Minglewoods Tap & Grill

I’ve only been here once, and I had such a terrible experience. I went with a few friends as a part of my birthday celebration, and we thought that it was pretty cool that they had all these coupons for free bottles of beer. We walked in and the place was dead. There were vouchers all over the ground, so even if you lost yours, you could just as easily pick one up off the ground. The bartender even saw us do this but didn’t seem to care. If I was a big beer drinker, I’m sure I would have kept redeeming them, but the beer was terrible anyway.
Since we were on the first floor, we thought maybe there would be more going on upstairs or downstairs, but we were wrong. We went upstairs to the dance floor, and the DJ was playing music, but no one was dancing.
There are pool tables and washrooms on the bottom floor. We didn’t even stay long enough to go down there, but my boyfriend said that 4 out of the 5 times he’s been there, the washrooms have been flooded all the way out to the pool table area.
I was really disappointed with Minglewoods! It’s unfortunate because friends of mine used to go there all the time and I had heard good things at the time.

Minglewoods used to be on York Street in the market and when I lived in residence during university, we used to hang out here a lot.
It has definitely improved, however, with it’s move into the old steakhouse building. This building is awesome for a club with its stone exterior and rustic-​like interior. It is also fun to go to a club with multiple floors. This newer location is also closer to OttawaU, so it would have been better for me back in my residence days.
The basement floor is mainly the washrooms and coat check. It’s nice to have these out of the main area.
The main floor has pool tables and sitting areas. It is more like a pub feel here. In earlier hours you can have dinner here (the pub fare is pretty tasty). There is a bar on this floor also.
Finally, the upstairs is the dance floor (where you can usually find me!) and of course another bar.
The great thing about Minglewoods is that there is something for everyone here. You can play pool, eat, drink or dance. Many times I have had one group of friends downstairs playing pool, another group upstairs dancing and sometimes yet another sitting at a table sharing a pitcher. It’s fun to be able to see everyone in one night.

Minglewoods is slightly off the beaten path, in terms of the rush of bars and pubs in the market area and rideau street, so it can be easy to miss. However, if you’re looking for some energy and a bustling scene, this is a good place to go to.
The crowd is younger, particularly on friday and saturday nights, but thursday nights they feature live music with retro-​style bands that usually work for the betterment of the bar’s atmosphere. This also brings in a slightly older demographic, with more late 20-​somethings and 30 somethings coming in.
The dance floor on the upper floor is also a cool feature, though on the time’s I’ve visited its been pretty quiet up there. I might be biased because I’m not a fan of house/​funk music, and that’s all I’ve heard there.
The food is standard pub fare, and the alcohol and service is about average.

Minglewoods has had a long history in Ottawa. It used to be located in the market, but it has since moved a few blocks south and is now located just of Rideau in an old stone building.
The upside to Minglewoods is the size. It’s a big place with two floors. The upstairs has a dance floor and the downstairs holds the bar and a few tables.
If you’re looking for a place to drink, it’s fine, but it is also a younger crowd that goes there. If you’re above the age of 23, you’re probably going to be wondering what you are doing there. That is if you can remember being there.
It’s a pretty standard bar with very little else for highlights. You can put it in the same category as The Cabin. Same age demographic, same style of bar.
Maybe consider stopping by while you’re bar hopping.