In an age when we are all connected, Quinn's brings a nostalgic feel to the modern pub scene, after all they don't even have a website. This little (and I mean little, maximum capacity is probably about 40, if even) ale house is located in Old Ottawa South, a stone's throw from the Bank Street Bridge over the Rideau Canal and the trendy neighbourhood of the Glebe. Attached to the Mayfair Theatre building and separated by Opus Barbershop, it is a short walk from the Carleton University campus on Bronson, and so enjoys a mix of the eclectic, young, and local. Quinn's is so small that there is no getting around admitting that it is cozy, making every conversation and encounter an intimate one. The side patio, which one has to walk onto the adjacent sidewalk to access (special permit), is tucked along the side street, Euclid Avenue.
The pints are served well, and the appetizers and entrees are your standard pub fare done proper. The decor is typical of a British themed pub, with local flavour. Rugby jerseys, flags, pictures of patrons.
My connection to Quinn's is that I used to live but a few metres from it's doors. During my second year at Carleton, I lived in the basement of a converted house. The backyard had a gate leading to the 'back alley' of the Barley Mow (another pub), all that stood between my dwelling and Quinn's. I often boasted that I could crawl home drunk, and it'd be near impossible not to make it.
The service at Quinn's is superb, probably owing to the intimacy I described earlier, as the staff have nowhere to hide and are therefore part of the conversation and atmosphere (walking to the washrooms or to the patio, one passes what it seems like through the kitchen).
If you are in Ottawa, I suggest you stop by for a pint and enjoy one of the last 'hole-in-the-wall' pubs before they are all eaten up by the franchised and somewhat tacky chains that are mimicking the nostalgic charm that is embodied fully by Quinn's.
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