Monopolatte

THE FOOD SUCKS. They have a small limited kitchen, but I think they could serve a bit better food even considering they have minimal appliances. It’s like eating at a college dorm. They serve «.kettle chips» which are no name ruffle chips Coated in oil and served COLD. Really gross and not at all kettle chips. They should take this off the menu.
Garlic cheese bread– it was eatable. Just garlic bread with motz cheese heated on it.
Zero percent quality food.
No one here knows how to cook/​seems to have a food/​cooking background.
BUTTTTTT WAIT!
The establishment itself is actually really cool. Simple. Clean. Organized. Good bathrooms. Nice tables. The PEOPLE are really fantastic in terms of personality, hilarity, educated about the games and their rules. They’ve done their home work.
900+games to choose from I believe. 5 $ cover. Good drink deals. Lots of laughs.
Come here if you want to laugh, learn, have a blast for a fair price. Don’t come here for food. Drinks are fine also.
Cool place for a fun night –if you can eat at home first.
If they could create a cheap food menu with better quality /​preparation I would give them five stars.

I needed Sunday late night food and a place to work with easy access to electrical outlets and friendly non-​distracting company.
The vegan sandwich was delicious. The peanut butter Nanaimo bar came in 4 pieces to share easily. The space is small but the acoustics surprisingly good. Their game selection was great and… Only $ 5 all you can play? Well done guys. Loved it.

We had a great time at Monopolatte!
We went on a Wednesday evening, so there was still plenty of seating (weekends are busy, I hear). My old roommate and I were there with a couple of foreign friends that wanted to play a board game that would help them practice their English. Out of the hundreds of games they have, our waiter made a great recommendation: Snake Oil, a product pitch game, resulting in a great English lesson, and laugh riot! I love this place because they foster a love of games, and know their shit.
Oh, and the latte was good too!

I have been here twice already and had a great time. The staff is very friendly, attentive, and patient when explaining the games to you. Their menu is limited, but the snacks and the sandwiches that I’ve tried were pretty good. Overall a great place to spend the evening with some friends.
Despite all those great things, I’ve given 3 stars because on my last visit, the table across from us was way too loud. I understand that it’s a game place but no need to bang your fists on the table and yell at the top of your lungs. One of the guys at the table was a person that I’ve seen working there before. Really not impressed. Left with a headache. There needs to be a noise limit enforced by the staff to ensure that all guests have some decency and respect.

Came here on my birthday– lots of stairs and lots of games. You wouldn’t think a place like this would KILL IT in the dessert game but holy cow. Try the brownie AND the waffle. It has cheesecake on it. It’s not as loud as you would think and it’s really cool to see everyone revert to a younger self and just hang out with friends, no cell phones in hand, having a good old time. Plus there is beer.

This is the first boardgame café I’ve visited in Ottawa. While I’m happy that Ottawa has caught on to the boardgame café scene, there is are a couple of things Monopolatte can learn from our friends down south (Toronto). Monopolatte seems to be located in a house that has been converted to a ‘café’ by removal of the walls. I don’t know how long it has been opened, but it is looking a little run down in the interior. It could use a fresh coat of paint to bring it back to life. The wall décor could also use some improvement.
What I do like about monopolatte is the fact that they have a menu for their games that breaks staff picks down based on how many people you have and how much time you want to spend on a game. They have a good selection of snacks and drinks. It’s $ 5 if you want to just play the games. The server/​host that was on the floor the night we went was very knowledgeable about games and suggested alot of really great ones for us. He was at times too busy and we would have to wait 10+ minutes for him while he was taking other customers’ orders.
Overall, it’s a great place to come with friends to blow a few hours. I wouldn’t reccommend coming here on an empty stomach as their food prices aren’t exactly cheap. It would be good to come after dinner for a few hours. Since it’s unlimited play, if you come too late, it might be a while to get a table so go early!

I still love this place, but my enthusiasm has died down just a little bit. The service is still spectacular — we had a staff member spend about twenty minutes showing our large group games and explaining why they would work best for us. I also had another great veggie sandwich here.
Here’s the thing — I think they’ve outgrown their space. When we were there the place was packed (even though one table was occupied solely by a homeless guy drinking water for an hour or so, ha!). It gets super loud in here, and a bit squishy.
We also noticed a few games had pieces missing, and one of our favourites, Telestrations, requires markers and they were all dried out. They found us a couple new ones, but by enough for everyone.
I also think it’d be awesome it they expanded their menu a bit. Their sandwiches are nice, but maybe a bit more late night food would be cool.
I still love the concept, but I think they need to grow with their audience a bit. A great local business that gives you something to do other than the usual, with great staff.

