Lowertown Brewery

If you’re in the market, and want to go somewhere somewhat lively i.e. large and busy, this is the place. There’s a decent selection of beer, but nothing mind blowing. There are fairly priced apps/​snacks (to go with the beer). Note I have never had any main here.
The staff are generally very friendly and good at their job (been here 2 – 3 times).
Our server (Shauna?) was pre-​emptive and asked probing questions when my buddy asked a dietary question — huge!, that could have been a minor philisophical disaster. Also she was good on checking up on us. Another occasion I was at Lowertown, Kent was really great.
I mean, if you can remember your server’s name, well, it means they made a good impression. I wish this kind of attitude was present in more restaurants/​places in general.
There happened to be a live band in the back that was pretty decent and playing a good selection of music.
Overall I want Lowertown to have a 3.5, as I think the beer offerings here could be stronger.
So, 3 for the beer, since that’s my #1 draw, snack options 4, 4.5 for the staff.
Keep in mind, it’s a great spot to meet up for a beer or three in the Byward Market.
Def. an enjoyable place.

If you’re eating at Lowertown, you need not look beyond the title for your expectation. With a food menu heavily focused on BBQ, this is a brewery that serves BBQ, not a BBQ joint that serves beer.
The first time I went here, I was hoping to escape the summer heat, but not only did they have all the doors and windows open, they also didn’t have the AC on. No big deal. (Being that it’s Ottawa, this place probably doesn’t even have air conditioning.) Either way, this situation called for one of their handful of cold beers on tap, which cooled me down a bit. I’ve now tried their lager, their red wheat and one of their seasonals. None exceeded a 5% alcohol content, but the quality was still quite good.
I ordered the meatloaf burger, but was instead served the brisket sandwich. In fairness to the bartender who messed up, I discussed both options with him, so he probably got confused. That said, I was the only customer at the bar so this wasn’t exactly a rush hour slip-​up, but I did come in around the shift change. In the end, it didn’t matter because the brisket was delicious, even though there was more bread on the sandwich than meat. The hand-​cut fries, however, were the best part. Each of these bad boys is easily ¹⁄₈ of an Idaho baked potato.
The second time I went here, 6 of us shared the Butcher Platter. For $ 49.95, you get ¼ lb of corned beef, ¼ lb. on pork, ¼ lb. of brisket, ½ chicken, and a choice of 4 sides. We opted for two orders of fries, a side of the watermelon salad and the cole slaw. All of the sides were great, as was the corned beef, pork and brisket. But the chicken breast was as dry as the bone it was attached to. The thigh was a little more moist, but I can’t speak for the wing.
Bottom line is that if you go here just for their beer and fries, you’ll leave content. If you’re in the mood for BBQ, I recommend The Smoque Shack one block down.

First time there and I have to say, its a pretty good addition to the market as far as pubs go. Pints are reasonably priced and given the size of the place you shouldn’t have a hard time finding a table for any size group for a few beers after work.
Our waitress was very friendly and prompt. They have a broad selection of draft beer, mostly their own, although I ended up ordering a Clocktower stout. The menu isn’t particularly large but the sandwich I had was above average and even though I thought it looked small when it arrived, I left very full. I also really enjoyed the home-​made habanero-​mango hot sauce that had great kick but also really flavourful.
It’s definitely a nice break from the classic pubs without trying to hard to be something its not.

First visit was a joy! Great beer, fantastic sandwich! I’m so excited to dive deeper into their menu! The service was really great as well!

I’m happy to say the Lowertown Brewery is more than just a novelty restaurant looking to make a quick buck in the Market.
With a theme that is a throwback to the days of «Lower Ottawa» (think 1800s when the city wasn’t really a city but more of a developing lumber industry outpost) you can be forgiven for expecting a cliché disguised as a restaurant.
The overall theme doesn’t go too far. The focus is the food and the beer which is the way it should be. The beers are a mix of their own brews and some other local options, such as Clocktower’s raspberry wheat beer.
The food is a carnivore’s delight: brisket, smoked chicken wings, charcuterie etc. I haven’t tried the whole menu, but the brisket, fries, artisan bread and barley salad were delicious. I saw other meals on plates sitting on the tables around me and I had half a mind to ask the neighbouring tables to share.
I’ll be back.

