Court Street Pub — Restaurant in Ottawa

Wow phenomenal food!! We are new to the area. Checked out the town, looked up a burger place nearby and decided off of one photo to try this place over others. My husband got a whiskey bbq burger of sorts. My son got a cheeseburger kids meal. And I got the Big Popper burger 🍔 with parm fries. We all sampled each others meals and food is an easy 9.6 out of 10.

Big Popper burger is a patty melt with a creamy jalapeños chipotle sauce. Toast was not soggy at all even with a good amount of sauce. And the meat patty’s as well as the creamy jalapeño sauce were seasoned perfectly. If your someone who enjoys food with flavor THIS IS THE SPOT FOR YOU. I almost want to say this is THE BEST burger I’ve ever had. If it stays consistent when I come back then I will 😆. The husband’s burger which he loved was a little sweet tangy bbq with homemade fried pickles. My toddler INHALED his burger without issue!! Also we really loved the added touch of the stamping on the burger. They were autographed masterpieces. Fries were also very good; light and crispy. I didn’t taste much of a difference with my garlic/ parm fries compared to the regular fries. We enjoyed the left over fries on our way home too even though we were all full. These people KNOW what they are doing with food. The prices are great. Food is phenomenal. Service was a little slow but they were a little busy. Also con- not enough low/ non bar-top tables for family’s. We had to sit outside which was a little chilly with the wind. A lot of family’s were enjoying themselves here when we were there. And it’s a nice family friendly place. It isn’t too small of a restaurant but we had a hard time finding a spot to sit. However we got their on a Saturday at 12:30 😅 which is probably one of the busiest times to come.

My husband and I can’t wait to take our siblings and parents here when they come out for a visit. And we look forward to...

It's rare for me to go nuclear on a restaurant. I try to give these places the benefit of the doubt. But Court Street Pub dropped the ball incredibly hard when I came to visit on Sunday, May 30, 2023.

My 5-year-old son and I had finished hiking at Starved Rock and we raced to Ottawa since we were camping at Illini State Park and we needed to get our tent set up before sunset. Court Street Pub had good Yelp reviews, so we stopped by.

Although there was a host desk outside, there was no one attending it. As we waited, we saw other people just walk right into the restaurant. Did they have reservations? Did they just cut in front of us? We'll never know because the host never showed.

As I stood outside with my visibly frustrated son, I waited for someone to help us. Eventually, a frazzled server asked if we'd been helped. I asked for a table for two. He whipped around and scanned the restaurant and told me there wasn't a table available. Then he spotted one with abandoned dishes. "You can take that one," he said, "I'll clean it off." He took the plates, but didn't wipe down the table.

So we started waiting. And waiting. And waiting. No joke, at least 15 minutes rolled by while I sat at a table littered with crumbs.

We were never offered a menu. We were never offered drinks. My son was losing it. I looked up their menu online to try to expedite things.

Other people showed up and stood in the doorway as no one helped them.

There appeared to be a 12-year-old boy running food to the tables.

Still, no one acknowledged us.

We gave up and left and went to McDonald's where a mostly toothless young woman somehow handed me an incomplete Happy Meal. And that was still a significant improvement over Court Street Pub. At least someone...

We ordered the sweet potato fries and cheese curds. They were both very savory and fresh. The marinara sauce that came with the curds seemed home made: delicious! We had two drinks: the old fashioned and some lemonade with whiskey and blueberry syrup. The old fashioned had buffalo trace: definitely can tell the difference and was strong. The lemonade you can taste the whiskey just unsure which one they used but was sweet. Then we ordered the rodeo panini and the panic at the frisco. The rodeo was smokey and cheesy! The jalapeño spread gave it a nice flavor but not spicy at all! I cannot tolerate much heat so I can say with certainty it is not spicy. Honestly tasted like a dill pickle sauce of some sort. The Frisco was so delish! That home made sauce and jam work so good together! The meat was falling off the sourdough, the sourdough was so crispy yet buttery 🤤 🤤🤤 the cheese was beautifully melted! I should have asked for jam! But it was still good with the amount they smeared in it and the caramelized onions OMG!!! Our server was so nice and attentive! Makes me wish more people like her worked here in chicago! 😒 we sat outside. It was a modern place in a very small town! Right across from this restaurant is where Abraham Lincoln practiced when he was a lawyer (well the old building where he actually did burned down but a new one was erected in 1880 something which still stands) Stephen Douglas spoke here as well in the late 1800’s. The town is very small but very nice. Definitely...