MacLaren's on Elgin — Restaurant in Ottawa

Well, I'm so embarrassed, as I was an inconvenience to the server who was already serving my party of 25 people(Friday May 3 at approximately 615pm) I had arrived about 10 mins late (new to area and got lost) and I feel so bad for inconveniencing the server, who was so involved in serving the other 25 people that he didnt see me sitting there, as I foolishly attempted to get his attention. I should not have come....at all! How im.glad he just continued to ignore me, Im only a 6ft tall blonde plus sized woman, I know its hard to notice me, even when i say,EXCUSE ME. I feel better knowing I was not a priority for him,though as he answered me, "One minute!!" and with a flick of his hand dismissed any notion of serving me. So, as he served everyone else and also began to refill pints for the people beside me, he managed to not even see me sitting RIGHT BESIDE him as he stood at our table (coz I had the NERVE to show up later behind the others!!) Luckily, after everyone at the table noticed the way I was not being served as they ate and drank 2nd pints, (nothing infront of me...coz well, WHAT was i thinking by showing up expecting to be treated with respect) a person at my table asked the server if I could get a drink. Oh, THEN he finally noticed me, so much so that I made the server feel like he needed to stand over me and glare at me without a cordial word of welcome or "what can I get you"? Asked about IPA, he had no suggestions when I asked. I felt badly for taking up so much time. Luckily, he quickly took my order, I'm so grateful that he felt I only needed 2 shrimp tacos instead of the 4 I wanted, but then again, who am i to think I should be served properly?!

I also would have LOVED a second pint, but he took my glass away without acknowledgment. I guess my time there was over even though others were staying.

I know he probably thinks I have no clout....I guess it's true...

Except for my Google review....

Food was tasty ( too much wet coleslaw in it, though). Wanted 4, not 2, then again, so happy the server chose for me and decided when I was done...

I have ben many times to Maclarens to play pool. This time around I went to the table and said hey there can we get a table? This guy named Noble was there and was extremely rude to us. First thing that happened was he yelled woah, woah woah at us. Very odd as he made eye contact and he appeared not busy. He then demanded to see IDs which I understood but it was done very harshly. He made a lot of assumptions about me and my group of three, To be fair to him, it was panda game day and we were wearing our uottawa gear. He probably assumed we were drunk first year students. In reality, we were sober, graduated university and working full time. we asked politely for a table in the back because it was slightly crowded in the front and we like looking at all the athletes in the back. He lied to us and told us it was full. He said he needed to keep an eye on us and that we are troublemakers. Again I probably come to this place every two to three weeks and have absolutely no issues at all. I had to explain to him we are just here to play pool. It took him 5 minutes to give in and give us table 19. It was maybe a quarter full back there. He then made a comment I will kick you out if you are vaping. I do not vape, neither do my friends and he was again being quite rude and jumping to very poor conclusions. Anyways it just started our night off weird there but we had a fun time playing pool for about two hours. Our server was great, I forget her name sadly.

Overall, I can somewhat understand some assumptions being made of us, but Noble was extremely rude and we did nothing that lived up to those assumptions...

We chose MacLaren's as we were staying at the Business Inn and were pleased to find they had a fairly extensive gluten free menu.

First off, this establishment is much more "bar" than restaurant and the decor is dated at best.

My daughter and I both ordered off the gluten free menu and when I inquired about the "seasonal vegetables", I was informed that the menu was outdated and that I would be provided with peas and carrots. These were FROZEN and tossed on the grill to warm them up. I live in Toronto where the climate is the same as it is in Ottawa and while peas may be seasonal in May, I can assure you that carrots are NOT.

When it came time to order dessert, my daughter and I chose the chocolate lava cake and pointed out that the dessert was INCLUDED in the cost of the meal (written on the GF menu). We were informed again that the menu was outdated and that dessert being included was no longer the case.

I don't know where the "customer service" went, but where I work if I customer sees something plainly written on a menu or otherwise, we HONOUR that request whether it is outdated or NOT. If it's still printed there, it's your DUTY to honour the request. That's just good customer service.

I have no idea where all these "good" reviews came from, but I can assure you that will not be returning and will absolutely NOT recommend this...