Johnny McBeauty’s

I realized about twenty minutes into my time here that I am officially too old for clubs (unless I’ve had about 7 glasses of wine).
I used to somewhat enjoy this place when it was a 21+ place, but it must be back to 19 now, because no one looked older than that.
I went on Saturday and couldn’t understand why ever girl there was in super revealing shorts. I found out that there was a super classy, dance on the bar contest for shortest shorts. Whoever bared the most ass won $ 100. Ugh. I wanted to puke.
I actually think the décor here is super cute. Renamed «Johnny McBeauty’s» which totally makes me think this place is careening to the twenty year old bros fun. Anyway, the place is done in plaid and has cool wooden picnic tables and comfy booths. They also have a photo booth which I think is kind of brilliant, especially for the selfie generation.
The music was pretty good — they placed some stuff from the 90s and early 2000s which I appreciated. The dance floor is super small though, and the floor is awfully sticky. Bathrooms are much nicer than before though, and overall this place looks good. Not my scene (anymore — ha!), but if you’re in your early twenties and looking for a fun spot to dance and drink, you’ll probably like it.

The Drink is a little bar but draws a big crowd which can present a moderate sized problem — it’s crowded.
I’ve never been in the drink and not thought I was trapped in a sardine can on the shelf of the nearby Metro grocery store.
There’s often a line to get in and when you do you won’t find much out of the ordinary. They’ve done a great job marketing this place so the under 25 crowd are here in droves on weekends but I can’t really figure out the appeal other than that you’re friends are likely already inside.
I’ve never experienced the patio as I’ve only been there when it was far too cold but I’m sure it’s pretty well the same as the rest of the bar — standard.
I could re-​live my late teens and early 20’s in Ottawa and not go to this place and feel fine.

The Drink is a bar in Ottawa that thinks it is a lounge in L.A. don’t believe me? Check out their website.
It’s odd seeing as the bar itself is easy to miss if you aren’t looking. Across the street is the Honest Lawyer, which is much more flashy, and beside it is a hardware store. Like I said easy to miss if you’re not looking too hard.
We live in reality so I’ll try to keep this review in reality. The Drink is not a bad bar, but it is sold as an upscale place. It isn’t. It is an average bar in an area where there are numerous average bars.
The size of The Drink is pretty average in comparison to the rest of the bars around. It isn’t small, but it also isn’t a multi-​floor place like Pub 101. Inside there is a lot of wood and a bar in the middle. It’s a decent bar with pretty much everything you would expect at a decent bar in the downtown core.
They have a dance floor and play top 40 songs for the most part. They have a standard patio, and that’s about it. Nothing bad, nothing too good, just a bar with a crowd that ranges from 20 – 25.
This is the place to go to when there is a big line at your favourite watering hole.