The Lookout Bar

Capital Kings put on an excellent show at this bar! Yes, lots of lesbians, but Ottawa has enough gay bars already, so why not let the girls have one? Hard to get served at the bar on a busy night, but not impossible. Drinks a little overpriced. Definitely a meat market. Crowd 19−40ish.

A couple years back the Lookout was home to older gay men looking for hook ups, now they’re all waiting for you at CPs. I had not known about the change until earlier this year, and it’s a much nicer place where the regulars are mostly females who dig other ladies.
I like the staff enough, they serve you fast at the bar and clean tables up quickly. The bathroom is really clean and the space is easy to navigate.
It’s heavy on the dance music, and very up beat. My favorite reason to go is for Capital Kings on Friday night. You can also catch Karaōke on various nights.
You have to climb two flights of stairs to get there, so alas it is not accessible to wheelchairs. Seating is also limited and disappears as the night goes on.

I had been wanting to checkout Lookout for a while, but hadn’t found the opportunity that seemed appropriate until next weekend!
It was my birthday, and I was in a dancing mood. We headed over after a lovely dinner and I have to say, it was fantastic.
The place is quite small, and as such it gets really packed but it is fantastic. The DJ on Saturday was lovely, played a couple requests my friends had for my birthday and played some great dancing tunes.
The drag show was out of this world. Honestly, it was as good as if not better than some I’ve seen in bigger cities with bigger drag scenes, all in all it was awesome.
Drinks were reasonably priced, compared to what you might pay at similar establishments and the bar staff were all super lovely.
I have to say, if I want to go dancing again in Ottawa, I will check this place first!

Lookout has a wonderful space, and often some pretty decent music. Prices slightly high, but appallingly bad service.
I should like this bar, but in the 14 years I’ve been going here, I almost never have had a good time. A great deal of blame can be put on various staff over the years. I’ve had a number of negative experiences with rude staff, so many so that its clear that there is some serious problem somewhere. I never had any other issues with any other bar in Ottawa, usually I find service better then the average in Ottawa, the Lookout is an ugly exception, like a bloated, warted thumb.
It may be worth checking out, simply because Ottawa has limited options, but not one to return to. I’d say my last 5 visits were negative experiences, and I’d only be willing to go there if someone was twisting my arm.

When in Ottawa, this is a place you should check out, but be aware… it is very slow in the early evening. If you want a guaranteed seat at the bar and the chance to strike up some conversation with the bartender or one of the locals, though, it is perfect. Although it would seem to be bad for business, they don’t seem to mind discussing other Ottawa options with those new to the area.
Karaōke night is a hoot with talent levels all over the place. If you have always had a secret desire to sing in front of people but never had the nerve to give it a go, this is the place to break the ice. Everyone politely applauds after each singer and you are encouraged to sing again.
It isn’t the sort of place for a rollicking good time into the wee hours, but for a place to go grab a beer and meet new people, it is more than adequate.

The Lookout is one of the few options available to Ottawa’s LGBT community with regards to bars and clubs. Located in the Byward Market, the crowd is usually pretty diverse with regards to age, and the bar ranges from being absolutely dead to extremely busy.
Tuesday Night is Karaōke, which always ends up being a hoot. People get really into their tunes and the crowd is usually a blast. Thursday night is for the guys, Fridays are «Ladies Nights» and Saturday features a drag show.
The dance floor is pretty small, but the D.J. is usually great and the dancing takes over the whole venue. It can be hard to get a drink on busy nights, but the wait is never unbearable; just typical of the bar scene.
My only complaint is the food. Promise me you don’t order to food. Even for pub fare, it is far below standard.
The place is pretty small and it often gets very warm. That being said there is a balcony that overlooks the whole market which is the perfect spot to get a breath of fresh air before hitting the dance floor again!

Been long time patron of the Lookout but this bar is really going downhill. First, this is not a gay bar anymore but ground zero for lesbians in Ottawa. Second, customer service is minimal to non-​existant. After asking for a simple drink, the young barmaid started calling us snobs to other staff present at that time. Guess you have to stick to beer to not be called names. Childish behavior clearly linked to a lack of supervision of this kindergarden. There is already so few customers present in this place each time we went, you would think they would try to make an effort to make them feel good. Guess they don’t need our business. In conclusion, there is nothing to look at or look for at the Lookout. There are other and better GAY bars in Ottawa.

Of the very few gay bar options in Ottawa this one probably would appeal to a larger number of people for a few reasons.
The Lookout is located in the Byward Market amongst several other bars so if you find yourself there a bit early and crowds haven’t shown up yet you can always find a neighbouring place to grab a drink until more people get on the dance floor.
Thursday is certainly the night to go as this place is usually packed. The crowd tends to be a bit more mature and skewed more toward lesbians than the Edge. If they do charge cover it’s minimal and the line up usually moves fairly quick.
The dance floor is often packed and it gets quite warm so dress accordingly because they only let a few people outside on the patio at a time.

From what we have in Ottawa, I guess this place is a little fun on Thursday. There’s a good mix of crowd but again people are cold and wouldn’t dare to make the first move. Apparently the music is good and the drinks are not too expensive either. The dance floor is small and gets packed. In short, a good place to hangout on Thursday.

The Lookout is a pretty fun gay bar in the heart of the ByWard Market. More so known as Ottawa’s «lesbian bar,» this place is also a good time for a variety of patrons. The music is usually mainstream, but it’s still fun to dance to. They usually have something special going on every night: $ 4 martinis on Mondays, karaōke on Tuesdays, a wine, beer and cheese night on Wednesdays, men’s night on Thursdays, ladies night on Fridays and a drag show on Saturdays.
I think one of the better features of this bar is the balcony that looks out onto York Street amidst the sea of people that mill about the market, Zaphods, Barefax and The Dom at night.