Reviews of The Prescott (Restaurant)

Tony Contestabile

Terrible experience today. First, I ordered a "Prescott Pizza" which is supposed to come with green peppers. As you can see from the picture, 0 green peppers. Second, the dough wasn't fully cooked. Not sure how they did this, but the bottom half was really dry and the top half was not fully cooked and doughy. Third, the pizza was oddly cold. I'm under the impression someone had cancelled a deluxe order and we ended up getting stuck with it. I remember this place being legendary back in the day, it's obviously lost its luster. Shame

TravelMama

We had a lunch gathering for our group of 6. This is our friend's usual joint and is recommended by her. Our first time to try this restaurant. This place is quite big in size. Good music playing in the background. The menu is quite simple. We all ordered the "Deluxe Square Pizza" (Pepperoni, green peppers and mushrooms) to be shared by each couple. The square pizza was quite big and we didn't finish it and had to take the left-over home. The pizza tasted ok. I think the taste would have been better if the pizza was hot in temperature. I guess the server waited for all the pizza were done before bringing to our table. If we got hot and not warm pizza, I would have given 4 stars.

Paul Ba

A friend told me about The Prescott, saying good things about it and how it's been around for many years. Decided to give it a try, and it was one of the worst food decisions I've ever made since coming to Ottawa 6 years ago. I hate to post a review like this about a local restaurant, but it's necessary as my nearly $30 order was completely wasted. I ordered the pasta with meat sauce and, as another reviewer mentioned previously, it literally tasted like chef-boyarde. My thought was that I'd get a plate of authentic, traditional Italian style pasta + meat sauce, yet what I got was a plate of food that was bland, tasteless, and like it was microwaved. Also the pasta noodles were overcooked and the quality seemed like they were bought for 0.60 cents at a local grocery store. I do take some responsibility upon myself being that I ordered here with high positive expectations before even trying the food, in part due to it being a long-standing restaurant which I though would automatically mean long-standing quality. This was a big mistake on my part. Very disappointed about my food experience with this place. I get that local businesses are going through tough times for the last 1+ year - hence one of the reasons why I don't like posting reviews of this nature - but this was just unacceptable. I could've made this same dish at home in 10 minutes/less at a tenth of the price I paid for it, and it would've tasted the same if not better and I have no chef background. I will mention that I've never tried any of their other dishes, so perhaps maybe those are tastier/more popular among their customers. However, this experience was enough for me to not dine at the Prescott in the future. Regardless how my food experience was, I wish them well and hopefully they can make some changes to their pasta dishes going forward.

m0nk3ynutZ

Coming to this place for 45 years. Crispy square pizza and round beers... it just doesn't get any better than this! This is a throwback to a much simpler time where puerile gathered in large dining halls and enjoyed good food, sports and conversation. It would be a sin not to mention the meatball sandwiches.

Sam Francis

Prescott was great! Friendly staff, fast service, and great value! The meatball sandwich is a must try but make sure you have a nap planned if you have it for lunch!

Abhinav Sukumar

Service

Michael Dickson

I'd been hearing about this place for a while and finally had a chance to check it out. Great, old school, beer hall vibe. The staff are very friendly and welcoming. Good menu and a great meatball sandwich. I'll be back.

Charlie Le

Meal type

Marc Gagnon

This is an iconic watering hole - one supported through the enjoyment of comfort food, great service and a friendly atmosphere. Stopped here last night for the REDBLACKS game and managed to score some great seats and perfect viewing of a clear big screen TV. Ordered the ‘Meatball in a Bowl’ - it’s simple, it’s tasty and filling! It’s a go to every time. The service is always awesome and the quarts are always cold.

Erin F

The service is good and the staff are very friendly and accomodating to different dietary needs. The food is pretty good. Whoever they have working in the kitchen in the evenings is good at their job.

Micheal Lemire

Very nice staff, a few things that just made the visit a more so okay visit rather than an amazing visit. Had a very good pasta meal, apparently they're known for their meatballs! Very good meatballs.