Love this place! Great service. What an awesome concept! They really do have tons of games. Our server, Kurt, explained our game perfectly. The food was good and fairly priced. Very homemade-​like, which I love. We had the Parcheesi grilled cheese, two BBQ paninis, and a BLT. We were all happy with our food. Too bad thy don’t have French fries, but we were fine with the kettle chips or mixed greens for sides. Just a note that the pop does not include free refills.

They have an amazing game selection and also a great tea selection. The unfortunate thing is not being able to do any type of reservations. There’s been times when we’ve had 10 or more people who want to go, but we can’t reserve tables and end up not being able to go. I also find the layout to be really inconvenient. If they could open it up a bit more, I think they could fit more tables. As it is right now, it is in an old house which looks like all the original rooms have been left as is. The front room can get very crampy and gets crowded when people come in and try to wait around for tables. I haven’t been in the back room before, maybe it’s more spacious.
They have do decent prices and it is always a fun time, I just wish it was more comfortable.

BEST MOST ENTHUSIASTIC 5 STAR REVIEW EVER OF ALL TIME.
LOVE. LOVE. LOVE THIS PLACE. I was stupid enough to go here for the first time on Tuesday night. BIG MISTAKE, I should’ve been here on the day it opened because this place is amazing. I went again tonight and I’ll probably end up here again at some point during the week.
The mochas are fantastic. They have a small menu that works for them, mostly sandwiches and snacks. The grilled cheese sandwiches are reasonably priced for what you get. They’re definitely simple but solid. They come with your choice of a salad or kettle chips. They’re licensed and have a really good selection of beer that suits all tastes. They also have a nice selection of teas, I suggest the white pear tea.
They have every game you’ve ever heard of and more. Our favorites are Catan and Clue. They have a $ 5 cover and you can sit there and play games all night, which we totally did because this place closes at 2AM! Amazing! The staff here are extremely knowledgeable and can explain just about any game to you, and if they don’t know, I was told by one guy «give me a week to learn it and then I can teach you.» The staff are also super friendly and chill and walk around from table to table chatting.
LOVE THIS PLACE. PASSIONATE ABOUT MY LOVE FOR MONOPOLATTE. SEE YOU AGAIN SOON.

I have been WAITING for this place to open alllllll year!
$ 5 for all you can play board games — say whaaaaat!!!
The night we went they had a DJ, which was cool. The Menu’s (both food and game) were interesting, some great choices on there, ranging from candy platters, to sandwiches to booze! What a great way to spend a rainy day!
The food was tasty, and my latte was yummy.
Our servers were pretty good, they got a little side tracked by other groups coming in, but their knowledge of board games was superb!
Although the overall idea makes so much sense, they probably could have used some more staff…
Although I will go back, I think I’m going to wait until they get a bit better established.

So, $ 5 for all you can play board games (and they have over 700 of them) is already worth 4 out of 5 stars, so they are on the right foot, but once you have actually been there you will realize that they are worth 5 stars (If I could give 6 stars out of 5 I would).
Let’s start with the service, not only can you play any of 700+ games, but you can also get instructions on how to play from the people who work there! So far I have been a couple of times and every time we have been taught how to play whatever game they have, these guys must have some encyclopedic knowledge of game rules! Only drawback is that once they forgot to write down my sandwich order but that was no big deal.
In terms of food, they have delicious sandwiches, with a selection of Pannini’s and Grilled Cheese, as well as dessert squares and candy platters. The variety is small but what they have are very tasty. They also now have a liquor license, which is awesome. Their beer selection is pretty decent ($ 5.10 for a tall boy of Hog’s Back is the best deal) but they have a decent variety of mostly microbrew and imported stuff.
I will definitely be back many, many, many times to play many, many, many games. These guys have a great place, with great service, and a great atmosphere!

I’m a little torn on how to rate Monopolatte.
On one hand I want to give it A SCREAMING FIVE STARS.
Seriously, a board game café that charges you $ 5 cover and you can play all the games you want all night long!!! What on earth could go wrong?!
On the other hand, the café itself part is lacking a bit and is still developing.
Their menu, first of all is awesome. They have a great selection of things that you’d want to eat while you are playing games. Totally. I had a grilled cheese with bacon and it was killer. Seriously perfect game food.
However, they have had a couple health write-​ups and they haven’t been open very long. This did not stop me from eating there, obviously, however it did weird me out a bit.
Secondly, last I was there they didn’t have a liquor license. While obviously this is not the end of the world, I thought it was strange they had a drink menu but no license.
My critiques are not earth shattering, the concept is really fantastic, the place is super close to my house and the staff know the games inside and out.
It will become a local hang for myself I’m sure.