D'ARCY MCGEE'S RESTAURANT PUB - Ottawa ON

#lotwwintercatchup

So LJ was out at a work dinner, so I decided to grab some grub nearby. There were no particular wing nights or other places in the area, but then I remembered D'Arcy McGee's (or is it Darcy's as the name out front suggests) on Kirkwood Ave. A few years ago I had some D'Arcy McGee's wings in a party platter and they were good, so it seemed like a second time around would be good again.

This location is not like the other D'Arcy's - it's half Darcy's and half East Side Mario's. See originally this location was a Swiss Chalet, but for some reason, it closed. Then in 2017 this hybrid split the building in half and remodeled into a pub/family restaurant mix.

I have actually eaten at the East Side Mario's (ESM) before, and thought it was the smaller half of the two, but after entering Darcy's, ESM is clearly much larger. Not only do these two share an address, they actually share a menu. Well, ok not share exactly, but when I came in my waitress Kelsey offered me a choice of either ESM or Darcy's menu. So you can eat what you want in whatever environment you want.

Darcy's is a really nice pub atmosphere. It's lined with brick and dark wood accents. It's dark inside, but not so dark you can't see what's going on. One end is a beautiful bar, the rest is tables and booths for seating. Kelsey, my friendly and attentive waitress, had given me the option when I came in to sit at the bar, a table, or a booth (I chose booth). She took my drink order - I asked for a water and a diet pop (they serve Pepsi). I never got my water, but I did get my pop. That's ok I like pop better.

I had never seen anything about a wing night at Darcy's, but I took a chance and asked Kelsey about it. While they don't have a wing night, they do have 1/2 price apps Monday to Friday during 'appy hour' which includes wings. I was here after 6, so bollocks.

I was a little disappointed at the menu when I saw the price of the wings - $14.99. Woosh, that's pricey. But I have an addiction to feed.

I asked about the Buffalo Medium, because I was curious if they were really a Buffalo sauce, or just Medium, but Kelsey assured me they were a Buffalo. Wanting flavour over heat, I went with the Buffalo. I did find it interesting that they had Garlic Parmesan wings, as that is an ESM flavour and I don't think it is on other D'Arcy McGee's menus. Also interestingly named is the Sri-Rancha. Get it?

I didn't have to wait long and my wings came out. And I won't lie, I was miffed. But I will get to that.

Wings are not measured on the menu by quantity or weight (you know, 10 wings, or 1 pound). It just says wings. I got 8 wings, 3 carrot sticks, 3 celery sticks, and some blue cheese dip. The wings were evenly split drums and flats.

The veggies were fresh, and the dip had some chunks of blue cheese and was decent enough. At first I thought I had a lot, but in the end, I would have wanted more. Oh I also was given a bone plate and some napkins.

So remember when I said I was miffed? That's because the wings were small. I actually looked at my plate and said WTF. I can deal with tiny wings (I much prefer larger for sure), when you have to have a lot to make up for their size, but all I could think about was how they were $15 for 8 tiny wings. Even with these wings being breaded, they were still small.

The next #wingcrime was that these wings were soggy. They were not crispy at all and they came out hot and fresh. The only redeeming quality of these wings is that they were super tender. I mean the bones just pulled away like nothing. But c'mon, there should be some sort of crunch.

The wings were also not saucy. The sauce was all absorbed into the wings. That sucked. There was no extra sauce lying around either. There also wasn't much flavour to the sauce that was on them. It didn't taste like Buffalo sauce.

It's not that the wings tasted bad, it's just that they didn't taste like much at all. They reminded me of cheap grocery store frozen wings. Sure they are ok if you are desperate for some wings, but I couldn't help coming back to the fact that they were $15.

FINAL SCORE:

These wings were just frustrating. Small wings, soggy breading, lack of sauce, lack of flavour. The only good thing was that the wings were tender meat. But they are just too small and too expensive to warrant having again. I don't know if this is what these wings are like at other locations or this is just due to the East Side Mario's connection. Who knows. 6.5/15

D'Arcy McGee's Restaurant Pub
675 Kirkwood Ave, Ottawa ON
darcymcgees.com