BOWMAN's BAR & GRILL Ottawa ON 2014 - LOST REVIEW

It's time for another #tbt & #lostreview

It was early March of 2014 and I was in Ottawa visiting LJ. I don't remember the trip, and I vaguely remember this visit to Bowman's. This pub I think only opened in 2014.

It's located in an odd strip of Carling Ave, where there are almost no other businesses. All around the restaurant it's residential and across the street is a hospital. So they have no competition, but most of Carling I think of as commercial, so it's weird that this stretch for the most part is not.

Inside the pub everything was freshly renovated and looked clean and fresh, but still had classic looking charm.

It was a Friday night and the place was packed! It was a real mixed crowd; seniors, families, young families, office workers etc. 

Our waiter was the owner, Peter. Very friendly guy who was making sure everything was just right for everyone. He brought us our menus and drinks, and we tried to figure out what to get. It's pub food, but I would describe it as elevated pub food: prices are higher than a typical pub, but the food is also a few notches higher as well.

As an appetizer we ordered their "Dill"icious Pickle Chips and were confused when they weren't chips really but almost whole fried pickles. Not a problem they were different from the menu, but they were good. They had a thick, crunchy coating on them, that seemed like a homemade breading suggesting these were not from a frozen food supplier. It came with a nice Buttermilk Ranch dip and they even garnished it with dill weed which was a nice touch!

LJ went with the Hot Salami Mozza'wich and upgraded her side to the Tater Tot poutine. But it wasn't just any tater tot poutine, no this was a truffle oil and Parmesan poutine! I'm not wowed by Truffle Oil, but LJ loves it and I think these were her favourite part of the meal. 

When I saw the wings on the menu, I knew I had to try them, but choosing was difficult because while they had only a few flavours, they were unique and clearly homemade. I wanted to try them all!

I made a decision, and was excited when the wings came out. 

On the side of my plate was celery and carrot sticks and a container of more of the Buttermilk Ranch.
The wings looked glorious on the plate. Fried crispy, saucy, and they just had a feeling of something real and fresh. The menu doesn't specify how many wings are in an order. They don't say a pound, or even the numbered amount. They just say "Whole, Unsplit Wings". In my order there were 4 whole wings, or 8 if you were to split them up.

The size of these wings is hard to gauge from the photos because they were whole, but they seem like a very healthy medium to me. They also seem pretty crispy, but I couldn't tell you how tender they are 6 years later. Look at that orange-y homemade sauce though!

I went with the "Simple Simon's Complicated Hot Sauce". I can't remember for the life of me the flavour, the heat, any of it. It looks good though!

I also got a side of the Coffee Chipotle BBQ sauce. I wish I could tell you how this tasted, but again, 6 years later I don't remember.

So sadly that wraps up my Lost Review on Bowman's. The wings look good, and I haven't been back since. I don't think anything was bad at all, just never think to come here. 

Bowman's Bar & Grill

1170 Carling Ave, Ottawa ON

bowmansbarandgrill.ca