Orleans Brewing Co. - OBC — Restaurant in Ottawa

Review: Orleans Brewing Company – A Solid Bite in a Bare-Bones Setting Rating: 3.4/5 (Rounded down to 3 for Google)

The Orleans Brewing Company caught my attention while scanning Google Maps for a new dining experience. With a strong 4.7 rating at the time, I figured—why not? Spoiler alert: if you want the short version, Orleans Brewing offers solid food in an understated setting, with service that lands squarely in the “adequate” category. The result? A respectable 3.4 out of 5, though Google forces me to round down to 3.

Atmosphere & Environment

The vibe is distinctly industrial and, frankly, a bit dingy. The space is compact—less than 20 tables split across two floors. There’s a bar area where you can eat, but the entrance is right there, making it feel more like a casual watering hole than a dining destination. Honestly, if it weren’t for the 4.7 rating on Google, I might’ve walked out based on first impressions alone.

Service

Friendly? Sure. Functional? Yes. Memorable? Not really. The most puzzling moment came right at the start. We headed upstairs, and our server seemed unsure of the protocol—asking me to come downstairs to place a drink order at the bar, yet failing to seat my wife and daughter while I did so. When I returned, they were awkwardly lingering on the stairs, unsure of what to do. So, we seated ourselves.

From there, service was fine—nothing exceptional, but it got the job done.

Food

This is where Orleans Brewing redeems itself. The food was a welcome surprise.

Chicken Burger: My daughter loved it—gone in minutes. Her house-made chips were light, crispy, and paper-thin. If chips had a ply rating, these were 1-ply, and it worked.

Pear Kiss Flatbread: My wife enjoyed it, though I wasn’t a fan of the flavor combo.

Maple Flatbread (my pick): Outstanding. The heat-sweet balance was nearly perfect, though whole slices of jalapeño overpowered the dish occasionally. A finer dice would have made it flawless.

Smoked Salmon Appetizer: A solid opener. The cream cheese dill sauce added just the right touch.

Beer

Naturally, I had to sample the brews—and here’s the rundown:

Kölsch Me Ousside: Mild and generic. Think Labatt, Alpine, or Molson. Easy pass for me.

Cody’s Brew Stout: A decent brew, though it lacked the body of a true stout. Still, the coffee and chocolate notes were pleasant.

Maple Beer (name escapes me): Sweet. Very sweet. Great as a dessert beer, but one is plenty.

GUINDAILLE: Hands down, the standout. Well-balanced, smooth finish, and full of character. I enjoyed it so much I picked up a six-pack on the way out.

Final Thoughts

Orleans Brewing Company delivers solid food and a couple of standout beers, but the experience is dulled by a bland atmosphere and some odd service moments. If they elevated the environment and tightened up the front-of-house operations, this place could be a real winner. As it stands, it's worth visiting for the food and beer—but set your expectations...

Edit: there's something overly aggressive about responding to a customer complaint using all caps. I would have gladly changed my rating and my review if more of an effort was made to rectify this. My husband tried calling for over an hour the second we received the box and noticed it wasn't right because we thought it belonged to someone else. He had the phone in his hand the entire time, nobody tried to call. I had a really bad experience and this response left me with an even worse feeling. Why would I ever want to go back to your establishment to try using a credit?

We ordered the mother's day brunch and it was sooo disappointing. The box was missing so many things listed on the advertisement. It didn't have eggs, macaroons, it was missing half the bagels/croissants advertised. The baguette didn't taste fresh at all and seemed to be half the serving advertised. The fruits seemed old too and there wasn't a lot. It looked nothing like the pic they advertised. My husband tried calling several times and no one answered. When he did speak to someone they only offered a 10$ discount. The whole box was 100$ so they offered 10 percent off when more than 10 percent of the items were missing and it wasn't fresh. It was my first time ordering from here and honestly it was so disappointing I'm...

Terrible service, terrible food, 2.5 hours scattered service and one person after 2.5hrs didn’t even get her food, no napkins, no water, under cook bison burger and cold chips. They reduced the menu because we were a group of 18 but we were the only people in the restaurant the entire 2.5 hrs, they had one cook and two waiters and one person never got their food because the chili was still frozen and they charged us all 18% automatic tip because we were a group - what a joke. Don’t waste your $$ beer is mediocre and food is aweful.

It’s unfortunate based on the reply of this establishment that they take no accountability and are completely lying to defend themselves. I was present the entire time and no one was towering over staff cursing in “rage” all 18 of us agree about the terrible service and food and won’t be back, and word to mouth is key! You want a good beer and awesome food with genuinely awesome service and get what you pay for even during a packed house on a Saturday night - drive a bit further and hit up Broken Sticks in Hammond - that my friends is worth your $100 and they won’t...