Brian Lee

A no frills place with multiple seating areas to choose from. A down to earth getaway serving home style foods at affordable prices. It's an institution to say the least. Definitely recommend their meatball sandwich platter with cheese and sauce on top.

Anna Lim

I discovered The Prescott when I was looking for a late-night pasta spot. Their kitchen closes at 10pm on most nights, 12am on the Thursday that I went. I didn’t expect much from this place since I haven’t heard of them before, but I was amazed.. For the price we paid, the portion sizes were very fair, and the food tasted wonderful. It was soo wonderful that I went back 4 days later and ordered the exact same dishes ???? For appetizers, we had caesar salad, bruschetta, deep-fried pickles, and nachos with chicken. For my main, I had to fettuccine alfredo with chicken. We were too full for desserts but will definitely be going back again to try other things.

William Szepesi

What can you say about the Prescott? A classic establishment dating from 1934, updated but holding up traditions. Straight ahead service, dishes made like mama made them such as the meatball sandwich, and draught beer or quarts in the 6.5 oz glass. Atmosphere!

Daniel Laprise

The place you go back for memories. If this is you're first time you will be back. With friends or with your kids, you will have a story to share about the place. Built in days where the cheaper building materials have become what makes you think of the good old days. I'm just fond on the flooring. The way they were built compared to now brings me a feeling of things were nice in those days. Details were important. Oh yeah the food... Well after so many years of perfecting their recipes and not changing them... You're garanteed great pizza amazing sandwiches and awesome staff.

Steve Turner The Wedding Piper

Had the meat ball sandwich!! Omg almost had to roll me out of there. The food was amazing and the staff were even better.

Susan Mahar

Ordered two take out pizzas today. Looking forward to the old Prescott pizza. Sadly not what we got. Very dry, different cheese. For $65.00. Nope that’s it for me

Pam Moody (Sparky)

we arrived just after 7 pm on Saturday night. We had been referred here by several people. I must say when we entered we were unimpressed. We walked here from the marina on Dow's Lake passing several restaurants with outdoor seating and long waits. As we entered the Prescott, it was like a ghost town.. We hesitated whether to stay...but we did & we were impressed! We opted to share a meatball sandwich AND we ordered 2 mini pizzas (we wanted leftovers for our boat voyage tomorrow) I would highly recommend both! Our waitress was also excellent, and efficient. The ambiance is relaxing and homey. The line of telephone booths were a blast from the past. I would return here whenever I'm in Ottawa!

Jared Broughton

Fantastic and servers were very enthusiastic. They are famous for their signature meatball sandwich=fantastic!!

Lola Smith

Dine in

Dr. Zu

It's the pub food version of 'italian" cuisine. Surprisingly decent with the quantities and good quality.

Adam Z

An Ottawa institution. My family has been coming here since the 60s. Not fancy, but what's better than a quart of 50 and a meatball sandwich after a long work day.

D Higgins

Recently moved to the area and decided to try out the Prescott, since I've always wanted to. I was not disappointed. I got the meatball/mini pizza combo for 16 bucks and it was so delicious. The service was great, environment was great, really looking forward to having this place as my "local" now!!

Seeing the world In a different way

The Prescott is located in the heart of little Italy at the corner of 379 Preston st and Scott st. The Prescott is one of the oldest active taverns in Ottawa dating back to 1934, where it was called the "last chance watering hole" out of Ottawa to the south. There is a long tradition of purveyors of beer and wine frequent this establishment while eating the Prescott's meatball sandwiches. There have been many wedding receptions and patrons that have bent their elbows at the Preston. There is even a story where the Italian owners of the formerly named Preston Hotel were put into internment camps as part of isolating people of Italian origin due to conflicts between allied forces with Germany, Japan and Italy during the second World War. I like to go to the Prescott to pound back a few great priced draft beers prior to going to the comedy club across the road, Absolute Comedy. I have heard the Prescott has been sold so dont know what's going to happen to it. But while it is here, pop in, have a jug of draft beer, a meatball sandwich or a square pizza and breathe in some history at this legendary tavern. If you like this review please give it a thumbs up. Thanks and please drink responsibly.

