Highlander Pub

The Highland Pub delivers what the name states, but does it better than expected.
The staff in kilts, who were eager to answer questions and guide my timid wife around the scotch menu were 5-​Star.
The flight selection could be expanded, but was pleading for its purpose.
The haggis… I’ve had haggis in my beloved Scotland… and this is VERR GOOD haggis. Congrats to the Executive Chef.
If you’re looking for something different, or miss the treeless hills of the Highland, give it a try.

We stopped in here for a pre-​flight drink or three before the recent Billy Connolly show. We sat at the bar and were impressed with a number of aspects of this pub.
First, the service was impressive. The place was packed and the bartenders did an excellent job in keeping up with orders all while giving great service. I asked for a recommendation on a single malt and was offered three separate bottles to choose from. After a quick sniff of each, I selected a 12-​year old Ben Raich which really hit the spot. Exactly what I was looking for in a whisky.
Speaking of Single Malts, the selection here is amazing. They have a bottle for every taste and preference and a staff with the expertise to help you make the right selection. If you are a Speyside guy, they have the whisky for you. If you are an Islay or a Highlands guy, same deal.
The draft beer selection was also top notch. They even had two selection from Brewdog, which is the top craft brewery in Scotland today. The Punk IPA was superb
Since we didn’t eat here I can’t rate the food. I’ll maybe give it a try on our next visit.

We were never served, so we left. Disappointing. This place is old and worn out. I didn’t get to try the food or the drink, so I cannot comment on that.

The service was good as well as the live band on the Tuesday night I stopped in here, but the menu is in desperate need of a makeover.
I think I ordered the most creative thing available, which was an apple brie burger, but the bun was either stale or else sitting under the heat lamp in the kitchen for too long. It came out as hard as a rock. As for the meat itself, they used what appeared to be two ¹⁄₈ lb patties to form the burger. Maybe it weighed a little more than ¼ lb, but certainly not more than ¹⁄₃. In fariness, they did melt the brie between the patties, but still, they need to put some more meat on that thing … literally.
Given all the pub options in the area, I might recommend this one as just a place to go for drinks and entertainment.

Kind and friendly staff and good pub food! I asked if they could make me a buffalo chicken wrap (not onto the menu) and they gladly did and it was very good.

Highly recommend this pub if you are looking for good bar food and nice staff. Our serve was awesome and helped us out with any questions we had, the food was great and it wasn’t overpriced. Love this place and if I ever go back to Ottawa I will be going there again !

Was in town for one night went with a work colleague for dinner and was very disappointed. From the beginning the service was terrible. We had to repeatedly flag the reserved down to take our drink order, then appetizers and again for our meal. We had the peppercorn steak and the burger and fries and the food was pretty sad. My burger was lukewarm and bland and I could count the number of fries on my plate with two hands. I feel like we wasted our one opportunity while in Ottawa to have a great meal.

Absolutely lovely establishment. Our waitress (Celina) was wonderful! Not only did we get our food and drink quickly, she was clever and a great server. She found out we were from the U.S. and wrote down suggestions for local places to go while we were here. The food itself was great (my friend has the bangers and mash — GLORIOUS sauce) and the beer had a great variety. All in all, fun place, fun music, fun staff. One extra star to Highlander for the great service. Thanks Celina!

On the plus side their whisky selection is great. They have a good selection of beer. But the food is very poor. I’ve eaten there twice — the bridie and the fish and chips. They should Google bridie because what they sell bears no resemblance. The fish and chips are low freezer quality, awful actually. Pity, as the location is really good and the authenticity of the pub is pretty good.
So my recommendation is go for the beer or especially the whisky but pass on the food.

I’m not much of s Scotch drinker but their tap beer was good. I had a nice roast beef
sandwhich and wife had hamburger. Quite enjoyable atmosphere sitting outside. The cool thing is that they had live acoustic music after 9:30. I switched to Merlot and we had an enjoyable evening. I have a couple of photos I can share

I don’t have a great love for pubs. I don’t expect much but the food was better than I expected. I ordered a burger with a salad. The salad was fresh and not dried out. The burger was two handmade patties with real cheddar cheese. The bun wasn’t your typical bun it was a grade above.
My husband had a sampling of 4 beers that he enjoyed.
It’s likely we would go back again if we were in the area.

When you consider going to a pub in the market it can feel like slim pickings sometimes, but Highlander is one of the better ones. With a central location and a nice patio in the summer, it’s good to have around.
Their tap list is pretty decent and they get some good stuff on their rotating taps (we even stopped in for some Brew Dog Punk IPA!) and the food is refreshingly different from other pubs in the area — one of my biggest pet peeves about the market is the number of restaurants with the same menu. Highlander not only does a different menu, but has different foods, rather than just a different version of the same stuff.
The prices are good and the food is solid, but not amazing. I’m a big believer in making meals out count — I’d rather not order something than order something that’s only so-​so. Both the cottage pie and Forfar Bridie were tasty, and the salads they came with had nice, fresh lettuce. The colcannon (turnips, carrots, etc) was a little over-​sweet for me.
Unfortunately, service here has been so-​so on my visits. They’re not slow, but they’re not friendly, either. Still a solid choice if you’re in the market and not looking to go far.

