Where to find the best bars in Ottawa, from happy hour to last call

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While bars in Ottawa were skunked this year when it came to cracking Canada’s 50 Best Bars list, the National Capital Region nonetheless boasts exceptional bars worthy of a toast.

“Ottawa has so much to offer when it comes to good libations,” says Eric Laporte, who runs the bar program at Union Local 613, Jabberwocky and the Staffroom, and who tends bar at the latter, a basement speakeasy below Union.

When I told Laporte I was compiling a list of the best bars in Ottawa, he responded: “Make it a top 20 list.”

In deference to my liver, my selection is five bars long, although I’ve given some honourable mentions too.

Stolen Goods Cocktail Bar

106 Sparks St., stolengoodscocktail.com
Open: Wednesday to Saturday, 6 p.m. to 2 a.m.

On nights when Sparks Street is deserted, Stolen Goods, a 20-seat cocktail bar between O’Connor and Metcalfe streets, is usually packed.

Reservations are vital if you want to sip the sophisticated creations at this self-described “unconventional” cocktail bar, which mixologists Mike Campbell and Ray Tang, along with chef Adam Ghor, opened in the spring of 2022.

How unconventional is it? Well, one signature and typically whimsical drink is the Three Brothers ($18), which mashes up a gimlet with that definitive Ottawa fast food: shawarma. The unlikely drink’s gin is infused with oil from de-emulsified garlic sauce (bought from Ottawa’s 3 Brothers Shawarma & Poutine, naturally) plus vibrantly pink juice from the pickled turnips that typically garnish shawarma. Don’t scoff until you’ve had it.

I also tried a less savoury drink with its own backstory. The Jungle Adventures ($22) contained a mix of fruity cereal-infused gin, dry curacao, maraschino liqueur, pineapple syrup, lemon juice, and cranberry bitters under a gigantic dollop of fruit-cereal foam, plus some of that crunchy cereal as a topping.

Next time, although I’m not a big espresso martini guy, I’ll try the Midnight Ride ($19), which upgrades that caffeinated indulgence with tonka bean-infused, made-in-Almonte Vodkow cream liqueur, house-made coffee-and-molasses liqueur, espresso, Aztec chocolate bitters and a sprinkle of dark chocolate.

If more conventional drinks are your thing, then there are top-shelf Japanese spirits and daiquiris made with premium rums to try.

Ghor’s food, somehow made in a cramped kitchen space that’s part of the bar, is interesting, compatible, and on par with the forward-thinking drinks — something that can’t always be said of bar food.

Campbell says that in its two years, Stolen Goods has become “less serious and a little more fun,” meaning that there are pop-up nights, hyped on the bar’s Instagram feed, inspired by hot dogs, SpongeBob SquarePants, Cats (the musical) and the Fast and the Furious movies.

The Staffroom

315 Somerset St. W. (the basement of Union Local 613), union613.ca
Open: Wednesday to Saturday from 5 p.m.

Downstairs at Union Local 613 and behind the bookcase, the Staffroom is Ottawa’s oldest speakeasy, a cosy, woody, retro space for about 20. The best seats, though, are at the bar, where you make your wishes known to bartender Eric Laporte.

There’s no drinks menu here. Yes, all the classics are available. But the point is to have Laporte craft a “bespoke” beverage, designed according to a guest’s likes and dislikes in terms of spirits and flavours.

When I asked for something interesting along the lines of a mezcal sour, Laporte whipped up a Naked and Famous (equal parts mezcal, yellow Chartreuse, Aperol, and fresh lime juice), tweaked ever so slightly to my tastes.

Laporte, who manages the bar program for the three venues under the same roof at 315 Somerset St. W., is a fanatic for from-scratch ingredients and tricked-out spirits. He makes not only his own syrups, tonics, sodas and colas, but also infusions like cottage cheese- and cheese curd-washed mezcal, beeswax-washed gin, and Aperol infused with espresso or vanilla bean and hibiscus. But as nerdy as such mixology pursuits might be, the vibe at Staffroom is easygoing and casual, perfect for a relaxed but recondite exploration of the beverage world.

