CRAFT Beer Market Ottawa — Restaurant in Ottawa

Super fun and surprisingly economical depending on what you ate getting. **Only 2 months ago I gave 4 stars. = Today, 2 months later, I need to edit my review!! Last night we went to see some friends play (JTB), we identified that we were friends of the band (this was confirmed with Julian coming over) and so were told that if we were willing to wait, we would be able to get a table closer. We agreed to wait and were excited about band, Beer and food. We went to the bar, squeezed into the only area avail, but we did it... we were in the way of the servers but we had been specifically put there so we tried to squeeze and move about so as to allow the servers to continue flowing... Then our # came up. The end result, lol is that we were placed at the COMPLETE OPPOSITE END of the venue from where the band was playing, placed right at the kitchen...and that was after we'd already waited almost 45min (so as to ensure table closer..., ahem) (we could gave waited longer but band was going to start... so took our lumps per se... "We are friends, so we'll sit here , eat and just listen since we'll see our friends later anyway..." - So we order a barrel of nachos ($23.00). With that we ask for the braised beef ($4.50 extra) and guacamole ($4.00 extra). I asked for extra jalapenos, waiting for that extra charge too. End result... we did not get extra jalapenos but also was not charged for them...(fair) but the "braised beef" was a teensy handful of over cooked and Very dry hamburger, slightly crumbled into the top layer of nachos. There was all of about 12, maybe 14 slices of jalapenos sprinkled over the centre of the top layer only, and you'll see in the picture that the 4 dollar gauc was a JOKE (one ice cream scoop - for 4 people and served in the same bowl as the small amount of salsa and sour cream - makes me hate to see what you get if you don't ask for the gauc!!) - like really, I paid 10 fn dollars for that and this so called braised beef?!?!? Don't get me wrong, the nachos tasted delicious and the top layer was nicely endowed but that was it!!! (Only the top layer, underneath the top layer were just chips, with the odd bit of melted cheese, ie: outer perimeter of the other layers got a sprinkling of cheese)... The plate of salsa and sour cream (with gauc) - I suppose is their inside joke - watch their customers try to indulge with dry, all be it tasty, chips with their tiny bowl of garnishes. Our server was a cute, energetic sweet server that we saw only 3 times as he was SUPER busy - busy enough that by the time we had finished our nachos, he finally made it back with the napkins (for our eat with hands meal) - I guess we could leave un-messy but not during the meal! We saw him so little that we only had the opportunity to order 2 beer each (after having left the bar area where we had a sample platter (flight mode) and had to carry our beer sampler, with purses and winter coats, in busy environment to our own table)... As foodies, we get busy, we get that we're there on an especially busy night due JTB playing, we get that the venue/pub is geared toward beer and the food is an addition to the fun beer venue) But apparently the band that played the night before was a busier night, 'this is nothing' we're told and yet while there for band, beer and eats with friends - this place failed in each area. Again the chips were pretty tasty but you can get that elsewhere for waaaay cheaper!! The only thing we were VERY pleased with was the desert! That was delicious, and plenty enough for 2 to share and at their prices, that did help with the over all experience (only that mixed with atleast the enthusiasm of our server) They were even out of certain beer... I will not be returning!!...

One of the worst dining experiences I have ever had in my life. My girlfriend and I stopped by on a Sunday afternoon to enjoy a sunny day on a patio and grab some quick drinks. Upon being greeted by our server we asked for some water and ordered some drinks. We got two pickle back shots to start, and a fraperol spritz. I attempted to order a margarita but they were unfortunately unable to make it. I then tried to order a passion fruit Paloma which they were also out of. I was looking to have a tequila based cocktail but the server was unable to recommend anything or inform me what kind of tequila drinks they could make. I asked what kind of tequila they had and she didn’t know off the top of her head (which is fine) but she did not inquire about it what so ever. Long story short, I did not end up ordering a drink. After waiting 15 minutes we finally got our first round. Unfortunately the pickle backs did not come with pickle juice and we only received two shots of whisky. We gave our server the benefit of the doubt and waited patiently for the pickle juice to be delivered. To our dismay it never came, just like the water we asked for. When our mains came out, we had no cutlery, the bartender happened to be the one who dropped the food off and was nice enough to finally get us some water, pickle juice, and cutlery. To make things worse, a table next to us was able to get a tequila based cocktail (I can tell as I am a bartender myself) that looked like a margarita or tequila sour. This was increasingly frustrating as our server did not recommend anything they could make in place of their classic margarita. All in all, I would rate this place .5 stars if I could. Our server really ruined our day off that we wanted to enjoy on a nice patio. Shout out to the bartender that was working that day, I wish the tip could have gone entirely to him as he was the only positive aspect of...

Really enjoyed my experience at this restaurant. The staff was very friendly and attentive despite the fact that the restaurant was packed (St. Patrick's day). I really like the layout of the restaurant too, lots of sunlight and a sort of communal feel with everything being open. The music selection was nice and I'm impressed by the fact that despite being so open and busy, I could still hear the music and the person I was with just fine. The menu is decent, but I think it would be better if it were more coherent and centered around one type of cuisine. The prices are kinda high for what you get, the quality isn't really fine dining and the portions aren't great, but I still enjoyed what I ate nonetheless. Where they really shine is their beer selection. Their tag line "Where everything is on tap" rings true. I got their domestic sampler and loved it both for the well curated selection and the very, very good price. They also get bonus points for personally sending out thank you cards with a coupon when you sign up to their e-news letter, such a nice little extra touch!

Update: I've since been back and had such bad service that I decided to go down a star. Our server was unfriendly and barely came to our table at all despite walking by to go to other tables about 20 times. When I asked he if I could make a substitution on a dish, she said she would go ask, then came back with the dish without the substitution without asking me if I still wanted it without the substitution and didn't address it at all. Thankfully it wasn't too big of a deal, but it (figuratively) left a bad taste...