Decided to stop here for lunch on a Saturday afternoon. Service was bad right from the start. The waitress didn’t smile and once seated we had to ask for a kids menu. Even though we had a 4 year old with us, she seemed surprised when we asked for one. In addition, they have areas on the kids menu for kids to color, but no crayons. We asked for a pen instead… one never came. Considering the Rideau Centre is across the street, I imagine it’s not that difficult to locate crayons for kids that may come into your restaurant.
We ordered some drinks before our food and one of the drinks had a bug in it. When I brought it back to the bar and mentioned this, the bartender said nothing and our waitress only said «sorry» in the least sympathetic voice I’ve ever heard. I would have thought there would be a little more surprise in her voice.
We ordered wings and nachos to eat. The wings were over cooked and the nachos had no cheese on them. Not sure if this is how they do their nachos there but we were surprised.
I have no idea why the service was so terrible because there were only 2 other tables with customers in the whole place. All the staff were standing together in one spot at the bar. We felt like coming in for lunch was an inconvenience to them.
We also found it strange that the music being played over the speakers in a Scottish pub was Lenny Kravitz. Just seemed out of place.
Lastly, I used the washroom while I was there and it was absolutely disgusting. As soon as I opened the door, the stench of urine was over powering. Doesn’t seem like the staff there do anything other than the bare minimum for customers.
Maybe it’s a different atmosphere if you’re there to drink at night and want some Scottish fare but an afternoon lunch was a complete waste of time and money.
This was our first time there and we’ll never be back.

Best scotch bar in the area. Dave, the bartender, gave great suggestions and tips for how to enjoy the whiskey and after your first ten, you get another tasting free! They have a killer deal on Monday Night Football for a burger, fries, and beer for $ 10 or a pound of wings for $ 12. The staff is super friendly and the drinks are great!

Belle place écossaise où prendre une bière et manger, tout y est si typiquement écossais! Les gars sortez vos kilts c’est tellement sexy! Un décor carotté soigné où les bières y sont bonnes c’est parfait. Petit bémol sur les «fish cakes» une spécialité poissonnière dont la sauce était trop épicée, mais d’autres mets sont très bons et parfois servis avec un shooter de scotch, un délice original.

You should be able to describe the experience you have at a bar within one word. So the one word I will choose for this bar is «MEH», in capitals for a reason because something about this bar should be exciting.
Very plain and ordinary place that people will see on their walk and think to themselves «this might be a great place to hang out tonight and grab a drink while having a good conversation» and then midnight hits and the live band comes on, so of course your right to have a conversation is now over and the only thing you should be able to hear is the latest cover of a John Mayer song that the radio has already overkilled. (Dont worry the band does other terrible covers too) The beer is a good price and food is not very good but you wont be breaking your bank when you come to this place. There is plenty of seating so a great place to go on a busy night to hang out with your friends, but eventually you’ll have to scream over «SOMETHING LIKE OLIVIA» in order to tell your friend that you hate the song «SOMETHING LIKE OLIVIA»…

Un petit verre de Tomintoul? Je suis souvent passé devant ce pub du centre-​ville d’Ottawa sans jamais y être rentré: quelle erreur. Le barman est un passionné du single malt et proposera selon vos préférences un trio de whiskys appartenant à une gamme de parfums ou de régions. Un véritable plaisir pour les sens que je n’ai pas retrouvé depuis le Pot Still de Glasgow.

A very nice Scottish pub with deer antler chandeliers and Scottish décor and staff in kilts. The place for scotch. Seafood chowder was very fresh with the shells included if not a bit salty. The apple crisp was quite mushy and no ice cream just whipping cream however. But a great place for drinks. They even have live music in the evenings. Staff were excellent.

We came in here because I made a joke about Highlanders (the movie, not the people) and this place seemed so appropriate.
It was packed on a Saturday night and we were sat in an out of the way booth, which would normally be fine except we were basically left alone for at least the amount of time it takes to finish a pint, plus 15 – 20 minutes more. Eventually, the Hubster got sick of waiting and got a drink at the bar. He was finished that one by the time our server came back to see if we wanted another round. We left after that.
Atmosphere wise, the place is really fun and had a great cover band playing that night. They were playing at a level which made conversation possible, which was great. They have a wicked patio, and everyone was friendly, but the fact that we were ignored so long will keep me from returning.

