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The Standard
Categories: Nightlife Bars Restaurants Bars, Restaurants [Edit]
360 Elgin StOttawa, ON K2P
(613) 232-6274
- Hours:
Mon-Wed 4 pm - 2 am
Thu-Fri 11:30 am - 2 am
Sat-Sun 10 am - 2 am
- Good for Kids:
- No
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Parking:
- Street
- Attire:
- Casual
- Good for Groups:
- Yes
- Price Range:
-
$$
- Takes Reservations:
- Yes
- Delivery:
- No
- Take Away:
- No
- Waiter Service:
- Yes
- Outdoor Seating:
- No
- Good For:
- Dinner
- Music:
- DJ
- Best Nights:
- Fri, Sat
- Alcohol:
- Full Bar
- Smoking:
- No
- Coat Check:
- No
- Noise Level:
- Loud
- Good For Dancing:
- No
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- No
9 reviews for The Standard
9 reviews in English
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Review from Danielle F.
Toronto, ON
2/24/2012
The Standard is a great space of booths, bar and tables There are daily deals and the occasional DJ appearance after 10 PM.
On a Thursday night, the place filled up gradually but wow, it really did fill up! My friend and I took advantage of the 5$ cosmopolitan deal. They have the classic as well as some more adventurous flavours. For example, I ordered the passionfruit cosmopolitan. It was yummy. But it felt kind of weird to get a martini glass with over an inch of free space on top. Almost like someone took a huge gulp but actually they just didn't fill it up.
We ordered the Standard fries, a duo of regular and sweet potato fries. So good! They were piping hot and crispy. On the side were little bowls of ketchup and spicy mayo. But I really liked this spicy mayo in particular as it tasted like something you would get in a sushi restaurant.
We also shared some sangria. It was a little disappointing with way too much ice in the glass and no fruit in the pitcher itself, just a few cranberries floating around. But if you utilize the orange, lemon and lime slices you can squeeze out some good flavours.
Good service, cool DJ, good munchies, and an even better looking menu. Very excited to return to this fun spot on Elgin. -
Review from Amanda B.
Ottawa, ON
12/18/2010 5 photos
I went to the Standard for the first time last night. It really packed when we arrived at about 7:30, and stayed that way throughout the night, with people in their late 20s to early 30s. The restaurant was dimly lit with music playing in the background. The lights got dimmer and the music got louder at about 10. We were told that it was about half an hour wait, but we had a lot of time to kill, so we didn't mind when they sat us at the bar until a table for two opened up.
We were given two menus, one for food and one for drinks. It took me a little while to go through the drink menu because I'm just indecisive like that, but the bartender was really patient and he looked pretty busy serving other people, anyway, so we were definitely in no rush. My boyfriend ordered Keith's, and I decided on their Rossini, strawberry puree with champagne. Their cocktails and most of the other drinks all cost about $8.50 or so. This one came in a small champagne glass, and I didn't really taste the strawberry until the end, since it was sitting at the bottom, but it was good.
When a table was free, a host came up to us at the bar, took our menus and drinks, and brought them over to the table for us. After a few minutes, our waitress by and asked us if we were ready, but since we were pretty deep into conversation, we hadn't even looked at the menu. After a few more minutes, she came back, and we ordered the Standard Sampler and the Burger Deluxe.
Instead of a regular meal, I wanted a little more variety, and the Standard Sampler had calamari, tempura shrimp, and the Standard Roll. The calamari was my favorite - manageable, bite-sized pieces, and fried, but I couldn't taste the "5-spice" and I had to ask for lemon on the side, since it didn't come with any. The tempura shrimp was just more like deep fried mini shrimp skewers, didn't particularly like them or dislike them, but I was hoping for more of a creative sauce than just regular cocktail sauce. The Standard Rolls were pretty gross. They came with soy sauce, wasabi, and ginger - thank God, because they were basically just warm rice in big rolls that were deep fried and fell apart. They were supposed to have shrimp in them, but I'm pretty sure it was imitation crab meat, and hardly any for that matter, and definitely no avocado like it was supposed to.
My boyfriend substituted a beef patty for chicken breast with sweet potato fries. The burger was basically a poutine, with cheese curds and gravy, which made it incredibly messy, but tasty. The fries came with this chipotle mayo dipping sauce, which was really good, and I even stole some from his plate to eat with my tempura shrimp.
While waiting for a friend to arrive, we asked for some water, which came in a cool glass bottle to share, and my boyfriend ordered a couple more beers, while I tried the "Gin & Sin". It had passion fruit juice, tonic, and some cranberries. I asked the waitress for something that didn't taste like alcohol and didn't have vodka, and this drink was a fantastic suggestion.
Our bill came to about $90 with tax plus tip, and we were there for a really long time, about 3 hours, without being bothered or feeling pressured to leave. The service was really great, fast and friendly, from the bartender, to the host, to the waitress, to the bus boy. Some friends at another table, however, didn't seem to receive the same courtesy. They were moved to three different tables, before they even received their drinks, and while they were drinking them. Oh! And their washrooms have the Dyson Airblade antibacterial, 12-second, energy efficient hand dryer - bonus points! I'll definitely be back! -
Review from Darren M.
