MacLaren's sports bar and pool hall is located on MacLaren's and Elgin st. It is great place to meet friends and watch the game on their muliti TV screens and also play some pool. There is a great selection of draft beer, friendly atmosphere and prices are fair. The food selection is pub style and service is timely. I like going to MacLaren's on the weekend to have a few drinks and some food before and after going to yuk yuks comedy club that is across the street on Elgin st. Right now covid restrictions have closed the bar and I hope things get better and back to normal soon. So check MacLaren's website for their return to service hours. If you like my reviews, photos or videos give them a thumbs up while drinking a cold draft beer.

Rude staff with no training in customer service. Threw a single menu towards wife and I without a word, did not take a drink order let alone say anything to welcome us. Waited too long for anyone to return and only when we got up to leave did one of the bartender approach our table. When it looked like we were about leave he was done even looking at us let alone finding out why we were about to leave. Many staff and few customers at the time. Never step in that place. If your going to play pool maybe you are treated better. If just going for a bite to eat from hotel above DON'T BOTHER! In contrast cross the street for warm welcome, knowledgeable and efficient staff. Hotel guests at the Busines Inn.

Tried MacLaren's last weekend with some friends and had a great experience. We went to play pool and had a minor issue with some other customers who were trying to play on our table past their alloted time and were just very drunk... It did not bother us too much just a little frustrating, but the staff (I think his name is James) went above and beyond to make sure we were okay and that we got to play! He was great given the situation and very clearly just wanted to help and was extrememly apologetic and gave us a gift card :) The other servers and staff were amazing as well and we definitely will be returning soon!! A++ service

We went to Maclarens as a family outing and had a great time! Our server Scott was incredible. While we were a larger group (8) and moved around a lot, we were never without a drink or food. The food was also really good and the menu is a lot bigger than what I had expected (vegetarians there are many options!). We had made a reservation ahead of time and that process went very smoothly as well. They ensured seating was available for us due to some mobility issues in the group. We will be back :)
Food: 5
Service: 5
Atmosphere: 5
Vegetarian options
Cauliflower bites and layered dip were tasty!

Been in the area for a while and everything was always sub mediocre at best. When they hosted the protestors that shut everyone else down, I was FURIOUS but I also understood that the MacLearan needed buisness. 2 years later, and they're still hosting the tiny slack jaw, crayon munchers who antagonize the public? these people are parasitic pansies that confront anyone who walks by (until there is confrontation, then they hide like a 13 year old) . Maclearan...... Is this you're clientele? make a decision Ottawa's fed up!
Food: 1
Service: 1
Atmosphere: 1

I’ve posted here before but my family and I love going to MacLaren’s. I am always impressed with the food - the pasta dinner special never disappoints - fresh made food and very generous portions! That chicken parmesan, fresh warm bread, olives, the olive tapenade, Caesar salad and chocolate lava cake! Beautiful presentation too! Honestly, great value, great atmosphere and James is a friendly and efficient server! We had a great time playing pool afterwards. Can’t wait for the summer patio to come back! Keep up the great work, MacLaren’s :)

Exactly as we expected but was pleasantly surprised that we could eat and have a drink Durning these Covid 19 times . Would have loved to play pool also but unfortunately all tables were book I guess there were another people as smart as us that had the same idea. Our waiter was very courteous and helpful on helping us decide. I am sure if you just want to hang out and play pool or watch sports in an old fashion sort of Irish pub way this place will work out perfectly!

Imo most servers here hate their jobs and they take it out on the customers. I made a reservation for nine people, and upon arrival we were told there are no nine-person tables and we had to move the tables OURSELVES even though we had a reservation one day in advance. The service was subpar and we had to walk to the bar every time we needed something. The server also had the audacity to make a fuss for not receiving any tip.
Service: 1

Had a drink here on Wednesday night. Was seated and served very quickly. When I went back the following day for some food and drink (I was staying in the area), I found a spot and was looked at by several employees. None of them approached my table or acknowledged me aside from the looks. The bar wasn’t that busy, so I assumed I would be served soon. I sat there for roughly 30 mins and decided it was best to go elsewhere.