Soif – Bar à vin

88 Montcalm St., Gatineau (Hull sector), soifbaravin.ca
Open: Tuesday to Saturday from 4 p.m.

Given the psychological block that some Ottawans have about crossing to the Quebec side, Soif – Bar à vin probably doesn’t get the love it deserves. That’s too bad because world-class sommelier Véronique Rivest’s establishment is a must-visit for those who want well-chosen wines accompanied by food that enhances their flavours.

Rivest’s wine knowledge is basically unsurpassed, as she was twice named Canada’s best sommelier and in 2013 she came second in the World’s Best Sommelier battle in Tokyo. But her 10-year-old bar, which is as much a restaurant as a bar, is unfussy, welcoming, and fun.

Soif’s indoor space is a collection of small, intimate rooms with cork-themed ambiences that together seat about 70. During a recent weeknight visit, Soif was packed and burbling with conversations that somehow didn’t intrude on each other. Outside, a pleasantly secluded patio seats about 50.

The wine bar has about 10,000 bottles, with picks from France, Italy, and Quebec enjoying pride of place. Three-glass flights featuring two-ounce pours are popular. So too are glasses paired with items from chef Erik Brooman’s menu. When I visited in June, the servers were as astute as they were friendly, delivering the assured, on-point hospitality abundant in Quebec and much needed in Ontario.

Rivest says staff sometimes jokingly refer to their place of work as “Soif – Bar à cocktail,” because mixed drinks, made with thoughtfully chosen and frequently Quebecois spirits and ingredients, sell well, as do mocktails. “No restaurant deserves that name today if they don’t have a solid offering of non-alcoholic beverages,” says Rivest. “We have the same attention to creating our mocktails … it’s really the same love and passion that goes into everything.”

Bar Lupulus

1242 Wellington St. W., barlupulus.ca
Open: Daily from 5 p.m.

Like Soif, Bar Lupulus sits in that grey zone between bar and restaurant. You could visit the Wellington Street West business, which opened in 2017, and simply enjoy chef James Bratsberg’s creative gastropub fare.

But the bar is named after the Latin word for hops and its myriad and frequently exotic beers, of which there are 20 on tap, natural wines, and mixed drinks are entirely appealing on their own.

Beer-lovers commonly crowd the buzzy, brick-walled indoor space or the relaxed back patio, ordering flights of beers. When we last visited, though, we opted for novel, advanced cocktails that delivered smooth, intriguing tastes and aromas, like the “Dev’s Last Day is 6 Months Away,” made with Japanese whisky, apricot brandy, lemon juice, lemon-thyme syrup, egg white, hopped grapefruit bitters and black lime powder.

Jackalope

212 Sparks St., instagram.com/jackalopeottawa
Open: Tuesday to Saturday from 5 p.m.

This downstairs, hidden speakeasy, connected to the ground-level restaurant and bar Rabbit Hole, strikes a classy, exclusive vibe. A curved marble bar that seats about eight greets guests, while a few tables in the darkened surroundings offer even greater intimacy.

Bartender Georges Haddad curates a selection of eight classic cocktails priced at $18 each but also makes bespoke cocktails. Tequilas and mezcals have their own page on the menu.

Five kinds of absinthe are available, ranging in price from $22 to $28, served almost ritualistically with carefully poured cold water over a sugar cube to dilute and smoothen the connoisseur’s drink.

House rules apply here, including a stipulation that a guest can reject his drink after one sip and have a replacement made if it’s not to his taste. This is also not a bar for carousing, as a quiet policy is in effect.

Honourable mentions: I recently visited Bar Ocelli in the ByWard Market and Bar Guapo in Centretown and these two recently opened bars are very promising. Ocelli has an impressive and innovative drinks menu. Guapo, which takes up all of a tiny room, already has a laidback, insider’s feel.

As for restaurants with top-tier bar programs, you can’t go wrong with Riviera on Sparks Street or Arlo or Le Poisson Bleu, both on Somerset Street West.

Cheers, Ottawa!

phum@postmedia.com

Do you have a favourite bar in Ottawa? Let us know in the comments.