Ottawa, ON
11/19/2010 2 photos
I found myself looking around while in this place on a busy Saturday night asking "Why?"
The Standard was PACKED and I mean PACKED and the service was slow (no fault of their own) and people were jammed around the massive bar waiting for drinks.
I couldn't understand the mass appeal of the place but perhaps it was a few groups that had shown up or perhaps it was so crowded because the bar is in the middle and takes up so much room.
The DJ is usually really good but the place also gets extremely loud. I felt willing to splurge on their tropical drink they serve in a fresh pineapple. It came to nearly $20 and it was interesting to watch the bartender prepare the thing but then we found out it was filled mostly with ice. I would never buy that thing again, although the attention you garner while walking around with it might compensate. Maybe they were just staring because they knew we were foolish to pay that much for something like that?
I also find their brunch to be rather overrated. The waitress was the only person serving on the weekend I went and the fruit was basically grapes and oranges which seemed like they came from a Del Monte can.
It's a good place when it's not crowded late in the evening so I won't totally rule The Standard out. If I recall correctly, they also have jager -- on tap! -
Review from Chloe P.
Ottawa, ON
4/27/2011
Don't come here if you are starving.
I went with a friend for dinner, and we ended up only choosing sweet potato fries and regular fries because the menu wasn't all that appetizing.
It seems to be a good place to eat, like many people say this place is always packed.
I'd come back here just for drinks. -
Review from Karl M.
Ottawa, ON
10/18/2011
I've lived close to The Standard for 4 years and have probably been over 50 times.
Don't bother going for the food. It's 'ok' at best. But, it's a decent place to have a drink and dance on a Friday or Saturday night. Especially if you're a few people and some of you like to sit (or stand around) and drink and talk, and others dance. Crowd is 25-35 mostly. Usually packed, but good DJs (house, soul, hip-hop, old skool). I've had some good nights there.
The good:
- Drink and food specials almost ever day
- Good to Excellent DJs even on some weeknights (this is a very un-Ottawa thing to do, good on them)
- Quarts of certain beers are available, as are Beau's growlers
The bad:
- Food = meh. If you gotta eat, hit up a pizza or sweet potato fries. Burgers are uninspiring.
- They are pretty fascist about NOT doing half and half (fries and salad) with a burger. Point final.
- Cover charge at the door on Fri/Sat nights.
But really the anecdote that inspired me to write this review was my recent visit. It was 1/2 price appetizer Monday so I ordered the quesadilla (regular price $10) and added chicken (regular price +$5). It was ok, maybe 15% better than any other pub quesadilla. But when the bill came it read $5 for the quesadilla (half price, perfect) and $5 for the add chicken (full price!). So, really my appetizer was "2/3 price". I felt still charging full price for the 'add chicken' was a little scamm-ish. I asked the waitress who was nice enough but she said that's the way it works. I wasn't about to argue over $2.50 so I figured I'd do the next best thing and complain about it on Yelp instead! -
Review from Jyotsna M.
12/8/2008
The Standard was formerly Mash on Elgin Street. It's got pretty decor, a good menu, and a solid collection of drinks. The sweet potato fries were excellent, and everyone who ate a proper meal cleaned their plate. However, the toppings on the nachos were a little skimpy, and the hot wings don't come with Blue Cheese or Ranch...that's unheard of!
I had the Mango as well as the Blood Orange Cosmo, and the PassionFruit was also a big hit at my table. Thursday nights all Cosmos are $5, but there's great specials every night. If you're gonna get appetizers, go before 6pm when they're half price!
Extra points for having the full menu, drink list, and promotions listed online. You can also make online reservations! -
Review from Sandra M.
3/19/2011
Decent food, good drinks and a warm and cozy environment makes for a very popular restaurant on a Saturday night. We were fortunate to score seats for our party of four even though we were asked at the door if we had reservations. Seated at a comfy booth, the boisterous party across from our table was having a raucous birthday celebration. It was all in good cheer but we could barely hear above the din. No matter. Our drinks and food were fine and service was efficient. Think I may go back for the Tuesday $5 martini special. Yes, they have specials every night (with the exception of Saturdays.)
-
Review from Ryan R.
Ottawa, ON
9/11/2009
The Standard has perhaps the best chicken wings in Ottawa. They are big, juicy, and delicious.
I would recommend this place for a casual dinner with friends. -
Review from Lindsay D.
Ottawa, ON
7/1/2009
I'm afraid I can't comment on the food, as we left after waiting for an hour and a half for a veggie burger and a dessert which never came. Our server offered us a drink at the beginning then never returned, except when I got her attention to ask what the status of our food was. "5 minutes" was the only response, without apology, and we left after waiting another twenty. The place was maybe a third full, so we couldn't blame that. Apparently the food is good, but nothing is worth that kind of wait and that kind of service.
