doors in the front so it's almost like a patio, and so it fit the bill nicely.

It was not crowded AT ALL for once- just one guy at the bar and 2 businessmen who came in after us (we've driven by a few times when its been packed), so 3pm on a Monday appears to be an A-OK time to go if you don't like crowds.

The menu is slightly more creative than standard pub fare in terms of ingredients/flavours, and features salads, pizzas, calzones, burgers, sandwiches, nachos, and pastas- all in about the $10 - $12-or-so range. Decor is nice; we were both impressed by the huge amount of beautiful flat-screen TVs EVERYWHERE (not just in the corners like most pubs). We commented to each other that this would be a good place to watch a sports event since you would have a great view no matter where you were sitting without having to strain your neck.

We both ordered a beer to start (He: Foster's, Me: Kilkenny). I was struck that they don't have a particularly wide beer selection, so if I wanted something "special" I wouldn't go here for it.

Boyfriend started with the soup of the day which was Cream of Mushroom with Parmesean. Very tasty, and we both noted that it tasted like it was made with fresh ingredients, not from a mix or can (Yay!) and came with a few slices of a crusty baguette. Boyfriend also had the Con Polo Nachos, according to him they were good but not outstanding "I've had better nachos, but I've definitely had worse. I like the inclusion of mushrooms on them, but there could have been just a little more chicken, and just a sprinkling more cheese. Tasty corn chips."

I had the Peppercorn Burger- a burger with pepper, garlic sauce, brie, and caramelized onions (minus caramelized onions, plus I added bacon and mushrooms YUM), which comes with fries and a side salad. Burger: Tasty! Looked and tasted like a real patty and not a frozen one. If I was making a burger at home, I would have done it a touch rarer, but I realize that restaurants have to cook it to a certain amount of done-ness and it wasn't dry or anything so I'm not complaining - I just prefer a slightly rarer burger. I also would have liked to see a little tomato/lettuce on the burger, but it was good just the same. The salad was a nice little pile of fresh mixed greens with a tasty (balsamic?)vinaigrette. The fries appeared to be fresh cut as opposed to frozen as well, however they were SLIGHTLY under done. Not to the point of being inedible or untasty or anything, but they were just slightly firmer than they should have been on the inside (boyfriend agreed, so I'm not crazy). I suspect they either didn't blanch them before cooking them, or didn't blanch them long enough (people who have manned a deep fryer will know what I'm talking about). I would order this plate again - it was very tasty for the most part and left me satisfied with very little left on my plate.

The service was prompt and friendly, but not TOO friendly (if you know what I mean). The waitress happily changed the channel on the TV closest to our table so we could watch baseball instead of tennis. Note: It struck me as weird that there was no vinegar on the tables. I was going to ask the waitress for some for my fries but I forgot, so I dunno if you can get it easily or not.

I can second Candice's comment -- particularly the "high end" of the "sports bar" bit. Mrs. Ozonator and I dropped by for a look just after they opened, but as people hoping for something like the Manx, we weren't thrilled. It's not that every plasma TV has a corresponding digital cable box tucked in with the wine on the wall behind the bar -- it just seemed less a pub than competition (in price, at least) for the likes of Allium and Absinthe around the corner, and presumably for the new and similarly rarefied "Wellington Gastropub" down the street.

This place has actually undergone a complete renovation and a change in name; it is now called 'The Wood on Wellington'. I haven't been in yet, but it appears to have gone to a more 'high-end sports bar' atmosphere. They've got TVs all over the place and were advertising showing a boxing match.