Reviews of Ernie's Roadhouse (Restaurant)

Christa

The onion rings and battered mushrooms are made in house and are to absolutely die for. The menu has an offering for any taste. If you are really hungry try the Dirty Burger!!! The selection of beers are all local. Such a great place!!!

Brad Kuntz

Great food, great staff, great place

Reggie Billingsworth

Returned to visit family for Christmas and despite my initial wonderment was told how Ernie's had so changed from my undergrad days. So...great result, excellent beer selection, tasty food and we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. So glad hard working hospitality teams like the owners are making such a homey centre here. Defy the franchises! Support LOCAL!!

pravin prabhakar

Looks like a decent restaurant but for take out!

Mike Keller

Amazing homemade food, the pizza is to die for! The lady who served us was very friendly and down to earth too. Only thing I could recommend that would make the experience better is the atmosphere... it’s a bit dull.

nelson frias

Nice place to eat and drink but a draft is gonna cost you over 8$

Kevin Rowe

Great evening out with the River City Church guys last night...first time since very early 2020! Wings were very tasty and really felt for Pawel being the only service staff...great job, and thanks for hosting us!

Fiona James

Threw in an order with a large group for takeout. Underwhelmed. The cheesy pizza was burnt (couldn't eat the outer 1.5" crust as it was so bitter) and the fish and chips were, too. The slaw was limp and underdressed. Didn't go back to complain as we weren't the ones driving. Would not eat here again.

Matt Smith

The food here is clearly homemade and its tasty! Interior is a bit old school but Ernie's has been around since then. Prices are typical and servers are down to earth.

David Schulz

Takeout order was very good. Staff are friendly, atmosphere inside in clean and comfortable. Nice location in a historic downtown near the river.

Scott Wild

Got takeout wings last night and they were the smallest wings I had ever seen! The veggies that came with it were wrapped in plastic and waterlogged. Disgusting meal...Not sure why a cook would even let this out of the kitchen. Com'on Ernies make better food!!!!!!

Puma Wolf

I had stopped going to Ernie's years ago because the quality of food and beer selection was very poor. When I heard that new owners took over I decided to give Ernie's another chance. WOW what a difference the wings are the best in town and if you like hamburgers look no further, I recommend the dirty burger. CRAFT BEER!! CRAFT BEER!! So many great local breweries all in one friendly Roadhouse, and the new owners are so nice. Great place to take the family or grab a pint and wings to watch the game.

Keith Leung

Cobb salad is amazing. Adult portion size on the loaded Mac and cheese was a bit disappointing when compared to the kids Mac and cheese, especially for the price difference but both tasted great.

Pritesh Bhatt (Bhattman)

Picked up the signature burger and it took me back to some fond memories of great burgers I have had. A gem of a place and will return to try the rest of the other menu items.

Clifforrd Vanclief

Always a pleasant place to eat, great staff, amazing food a highly recommended Ernie's

yukti makalikal

Pretty good place to chill alone, with friends or colleagues. The staff is super polite and nice.

alex beckerson

Awesome place. Great food and good selection of beer. Definitely will go back. Owner is a real gem and sweetheart. Check it out.

Tj Peric

Great food. Simon is a good chef. Food is great and I recommend the chicken wings. Best in town. Owners are super friendly and the place is very welcoming. You can come alone and not be alone there. Patrons are engaging and friendly. But of course they are....it's Hespeler after all.

Frank Reynolds

First we were only one of two tables in the dining area so service should have been good, but that was not our experience. When we got our menus we were told there were several items not available. About 10min after getting our drinks the waitress walks up and says oh i guess I should take your order. So we place an order from the minimal items available. As we are sitting and waiting for our order the waitresses talk about messing up an order and then the one waitress advises to just lie and say they had multiple orders at once. Then a few minutes later they start discussing a co-worker and not throwing each other under the bus. They went on to talk negatively about the co-worker, all information I was shocked would be discussed in front of customers. Lastly the food was sub par, wing combo was fine. Fish tacos was shocked to see they turned one taco shell into three tacos. One taco was the size of a pringo. Taste not bad, overall disappointed and would not recommend.

Stacey M

Interesting place. Food is good, a lot of local regulars hanging out. Food menu was large and varied with a lot of typical bar foods. Service was ok, parking can be a pain.

Philip Noseworthy

This is a really nice, big, locally owned establishment! Out visiting in the area and this place was highly recommended. It has lived up to its reputation. It probably isn't the cheapest in town, but it is very reasonable for the proportions. Easily a great choice for large gatherings too. There is a huge seperate section in the back with a great view for parties and socials. Have the deep fried pickles...

