MacLaren’s On Elgin

Repeatedly awful service. They need to figure out sections with their staff. They guy I had was nice and the food wasn’t awful but once more than 20 people were in the place the staff seemed lost. Been here for the TV’s and nothing more. Also poor selection of draught beer.

This was a cool place to hang out, shoot a couple rounds of pool, and have a drink. My boyfriend and I are visiting from Toronto, and wanted to find a place to watch the Super Bowl. The service was casual, which I quite enjoyed, and there was a variety of drinks to choose from. Even though we didn’t have anything to eat, the food looked and smelt great. There were lots of huge tvs to watch the game! Our server was very friendly, and even though it was quite busy, she seemed calm and made sure we were taken care of. I would definitely recommend this place if your looking for a casual atmosphere to hang out.

Pretty good
Thin crust pizza is good; service is no good.
Place needs security — not the classiest clientele.

Great place to watch the football game. The bartender had no problem moving sound from the Toronto raptors preseason game to Sunday night football after requested. Strong drinks, good atmosphere.

Great place to hang out with your friends, or to get away from them to hang out in a Pub-​like atmospheric bar! Watch the game on their many Big Screen LED televisions, sit at the bar or their many tables, and play some Pool on their many tables! Pretty decent Bar Food selection as well! Attached to The Business Inn, so visitors to Ottawa staying their should definitely check this out! You don’t even have to leave the building! Great atmosphere and friendly Staff. It can get quite busy during the weekends, so you might want to keep that in mind! I’ve never seen any problems occur there, so if say it’s definitely a safe environment. If you don’t drink alcohol, there’s PLENTY of other options available! Get home fast and safe, or arrive in style by using Über Ottawa! Use Code: 2mycx to get up to a $ 15 (CAN) FREE RIDE on your FIRST TRIP (only!), using Über! Enjoy your first trip there or back for FREE, and be safe!

My two boys took me here for Father’s Day to play some pool. I have not played pool in 10 to 15 years but it all worked out, it’s a little bit like riding a bike. Loved Maclarens it’s a big place with TV screens all over the place showing tons of sports, pool tables and sticks in good shape. Good beer menu did not try the food but what I saw looked good. They have a nice outdoor patio lined with astro turf with tables and chairs and umbrellas. My son said they have a large room available for groups as well. I will take a trip back when I want to play some pool.

Maclaren’s was the place we use to come to watch the Sens games. If sports and playing pool is your game then this beer hall dressed as a pub is a decent choice to enjoy it. Huge– massive televisions encompass the walls. Honestly if I closed my eyes and Marty Mcfly took me back I his Delorean to 2005 I wouldn’t know the changes other than perhaps upgraded TVs and perhaps a bit more décor. Otherwise setup and look are the same.
There are many pubs on Elgin and this one has the most amount of TVs but I’d concur lacks a bit more character and soul of the other pubs. However as mentioned if playing pool, drinking draft beer and watching sports is to your affinity then you will enjoy this place! Pitchers are in the $ 20+ range (seems a bit expensive) but they do fill them full.
We came to watch some NHL playoff hockey. A good time was had by those in my group!

This really is a great place to unwind. The beer selection is great and they do have some pretty knowledgable bartenders when it comes to mixed drinks. Asked for an old-​fashioned and it came to me perfectly.
Pool prices have come up in price over the year, but considering there are 4 – 5 massive tv’s all with sports on I’ll live.
If your a sports fans and enjoy pool in a nice environment this place is for you. It is for me!

Really don’t like this place. The food is horrible and overpriced as are the drinks. The building feels old and archaic which impacts the ambiance. Seating is poorly planned when available and you can’t watch the TV’s they have in any comfortable way. They don’t show any good sporting events and the pool table area has no area to relax when your not the one shooting. If your party is bigger than 3 – 4 ppl you will need two tables and the only reason I’m giving this place 2 is because of the staff. Otherwise this place is horrible.

I’ve been to this place several times and most of the time it’s been a pleasant experience. It’s a fantastic place to watch sports and play pool with friends. You can see and hear the game from any location.
I went there last week to watch the NBA final game and play some pool, but the service was terrible. I’ve had better service on busier occasions. When we arrived we waited by the cash for someone to allocate a pool table for us. Three staff carried on conversations and barely looked at us until they finished what they were doing (getting drinks, moving dishes, placing orders, reminding Ione another of things to do, etc). No one acknowledged us or said «It’ll just be a minute». Once we got a table it took 40 minutes before anyone approache our table to take any orders. We had to go up to the bar to order drinks. From them on, someone was attentive, but it was frustrating because they were not their friendly outgoing usual staff. The staff seemed flustered and too busy for customers, even though the place was only half full (PR less). You can’t even blame it on new staff because it was the regular staff that’s waited on us before. Disappointing. I will say that the service was better on other occasions though.

Reading through some of these negative reviews just shocked me — did not expect that at all!
This is my favorite sports bar and I come here all the time to watch football. They have tons of TVs and actually play the game audio through the speakers. I usually get the burger or pulled pork sandwich with curly fries which is consistently delicious.

This place is a great place to meet with a large group of people for a birthday party, to watch a game, or just eat.
I have gone here several times, and each time has been pleasant. The clientele are respectful, the prices are reasonable, and the air is positive and vibrant. There is also free pool.
The restaurant is a large size, which makes it comfortable to stretch out a bit, which I like.
I have tried a variety of the burgers, and wings, and they are typical pub food fare. No surprises. It comes at a decent price in a nice environment. ⁴⁄₅ stars. If the food offering was better, even if it was more expensive, id give it ⁵⁄₅.

