Honest Lawyer Restaurant

I’ve always had a blast here. So fun. The food is ok and the service is pretty good. The best thing is there is always something for everyone. One of those places you pick when you can’t decide.

I used to go to honest lawyer all the time. For years. I’m not sure if it has changed management but the whole idea of going there now is exhausting and bothersome.
The washrooms are filthy. So gross. I mean piss on the floor in the women’s washroom. Lack of toilet paper and soap to wash your hands.
The music has turned this bar into a wanna be club.
This used to be a place to chill have drinks play some games but now? Well picture a bar with a lot of tables Nd TV but minors who got fake IDs are dancing in between the tables on the tables.
Outside having a smoke you get harassed by the homeless (which I usually feel bad and I will give them smokes)
The drinks se over priced and watered down
Not the same place as I remember
Another thing is that before it was free admission and 21 plus. Now it’s regular 19 plus and 6 bucks to get in.
I defiantly don’t want to ever go back
DJ sucks. Music sucks. Food sucks. Drinks suck.
Not a great time. I think they want to be like «the drink» which is across the street.
I would hope better management takes over or the old managers come back, then I would for sure return but at this point I don’t plan on coming back in the near future at all

There are many negative reviews and I’m not sure why.
Every time I have cone here I had a blast! For my 19^th birthday a few friends and I came here for a night out, my friend kept getting drinks for us and the Bartender joked that we should get our own drinks, to which my friend said that she’d do whatever the birthday girl wanted. When she found out it
birthday we got free tequila shots! She didn’t have to do that it was very nice.
The bouncers are a little bit pushy but they must deal with a lot of carp, so it’s ok.
There is plenty of seating, arcade games and a dance floor!!!

I have been to the Honest Lawyer for drinks and games on a few evenings. When going out we normally just end up ordering drinks. The service has always been reasonably decent, with a waitress coming around every 20 or so minutes to check up on drinks.
The restrooms were reasonably clean as was most of the bar. It does have that bar feel that a lot of people are uncomfortable with at times. The typical age of the crowd seems to be 19 — 29, but that fluctuates with the school year.
The games are a fun addition to the atmosphere, I love Dance Dance Revolution and various other arcade games. The music unfortunately was way too loud, which made conversation difficult.

Honest Lawyer is a downtown staple; I’m not sure why there’s so many negative reviews. This is one of the few bars with bowling! They also have plenty of arcade games and other things to do in the bar beyond the usual drinking and watching sports.
The bar was clean and the staff are always friendly. The seats are comfortable and there are plenty of screens of every sort of sporting event. The food is also great, whether you’re looking for a burger, a wrap, or a salad.
A great downtown bar!

This place is great if you’re broke, trashy and homeless. The washrooms are disgusting. You know those washrooms where you rather not wash your hands than touch anything in there. Its a shame the location is great, which makes it completely not worth going there… go anywhere else and you will be much better off. The establishment it self looks as if the owners abandoned it and homeless people moved in, got a Liquor license and started selling drinks. Every time I have gone I have seen girls that do not look a year past 16 getting served until they fall under the tables… at this point a bouncer comes and forcefully kicks them out the back without a jacket or anything. I love the market, hate this place… Go anywhere else but here… you’ll thank me at the end of the night.

One star is being generous.
The washrooms were filthy.
The server seemed like it was their first day, which is fine, but they didn’t seem to have anyone overseeing or helping them — which made our whole experience pretty awful — slow service, mixed with an inconsistent server and subpar food — not good.
My food came out correct, but this wasn’t the case for the whole table.
Games are great but that’s literally all I would come here for.
Maybe there is a lack of management or the owners just don’t care about their business?

This place was a pain in my neck from the moment I walked in.
A group of pals have been going there forever. I don’t get why.
Four months going there, only managed to get a beer once. Clearly the girls walking around are not waiters, they are just there to create the illusion of service.
Bartender tried to say I gave him a ten (I gave a 20), then begrudgingly gave me proper change when I told him «Just because it’s 11:30 does not mean I am drunk, don’t play that game with me.»
Then there’s the juke box. I’ve been in touch with the company that license’s it in regards to repeatedly having my selection shut off by pulling the plug and then the house music turned on blaring hip hop that nobody seemed to care for. The reason? They didn’t want «that type» of music played. Use the censor option then you fools.
TouchTunes was kind enough to rebate me the stolen 20 dollars to my account.
Have never been back since the arrogant barkeep tried to shut me up with a Toonie because of his theft.
Greedy Lawyer is a dive.
Oh also, there’s fruit flies in the mens room and the doors don’t close properly. Effing disgusting place.

