Bluegill Boathouse & Marina Bar — Restaurant in Ottawa

We were really looking forward to trying this place. We had the mushroom pasta, a cheeseburger, and a lobster roll. The mushroom pasta was very flavorless and the noodles were not cooked all the way through. It did not have that earthy mushroom taste but it did have a very bitter taste from unripened tomatoes. When you're spending $20 for a plate of noodles with no meat in it, it needs to be flavorful. The cheeseburger had the same problem, it had a huge slice of an unripened tomato, it was literally yellow in the middle. The lobster roll could have been crispier. The lobster filling was very bland. Nothing really popped while you were eating it. The only A+ I would give would be the clam chowder. It was amazing and that's why I'm giving the food two stars. There was only three tables occupied while we were there and unfortunately we had to get up two different times just to get refills on our drinks. We were never asked if we would like another beverage and we also had to get up and ask for a check. The waitress just sat and talked to the hostess for the majority of the time and I did not feel it was necessary having to raise my hand or yell across the restaurant for a drink. It's honestly not that big of a deal but if we knew that this was going to be the case we would have just sat by the bar. I'm sure they do well with all the boating people during the summer but if you're looking to go out on a date night or corporate event, I would suggest somewhere else. It's not like these lobsters are coming out of the...

We had a fairly large group that came in for dinner. No one was seating anyone so we had to get our own table and menus. Our bartender was also the server who was very nice however he was very overwhelmed and was also not a bartender. There appeared to be only one cook as well. 3 of us ordered the steak house Alfredo. I can’t give it any stars at all. I added salt and pepper hoping to add flavor but there is no way to make it taste good. Definitely was not Alfredo by any means. Our server admitted it isn’t homemade. The steak was very thin, was ice cold and zero flavor as well. I honestly could not eat it and sent it back. It was taken off the bill. The other 2 ate theirs because they were so hungry and didn’t want to wait for something else. My husband ordered the tenderloin cordon blue with fries. He ate a little less than half of the sandwich and wasn’t impressed. Neither of us could eat the fries. I can’t explain what was wrong with the fries that made them taste so bad. Maybe the oil they were cooked in. I tried some of the pork tenderloin and it wasn’t awful but was more edible than my pasta. Another friend ordered chili cheese fries that he had to send back to warm up because they were ice cold. Even the shredded cheese on top wasn’t even melted. We won’t be back for food again unless they find staff and find someone who can cook. Such a let down. Red dog food was so much better. Eat at your...

I have visited Bluegill three times since it switched from Red Dog Grill. It has been a disappointment every time. The new menu for adults and children as well as the drink menu is limited. Yet, it has typically taken almost an hour to get simple fare, such as quesadillas and grilled cheese sandwiches. The alcoholic beverages, including beer are not cold. There is a lack of air conditioning so that patrons are fanning themselves with beat up menus and the very small wait staff is clearly in a sweat. Perhaps there would be fewer flies in the dining area if it wasn’t so warm. The greeter or whoever is available should be warning customers of the long wait time. There should be a greater awareness of their audience to accommodate customers with young children who cannot be expected to wait 45-60 minutes for food. And there should be an apology and some type of compensation every time they fail. Ottawa and the surrounding area have too many unique restaurants. Sadly, there is no reason to go here until they...