Big Rig Kitchen & Brewery - Ogilvie — Restaurant in Ottawa

My wife and I just received the absolute poorest service ever! It was a nightmare of an evening which resulted in Big Rig's staff refusing to serve us and then followed us to our next destination!

We had a rare opportunity to go out for dinner because our children were staying with their grandparents for the night.

We ordered our food and a drink not long after we were seated. For the next 10 minutes, my wife and I tried to get someone's attention regarding the taste of her beverage. Nonetheless, she put it to the side, and 30 minutes, later we were still waiting for our waitperson or staff to come by so we could ask anybody about the status of our meals. We waited another 10 minutes which was nearly 1 hour in total at this time still nobody came over to check on our table. Since the restaurant was nearly empty my wife and I had determined that for some reason we were not going to be served. We were not welcomed! We left $10.00 for the $5.00 drink and decided to go across the parking lot to Moxie's where we could get a meal.

When driving across the parking lot we noticed our waitperson on the patio with her friends and a dog. I am sure the Big Rig Kitchen & Brewery security cameras will confirm everything mentioned above. This was not the last time I saw her that night.

My wife and I tried to make the best of the night as we began our meal at Moxie's until two Ottawa police officers came in and called me by name. My wife and I were embarrassed and humiliated as the entire restaurant staff and customers stopped to watch us like common criminals. The officer said they were called because I did not pay for my meal and showed us a bill for $68.00 from the Big Rig. I had to inform the officer that we did not have anything to eat, did not receive any food and that there was not any staff around at the Big Rig so we paid 2x the price of the beverage we received and left. Although the officer was shocked and said that is not the story he heard I could feel the judgment from the onlookers as they looked at my wife and me as criminals. A customer even came up to our table to ask us questions.

After the officers gathered the entire story, they left Moxies and wished us a good evening. I was wondering how they knew my name so I followed them outside to ask. Could this person have known me and that's why they did not want to serve us? When I arrived outside I got my answer, I saw the waitperson and her friend or co-worker standing behind my vehicle next to the police cars. She followed us to Moxie's to point out our vehicles for which the police ran my plates.

In my humble opinion, Big Rig should not operate in Canada if they are not going to serve all people equally. With everything that has occurred in the world over the last couple of years, I like to think that we would be more accepting of all people. Can't believe this happened in the nation's capital as this stain of embarrassment and shame will stain us forever.

EVERYBODY IS NOT WELCOME AT BIG RIG KITCHEN & BREWERY!!!

You have...

I have visited this establishment numerous times in a single month, often for favourite dishes, in addition to trying a new menu option on a pretty standard basis.

For restaurants, I like to provide a star for each aspect I believe enhance a dining experience and I review what the restaurant did to meet these aspects.

Each star is for the following:

Service Cleanliness Atmosphere Menu Food

To begin, upon entering the restaurant, you are quickly greeted, and shown to your seat, where you are promptly greeted by your friendly waiter/waitress.

The service staff are quick to take your order, providing any additional details, regarding menu items, and return in a timely matter with accuracy.

Prior to taking your order, Big Rig’s offers an ample variety of Beer to choose from, ranging from light, fruity pale ales, to the deep bold taste of stouts, their variety is always fun to sample. In addition to alcoholic beverages, younger patrons, in addition to those who do not drink, can order a variety of other drinks as well, such as various pops and juices.

Their food menu is quite something, condensed into a single page, back and front, doesn’t hurt the unique and carefully chosen variety of food.

As with any locale that specializes in greats beer, you’ll find a good variety of burgers and appetizers to select from, but if you are in the market for some great flavours, Big Rig will not let you down.

Personally, I would recommend their French Onion Soup, and their take on a Grilled Cheese. Both of which are filled to the brim with flavour that more than satisfies. The food arrives hot and ready, accompanied by your choice of side, although I highly suggest trying their sweet potato fries, with a side of their Cajun dip.

There are no mistakes when I’ve ordered from Big Rig, from Burgers to Drinks, everything comes out accurate and looks absolutely appetizing.

After you order, taking in the time to absorb the atmosphere of the restaurant, during the day, it is bright and welcoming, displaying a sort of loft design, the brick and mortal look compliments the feel and theme of a gastropub.

During the evening, the lights dim to offer a more relaxed and romantic setting, for those who wish to take their significant other on a nice date night.

In terms of cleanliness, their establishment is well maintained, bathrooms fully stocked with all amenities and frequently cleaned, often smelling quite nice, despite being a bathroom. Everything is spacious and accessible, with tables being spotless, without that unusual stickiness, instead opting for a smooth and clean table.

All in all, this place is fantastic, and I highly recommend visiting this place with your friends, family or significant other.

I truly feel like you won’t be...

1 star is still too much credit for the birthday lunch we went there for!!! From service to food ALL WAS AWFUL!! Very disappointing experience and waste of time. Luckily we can all laugh about it and say well there is a story for the books. Waitress approached three times with in 5 min of us sitting and kept asking are you ready (we are all still clearly looking at the menu) but we order drinks the water and coffee came but beer and pop didn’t and wouldn’t have if we didn’t remind her on her third time to see if we were ready while clearly still looking at menu. So we then order half the food came out about 20 min later. Onion rings, nachos, a poutine and a chicken sandwich with poutine. All were barely warm, wrong sauce with onion rings and nacho chips were so stale it hurt to chew them on top being horrible tasting. As being people who have worked in customer service we rarely complain but this was just too much. I told her the nachos were extremely stale and she took them immediately as if she was aware and did not say I’ll get you another batch so they were just gone. Another 20 min go by and the other two people finally get their food 2 orders wings and meatloaf plate. All those were also barely warm. Being people that don’t like to say much we ate what we could in disgust and disappointment. So upset we didn’t just get up and leave and go somewhere to have a properly prepared meal. Waitress kept saying it’s a new menu that started two days ago and it’s a mess and overwhelming (WHAT???) feel like she was trying to put the blame on kitchen which well much of the blame could be placed there but I made sure to point out that her service was about as good as the food. I mean I know onion rings come out of the deep fryer hot but they were not when they got to our table…understandable maybe if all the food had come at once but if you aren’t going to give us our meals at the same time at least make sure the ones you bring are hot. It was such a bad experience that when we were leaving I saw a man just sitting and felt a compelling need to say get out now while you can!!! I didn’t but I regret that too!! Worst 130$ ever spent. Only one thank god that ate all his food was my 16 yo son who prefers to eat his food straight from the fridge without...