First time visiting ottawa. We are staying right near byward market and came across lowertown and decided to give it a shot. We started with a pitcher of the harvest ale $ 19.50 and then ordered the smoked salmon sandwich and the ½ lb platter with pork and brisket. Amazing food!!! Healthy portions and good flavor our bill was $ 69 including tax. Service was ok enough but nothing crazy. Being in the industry I always expect a bit more. However the food made up for everything else.

Lowertown Brewery is the final beer destination for the night.
It was a weekday and the place was not too busy. There were 6 beers on draft so we ended up doing a small sampler while the boys decided to get some food.
Bartender was lukewarm when I asked what on taps, but beers is beers so we were OK with that.
We sampled Dark/​Pumpkin/​Bitter/​Red/​Lager/​Raspberry Wheat. Nothing too exciting or outstanding. Just decent enough for everyday casual drinking.
I did enjoy the Peanut Crusted Bacon ($ 5.95) and my friends shared the ½ Signature Meat.
There was some live performers singing that evening and some comedians on stage. Not too entertaining and a little too loud for a night cap.
Maybe I was just a little too tired and was ready for bed.

First visit yesterday, and won’t be the last.
Our server was awesome. Friendly. Chatty. Knowledgeable. And just attentive enough.
The menu is pretty small. They focus on «comfort foods», and their own beer of course. But that’s not a negative. I had the Lowertown Club and my friend had the Greenbelt. Service was quick. The food was hot. Both were delicious. The wedge fries were amazing. And the candied bacon that was on my club (also sold separately) was awesome.
We had (shared) 4 or 5 of their own beers and they also had one beer (The Darkness) from another local brewery, Beyond the Pale.

The waitstaff is almost always enthused and present, as if they really believe in their establishment. The décor is unique and I love the linkage back to the old logger houses of Ottawa’s heritage.
Although the menu seems small, it is packed with flavour! I’ve had the pleasure to sample many items on their menu, my favourite of which is the kale salad — I have NEVER loved kale before in my life. Their spuds are huge, sandwiches unique and filling. The best part of this place is that they don’t have a freezer. Everything is fresh and smoked on site, with a high quality.
Even the beer is nice! Not a lot of selection regarding alcohol, but they brew a good amber and my boyfriend loves their dark ale. My favourite drink is the Dark and Stormy, dark rum and gingerbeer are two of my favourite things. They get extra bonus points for having Old Fashions and quality spiced whisky!
I wholly recommend checking this place out!

I can’t say a single good thing about this place. We initially came in and were provided with a food menu along with a drink menu by the server. He seemed very stand off-​ish and wasn’t very friendly. When we ordered the drinks he took a long time to bring them out and they weren’t very good. We ordered the food from a very limited menu and I was asked «what side do you want», we ordered from the horrendous selection and then were brought our meals. The food again was very frustrating and dry. It lacked all flavour. Once the bill came I found that the side was not actually included in the meal and there was an extra charge. When I protested the waiter apologized and asked how I was paying. It was frustrating for all of us and the server along with the food/​drinks provided. This place deserves negative stars. I would never eat here nor would I ever recommend it. If I ever came here again it would be for the closing with a microbrew from the big rig.

My colleagues and I had an unexpectedly great time here the other night. The food was great — highlights include the bacon, pickled veggies and the kale salad. The waitress/​bartender was so friendly and fun. A love band came on, and they played covers of fun top 40 music. I didn’t drink, but my colleagues enjoyed their beer (and shots!).

Love the patio and décor here, but the beer selection is only okay and the food is fine but nothing incredible. The menu looks tasty but upon trying a number of dishes (quinoa apple salad, smoked salmon sandwich, fries, candied bacon, pickled veggies) I was left wanting. Has potential, especially for something a bit more casual and cool in the market, but comes out just like most other places around there — only okay. Too bad because the place is nice looking and the service is very friendly! I’ll go again but not for a while.