Kevin O'Kane

Really good food, large portions, friendly staff. Live music quite often. Colourful clientele. Can get loud but a fun time.

Mike R

Love the view out the open windows on the North side of the building. Eating a meal in the open air changes atmosphere. Would go back.

Shane Neil

Good food. Nice environment. Friendly staff.

Jesse

Freaking awesome. Came here for my birthday and it made my day a lot better. Beyond meat and Buffalo cauliflower wings were awesome for vegan options. Playing bingo was great we won a headset haha. Definitely seeing us again!

Dwayne Zoeteman

Friendly and reasonably priced. Place was suggested by a family member and we were not disappointed.

Dave Jensen

Ernie's is the biggest staple of Hespeler. Throughout its years and different management, the wait staff and kitchen have always been top tier. The three constants in life are death, taxes, and Ernies being a second home. The beer selection is nice, wings are fantastic, the Caesars are phenomenal. A little pricey now, but I never regret going here.

Andrew Hancock

2 for 1 fish and chips on Fridays. Great deal and a great meal.

FB Girl

Great food as always. Good service. Burgers so good.

Peter Venables

Nice selection of local craft brews. They have a nice big dining room and ample parking. Staff were friendly and helpful. Will be going back.

Prince J

I would suggest to close your indoor dining so your not participating in discriminatory mandates. Otherwise I won’t support your business anymore.

Trevor Heywood

Had a burger for takeout from here, and wow it was tasty. Fries were pretty good too, a little salty maybe. Will definitely be coming back to try something else.

Gianne Carla Bustamante

Loved the food and atmosphere! Everything was also reasonably priced! Would recommend.

Stephen

I grew up in Hespeler and I have seen this place change over the years. It's still our family's go to spot for a beer and food, and I love coming here and grabbing a pint with my friends. The wings are what prompted me to write this review. I went for Wednesday night wing night and was not disappointed. Hands down the best wings I have ever had. Very good quality and cooked perfectly. Had the opportunity to speak with Nicole (the owner) and they have really done a great job since they took over. I recommend giving Ernie's a try!

pat kulenkamp

Sad about Ernie's. When I was in highschool this would have been a 5 star rating. Their service has been very slow 2 out of the last 3 times we've been. The food is still good but half of it comes out cold. We keep going back in hopes that it will go back to what it used to be... Going to give up soon.

Cameron Krueger

Being a burger guy the food was great. Since the last time I've been here they've added new menus and painted the walls. Place looks better every time I go.

Jay

Had the MacDaddy pizza and it was amazing, tastes just like a Big Mac plus the crust is tasty just in its own. Big place, family friendly, great owners.

Mark S

Great food great service good atmosphere

Anthony Hoff

Nice casual downtown bar and restaurant. The back has great views of the river. Taco Tuesdays are a must. 3 unique tacos that change weekly for on $5. Decent selection of beer including food craft beers. The new owners are very nice and are doing a great job.

The Grimm Reaper

A little pricey for a bar but worth it

Kim Bowie

Loved the friendly staff and the hometown feel in the bar. We will be back again the next time we are in town.

steve gillard

Always my go to spot fir a quick bite or a quiet beer. Servers are always friendly and will get to know you by name. A staple of down town Hespeler for years. Best wings in town hands down.

Richard Abbott

Great neighborhood bar with a good beer selection. The Enrnie burger Thursday special was good. We liked the pulled pork nachos too.

Greg Hilker

As always fast and friendly service.

Amanda Livingstone

Awesome atmosphere! Great food (nachos) and good wine selection. Enough parking for all. Service was good, but became slower as the night became a little busier.

L'il Dougie

Probably not unlike you, the last time I went to Ernie's the experience was enough to make it just that-the last time. It was DISGUSTING. After much urging by friends that we trust, we joined them for dinner here recently and WOW were we pleasantly surprised! Our meals were fantastic, tasty and fresh. Great selection of COLD AND FRESH BEER (quite unlike the visit before this!). If you haven't been to Ernie's in a while-and like me, you grew up with Ernie's as a family staple-I'd like to suggest you give them another chance. This is what we've been waiting years for.

matthew graham

Awesome place! The best pizza you will find in Waterloo region! And it can be delivered.

Tom Griffiths

Fantastic serving staff. Good beer selection. Terrific entertainment. Simply awful food. A real chef / cook could make this a goldmine. I will go back for the service, entertainment and beer, but I'll eat somewhere else.

