The Gilmour — Restaurant in Ottawa

Don’t waste your money if your a senior like me or someone who previously ate here when it was Connor’s Pub early 2000’s and food was all scratch, and tasted great! . After returning to my hometown from living in Montreal, we are constantly shocked the last 3 years at how bad the restaurant food is and how folks here just gobble it up anyways proclaiming this is the best , fill in the blanks, I’ve ever eaten, omg in Ottawa!!! We think, wait do they not know how good food is supposed to taste! Have they eaten outside of this town? Is it the high cost of living here or property taxes?? High costs of running a restaurant??? Cooks no longer know how to cook?? So missing Montreal I stupidly ordered the poutine! Joking with barkeep I said hmm is the cook hand peeling the potatoes and went to PEI to get them ! What’s taking so long? He said yeah pretty much. Well guess what I was served a big mushy tasteless blob of McCain’s FROZEN crispy fries ya know the coated ones. With a dark brown beef powdered gravy so thick a spoon could stand in it. Salty and tasteless. Only enough gravy for top of the fries the rest were hard and clumped together no gravy no cheese. The cheese curds were non existent maybe 8 small measly balls of cheese that didn’t taste quality to me. Not squeaky nor salty or any flavour! Definitely not St. Albert’s!! The fish and chips ordered was one small piece of flavorless haddock with a handful of yet again frozen crispy fries, coleslaw, tartar for $17!!!! $65 later, The only thing enjoyed was The Guiness, it definitely wasn’t made at The Gilmour . What a huge disappointment when trying to get my son to once again embrace his hometown’s culture. It is...

New Update: We love this bar so much that they let us take our wedding photos here!!! We spent so much time planning our wedding at the booth in the corner that the only way to make our day perfect was to stop for a quart on our way to the church and The Gilmour was more than happy to oblige. Super thanks to all the staff, especially Rhys! (Photos by Kathi Robertson)

UPDATED: After over year of coming to this bar, there are updates that need to be made to this review. Having eaten here countless times, the food is incredible. If you like beef stew, eat the beef stew. It will blow your mind. This has become our favourite place in the city. If you tip 20% or more, this is the place for you!!! If you tip less, maybe explore other options in the neighborhood. The staff and restaurant is too awesome to appreciate it any less. Atmosphere, staff, prices, and food is all top notch. There is comedy and live music many evenings and excellent brunch on weekends. I am remiss to post this update for fear of the place becoming too busy, but too good not to share.

New to the city and just stopped in for a drink. AMAZING service. Drinks were cheap and tasty. We didn't eat but salivated over the food at other tables. The delicious smells were incredibly enticing. This will now be our new local. Great atmosphere, reasonable prices,...

I wanted to bring up an issue I experienced during my visit. While I don’t want to jump to conclusions, I couldn’t help but feel that the service I received from the waiter/waitress was influenced by racial bias. From the moment I walked in, I noticed a difference in how I was treated compared to other customers. The attitude, level of attentiveness, and overall service felt noticeably different, and it made me extremely uncomfortable.

I believe that everyone deserves to be treated with respect and fairness, regardless of their background. Whether intentional or not, the way I was treated gave off the impression of discrimination, and that’s not something anyone should have to experience, especially in a professional setting.

I hope that management takes this kind of feedback seriously and ensures that all customers receive equal and respectful service. No one should ever feel unwelcome or like they’re being judged based on anything other than being a...