Clocktower Brew Pub New Edinburgh — Restaurant in Ottawa

I’ve been going to this clocktower location with family and friends for years, and normally it’s a great spot. But I was unpleasantly surprised during my last visit when one of the servers refused to serve our table.

He seemed irritated from the moment he arrived at our table, and was even more annoyed when one of my friends asked for food. There was some sort of misunderstanding while he took our order that caused him to storm off (with no explanation whatsoever). We sat at our table, confused, for about 20 minutes before realizing he was actively ignoring us. I eventually got up and went to the bar in effort to sort out whatever had just happened and he still refused to acknowledge me.

I had to ask one of his coworkers (totally normal and lovely person) to speak with him in an effort to sort out this misunderstanding. He begrudgingly came over to me and stated that he thought we were laughing at him when he asked to take our order. I apologized to him for making it seem as though we were laughing, even though nobody had any reaction that I would’ve deemed even slightly rude or impolite. Sadly for me, he still refused to serve us and basically told us to leave, so we went to another pub down the road where we were given excellent service.

I get it if you’re having a bad day. I worked in the industry for a few years and I can understand how difficult it is to deal with customers from time to time. That being said, this guy was completely unreasonable and rude. I was shocked by his child like behaviour and if I ever go back to this place I will have to make sure to ask to have anyone but John...

I suppose the only real reason to visit this Clocktower is if the Royal Oak up the street is full. I love the in-house suds - it is, after all, a brew pub - but I'm pretty sure that the food in this location must be prepared by people with no actual cooking experience.

Been there twice: the first time it took almost 90 minutes to get my $14.95 Brewer's salad. The menu describes this as "chopped turkey, crisp bacon, egg, cheddar & Swiss piled high on romaine lettuce with avocado poblano ranch dressing." There isn't a word in this sentence that's true. If I recall correctly, it had two slices of chopped-up mock chicken, a few shreds of orange cheddar cheese, half an egg, no dressing, and the lettuce was actually iceberg. I sent it back and dined on beer.

Second time, I ordered nachos with a friend. (Yes, the Royal Oak up the street was full.) They came out in approximately thirty seconds, piled high with charred corn chips and perhaps a handful of slightly melted cheese. Not sure how they could burn the chips but not the cheese. Anyway, that thrilling culinary adventure set us back $15.50.

In a...

The food was good, and the atmosphere was nice. Our waiter however ruined the experience.

While he seemed a bit cranky/ short when serving is wasnt a huge problem. His service was ok but it wasn't incredible. Just standard service. The food arrived quickly and was tasty. We were fairly happy, paid and left a tip of 15%.

While we were all packing up and heading to the restroom/ out he (our server) came over to the party member that paid, pointed at the tip and asked if the service was ok. When she said yes, he pressed further. She firmly said it was fine.

He then went and asked this to every member of our party, as we were leaving. One while she was on the way to the restroom, two on their way out from the restaurant, another as she was coming back from the restroom to leave. He basically chased us out of the pub asking.

It soured the whole experience. It felt like being acosted for more money.

I wouldn't reccomend the pub to anyone now as a result. It was uncomfortable and while the food was decent it wasnt worth...