Haven’t been to this place in years and definitely won’t be back for decades. Went in there on a Friday night and it was empty, that should have been our first clue.
We had a group, sat ourselves at a table and attempted to order drinks. Finally after waiting 15 minutes for someone to come by we literally started waving like castaways on a deserted island that have just seen a ship on the horizon. Finally a waitress sauntered over. After her strong encouragement we ordered a tower of beer (70oz 4ft high tube) which sounded pretty fun. She returned 10 minutes later to tell us there are only three towers in the bar and asked if we wanted to wait for one to be done. Ummm, no, we would like a beer that is what we came in for 30 minutes ago. So we ordered some beers and waited, and waited. Finally after another 15 minutes we got up and left, one if our group managed to somehow get a cocktail during this eternity and he went up to the bar to pay and say we were leaving and the waitress unapologetically said ok fine then. We went over to Fat Tuesdays and had a great night!

I was completely shocked when I realized I had yet to review Honest Lawyer. It’s one of those places I spent a ton of time at as a student, and I suppose it slipped my mind. However, after a recent trip back I had to write about this spot.
Coy’s right — Honest Lawyer was rarely the place I planned on heading with friends, but it was a place we alway seemed to end up at. It’s close to the other bars in the market, and it’s got a little something for everyone. The drinkers love the beer sampler, the bar stars love the dance floor, and the pub-​goers enjoy the arcade games, pool tables and the spacious booths. They also have some decent food
As a (mature) student back in 2007-​09 Honest Lawyer was what we called our «second campus». We held a ton of charity events here and had many a PR program party. The management has changed (as Samantha mentioned), and I didn’t quite get the same vibe here as I used to, but all in all, I still think this place really works, especially when you’ve got a diverse crowd of people and you’re not sure where to head.
Also, this wasa one of the first places my boyfriend and I went on a date night, and I highly recommend it. Nothing is more fun than squaring off at dirtbiking, basketball, dance dance revolution and air hockey. There’s tons more game options and there’s not usually a huge line, so along with a few drinks and appetizers this is a great way to spend a casual date night.
I’ve always had good service here, particularly the bartenders. I’m really hoping that’s the one thing that stays the same under new management.

BAD service. i waited over an hour for my drink, the waitress had forgotten about it, and then it took another half hour!

I came here with a few friends yesterday evening after we decided we didn’t want to go to a club. This place is kind of known by my friends as the place where you can order the beerzooka, which is essentially a tower of beer you can share with friends. You can only order this if you have 4 people in your party.
The atmosphere here is kind of fun. They have all sorts of old school arcade games and cheesy Christmas lights (I don’t know if this is seasonal or not). They have a fairly good selection of beers and the average pub menu, but they do have fried mars bars! Woohoo! It got pretty busy here on a Friday night, and pretty rowdy too as we saw a few people get escorted out. The crowd here was pretty diverse, there were younger people and people in their 40s here.
The service was pretty bad but it was not the fault of the waitress. My friends, who are regulars here, told me that this place is under new management and I guess it isn’t working so well because the wait staff seemed to be running off their feet. My friends told me that with the new management this is usually the case.
All in all this place would be a fun place to grab some drinks with friends and play some old school video games!

My wife and I have been patrons of this place for over 10 years. The staff is amazingly friendly, the service is exceptional and the atmosphere is great!
Monday is all you can eat Wing night, they have a great selection of sauces and rubs for you to choose from to suit your preference. The other menu options are good including amazing flatbreads and burgers.
They are also well known for their sporting events from NHL to NFL, soccer to curling they play it all and will give out prizes during many prime time events.
If you like games they have video games, pool tables, air hockey and more.
I can honestly say we have never had a bad time there, I highly recommend it!

Honest Lawyer is rarely anyone’s first choice in town for a night out… but honestly it’s always a decent night when you’re here. If I had to compare it to anything it’s a less commercial, slightly ghetto version of Dave and Busters crossed with a bar that has a dance floor.
They have food specials and drink specials as well depending on night. During the weekend the bar goers fill this place. Most other days it’s a run of the mill bar.
For the weekend party goers, whenever your first choice has a large line you’ve got a good chance you can walk over here and stand in line for 5 minutes before getting in. You’ll be disappointed you didn’t get into your first choice but you wouldn’t have wasted a night with Honest Lawyer being a second or last resort.

I guess I HAVE had fun times here before. However, me and my friends were kicked out once because my friend took an aspirin and handed me one. A bouncer immediately confronted us and accused us of trafficking drugs! We showed him the aspirin bottle and you know, the fact that the pills had «Advil» stamped on them, but he couldn’t be swayed. He kicked us all out.
Another time, I showed the bouncer my ID before entering and he said, «Sorry, Quebecers aren’t allowed here.» I said, «What? Are you serious?» He answered, «Yes. French isn’t allowed here.» Then he gave me my ID back and said, «Just kidding, learn to take a joke.» No, how about you don’t further the French/​English divide in Canada? How about you don’t make «jokes» about discriminating against French-​Canadians? I know some people will read this and think to themselves, «Man, learn to take a joke!» I have to emphasize that it really doesn’t feel good to not be let into a bar (which is what I thought was occurring) because of who you are, especially not in a nation that touts its charter of human rights and freedoms.
I was once approached by a bouncer who said, «Control yourself. You’re too drunk. If your friends can’t control you we’re kicking you all out.» I was completely sober. He later saw me drink a beer and kicked me out after I was done drinking it.
The arcade games are cool. The layout is strange. The staff are lame.
I don’t support establishments that hire power-​tripping employees. So yeah, this is no exception. Just remember that the joke in the name is that there is no such thing as an honest lawyer.

