EXIT Lounge — Restaurant in Ottawa

11/10 food.

The furniture choices is colourful, but the mood lighting calms it down so it has personality without being too loud or distracting. The table lamps are a very thoughtful addition, more evolved than candles.

The service here is attentive and the servers keep an eye on each other's sections (great teamwork!)

We had the calypso kiss and flirtini cocktails (a preference for sweet) and they were very lovely, not just sweet+citrus like every other sweet cocktail. The calypso kiss is rich from the ameretto, while not being too sweet. I couldn't put it down! My counterpart had the flirtini which is reminiscent of sweet tarts or perhaps Swedish berries? Which is to say again that it has its own personality beyond just being sweet. These are well thought out drinks.

We were given garlic butter piped directly onto a plate with very soft bread. The piped garlic butter adds an element of care as it strongly implies everything was made fresh in the kitchen. It's hardened over though so either they're likely made in advance in order to be served quickly, I can get over it.

The real star of the show here is the food. We were absolutely blown away. The B+B salad was shocking. so many menu options and I am so glad I landed on this salad. Citrus and what tastes like ✨fresh✨ ginger, oh how lovely. There's nothing more exciting than fresh ingredients . I already love beets, but I couldn't figure out how they'd been prepared to be this sweet. Sous vide? Salt roasted? I couldn't get enough of it. The burrata is very rich and soft. Not like what you can find at a grocery store. Spring mix is cheap but hey, it's good. I can appreciate that it's been handled with care and isn't riddled with bruises and creases.

Our dishes were all thoughtfully garnished. I especially appreciated the orchid garnish on the salmon dish. It thoughtfully composes the dish together into quite an artistic experience.

The most remarkable thing is how every element came together. Most restaurants only succeed this well in one area, but the food was so flavourful and fresh, the cocktails were so well balanced, the interior design is gorgeous

The only complaint we could have is that it is really quite loud. It was hard to have a conversation. The loud music from the roller rink pounds over the restaurant music and it can be overwhelming. It seems shocking that such a lovely restaurant is presented as merely an accessory to an an entertainment venue.

This hidden gem really deserves its own building in my opinion. A team of hard workers and thoughtful planners seem to have come together to make something really special which is hard to find.

Good job everyone please...

Beyond Horrible Service—Birthday Celebration Ruined by Unacceptable Staff Attitude and Policies

Date of Visit: Tuesday night, October 14, 2025 Party Size:8 Adults, 4 Kids

We went for a birthday celebration of a friend, but the service we received was truly unacceptable and ruined the entire evening.

The core issue was a severe staffing shortage that led to burnout and terrible customer service:

Understaffed & Uncaring: The venue was clearly understaffed. Our waitress was visibly overwhelmed and communicated this frustration directly to us through short, terse replies. Zero Accountability: When we politely brought up errors or issues, her response was marked by a lack of professionalism and zero accountability. We were met with dismissive statements like, "I'm only doing my job" and "I'm not management," instead of a simple apology or effort to resolve the issue.

The most egregious incident involved paying for food that was rejected due to staff policy:

My partner ordered wings, which arrived completely dry, with no side sauce. When we asked for a dipping sauce, the waitress returned five minutes later only to inform us that we would have to pay an extra $1.50—with no reasonable explanation for the charge.

My partner immediately stated that the wings were too dry to eat without the sauce and asked to send the order back. Yet, when the final bill arrived, the full price for the unwanted wings was included.

When questioned about this charge, the waitress simply Stood there like it didn't matter without offering any resolution. We were forced to pay for an item that was not consumed and was made unappetizing by the restaurant's own service failure.

Conclusion:

This experience was HORRIBLE. To be forced to pay for a rejected dish due to an uncommunicated and petty charge, coupled with such dismissive service, is outrageous. I absolutely do not recommend this lounge for any group event or for anyone expecting even basic customer care. You...

We had a reservation for 7pm and were sat right away. The restaurant itself is cute and modern.

When we first went in, there were not a lot of people, just one group of about 12 people. After we ordered our food, we waited more than 30 mins to receive 3 of the 4 appetizers we ordered, and one had to be sent back and remade which resulted in more waiting. We could see our waiter talking to the other staff and clearly they had forgotten about the 4th appetizer!

When the 4th appetizer finally came out ( the arancini ), they also brought our mains, which had been sitting in the kitchen window for 15 min at that point. We had clearly indicated that we wanted the appetizers prior to the mains but their timing was incredibly off.

The chicken burgers came cold. The salmon was good but the broccolini was fibrous and hard to eat at the bottom. The fries were not good. For the appetizers - we only liked the shrimp tacos, crab arancini didn't seem to have any crab, the wings and polpettes were dry and overcooked. The drinks did come out fast.

We were extremely disappointed as we received a single apology from the staff and could see our food on the kitchen window sitting there. And we were not the only ones, everyone in the restaurant at some point was looking towards the kitchen because no food was coming out, and we were all growing impatient, some had been waiting for 35 mins to 40 mins, including families with kids.

The lack of preparing for Friday night service which is one of the busiest times of the week, the lack of communication from the staff, and the disappointing food is why we will not be going back to the EXIT lounge. I would not advise anyone...