I went with a couple of friends. I wouldn't recommend getting the poutine, chicken wrap or the pizza. It's weird because I used to go there before and the food was pretty good. Perhaps they changed the chef but I wouldn't recommend getting food there. It is a nice place to go to if you're looking to play pool and have some drinks but that's all
Food: 3
Service: 2
Atmosphere: 5

MacLaren's is a great place to stop for something to eat when you're downtown. There is also a large bar that has a great view of the TVs and the pool tables. The menu selection is nice, with lots to chose from. Also, with plenty of staff working, the service is quick despite how large the place is. The only drawback here is that parking is hard to find, as is with most places on Elgin Street.

This is a really nice place to hang out with friends and family. You pay 12$ an hour and have play at a pool table. You can order food and drinks and play at the same time. I really recommend if you want to spend a night together with someone, or by yourself.
Price per person
$10–20
Food: 5
Service: 5
Atmosphere: 5
Recommended dishes
Sweet Potato Fries

I went there for a Xmas party. It held by our company and there was a buffet provided so I did not really order anything in macLaren's except 2 glasses of cocktail. One was sex on the beach, a very classic cocktail. The resturant was quite big and there were about 20 pools. I would say the resturant was old-fashioned and not bright at all. Service was good but food was normal.

Wow! This place just looks like your typical pool hall. This is anything but. It is the most happening place in downtown, it welcomes all ages, EXCELLENT service, great prices, and yes its a bar, but the food is AMAZING. this place is well managed. Will return and take all my friends here.
Price per person
$100+
Food: 5
Service: 5
Atmosphere: 5

I liked this place. I'm sure this place would be fun to go to with friends. There were a lot of TV's here showing the game. The place felt like a sports bar even though it's basically a pool hall. Service was okay. The only annoying thing is that I had to go to the server each time to get noticed or get served. Servers were mentally checked out from their duties, imo

I personally love this place. Good amount of pool tables, fair prices for food options, and all in all a good vibe. I also think this is one of the top restaurants to watch sports as well given their TV options. Lots of screens to watch multiple games at once. My personal favourite is the nachos here paired with a beer and a game of pool. Very good job all around.

Incredibly rude staff!! While waiting for a pool table, one of the staff tells us to either sit at an empty dining table (which did not exist on the Saturday night we were there) or wait in the patio. I asked her if she meant waiting outside in the cold weather and she said "yes, that's what a patio is!" I have never encountered such abysmal customer service.

Great pub and pool hall I've been to this place many times with friends and have always had a great time. The other day, I went for an event with my work, and this was no different. Staff was friendly and very helpful. Food is amazing and lots of pool tables and large screens. Definitely a great place to go out with friends and hosting events.

Came here for the first time on St Patricks day. Really liked the atmosphere, the service was ok :/. They have so many pool tables its never ending!! Went again tonight in April 2022 - closed at 11:30pm - wouldn’t serve us drinks or let us play pool. It’s disappointing to see a place decline in service and hours. Hope this place can rebound.

In my opinion, the best place to play Billiards downtown, with a good price on beer as well. A 60 oz pitcher of the local showcase is only $19 which is hard to beat these days. They also have a large variety of beer on tap, even stuff I'm not used to seeing on tap at other pubs (Shock Top, Belgian Moon, Stella, Sam Adams, etc.)

We had wonderful night with Natasha! I would just recommend her as your server because she has a very high positive energy and she would take care of you for all night. So if you want the best service ask for her! She always have a beautiful smile when she comes to your table and she would be truly happy to make your night.