Best place to go for wings night, bar none. It’s the only place I know that has an AYCE BUFFET! Tons of great flavors, and you never have to worry about whether or not your server’s gonna show up to bring you more. You just go up and get it yourself.
Can’t speak much to the atmosphere – it’s kind of the standard, but a little confused. They have a bunch of TVs and kind of position themselves as a sportsbar with their Game Night specials, etc. (they definitely draw this crowd!!), but they also have a few crappy arcade games that are really bright and distracting. The table layout is so spacious that it does feel a little empty, even when its packed, which can be good or bad depending on your preference.

I always thought that the Honest Lawyer was 21+ but judging by the last time I was there that clearly wasn’t the case.
On our way out we had to dodge two guys who were starting what would end up to be a fight outside on the sidewalk which started near the dance floor. The «games» area was quite busy and the food was just OK.
They’re trying to go for the Chuck E. Cheese with alcohol idea here and to some extent it works. There is one lane of bowling, several arcade games, a pool table, a few TV’s and a dance floor and the floor space is larger than most bars in the Market but the crowd makes or breaks this place.
As of late it’s been a fairly young crowd and perhaps it was because I don’t recall them charging cover (this was early in the night and I’m not sure if they charge later on or not) or because of the arcade appeal.
Service seemed a bit slow at the main bar and our waiter took quite a while to come around to serve us. The night was just sort of OK and I can say that since then Honest Lawyer really never pops into my head when my friends are suggesting places to hit up on the weekend.

A group of us ordered mainly appetizers and it totally hit the spot. The Spicy Antijitos had a nice kick. The poutine was sinfully good.
We end it with fried cheesecake. I’ve only had it at the fair, so I had to order it. It was fried goodness on the outside and cheese creaminess on the inside.
We didn’t play any games… maybe next time.

Beliebtes Pub unweit des Markets — mein Lieblingspub in Ottawa. Bei Honest Lawyer Restaurantainment liegt die Ironie schon im Namen selbst. Allerdings ist dieser Laden wirklich beliebt und das liegt nicht zuletzt an der rustikalen Atmosphäre, den Billardtischen und den tollen Events, die hier regelmässig veranstaltet werden. Essen ist okay

Drinking and games go together like peanut butter and jelly. The Honest Lawyer mix these two things wonderfully.
Walk in to the bar and you will see that it is a big place. On top of all the games there are plenty of tables to sit at and even more standing room. The bar is big and is well stocked. You’ll find something you like fairly easily. Instead of a standard pitcher they serve yards which are basically seven to ten small glasses of beer pre-​poured and served to you on a long piece of wood. It’s kind of like getting a sample of a bunch of beers but they are all the same type. It’s a gimmick more than anything, but it is kind of cool the first time you get one. the downside is the beer tends to get warm quicker. They also have these things called «bazookas» which are the equivalent to a team pitcher at Boston Pizza, but look a bit cooler.
The menu is fine for what is essentially a bar. They aim for a lunch crowd, so it isn’t just a bar menu, the food is of better quality. Still, it isn’t gourmet either.
The games, well, are games. Arcade games, table hockey, pool etc. It’s a fun and different atmosphere from the standard. The thing about The Honest Lawyer is that it fits all outings: groups, a few friends, a date, you name it.

This is a popular hangout for University/​College students and residents of downtown Ottawa, right at the edge of the city’s lively Byward Market.
It’s a large restaurant and pub, with pool tables, some arcade games, and even a couple of amusement-​park type games such as as a basketball shooting contest. These relatively unique features makes for a bustling atmosphere in otherwise quiet Ottawa.
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The food is high on taste, though from what my party had, a little lacking in portion. A friend ordered a hamburger, and left wondering if he had ordered a kids-​sized meal! He probably finished the thing in no more than 4 average-​sized bites. The server was really cool and apologetic about it though, as he talked to the cook who said he would remake it in a more sizable quantity (if he reordered and paid for it again of course).
Despite this, my chicken parmesan wrap and potatoe fries were high-​quality. What stuck out was the presentation of the food and condiments, which weren’t served in your standard plate, but instead placed in a cool apparatus-​like plate that is hard to explain but oozing of coolness. Not something you would expect in a pub or casual establishment.
The prices were reasonable, though that doesn’t factor in the small servings.
All in all, the Honest Lawyer is worth checking out, if only for a different pub experience. The good food, gaming options and friendly staff doesn’t hurt either.