Ads a beer enthusiast I am always excited to give new microbreweries and brewpubs a shot, so I was looking forward to see what sort of sudsy goodness the Lowertown brewery had created. Seeing that they only had 2 beers of their own creation made me optimistic that those two beers would be done well, unfortunately I was disappointed.
They have 2 home brewed beers on tap as well as 2 other drafts. The beers they make are Lowertown Dark and Lowertown Lager. As a dark beer enthusiast I tried the dark first, I wish I hadn’t It is an English style brown ale, it starts with a decent maltiness, although one with very little in the way of flavour but then just trails off into a watery abyss. There was no consistency in the beer, it was watery and bland with a bit of maltiness at the beginning. They need to seriously work on this or simply scratch it completely because it is not very good at all. After the let-​down of the dark I decided to give the lager a try and it partially redeemed the brewery portion of the lowertown brewery. The lager is also watery, although not as bad as the dark, fortunately lager is supposed to be light and refreshing, and it is decently refreshing although it could have more consistency to it, I find that watery lagers are pretty unimpressive but at least it was refreshing.
On the upside, the space is very nice. Good décor and good acoustics (there was a musician playing at the time). I didn’t order food, but my girlfriend had a poutine that she really enjoyed. The Potato wedges as opposed to fries were a weird touch, but it had real curd cheese as well as bacon and green onions with a pretty good gravy. Our service was also very good, although that was helped by the fact that there were not very many people in the place (it being Monday and all) but they were attentive and friendly.
Overall my only beef with Lowertown Brewery is the beer. The brown was particularly bad but the lager was drinkable. For me to return, they will need to seriously improve their on-​tap product, but if you are not bothered by beer then this is a very nice place. They had cocktails on the menu that looked tasty but the beer needs serious work.

I really enjoyed everything at Lowertown. The deli sandwiches put Direnzo’s to shame. Proper unprocessed meats and incredible attention to detail. Smoked tomatoes, and candied bacon on my sandwich was incredibly delicious. Our server Alan was a Segal look alike with personality for days! Best part was my bill, where can you eat on a patio in the market and drink for less than 20 bucks? Seriously where? Lowertown Brewery.

It’s my first time in Ottawa and I’m exploring the city alone today — so I was looking for a restaurant that looked accommodating to single eaters, and also good for a loitering lunch.
I chose Lowertown Brewery because it wasn’t an English style pub (which appears to be the norm in Byward Market) and because they clearly had good beer. Contrary to the name, they do not brew their beer onsite, but that’s only because they just opened. They have the vats ready and are hiring a brewmaster in the next few weeks.
I had a raspberry wheat beer ($ 6 CDN) which was tasty and refreshing. I sat outside on their large patio, so it was nice to have a light summery beer in the sun.
For lunch, the server recommended the Root Beer and Maple Ham Sandwich with apple slaw ($ 10 CDN). It was very tasty, with more of an onion taste than I expected but delicious nonetheless. I also ordered the side of fries ($ 4 CDN) which were nice thick and crispy, but nothing monumental. I’ll skip those next time. I’m also not thrilled that they came separately, but that may be the norm around here — I’ll admit my cultural ignorance.
Service was pleasant and attentive — he checked on me frequently but didn’t seem I mind that I planned to take up the table for over an hour. I never felt rushed. I read my book, enjoyed people watching, and ate well– which is pretty much all a single diner can ask for in a tourist area.

On my recent trip to Ottawa (first trip), my wife and I ate a number of places in the area of this new business. It was on our last day, and we stopped to have a beer and drink before we needed to leave to head home. We didn’t have a meal, so I can’t address that, but I did find the staff extremely courteous and attentive. I did enjoy the beer and my wife enjoyed her drink. We found it clean and pleasant setting It is a new business so I would say give it a chance. This review primarily addresses the engaging staff and service.

Put the brakes on this place — although the service was great the meal left a lot to the imagination or taste.
I ordered the Smoked Beef Brisket and my friend ordered the Butcher Gravy Poutine — now coming from Quebec my friend thought it the worst she had ever tasted — the fries were jumbo potato pieces served with an less than OK gravy. If they had just gone with the traditional cut and a nice gravy poured over and topped with curd cheese instead of trying to re invent– this would have been a lot better. I must at this time say we noticed another table that had ordered this dish also left most of it uneaten.
Oh the Smoked Beef Brisket — leave it unless you like a lot of fat.
I must mention that we sat outside and that there was bird poop on the back of a chair close by. A manager paying attention would have noticed this or at least a server. I pointed this out as we were leaving.
Morley