We loved it, it located in the central of Ottawa, placed at the junction of Elgin st and MacLaren st, veriety of drinks, snacks, a lot of biliard pool tables for hourly rents, this was our 2nd time as a family, plenty of screens to watch sports, parking is a bit challenging, but walking in this centre is just lovely.

Amazing food! I had a meet lover pizza and it was super good. Someone at the table had the chipotle chicken nachos and those were great too.
Price per person
$20–30
Food: 5
Service: 5
Atmosphere: 5
Vegetarian options
Veggie pizzas, nachos, fries and many other vegetarian options

The attendants are rude. The young bartender with glasses got an attitude against me. Btw he doesn't know what "domestic beer" is. I had to explain what domestic means, which means Canadian :))) That native English speaker guy doesn't know an ordinary intermediate word :)) Basic education is important …

Food is pretty good for the price and good portions. A lot of tables, the max we waited on a Saturday night was like 30 min while we were finishing our meals. Service can be incredible and awful. Depends on the waiter you get. Some are super nice and some not lol. Be there it's a cool place to chill. I like it!

Great food great people great atmosphere you can't go wrong
Price per person
$30–40
Food: 5
Service: 5
Atmosphere: 5
Recommended dishes
Steak, Caesar Salad
Vegetarian options
Small choice but great food
Wheelchair accessibility
Everywhere is wheelchair accessible

MacLaren's is always great. If want to play pool downtown Ottawa Maclarens is the place to be. Just be aware that if you show up to late, you may not be able to get a pool table.
Price per person
$30–40
Food: 5
Service: 5
Atmosphere: 5
Recommended dishes
Purple Haze

We had ordered the taco nachos to share and unfortunately it didn't come with everything that was on the menu and this is why I rated it 4 stars. If it was only for my main dish, I would have rated it 5 stars. The chicken tenders were amazing and sweet potato fries with chipotle mayo were as good.

It's a good place to hang out with friends and have a drink or a game of pool while you do it. Prices are reasonable. The only problem is that the bartenders are a lot rude. Like rude to an extent that you immediately want to complain. Also, parking is an issue of concern. Otherwise, all good.

A great place to play 8 ball pool while chugging beer and enjoying some tasty snacks. The busiest days are Thursday, Friday and Saturday and the place remains open till 2 AM. The food and snacks are great. Chicken Parmesan Sandwich and Grilled Chicken Nachos are must try.

Fun spot to play pool, grab a drink and avoid line ups at other pubs in the area. Food is decent even on a busy night. If you’re with a large group come here and avoid the hassle at other spots. There is a lot of TVs for sports viewing and a lot of room to walk around

Growing up on Waverley, this was my go-to spot my dad and I would go to watch games and play pool so I have very fond memories but it’s unfortunate the lack of service which has been decreased over the years.
Food: 3
Service: 2
Atmosphere: 5

Love the ambience here, great place to hang out with friends, play pool and have a drink or two with some snacks. Great prices too.
Price per person
$10–20
Food: 4
Service: 5
Atmosphere: 5
Recommended dishes
Sweet Potato Fries

Great place! I really enjoyed playing pool here. First hour is $12 then every minute after the hour is 20cents. The atmosphere is great. The nachos were the best I’ve ever had. Would definitely recommend. The drinks were reasonably priced. Great for a night out

Went there on a Saturday around 11pm and unfortunately had to wait over two hours for a pool table. There is not enough space between each table and kept having to check we wouldn’t hit anyone around us. Great waitress helped us and the food was really good!

great atmosphere, perfect place to play billiards and watch a hockey game
Price per person
$30–40
Food: 4
Service: 5
Atmosphere: 5
Recommended dishes
Cheese Pizza
Kid-friendliness
i dont think kids are allowed

Nice place to have drinks and watch sports but the pool tables are positioned too closely together so you are rubbing shoulders with other players and have to constantly ask them to move to make your shots. Food is also abit expensive for being a pub.

