The Senate Sports Tavern & Eatery

When my friend and I walked into the dank and noisy pub, we were quickly seated in the back of room, where the floor was sinking. This caused my chair and the table to rest on uneven ground. As a result, whenever someone walked by our table, my chair and the table would dangerously tip to one side. We were then handed sticky menus, with a vast selection of food. However the food was definitely overpriced for what it was. I ordered the nachos and the fried pickles, and my friend ordered the calamari and the chicken tenders. Then we waited a for about 30 minutes before our food came out. The fried pickles I ordered were for lack of a better word were disgusting. They had a strange musky taste to them, and after taking a bite of a pickle, I had to spit it out. The nachos were greasy, yet much better than the pickles. My friend’s calamari tasted as if it were stale and the french fries that came with her meal were incredibly soggy. I would definitely not come back to this pub.

Fun place with much better food than you might otherwise expect — nothing fancy, but solid pub classics. Good vibe for watching a game too.

A group of 4 of us went here for lunch and everyone left happy.
One of my coworkers got a wrap with a salad and loved it. Another one got the bison tacos and also loved it. (It doesn’t get more Canadian than bison, except maybe moose). My other co-​worker got the Pea-​Nut butter & bacon burger with apple slaw and raved about it. «Pea-​Nut butter and bacon burger?,» you say. Yes, I had to do a double-​take, and not just because of the spelling of «peanut.» I was intrigued, but nevertheless a little less daring and opted for the BBQ burger. The hand cut fries were delicious, and even though Canadian law (or perhaps Ontario provincial law) requires cooking ground beef well done, it was still delicious. Not dry at all.
After hearing some more people rave about the peanut butter burger, I threw in the towel and went back and tried it for myself. The peanut butter was not the least bit subtle, making for a creamy burger experience. Kind of weird. I would definitely not order it again, but I do admire the Guy Fieri-​esque creativity.
The service is outstanding. Very efficient and friendly.
Plenty of TVs and even some throwback video game systems you can hook up for group fun.

The wife and I met up with a friend on the patio for a late lunch. I never ventured inside the building so I’m not sure what it looks like inside.
The patio is fairly small, right next to the side walk.
I went with the chicken salad. I never noticed any mention of dressing and it slipped my mind to ask for it on the side, I’m not to keen on most dressing. Unfortunately the salad came slathered in dressing, dios mio. I mentioned it to our server and apologized for not remembering to say no dressing. She went to speak to a manager and promptly came back saying another one would soon be on it’s way. I think that’s how it should be handled, especially with a salad, but many restaurants it wouldn’t go down like that.
The service was good all around and I look forward to checking it out again.

Sports bars are a dime a dozen, so to really like a sports bar it has to be a bit different.
I like the Senate. Beyond the name, it is a bit different. The food seems to be a bit higher-​end than what you would find at a chain or franchise of a big name corporate sports bar.
Sitting at the bar, who is behind said bar is a big deal. Quality bartenders converse without being annoying; entertain without being obnoxious; know their stuff when it comes to beer and booze etc. The Senate seems to get this, as the person behind the bar the last time I was there met all that criteria.
A nice selection of beer helps, since there is nothing worse than going into a bar and being told, «Sorry, we’re a Molson bar, that’s all we carry.» The same can be said for a «Labatt bar». There were local brews on tap and some bigger names for those not wanting to think too hard on what will be getting them intoxicated while watching «the game».
And, not to worry, you still get plenty of TVs to watch the game (pick one) and a fun atmosphere.

Great sports bar environment. The service was great and I loved the peanut butter, bacon & blue cheese burger. The greasy, salty fries were prefect!

Standard pub fare that doesn’t overwhelm. It’s a perfectly relaxing place to grab drinks and watch a game and nothing on the menu should truly disappoint. I just wish places would be a little more original from time to time. All in all, a nice joint. I would come back.

Had been wanting to try out this place for a while so Sunday when my boyf and I found ourselves downtown and fancied watching some of the SuperbowI, i suggested here.
We arrived just after 5 which was just in time as we got the last few seats in the place, at the bar. We like sitting at the bar so would have chose to anyways. They do have nice booths and plenty of tables further back too, all full when we arrived. Being a sports orientated bar they had screens everywhere so no issue of not being able to see them.
Beer wise they have a good selection. We had all draft. okanagan, kronenberg blanc, Mill Street, Sam Adams and my boyf had something that was almost identical to Guinness (as they dont do Guinness). They had a bunch of others too. Not too sure what they had bottle wise. Would have liked to have known without having to ask. There was a printed menu with some of the draft stuff on. Maybe if they weren’t on limited menu (see below) their regular menu would have shown drinks.
Had heard good things about the food here so was little disappointed to find a limited menu (due to Superbowl being on) The items on there still sounded pretty good though. We ordered pulled pork nachos to share. Oh am I glad we did! We both agreed they were prob the best nachos we have had in/​around ottawa. They could maybe be a little bigger portion wise as for the price we felt it lacked chips, but there was a ton of pork. The chips themself weren’t too salty, the pork was delicious (& there was plenty of it as I said) and they weren’t overloaded with cheese, the salsa tasted fresh and pretty sure it wasn’t from a jar. There was disappointingly no guacamole though. although we only thought of this halfway through so couldn’t have missed it THAT much! We did see guys next to us with beef nachos and must say the pulled pork ones look a hundred times better. We saw sandwiches and burgers coming out too, all of which looked good.
Service wasn’t at all intrusive. We sat at the bar so were being served by the guy behind the bar. He kinda figured out that we would get his attention when we wanted a beer rather than hovering over us when we were nearing the end of our drinks, which I like. This seemed to be his approach of everyone sitting at the bar.
Sens game nights they run a $ 5 shuttle to the games, have $ 5 beers and half price nachos. So we will definitely be checking this out in future too (any excuse to have those nachos again!) They also have live music and a sports trivia quiz during the week too.
One area which let them down was the washroom. A bit of a trek to downstairs from the bar area but more importantly they were in need of some serious attention. Paper all over the floor and puddles water everywhere. The place was busy but they had a lot of staff on who had time to take in some of the game so they really should have someone checking on the washrooms every hour or so.
Definitely adding this to our list of places to go if we are downtown and fancy a beer or a bite to eat! Would be interested to see what it’s like on a regular night when no major event on.