Good place to watch the game, with a fairly good selection of beers on tap. Food is typically sports bar/​pub grub.
Be warned, if you plan on spending a lot of time on a bar seat. The bar stools can be extremely uncomfortable.

Met a couple of friends here this weekend for some drinks. I was completely expecting it to have the whole, dingy pool hall vibe to it, and it didn’t, which is cool. But it certainly had the dingy crowd going on, but that’s another story for another time.
We started off by splitting a pitcher of sangria, which was good. I’m far from a sangria expert but the group said it tasted too wine-​y for them, I wasn’t complaining, you could certainly taste the wine but it still tasted like any other sangria I’ve had. My friends ordered a few beer but I of course, was hungry. So I ordered the spinach artichoke dip.
WOW! It is so good! It reminds me of Kelsey’s spinach dip but it might even be better, imagine that! It came with fried pita chips, and the dip had like an inch of melted cheese on top. Mmmmm, whoever said MacLaren’s food was no good obviously has never tried their spinach dip.
Besides that, the second drink I had was called the jolly rancher and it was fantastic, my friends gave the thumbs up on their drinks too. We had a great time at MacLaren’s, and we didn’t even play pool, but I’m sure it’d be even better for anyone that actually knows how to play!

Many people have mentioned that the food at MacLaren’s isn’t spectacular. While that may be true, you shouldn’t really come here for the food. If you’re looking for a fantastic place to play pool, have drinks with a large group or watch the game this is the place to be on Elgin. I have to agree with Darren M in saying this is the best pool hall in the city.
Most pool halls have a grungy, run-​down kind of feel, but MacLaren’s is tasteful. I’ve been to MacLaren’s several times, most recently for my Dad’s birthday on a Saturday and we had a great experience. I called and made a reservation for a pool table the day before and they had no trouble accommodating us. We got there about an hour early and they still let us start playing early. We were in a private back room that has about 4 other pool tables and a great fireplace. It was super nice to be able to actually have a conversation without all the hustle and bustle of the larger room.
Bonus? You have a server who is yours for the night and always makes sure you have what you need. Our drinks were never empty for long and they were decently priced. There’s flat screens everywhere so you can catch whatever sporting event is on.
We did decide to have some dinner after a few games, and while I don’t remember anything show-​stopping about the food, it wasn’t awful either, just kind of normal pub fare. My four stars are really all about the atmosphere, experience and staff. If they kick up their food a notch this would really be a five-​star joint!

On a December 4^th, Sunday afternoon, this was the best location to watch all the available football games. There also seemed to be many people enjoying a few rounds of pool.
We had ordered wings and fries which were oven baked. While the fries were fine– only a touch dry — the wings were very disappointing. Of 20 wings, we might have eaten 3 each and were completely turned off. They were soggy, slimy and fatty. I have had baked wings at other establishments as well as at home and they have been far better than these heated pieces of chicken. When the server came over to check on us — my water nearly empty — he asked how things were and I explained that the fries were good, but we were not enjoying the wings and why. He apologized, but did not offer a solution.
After watching the games to half-​time, with my water 10 minutes empty, we were ready to go and it took another 5 minutes before we could ask for our bill.
With the plate of uneaten wings remaining, we were further disappointed to be charged full price for them.
We would not go back for food, but if looking for the games and drinks only, it would be fine.

It’s a decent sports bar, actually surpasses St Louis down the street for sports watching and playing pool. Where it fails is the FOOD. To avoid at all costs. Bland, not very tasty and several friends of mine had food poisoning there. Overall, not bad if you’re into pool. I’ve experienced better in terms of sports bars. They definitely play the location card (on Elgin, close to other bars).

I’m not a pool shark but I would have to say this has to be best place in the city to play pool.
Prime location on «Sens Mile» (yes, it’s actually less than a kilometre and not even a mile), a huge wall of flat screens and almost two dozen pool tables make MacLaren’s a perfect option for watching sports or just after work.
Service is usually great and fast and they sometimes have waiting lists for the tables but even on a busy weekend you don’t seem to wait long to get a table. With an absence of quality group activities located in the downtown area (think bowling, laser tag-​ish type things) this place should be considered for after work or on the weekends.
I would suggest if you’re a rookie player that you do keep an eye out for others before you accidentally jab them with your cue — there are parts of the place where the tables aren’t separated by that much space.
They’re pushing the city to add patio space which is something this place lacks so if it goes ahead MacLaaren’s could become the beacon of the Elgin Street party scene.

Great after work place if you work downtown (or even if you don’t).
Plenty space so the tables aren’t jammed against each other like some other pubs in the city. Clean and new look, they aren’t going for that old fake beat up look. The chairs are really comfy and it’s not so loud as to not be able to have a conversation.
Plenty of pool tables, a wall of giant screen tv’s, so great place to be for major sporting events.

Looking for a place to watch some basketball on a Friday night with not too much going on, and was advised to come here. Its hard to describe this place because of what it offers. When you walk in, lined up around the perimeter are tables with really comfortable seating and has a restaurant feel. The servers are dressed in black tie’s and white button ups, and the bar in the centre of the place had multiple taps and a good selection of alcohol. But as you look around there are lots of pool tables (even more in the back on the way to the washroom). So then you think pool hall. Then at the back of the restaurant you see 6 huge TV screens (at least 60″) all in REAL hi definition (not that fake stretch stuff some restaurants would have you believe) and multiple smaller tv’s on pillars scattered throughout the place.
The staff is more than happy to turn a hi def tv to whatever sports you want to watch. Most of the pool tables were in use, but there were not any rowdy patrons ruining my night.
Tab selection is your standard stuff, and only had the foccacia garlic bread to eat. I’d recommend this place for an evening of doing something without partying hard. I’m sure this place is great during playoffs and NFL sunday’s