Brooke Barker

Took the waitress a really long time to bring us anything. The food was alright. I did love the look of the restaurant!

Michal D

Loyal customer of Friday's Brown Bag Special. The atmosphere is always great and the food is delicious. The workers there are all very friendly and helpful.

Olivia Hendsbee (LifewithLiv)

If I could give you guys 0 stars I would. It took an half hour to get served a pitcher took an hour and a half for fish and chips. And saw serveral couples walk in after me who were served in a timely manner. Currently not very impressed eating fish and chips... sorry to the waiter who won’t be getting a tip. Never coming back ????????

Ken Andersson

Good wings here, plenty of beer choices. Wednesday is the night to go. Wing and craft beer night specials. Old world feel, staff is friendly enough, just slow unfortunately. Order your food quickly as it can be hit or miss if you get it under an hour wait. Lol

Jen Reeves

We’re regulars at this local, Hespeler landmark restaurant. Ernie’s has changed quite a bit over the years and this time for the better. Just picked up a take out order and it was ready and waiting for me. Keep up the great work! If you haven’t been in years give it another go :)

elijah goetz

Wicked nachos. Great service always prompt my dudes.

Terezija Tomasic

Tasty wings but portion size is very disappointing.

Kevin Carey

Great service and food. Always good to support a local business owner.

John R. Paterson

We enjoyed a family dinner at Ernie's Roadhouse. The place is much larger than it appears from the street, with a spacious dining area in the rear. Ernie's boasts a relaxed atmosphere, a pub-style menu with lot of tasty choices, and of …

Dorcus Duncs

Took over an hour to get basic food. No staff came by to say sorry for the wait or to ask how our meals were. Used to be an “old” Ernie’s regular but will never go back. No idea what the issue was as they weren’t busy; inside restaurant didn’t have a single table occupied (we were on the open side). Avoid!

Fiona S

Love going here for beer yoga. Breakfast is good too.

Billy Malawi

It's Ernie's! Great spot, great menu and really good drink selection. The staff are super friendly and everyone that is in there seem to all get along with one another. It's a good atmosphere, definitely the best place in Hespeler. Will always find my way back there!

Ric Carter

Poutine was good . Spinach dip not so much. Not a bad little place though

Sam Em

Food was absolutely amazing....atmosphere could use work. Would not be able to eat inside as it smells extremely strong of cigarettes as if an old chain smoker lives there . I'm assuming the people above in the apartments smoke inside. …

richard barron

Wow. I ordered the fish and chips, bad move. The fillet was the smallest fillet I've ever gotten at a restaurant in Canada. Huge disappointment. I've always been impressed with ordering fish and chips in Canada, but this was a joke. Now on to the drinks... I know people likely come here for beer, but I am a Jack Daniels man. I ordered a Jack on the rocks and almost laughed at it. A minute later, I politely told the waitress that the drink was a very soft pour. She said it is a shot and that's all she could do. I asked for a double. The double was barely any better and my suspicion grew, the whiskey is watered down. I finished this drink and asked for a double without ice. The drink came and I couldn't believe how small it was. This last drink also confirmed my suspicion, the whiskey was watered down. Like I said, I always drink Jack. I know what Jack is supposed to taste like. This was bad. Will never come back.

Kim T

Ernie's is a good place to have a meal with friends. The food is delicious and reasonably priced!

jack coo

Great in the summer if you can get a seat in the back. Good wings too. Highly recommend baton which is a mix of honey garlic and hot

Deanna Martin

Great local pub. The food is high quality bar fare. Love that this venue supports live music and has bands in frequently

Tamara Anderson

I took my family here for our Christmas get together and I know there was only 7 of us but the place felt closed. The heat was off and it was dimly lit. Just as we were leaving they had a band setting up for a gig and the heat came on and the lights. Only the burgers were good. Kids didn't like the kid menu pizza .. the pepperoni was burn in the edges. I got the very cheesy grilled cheese it wasn't tasty... I think if they put real bacon instead of bacon jelly it may have saved it. I just think if the atmosphere was better then I may have a slightly better opinion. .. maybe....

Drew Riley

Worst most overly priced food I’ve ever had. The chicken tenders were literally black burnt, the buns for the sandwiches were stale and dry. The Mac and cheese didn’t even taste like Mac and cheese it was a broken disgusting sauce. Worst 100 dollars on food I’ve ever spent.