My husband and I came here for a very early dinner recently. This place is the best pub I’ve been to in the Byward Market.
It was a Sens game night and I got there first at about 4:45pm. I asked for a table for 2 and the bartender took me to the table and said he didn’t know how long we were planning on being there but he wanted to warn me that it was a Sens game night and it would be getting really loud and busy (I guess I don’t look like much of a hockey fan, lol). I told him not to worry as we would be there for an hour at the most. He gave me the menus and took my drink order (I was driving, so I just had water, and he was fine with that).
Then my husband came and we ordered. I had the Turducken Sandwich ($ 15) and my husband had the Pineapple Burger (also $ 15). So I honestly couldn’t taste the 3 different types of fowl in my sandwich (turkey, duck and chicken) but it was delicious nonetheless. There was also thickly sliced bacon in the sandwich and a layer of fried stuffing (!). It also had cranberry mayo, lettuce and tomatoes. It was rich but I loved it. I have a huge appetite, but I could only finish half of the sandwich. My sandwich came with salad and fries. I asked the bartender (who was our server until 5pm — which I think is the time that the evening servers start their shifts) if I could have the dressing on the side for the salad. He said that the salad is really small and «it’s pretty much just for show.» I understood what he meant when it arrived. At least he was being honest. It was just a few pieces of romaine and some slivers of carrots and red onions. The dressing was a nice balsamic vinaigrette — very tangy. The fries were awesome. Very crispy and hot. They had the skins on. They are regular cut and not battered. They had just the right amount of salt on them. I got a lot of fries. The portions are quite generous.
I had a bite of my husband’s Pineapple Burger and it was very tasty. The burger had grilled pineapple, cheddar cheese and peameal bacon on it. The bun is brioche-​like and didn’t have any pesky seeds on it. I might have to get a burger myself the next time I’m there (apparently Friday is $ 12 burger night). The burgers also come with fries and the miniscule salad.
Service was excellent. Like I mentioned, the bartender was our server until about 5pm, then we got a girl server. It was past 5pm and my husband had finished his water, our server got him another water without him having to ask. About 2 minutes later the bartender came with a new glass of water too. I said that the server already took care of it, he said «yeah, she’s fast that one.» I thought it was nice that the bartender was still looking after us even though our table was passed over to the server.
Washrooms are downstairs and little creepy in my opinion. It is also shared with Haveli next door. In the women’s washroom the garbage can is not near the door, so after you wash your hands you have to touch the dirty doorknob with your bare hands (yeah, I’m a bit of a clean freak, I like to open the door with the paper towel, prop it open with my foot and throw the paper towel in the garbage. People make fun of me all the time, but I rarely get sick!). The women’s washroom itself was clean and fine, it’s the hallways leading to the washrooms that are creepy.
Anyway, I really liked The Senate. I would definitely choose this place over most of the other pubs in the Byward Market. Food is excellent for a pub, prices are reasonable and service is great.
Like all places in the Byward Market, there’s only street parking or paid parking in a lot (no free parking). Don’t think the washrooms are wheel-​chair accessible (someone correct me if I’m wrong about this). Décor is «sports pubby.» My husband loved the framed Toronto Maple Leafs Jersey that says «Losers since 1967.» Despite not being a hockey fan, I’m from Toronto, so I was not amused (actually I was, but pretended not to be).

The food here is delicious and priced well. The environment is lively. Screens everywhere make for a good time while watching many different games. They have Big Buck Hunter. Owner is a great guy and the service/​staff are all great people. This is THE sports bar to be at in Ottawa.
Go Leafs Go!

The best sports bar right in downtown Ottawa. I’ve been there about a dozen times in the last year and a half. Lots of TV’s and they’ll put on whatever you ask them too. The food is great and they have a large selection of beers at reasonable prices. If your a Buffalo Bills fan your in the right sports bar in Ottawa.

