The Brig Pub — Restaurant in Ottawa

Came here last Friday with my girlfriend and my mother who was visiting from out of town. We had Two French Onion soups, the Spicy Sausage pizza, and the Jumbalaya Fettuccine.

French onion soups were fantastic, my mom is a real stickler for her French onion soup and she loved it. Broth was rich and flavourful, and gruyere cheese always makes everything better.

We all shared the Spicy Sausage Pizza, and it was a hit. The dough is house-made and very tasty. Crisp on the outside and soft a doughy on the inside. The sausage was very nice, not sure if it was chorizo or Andouille but it was fantastic. I think the mushrooms are brined or something they were great. It had some sort of basil oil on it as well, definitely a good choice. Portion size isn't huge, good for sharing but also a good size if you were to order it as a main.

The Jumbalaya Fettuccine was also very nice. Sauce had kick but wasn't overly spicy, plenty of parmesan cheese, and the shrimp tasted fresh and wasn't tiny like alot of places.

Service was good enough, but there was sort of an awkward greeting when two staff members saw us enter and we just kind of started at each other for a second before we were sat. The house lager wasn't very good, it tasted like Beau's lagered ale but not as good. Also the shrimp in the pasta still had the tails on. This is a bit of a nitpick, I know it's common for restaurants to leave the tail on to denote the quality, but this is Canada, the shrimp is likely peeled, deveined, tail on, and frozen from some Pacific rim country. If you are deep frying shrimp or doing BBQ skewers it makes sense to leave the tail on, but should be removed for dishes such as pasta or paella.

Interior is classy, dark wood and colours but surprisingly bright. Very cool interior patio and private party room upstairs overlooking the patio. Bathrooms were clean and stocked

Would definitely return and...

The pork belly at this restaurant is a transcendental experience. Something about the combination of the rich, fatty, crispy pork nestled on top of the pillowy starchy goodness of the gnocchi hits a comfort food place deep in my soul that I didn't know existed. And when I had almost overblown my senses on that symphony of savoury, I could move over to the sweet and slightly tart apple bacon braised red cabbage. It helped cut the pork belly and cleanse the palate for another dive into the decadence beside it. I will also note, as I was unable to finish my portion due to wanting to try the chai creme brulee, that the leftovers reheat well for a nice encore. The chai creme brulee was another delightful surprise. Creamy and flavourful, the various spices used dance along the tastebuds giving the dessert a wonderful little sparkle. I will admit I was a tad disappointed at the level of crust on top. It is always a pleasure to crack through that sugar casing, but the rest of the creme brulee rendered that momentary sadness moot. My only dock of stars is for service, because it was a little tricky at points to get the attention of our server, BUT the rest of the team in our area was very helpful in getting our requests to him so I thoroughly applaud the teamwork by the staff (also, going on a Friday night guarantees the place will be busy, so I was not surprised and was very glad I made a reservation) Living nearby, I cannot speak to any parking situation as I walked over, but this place being in the heart of downtown means transit is steps away. Definitely check this place out for dinner. I am looking forward to treating myself to...

Ahh The Brig, this place is as they used to say "the bees knees" the "real cats meow". Jokes aside I really loved this place during my Ottawa trip a couple months ago. My first impression going upto the door was the BFG of a bouncer that definitely looked intimidating but courteous once approached.

I had the pleasure of meeting Matt and Lauren a powerhouse of a working duo. I went for drinks and food everyday during my 4 day trip and seen them absolutely slay the barrage of orders coming into the bar on a Friday night. Matt makes especially good espresso Martinis and Margaritas(as shown in my pictures). Nick was also a champ of a bartender aswell.

They pulled me in with their late night menu starting at 11pm(if I remember correctly) and ends at around 2am. The late night eats is exactly what you need at 1 am after an evening/night of drinking and exploring. I ordered the crispy chicken burger with a Brig house lager for my first meal and drink and was pleasantly satisfied.

Unfortunately there is no live music as of yet but I asked and Matt informed me that they are working on making that a thing at The Brig. Hopefully next time I'm in town they have that implemented however there is a live DJ on Saturday nights. This place will definitely be a favorite when in town and a hard recommendation to anyone around the neighborhood with the opportunity to check out this...