Great place to play pool with friends in Ottawa! Food can use some work sometimes but most of the time it's decent
Price per person
$20–30
Food: 4
Service: 5
Atmosphere: 5
Recommended dishes
Chipotle Chicken Nachos

If you're coming here for food, do NOT order the wings. I've never tasted anything so disgusting in my life. They were mushy and undercooked, tiny and 90% wingettes. Felt sick afterward as well.
Food: 1
Service: 2
Atmosphere: 2

Cool bar with many pool tables. We only had to wait less than 10 minutes for a table on a Sunday evening. Their coffee is from Nespresso, so it's a huge plus.
Price per person
$10–20
Food: 5
Service: 5
Atmosphere: 5

Went watch the rosebowl, 2 beers (cold), lots of televisions, very spacious, lots of pool tables if u like pool. Service was very good, polite and normal. Ordered a pizza to take home which was delicious. They have a full menu. ITS CLEAN!!!!!

Great. Place. Beat my best friend at pool! But they wouldn’t give me a free birthday shot!! What the heck! It was my 24th birthday I had a great time. Almost peed in the men’s washroom! Jay is the best!!
Service: 3
Atmosphere: 4

It was such a fun night! We just randomly stopped by to play and have a drink, service was very good and food and beers turned out to be great! Overall the atmosphere was very positive.
Food: 5
Service: 5
Atmosphere: 5

Great hangout spot! Awesome food (highly recommend the curly fries) and always good service. It can get pretty busy though, which is the only downside as tables can be hard to acquire.
Food: 5
Service: 5
Atmosphere: 5

Fun place to hangout with friends. Pretty busy on Fridays and Saturdays but you can usually get a table after about 30 minutes. My one complaint is that there payment system is always a nightmare, and the bills always end up being wrong

This place is a fun spot to go with friends for a game of pool. Full sized tables and fairly clean. However, when I went the bartenders and servers were not the best about enforcing the mask policy and I did not see anyone wipe down

Delicious food, nice tables, pleasant staff and great atmosphere. I highly recommend this place.
Price per person
$30–40
Food: 5
Service: 5
Atmosphere: 5
Recommended dishes
Chipotle Chicken Nachos

I love this bar very good vibes and the service is on point especially the waiter Scott so friendly and professional i love his service 10 on 10
Price per person
$40–50
Food: 5
Service: 5
Atmosphere: 5

Update: We used the pool tables ($12/hour as of April the 23). Great background music, sports on TV's, drinks and service. ---- Nice atmosphère and great service. Food was good and price was reasonable. I loved the aioli sauce.

The food could have been better. Still that was good. Highly recommended and I'll go there again.
Price per person
$20–30
Food: 4
Service: 5
Atmosphere: 4
Recommended dishes
Nachos with Cheese

Most of the dishes are good. Lively atmosphere. Most of the servers are professional. You'd better reserve your table on the weekends.
Price per person
$20–30
Food: 4
Service: 4
Atmosphere: 4

Great place to chill. Delicious food and they have a lot of pool tables. The only reason for 4 stars is that there is not much space between the pool tables. Need to keep looking out for others so you don't hit them.

They have the yummiest water Bestest beer and bestest pool gonna watch doctor who after, this be the bestestimate night
Price per person
$10–20
Food: 5
Service: 5
Atmosphere: 5

Food was very good. Staff was friendly. Many pool tables.
Price per person
$90–100
Food: 5
Service: 4
Atmosphere: 5
Recommended dishes
Smoked Meat, Caesar Salad

We won the Molson Canadian Stadium Seats!! The seats will enjoy their new home!! Many pool tables! The sports memorabilia is AMAZING!! Braden, behind the bar is AWESOME!! As is his whole team!!