Second time I’ve been to this pub and I wonder why I’ve waited so long. The atmosphere is relaxed but classy. I’d say upscale pub. The service is friendly and personable. And the food, oh the food! It is just so wonderfully prepared and presented. Fries are delicious and everything on the menu is interesting and made well. Last time I had the sirloin sandwich, divine. This time around it was the peanut butter, apple slaw and blue cheese burger. The combo of flavors confused and delighted my taste buds. I rarely have the same thing twice but this burger may be an exception.
My date has the turducken sandwich and was silent for awhile because I think he zen’d out on it.
The only complaint I have is the beer selection could be more generous.
I know it’s on the fringe of Clarence St., but if you’re looking for pub food in the market that isn’t the same as all the other pub food in the market, this is the place

Great spot for food and watching the game. Lots of T. V’s from all angles and a great assortment of drafts on tap. Go Habs GO!!!

nous sommes allés manger là mercredi vers 13 h. Le smoke meat était bon.
BRAVO pour les frittes maison.
Les galettes de steak des hamburgers étaient sèches et trop cuites. Peut-​être ont-​elles attendu trop longtemps au chauffe-​plat avant?
Bonne ambiance. Bonnes bières en fût.
Service courtois et rapide.
Déco bien

The food, the atmosphere and the service was great! Had some of my friends Grilled Cheese Burger — excellent! And the side salad was amazing — at NO extra cost! I even went during a Sens game with three friends who do not watch hockey — they still loved!
I will be coming here again and again.

I wanted to hate this place because they are very pro sens, but their food is decent and their shots are only $ 5 !!
We ordered the bacon cheese burger and the fish and chips. The burger was delicious. The portion of the fish was gigantic and was also delicious.
The food did however take a while to arrive, game night, lots of people so whatever.
My only complaints is that the music was way too loud, we’re at a bar not a club, i literally had to shout at the person across from me ! And the TVs are too small and there aren’t enough of them (we were at the back). It was also strange they didn’t show the UFC fight.
Buy more TVs (like real sports or cage aux sports) and I’ll give this place a 5, and then subtract 5 for being so pro sens, and then add 5 again cause i’m not a dick.

Had the Tequila Pulled pork. It was okay, bread needs to be grilled or something. All the sauce from the pulled pork had the sandwich falling apart very quickly.
Good selection of beers on tap.
Cool looking place, some sports memorabilia as decoration. Plenty of TVs above the bar. The night I was there, each TV was showing a different game. I’m sure it will be a good place for hockey viewing and other big sporting events.
Will definitely check it out again.

Had a chance to drop by here when Real Sports was packed for a football game. The Senate seems to have moved into the old Mexicali Rosa’s space beside Havelli’s. When you walk in it looks like a pub/​tavern/​cabin type atmosphere. It’s kind of nice.
I’m not sure how large the space is in total but it holds a handful of people for sure. They have TV scattered all around the place but nothing out of the ordinary like a massive TV or a TV at every table.
The staff are really friendly and nice, and the atmosphere is pretty laid back. We had a chance to order some food and it’s not bad at all. They have wings that they deep fry crispy that aren’t battered (YES!!!) and remind me of the type of wings that I’ve enjoyed throughout my life. They can get a little dry depending on the size of the wing but I love that they get crispy without a batter.
The staff are friendly and the also hate the Patriots! They have it nicely decorated with some hockey jerseys all around. I dare you to play 1 of these jerseys just don’t belong. It’ll come out pretty quickly but really there’s 2 jerseys that don’t belong on that wall.
Come by for a night out of chilling at this tavern and catch a game with a beer. They have a decent beer menu from what was read off to my friend and can be a nice change of pace from Real Sports.

Went in to watch some NFL Sunday football. Sat at the bar and was greeted warmly by one of the owners, Steve. Nice to see a couple local guys trying to make a go of it in a real competitive market. Hope they succeed. The will have a tough go with Real Sports Bar opening nearby at basically the same time. As he said, and I would agree, they aren’t really direct competition even though they are both positioning themselves as sports bars. I like the feel of The Senate, much smaller, more comfortable, warm feel to it. Feels less like a Moxies on steroids like Real Sports and more like an easy place to hang out.
In terms of the food, I was impressed. I only had one dish, the over easy burger. The burgers are handmade in house, not frozen like most places and the salad dressing, also homemade, was awesome. They thing I liked about the over easy burger is that the egg yolk on it is over easy and not over hard. The Works does a burger with an egg on it but the insist (and won’t do otherwise) cooking it to over hard which makes no sense.
There is lots of memorabilia on the walls and more than enough TVs. The bar area has a good setup with four TVs over the bar, all with different games on and they will change the channels for you no problem.
Will definitely head back there shortly to try some more of the food and take in another game or two.

The good: Went to watch a football game, great atmosphere and good food. There is a T.V. to view sports on from every angle and they will let you know which game is on which t.v. before you sit down. Try the «Chop Platter» and wash it down with some cold pints! The bad — Service could be improved, one of my party burned their hand on a hot dessert skillet and jerked away knocking over a full drink. Someone eventually brought out 3 napkins and that was that.. .