I love everything Scottish, and this place has Plaid EVERYWHERE! The staff wear kilts and it just makes everything so *authentic*
I came here with coworkers and I had a beer originating from Scotland, the Tenant’s Lager, which was absolutely crisp and refreshing. For those who don’t like dark or hoppy beers, then this Lager is for you. I loved it so much that I had a second pint. Because I had been eating pubby food the past couple of days, I opted for a Rabbit Salad. To my dismay, the rabbit was cold, but I had my fix of meat and greens without feeling gross. Done and Done!
The night we went, there was a quiz game going on which I thought was a fabulous way of getting everybody involved. Add beer to the mix and you get a lot of funny answers and people. This pub is not big at all so it has a very inclusive feel to it.
Service was great and I appreciated that they had NO issues with separate bills. Furthermore, another waitress came to help out with the separate bills — yeah for teamwork and getting us out so that they could fit more people in!
I am not from Ottawa and I haven’t tried many other places in the market, but this is a pub I plan on coming back if I am ever in the city!

I have eaten at the Highlander Pub a few times now. It has always been with a large group when the majority of the people want to go there — I acquiesce because I support democracy, not because I like this place.
The food here tastes like food that I used to prepare 15 years ago in my university residence shared kitchen in a drunken state at 3:00AM. Edible? Yes. Requires skill? Not so much. The only other pub in Ottawa that I have been to that has worse food is The Black Bear.
This place is good for drinks, don’t get me wrong (they have an impressive selection of Scotch), but food is not its forte.
The chicken fingers and fries here taste like the stuff that comes in a box in the freezer section at the grocery store.
So at my most recent time at the Highlander Pub I ordered the 8 oz. New York Striploin Steak ($ 13.95). It came with Colcannon, choice of daily soup or Caesar Salad, and choice of mashed potatoes or fries.
The «Colcannon» was the weirdest Colcannon I’ve ever seen in my life. It was made with sweet potatoes or yams and had nondescript vegetables in it (was it parnips? Beets? Turnips? I have no idea). There was definitely no kale or cabbage that I could see or taste. It was an orange scoop of weirdness. The daily soup that day sounded good (spicy curry chicken something or other) but when it arrived it was essentially a cup of gritty brown broth mixed with oil (there was a layer of oil floating on top and coating the cup!). Yeah it was spicy, but there was no chicken. My husband had ordered the same thing as me (except he had the 12 oz. instead ($ 16.95)) and he said his soup had more chunks and less broth than mine; he had chunks of chicken.
I ordered my steak medium-​well and it was pretty much well-​done. Fine, I prefer overdone than underdone. My husband had his medium-​rare and it was medium-​rare. They had these cute little picks shaped like cows that they stick in the meat. Mine said «medium-​well» and was brown, my husband’s said «medium-​rare» and was pink. Cute I guess. My steak was tough and not that tasty, but you get what you pay for and I ordered it more done than most, so I accepted it.
I had ordered fries with my meal (so did my husband) and we both got mashed potatoes (why anyone would want mashed potatoes AND Colcannon beats me). So I said «oh, I ordered fries» and the server said «I thought you ordered mashed potatoes» and I said «no, I ordered fries» and she said «I’m pretty sure you ordered mashed potatoes.» and I said «no, I ordered fries» then she said to my husband «did you order fries too?» and he said «yes» then she said «ok, I’ll come back with some fries for you.» The conversation speaks for itself, I don’t think I need to add any commentary.
She did come back with fries in a tiny little cup. I got like 7 fries. They were regular-​cut and unbattered. They were ok (you have to be some sort of special though to mess up fries).
So food, not so great, service, not so great either. Sorry!
***Update: While I have not been back to the Highlander since my original review, I just wanted to write an update to say that I was contacted by the manager via private message, and of course everyone can see the public comment below that was posted by the Operating Partner. They were both apologetic and seemed genuinely concerned about the experiences of their customers. I have since upped my rating from 1 star to 2 stars because a sincere apology from Management and actions taken to prevent a similar thing from happening again count for something in my books. Should I ever return to the Highlander Pub in the future, I will write an update regarding the food and service. It should be noted that my last visit was the only time that I received poor service at the Highlander Pub. Service was satisfactory on all previous visits.

Typical pub fair food at a reasonable price. I just had to try the fish and chips and wasn’t all that impressed. Aulde Dubliner & Pour House in my humble opinion makes a much better fish and chips meal. I found the fish and chips at the Highlander to be greasy, older oil and a smaller portion. The menu was reasonably priced with some really enticing dishes, I just felt like a pregnant women that night with a pickle and ice cream craving; just craved fish and chips instead. I will say this, they have an outstanding collection of scotch. Just about any scotch you could imagine, they have. Price ranges from a few bucks to well over $ 300. I’m not a big scotch drinker, so I went with the more moderately priced scotch. I also like the cute girls in the kilts. I can do without the guys in the kilts though.
They have a very good selection of beers. Madelaine D. got it right… the best way to go is with their beer «sampler». For those of us who sometimes just can’t make up our minds as to what scotch to try, The Highland Pub has an answer to that dilemma. They have a number of Scotch «Flight’s». You choose the flight you want which includes several different samples and this way you get to sample a number of different choices from their vast selection at a fairly reasonable price. Finally, they often have live entertainment. The bands I’ve seen are usually pretty good and the Pub gets pretty crowded. Summers are great because they also have an outside area as well. Overall, a nice place to go.