Food was great, drinks were perfect and timely. Service was friendly.
Price per person
$100+
Food: 5
Service: 5
Atmosphere: 4
Recommended dishes
Burger Combo

Great place but always super packed. Two hour wait for a pool table is too long but that's not really their fault. Would still go there
Food: 4
Service: 4
Atmosphere: 5

Had a blast playing pool with Lou Diamond Phillips here years ago. Since then I've been back a few times and really enjoyed the venue. Large space, large bar, nice tables pretty good food.

Many pool tables for pool lovers. Tables are decently kept, bar foods are good and service is great.
Price per person
$20–30
Food: 4
Service: 5
Atmosphere: 4

Nobel took care of our table and he was really amazing! Honestly I will be coming back here again. Had a really good night.
Food: 5
Service: 5
Atmosphere: 5

Got their food delivered and they did not disappoint! Delivered quickly, and delicious food. The cheddar bacon burger was so good, and filling! And their aoli is to die for!

Service is always cordial and the atmosphere is fine, but many tables are slightly slanted. Good for casual pool with friends, but not for pool players. No snooker tables.

Nice bar, good pool tables and really good customer service. Never had a negative experience there, would recommend.
Food: 5
Service: 5
Atmosphere: 5

Food was decent. The venue was really nice and the pool tables were well kept and very reasonably priced at 12$/hr
Food: 4
Service: 5
Atmosphere: 5

Total university vibe. Lots of TV's with sports on and a large number of pool tables. Only went to meet a friend for drinks and didn't regret it with the good vibes.

Good food, decent drink menu, and many pool tables, but disappointing service.
Price per person
$50–60
Food: 4
Service: 2
Atmosphere: 4

Food was trash cool place for pool but food an service were absolute garbage
Price per person
$60–70
Food: 1
Service: 1
Atmosphere: 4

Tables in good condition, nice beer selection and affordable price (we paid $12/hour on Thursday)
Food: 5
Service: 5
Atmosphere: 5

Great menu, very pleasant ambiance, so many pool tables, great staff, good location too, except for the parking situation, but 5 well deserved. …

Very good chicken wings and reasonable service for a busy place.
Price per person
$30–40
Food: 4
Service: 4
Atmosphere: 4

Great pool bar / sports bar with lots of tvs and tables. Good food and beer variety. Ended up having a great time and would definitely come back.

Good price for pool. I recommend the curly fries.
Price per person
$30–40
Food: 4
Service: 4
Atmosphere: 4

Had a couple pinta here to kill some time, nice tables and relaxed atmosphere. Food is pretty regular bar food but the beer is cold :)

Great place to play some pool, good atmosphere, great service!
Price per person
$30–40
Service: 5
Atmosphere: 5

Nice place. You can enjoy pool game.
Price per person
$20–30
Food: 4
Service: 4
Atmosphere: 5

Great bar food and a overall nice place to enjoy some pool with friends.
Food: 5
Service: 5
Atmosphere: 5

A go-to pool place in Ottawa. It gets expensive if you go on a weekend but beers are good and the pool tables are nice.

Really decent place to grab a bite , pint and a round of pool
Food: 4
Service: 5
Atmosphere: 5

Great pool bar with awesome tables. Service can be troublesome at times, but overall I enjoy playing pool here.

Amazing spot to play pool and for large gatherings to socialize. Friendly staff and the poutine is sooooo good.

Great place, good food. Would be nice to have the bar open earlier on Saturdays to catch early games.

Fun spot to play pool. Fair price. Fee taps beers. Califlower bites were good but portion is small.

What a busy little spot. Speedy service friendly staff and the pool tables are maintained well.

Nice place with a lot of pool tables.
Food: 4
Service: 5
Atmosphere: 5

Stopped in for a beer. Good service in spite of xmas party crowds.
Service: 4…
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Great place to hang out with friends. Cheap pool and good drinks . Really had a blast

An amusing place for hanging out with friends and family.good food and good service.

Billiards at McLarens is the only enjoyable part about Ottawa

Great location, the food quality is good. Highly recommended.

Decent pool hall. Food was average but service was great!