More than generous portions, attentive and friendly staff and a clean inviting atmosphere. This place is 3 for 3

Ok, to be fair, I want to note we entered at 9:30p on a Sunday night of a long weekend, when not too much was going on sports wise. The place was dead. First thing I noticed was not being noticed. The two staff were deep in conversation. The bar tender did finally noticed us, and found one menu for the two us and effectively said seat yourself over there. Third thing? Seating myself identified they maybe aren't diligent about cleaning tables. Sigh. Ordered wings and sweet potato fries. They were good, particularly the fries. Also good, Perth Bonfire Black Lager. The waitress was attentive and made good use of her time. She showed up at the right moments. So sort of a mixed bag here. read more

The Senate Tavern - a man sitting at the bar - Sports Bars Near Me - Ottawa, Ontario

Great First Visit to the Senate Tavern on Bank Street. Live Music, Industry Appreciation Night, Night of the Newbs, Shot some Stick ... Was at my Sandy Hill Hotspot and bartender Colin said he was playing with a friend at the Senate Tavern on Bank Street the next night. That coincided with an Ottawa BlackJacks game at TD place, so tentative plans were put in place to bicycle down Bank Street after the game. Went to the big game and the Blackjacks pulled away to win over the Brampton Honeybadgers. The Blackjacks are red hot & headed for the playoffs. A story yet to be written. 'Twas early so headed down Bank Street. A short jaunt but would have to run the Bank Street gauntlet, dodging buses, cars, truck etc and risking dooring. Not my first rodeo, though. Arrived at the Senate Tavern without mishap and looked for a bicycle lockup. Found a spot behind the bus shelter and secured the bike. Nice patio outside the Tavern, lots of room. Went inside & it was buzzing. A friendly server with pig-tails and a dazzling smile confirmed a 10 PM start for the live music. Did a short walk-about and observed some celebrity sightings from the Warehouse and F&S staff. The cool crowd was out. Found a spot at the bar and ordered a Corona, the smaller version, easy to flip. Great sports projections on the walls. Watched Olympic highlights including Summer McIntosh winning the 400 IM Gold by over 5 seconds. Incredible. Good F-1 racing, NFL, CFL & baseball highlights. There was a pool table behind me. Hadn't played pool in quite a while, probably a good thing, as it can be the sign of a misspent youth. Or an exercise in mathematics, vectors, angles, vectors & whatnot. Tried to get some change from the bartenders but couldn't add it to my VISA tab. Would have to go into the basement to hit the ATM and change it at the bar. Very busy behind the bar, they were getting slammed, but were handling it well. A cool drink of water slid onto the barstool next to me and surveyed the scene. The music started with strummer Jacob on centre stage. Colin showed up and said hello. A good time was being had by all. Made a dash for the ATM, got some cash, and got the valuable pool table currency, two toonies to paradise. A short break & Colin joined Jacob on the stage. They played a Red Hot Chilli Peppers song, "Under the Bridge", that brought the house down. Everyone was singing along. "I don't ever want to feel like I did that day, Take me to the place I love, take me all the way. I don't ever want to feel like I did that day. Take me to the place I love, take me all the way. Yeah, yeah, yeah" Suddenly a mystery trumpeter appeared from the crowd ... the quiet dude who was on the barstool beside me. He was playing along with Jacob and Colin, and they were all in synch. The two lads were unfazed by the newcomer, and this seemed too polished to be spontaneous. Three great musicians on stage. Thunderous applause at the conclusion. The mystery trumpeter returned to his perch and took it all in stride. Had a convo with bartender Sean. Turns out it was his first night behind the wood. We were both newbs! He welcomed me to the bar and said they did the same scene regularly at the Senate Tavern in the Market. It was busy because it was a music industry night. All the stars came out to play, their fans, and myself as a humble observer. Tapped out a couple of times but was reluctant to leave because of the great vibe. Jacob took the stage again and had the crown singing along to the John Denver song "Take Me Home, Country Roads." Amazing. Had a short convo with the mystery trumpeter and asked if that was a scripted or unscripted performance. He said unscripted. Turns out the mystery trumpeter was Kelly Craig, owner of Sunnyside music, with some songs on the net. We had a good convo about Lee Iacocca at Ford, the legendary Mustang, and Kelly's Plymouth Roadrunner which he modified with a Hurst shifter and some nitrous oxide. Wth? Didn't get a chance to ask him why. Chasing GTX or Barracuda dreams, perhaps? Good convo about Louis Armstrong & the legacy of 70s & 80s music Other lads at the bar were musician Asher and Dave, a first-timer who dropped by in search of adventure. A pool playing opportunity presented itself. Kelly said he'd partner up to shoot some stick. Put the money in the machine and heard the sweet sound of balls dropping. Kelly was waylaid by fans so Dave stepped up. Play on! We had a good game, making some good shots and leaving some good shots ... teamwork. The lights were coming on, the music was over, so tapped out, said goodbye, and biked up Bank Street and back into Sandy Hill. All the late-night fast-food emporiums were closed ... the sign of a good night. Will be back to the Senate Tavern on Bank Street so socialize with the regulars and thank the staff for a great night. The pool table takes two loonies ... read more

