Manotick Gastropub - Ottawa, Ontario

We were regulars at Manotick Gastropub when it was the Main Street Cellar. The atmosphere in this old house was amazing and the food was out of this world, with Buffalo and Wild Boar on the menu. The prices were very good for an exciting and varied menu, that ... enticed us to return often to try something new. You had to make a reservation because the dining room was always full. New owners, a new name, Manotick Gastropub, meant a new menu as well. More than 6 months after their changes, we were anxious to try what was on offer. We were very surprised to see only one other couple in the dining room on a Friday night. They left shortly after our arrival, leaving us the sole customers not only in the dining room but in the bar as well. The new menu fell far short of what we had been used to at Main Street Cellar. The selection offered very limited choice and the prices were much higher, while the portions were smaller. We were told that date night was still on offer but the price had been increased by $10.00 - a hike of 12%. Our meal portions were small, bland and unimaginative. Plating lacked a wow factor. The dessert menu was equally disappointing and not freshly made - as the ice crystals and barely thawed center attested. In conclusion, the food was only average and the cost of the meal was far too pricey for what we had. This was our first, and last, visit to Manotick Gastropub. We cannot recommend this restaurant. Read more

This place could be amazing but too many details were missing. First, this place has a super cool atmosphere. It is a converted house filled with a couple of small rooms that house a bar and a dining room. Super intimate feel. It was however empty when we ... arrived which was not a good sign as the competition up the road appeared to be bustling when we drove by. The waitstaff were very friendly and there appeared to be two cooperatively working the dining room. One appeared to be much more knowledgeable about the menu and the operations of the restaurant than the other. The drink menu was ok, I'm not much of a cocktail person so as much of the menu seemed devoted to this I was left with a small (befitting the size of the restaurant) selection of beers and wine. Wines were run of the mill and carried what I feel was more than the normal ridiculous retail mark-up that most places have. Five Ontario craft beers on tap, but they were all rather vanilla and too similar to each other imo. Our server clearly didn't know beer styles because I was given a run down by the colour of the beer rather than by style and there were no descriptions on the menu to help me out. Both of these are pet peeve of mine for establishments that carry craft beer (yes I am a beer snob). The menu felt like it was trying to be high end and time was obviously spent crafting it to covey this vibe. Many of the menu items were nearly identical to one of their competitors down the road. The spinach artichoke dip was really good, had lovely acidity, a little bit of heat from the spices, and a garlicky kick. The rest of our meal was not particularly good. Everything else that was brought to the table was significantly underseasoned. It tasted as though the kitchen was out of salt. We were not the only diners who felt this way as the salt that I requested be brought to our table was spirited away to another table after all of us had made liberal use of it, and the diners immediately adjacent to us had to request salt be brought to their table as well. Even if it had been salted the flavours were still boring or non existent. The quality of the cook on all the food was quite good. Nailed temp on my steak, shrimp not overcooked in wife's dish, veg and mash had lovely texture. I think I understand what this place is trying to be, but when you title your establishment gastropub, the food had better be consistently good and it quite simply wasn't particularly good on our visit. Like I said, this place has the potential for greatness, the pieces are there they just need to iron out the details. Read more

The food was delicious! I had the French onion soup and the pork tenderloin and they were both very good. The soup was nice and hot full of onions and cheese. The service was great as well. It's a nice place to have a cozy dinner.

Having heard good things about this place I was excited to try it out, but 2 days after having eaten there I'm still questioning if it was a satisfying meal that justified the cost. The staff was friendly and the ambience is great for a romantic date or small get together. ... But that's where the highlights end. The drinks were expensive but very bland. They didn't have a complexity or depth that I would have expected. There were about only 4-5 small medallions of the pork tenderloin and meal had a omissions and inconsistencies for the same plate. They apologized and sent us home with dessert but I expect higher standards from a restaurant of this caliber and cost! Read more

Went out with the family here to celebrate a birthday, the reviews seemed promising, and we were willing to spend a little more for a nice dining experience. But it was laughably bad. Sitting down in a dimly lit corner, we were greeted with a small menu (which is actually a ... good sign, because it means a restaurant can specialize in their dishes, and prep fresh food every night). Between the five of us, we tried four of the eight-or-so dishes. Every one of them had some form of sweet sauce/component to it. The tenderloin had sweet gravy, the chicken had a horrible grapefruit sauce, and so on. While the meat had thankfully been cooked properly, I'm certain that the rice on my dish had been store-bought (although my taste buds were not able to distinguish if it was the stove top-ready or microwave-ready variety). Also, in the Lamb dish there was a handful of sketchy, unknown, funny-tasting herbs slopped between the lamb chops. All things considered, we had only seen one other occupied table, and it was hard to comprehend that we had to wait one and a half hours of "cooking" time for a virtually empty restaurant. The waitress didn't seem to know the proper way to fill glasses or take away out of reach plates in a fine dining establishment, which is to request that the glasses or plates be passed to her, and instead awkwardly reached over us, and began removing plates before the slower eaters at our table had finished leaving them uncomfortable and feeling rushed. The biggest insult might have been the huge price tag, or maybe that the customary 15% tip had already been punched in. I mean, isn't the tip indicative of the service and overall experience? Either way, the best part about this restaurant is that they're within walking distance of an LCBO with which to drown your sorrows away in afterwards. Honestly. Read more