Avant-Garde Bar & Gift Shop — Restaurant in Ottawa

I had a very frightening experience with the bartender (thug) who was working that night. I had ordered and paid for a drink with the waiter earlier in the evening. Later that evening at the bar I ordered another drink. It took a very long time to arrive, considering there were no other customers at the bar at the time. When it arrived I gave him a $10 expecting change. He got visibly upset and demanded more more money from me. He then started to claim that I had not paid for my first drink (which was not even ordered from him) and threatened physical violence (body language and voice) if I did not give him more money. So to avoid an incident, he basically exhorted money from me. Shortly thereafter the waiter I had ordered my first drink arrived on the scene. At which point he explained to the thug acting as bartender that I had in fact already paid for it.

The bartender (likely an exconvict for violent crime) returned my money, but then went off on another rant when I wasn't very receptive of his apology.

It has been a very long time since I encountered such a low energy person. I genuinely felt that if I did not give him the money he was demanding he would have resorted to physical violence. People like this bartender belong behind prison bars.

I wouldn't set foot in that place again, and I would encourage anyone reading this review to boycott the place. Its a filthy dive with angry staff that should be deported back to whatever dismal place they came...

LOL, poor Alex! I'm really curious to know Scott Sigurdson's background which makes him so knowledgeable when it comes to thugs and ex-convicts. Maybe, watching not as many tacky Hollywood movies would help? Alex- "the bartender" aka the actual owner of the place- is a pretty interesting and well-educated guy (nuclear chemistry or physics or something like that?!) who has the most bizarre tastes in music and a background to boot! His "low energy" is his natural stuttering which makes it a bit difficult to understand him at times but you eventually get used to it. Avantgarde is actually one of the rarest night-time places in Ottawa where me and my girlfriends feel safe and respected. I'm European, so this place to me and to all of my friends (who are from all over Europe) is like a tiny cozy slice of home. Wouldn't recommend this place as a restaurant. More of a snack bar. Their drinks and cocktails are great! My all time favorite are Ice Queen...

really weird, uncomfortable treatment before I even had a chance to sit down. not sure if that's because I'm visibly trans (non-binary) but I feel the "T" in lgbtq+ friendly is a stretch... most people call me ma'am but this clown went with sir, lmao 🤣 that always throws me off because its almost always the other one. I had a fantastic time when I was here in like 2016. is it because I had a crew cut instead of a clean shave? 🤔 either way I honestly have never been treated like this in any other bar, it was baffling. I'm from Belarus myself and Slavic culture most certainly is not queer friendly in the slightest, so I am not surprised this is the place that made me feel the most uncomfortable to be myself. just my experience in recent times, I'm sure most people of ottawa don't have these problems since it's a boring...