Meghan Brown

Lived here three years, today was the best food quality and service (thank you Christa!!!) Definitely coming back soon... it's improved so much with the new owners and so much effort from the new staff! ????

GREG MORRIS

Great place! Great food. Wonderful owners and staff!

David Moylan

Great spot. Staff are awesome. Wings are fantastic. Spacious. Cool seating area at the back. Decent beer lineup. Reasonable prices.

Chris Nelmes

The menu is pretty limited.Standard pub food.Wing weren't too bad,but ask for extra napkins. Reasonably good selection of beers.Tries to be a sports bar,but fails miserably.Service is reasonably good.Bright inside,with a LOT of wood. Has a lot of seating and is often busy after 5pm.This place has been here forever,so it's kind of a landmark in Hespeler.

Elizabeth Paal

Good food fast service

Michaela Finlay

Stopped going here over a year ago, because of how dirty it was and the food wasn’t great. Tonight we decided to go because of the new owners. WOW just WOW! What a difference. Best food I’ve had in a long time, plus you could tell the chef cared about what he was putting out. Great updates in the dinning room. Will be returning for sure! I’m glad a old Hespeler business now has a new life! Defiantly recommend!

sheila lightfoot

First time and I would go back. I like the minimalist, roadhouse look of the place. Lots of wood in the decor. I had poutine and it was delicious with real potatoes and good gravy. Good selection of craft beer.

Joe

The slogan is Ernie Who? Well not a guy that even gets you your food. My wife and I have been coming here for a couple years. It started off great, we brought family and friends on various occasions. The service has been getting exponentially worse each time we have visited to the point where I do not think I could go back. We went in, got a seat right away which was great, got our drink order, perfect, got our drinks, awesome. Then 30 mins goes by, no check up, no drink refresh. Then an hour goes by, no check up by the waitress, no drink refresh, also still no food. By the way we ordered a burger and wings, nothing too crazy. Now at over an hour and a half later no drink refresh or food and the waitress storms up and just says what did you get? Honestly at this point I almost could not remember. We were rudely told that our food was not put in and it was the bus girls fault. I do not know the restaurant business very well but I wouldn't be throwing the bottom line staff under the bus like that. We were told make sure you come back, but no real apology, no offer of a free meal or discount even. So after some previous good meals I do not think I could return to a place like this.

mary-ellen todd

We order the most delicious meals from Ernie's! I had the Louisiana chicken wrap with the garden salad. So delicious! My partner had Ernie's Mac Burger with poutine. Delivered in a reasonable time it was the perfect temperature! Well done Ernie's!

Brandon R

Ernie's is a good old roadhouse. Great food, nice staff, cold beer, decent prices considering the high cost of eating out anywhere these days. Highly recommend. Good specials: about to enjoy $20 half pitcher and a pound of (salt and pepper--delish!) wings.

Crystal Porter

Our waitress was amazingly nice. A beautiful little town and a beautiful restaurant. The food was absolutely delicious. ????

Rosemary Benbow

Great food and choices, friendly staff, but a little noisy. I guess that's because people were glad to be together!

David Stocker

Typical pub food with nice, friendly staff. The wings are top notch and the beer is old. Draft selection is still a bit down from precovid but starting to increase. Nice time to check out some of the available craft beers they have to offer.

Michal Panasiak

Came here for their wings and a pint special on Wednesday. The wings were tasty, the beer was cold, the price was good, and the staff were very friendly. Will definitely be back.

Jerrid Hergott

Ordered the Chicken and Waffles, Grilled Chicken Garden Salad, Poutine and the Ernie's Burger and all were fantastic. We ordered ahead and gave a pickup time and it was hot and ready right on time. It was a great takeout night!!! Thanks to the front and back staff.

Jeff Clark

Great place to stop for a bite and a beverage.

Todd Miller

Got to try the butter chicken excellent my go to dish

Paul K

Always a great place to come and relax. We have been coming for years. Food is great and the staff are always friendly. I love the live music. Order the natchos!

Doug Beuerman

My brother passed away the week before and was good client of her knees and they had a day of life memorial for my brother and it was very well attended and I think everybody enjoyed themselves thinking of my brother Steve we all will miss him but it was a good send-off and Ernie's did a special job thank you very much Nicole

Nancy Cameron

Great place. Fun venue. It was a tad challenging for the staff to get through throngs of people, but they did a good job. Everyone seemed happy with their food.

Chris Hollman

The food was good but the service was bad. Very slow..had an empty glass for 15 mins. Only brought 1 napkin for me and my daughter and then never came near our section again after food was brought out.