Service was snails pace - 1 cent wing event was a complete bust. 2 hour wait in line just to be told that the food would take at least another 45 minutes. Presumably if you're hosting an event of such magnitude, you're ready for it. Only been once before the event and it was subpar. read more

This place is so much fun to watch the big game! I'm a huge Bills fan and was able to find others like me during the season. They have a great selection of beer and every seat let's you see the game! Heading there for the Leafs game Thursday! Go Leafs Go! read more

The patio was cute and I loved the graffiti on their fence with the names of local businesses. We got the nachos with pulled pork to share. Hubby tried a couple of beers that reminded him of his university days & I got a 7-up to quench my thirst on this hot day. The nachos were ok. The salsa tasted like they came from the jars of tostito. The pulled pork was nice though. Tender & flavourful. Our server was very sweet and she was efficient. It seems to be a decent spot for a pub crawl or university students though, just not quite our thing. read more

The Senate Tavern - Nachos with pulled pork to share - Sports Bars Near Me - Ottawa, Ontario

Been here twice recently. The first time was really uncomfortable as I had to listen to the muscled up manager berate one of her staff in front of me and my partner. Very unprofessional and lacking consideration for guests within earshot. Everyone has an off day though so gave it another chance. Shouldn't have. Same beefy manager barely looked our way when we came in and ignored us standing waiting for a seat for two mins before offering us a table even though the place was virtually empty. We order a couple of evergreen beers which tasted flat. Not a great start. We also got a side of fries, an order of nachos, and a pound of wings. Hard to mess up, right? Wrong. The fries were $11. For plain fries. Let that sink in for a second. $11. Menu said house cut though so we tried them. Soggy and dark like they were fried in months old oil. Over salted too. How do you screw up $11 fries? The nachos were tiny too, on this little tray, single layer of chips, barely enough cheese to cover them. Meh. The wings only had 8 in a pound. There are more than 8 wings in a pound. It felt like the menu was a combo of price gouging and shrinkflation, like ownership is trying to squeeze the final few bucks out of a dwindling customer base because the place was empty. Clearly I'm late to leaving the party. We went up the street to Hometown Sports the next weekend. Brighter, more tvs, big portions, and crisp fries. Do yourself a favour and do the same. read more

The Senate Tavern on Bank is the second location for The Senate over in the market. It took over the previous Georgetown Pub. We came by here to watch the Man United game prior to attending the Ottawa Fury home opener. The location was great and the vibe was relaxed. Most of the people there were there to watch the match, which makes things fun :) The food was good--not like amazing you gotta eat here kind of food, but good. The burger was decent, fresh ingredients and a nicely toasted bun. Drink selection was also good--something for everyone on the menu. They do have a weekend breakfast menu! The vibe was good, the food was decent, the bathrooms were clean, they even have a place for coats at the front. However, service could be improved. It was slow. I ordered a side salad with my burger, but got fries instead (which weren't exactly hot). I chose not to send the fries back because I just didn't want to wait any longer for food. Despite the lack of speedy service, the staff were friendly, and it was easy to get their attention. They may have been understaffed, so we will likely try it again and see. There is a small arcade area as well, so I'd like to check that out next time. read more

The Senate Tavern - a car parked on the side of the road - Sports Bars Near Me - Ottawa, Ontario

I enjoyed my patio visit to The Senate. Service was friendly, and the propane fire pits were a nice feature as the weather turned coder. I enjoyed my burger and wings (pretty good, but not outstanding) and there is a decent selection of beer on tap (although not outstanding). Not sure if they'll be able to stay open this winter, but if so, I'll be back! read more

The weather was unseasonable warm and we wanted a place where we could dine leisurely and take advantage of the amazing weather. The Senate Tavern was a perfect find. We ordered drinks and the fish and chips. Both were generous portions. The atmosphere was loud and fun. The wait staff attentive without being pushy. Great evening. read more

We had our first office drinks after work in months. The Senate have an amazing patio and we can watch summer sports like hockey and basketball outside. Good beer selection and food is what you expect from a pub. read more

We were at the Senate tavern on Somerset tonight, and the food was expensive. Not only this, but the servings were small, including the burger, which had patties the size of sliders. The poutine that came with it was tiny and average. The service was excellent as was the ambience. When we head out it needs to be better since it is so expensive to go out nowadays. Because of the food we probably will not return. read more

Went after the RedBlacks game with some friends! What a great atmosphere to be in! We all had an awesome time! Such friendly staff to! Loved the restaurant, food and the vibe! We will deff be coming back! :) Kim read more

Amazing restaurant - helping student Charity Organization" - On behalf of CASCO charity organization and the CHEO foundation, we want to say how amazing and giving the Senate Tavern was in assisting our student organization with our first basketball tournament. They not only donated many of the items that made our event possible, but their staff took the time to volunteer with the set up and take down of the event. Many of us enjoyed food and drinks after at the Bank street location and our service was incredible, the food was delicious and the space was a perfect environment to watch the Raptors game. We cannot express how thankful we are - we will be looking forward to doing future CHEO events with The Senate Tavern and will definitely be returning! Highly recommend!" read more