Hometown Sports Grill — Restaurant in Ottawa

Good food, service is okay, but the audio is unnecessarily loud. Seriously, it’s the loudest sports bar I’ve ever been to.

For context, I’m here at least every other month—whether it’s for a UFC fight, drinks, or grabbing food with a friend or my wife. Sometimes, I’m here once a month. Even on UFC fight nights, the audio is still way louder than it needs to be.

What’s strange is that even when the bar isn’t packed, they still crank up the sound as if it’s a huge PPV night. It’s so loud that we can barely hear ourselves talk. Last time, we actually asked the staff to lower the volume, and while they did drop it a bit, either it wasn’t much, or I swear they turned it back up later. How am I supposed to enjoy going out with my friends if I can’t even have a conversation?

Don’t get me wrong, I really like this place—the food is solid, the daily deals are great, and the vegan menu is awesome, making it a great spot for both meat-eaters and their vegan friends. I actually brought my family here recently because one of them is vegan, and they were super impressed with the options. Everyone enjoyed their food. The service that night was good (it’s usually okay/standard).

But again, they had a football game on, and despite the bar being less than a quarter full, the sound was cranked up like it was Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Finals.

Here’s a thought: adjust the volume to match the crowd. If it’s 25% full, use 25% volume. If it’s 50% full, 50% volume. And if it’s packed, sure, go all out. Another idea is to adjust the surround sound so that one part of the bar can be louder for the people who want to really focus on the game, while another part can be quieter for people who want to socialize. This system would be pretty easy to set up and would likely attract more clientele.

I can’t imagine how many people have walked out after just walking in, sat down for a bit and left, or just never came back assuming it’s always this loud. And that’s a shame, because otherwise, this place has so much going for it.

And yes, I know the patio is an option, but I don’t always want to sit outside unless I’m in the mood for it.

I see a lot of potential in this spot, but I'm giving it 3/5 stars due to a few consistent issues. The audio kills the atmosphere, so I'm giving atmosphere a 1/5. Service is usually 3/5—decent, but nothing exceptional. The food is 4/5 overall, and I enjoy almost everything on the menu.

However, the pizza is a real letdown. It's always too lightly cooked—the dough is soft, floppy, and very pale, with almost no colour, which means it lacks flavour. No one likes a pizza with flop. Even when I asked for it to be well done the second time, it still came out soft and pale. The pizza is a 1/5 for me.

A couple of suggestions: cook the pizza more thoroughly. Colour means flavour, and a properly cooked pizza would make a huge difference. Putting the pepperoni on top would actually differentiate the pizza from the cheap, greasy Ottawa style. Placing it underneath the cheese hides the flavour, makes it soggy and makes the pepperoni nearly a waste. You lose that crispy, flavourful texture that people expect. A slightly thinner pizza with 10-20% less dough and cheese, with the pepperoni on top and cooked properly, would be a significant improvement. This would not only improve quality but also help save money on ingredients while allowing you to maintain the same price. If you prefer to keep the pepperoni under the cheese, maybe switch to Italian salami, which doesn’t need...

I've had (mostly) the pleasure of eating at Hometown for many years, having taken friends, family, and business associates at all times of the day, including special occasion brunches and parties booked in their private room (penalty box). This is one of the first and few restaurants in Ottawa that have a great amount of Vegan options, but also traditional meat/poultry/fish dishes. It's great because they've done a great job accommodating everybody. Lately, I've noted the service and food quality have been on the decline. A couple of years ago I would have given this place 5 stars across the board. Unfortunately it appears there has been a turnover in staff, which based on many experiences have impacted the promptness and accuracy of service, and the quality of food. In the last month alone, I've been 3 times, once with business associates and twice with groups of 15+. Each time there have been issues with the service and food. On the last outing, the manager was kind enough to offer a restaurant credit to help balance out mistakes with the order. It really shows that our experience is important to him, however, there seems to be a pattern of recurring issues. Perhaps lack of process, lack of employee training, or simply new employees unable to meet the service levels of what this restaurant once offered. I still like this restaurant and will continue to frequent it, however, I am concerned what the future will hold as there has been a noted decline in the offering.

My immediate suggestions to bring it back and possibly surpass where it once was:

Ensure orders are taken carefully Ensure group orders are delivered within a reasonable amount of time (recently some people in our party had to wait 10+ minutes following the first dishes delivered) My interest is primarily the Vegan offerings and would like to see items such as the Beyond Pasta reintroduced, but also would like to see some healthier options added to the menu as most currently are super processed or fried. Ensure staff are aware of the trust given by guests with respect to Vegan items and their careful preparation - have experienced mistakes, which are not acceptable. Have a manager visit each table to ensure the experience level is great

Please take this feedback as constructive with my intent to benefit the restaurant, but also to flag issues. I would be happy to re-review and alter the ratings based on my future...

I have ordered take out from the vegan menu many times and it was always just ok. Was very excited to come in person and have fresh yummy vegan pub food. Firstly, the table was dirty and half wiped with a rag that didn't do anything but smear whatever was on the table. I noticed many dirty tables and also many people standing around. On to the food. The cauliflower wings were over cooked yet the sauce was yummy so my boyfriend slowly ate them all. I would've asked for new ones had our server ever checked on us. When she cleared the plate I said they were just ok and she just walked away, not inquiring any further on why. Our mains came. My boyfriend got the hot chicken sandwich which he said was good although did say his fries were over done. I had the burrito bowl which contained a mixture that contained chick peas that had been burnt and just mixed in anyways but this made the whole mixture bad. Again we were never checked on and when our server removed our plates I told her it was burnt and she then said she would go speak with a manager. One minute later she brings us out 50 dollar bill and no mention of a manger. I didn't tip. That was not based on food. That was on the bad costumer service and zero sincerity from our server. We did plan on getting dessert but after the first two disappointments decided to save ourselves the headache. As a vegan I am always so excited for new vegan menus in the city. That being said if you are going to do it. Do it well because you only have one chance to wow someone. Sincerely, one...