Grace Torrie

Always good, and can accommodate groups! Erhan made sure we had everything we needed all evening ????

Xi Vahn

Ordering from here is like surprise mechanics. I ordered fettuccini alfredo each of the times I ordered it, every time I got it in a different container (that's fine) containing a different amount (that's not fine) tasting like it came from a different place (not good!). The first time I ever ordered it was the best, super garlicy, saucy and tasty. The next time was cold, raw and stale. Then on my last try I got a cooked warm meal but had no taste at all. 2* for the good first try, but that's honestly about it.

Cheers Rajeesh

Authentic Canadian dishes served here. Good customer service. Happy vibes in the place.

Andrew Beaton

As always the food was great. Place was empty and the server was nowhere to be found. Unexpected based on previous experiences.

Diane Lavigne

We are long time customers. Decided we need to have their famous italian wedding soup it had been so long. Don't know if the chef has changed, but the soup was overloaded with onions, more onions then anything else in the soup, very disappointing!

Shelton Marianayagam

If there was an option of no stars that's what this place deserves. Went as a family of 5 to this restaurant and was a total disappointment. All 5 dishes were disappointing. Alfredo fettuccine was sub standard but the lasagna, meat sandwiche, spaghetti and meatballs and the nachos were truly tasteless and bland. The meatball meat were cold and crumbled at the poke of the fork. The lasagna was stale and had an odd odour. The spaghetti dish was literally untouched. Our concerns were brought forward to the waitresses whom acknowledged the situation but made no attempts to rectify the concerns. Left with a hefty bill of $140 with tip...and upset stomachs. Please do not advertise "authentic Italian food " .

chris tanych

I'm not one to write reviews but I think it's critical for the restaurant to start hearing feedback and what can be improved on. I ordered the club and wings with honey garlic and the wings were dry/wet with no crunch or flavour other than the sauce that it came tossed in. The fries had no seasoning at all, and the bread on my club sandwich was burnt. The chicken was ok but no seasoning. All in all, I hope they start doing quality checks soon for people that are doing takeout this time of year. Ryan gave really good service for me so I hope he doesn't take it to harsh.

Rock Mongeon

Nice tavern. Could have more draft beers. Meatballs sandwich was a bit underwhelming, but still very good.

Mikey Blanchard

One of the best places in Ottawa. 4 generations of my family have enjoyed the P. You MUST try a Cadillac! Enjoy the pizza! Love the heritage that is The Presscott! Thank you for always being the best and consistent. From meeting with my wife, to our stage and doe, to pandemic take out, to post pandemic get together with friends, it's always the same....Perfect.

Tom Barrans

We ordered pasta on Uber Eats - and it wasn’t good at all. I was thinking of a way to describe it and saw another review compare it to Chef Boyardee, and unfortunately that’s a pretty bang on comparison . We went in person today to give it a second chance and opted for pizza. Disgusting. Half of it was thick crust and the other half paper thin. On top of that the outer crust (it was a square pizza) was scorched and hard enough to chip a tooth. I’m not one to write reviews, but $38 dollars for a large, inedible pepperoni pizza is robbery. On a positive, super friendly service, great location and cool building. I really wanted to like it, but to say I’m disappointed is an understatement. Would not recommend.

b bruce

Lunch

Jessie Allen

There were several groups in the various venues in the Prescott Hotel. How to satisfy all those various groups and diverse drinkers and diners ? The way the Prescott does it. The menu choices were extensive, the beer and wine varieties were certainly sufficient and I heard no complaints from anyone. The soup and salad were excellent, the generous portion of excellent fish and chips and the various pizzas were thoroughly enjoyed by myself and everyone within my cohort.

Nicole

I went to watch the Raptors Playoff here. Great place to watch the game with TVs. It was packed, so service was a bit slow but the staff was friendly. The meatball sandwich was delicious but I wasn't a fan of the nachos. Would def go again and give it another try!

Andrea Van Dube

Friendly and quick service. Very attentive staff that make you feel at home with small town charm. I enjoy the Clubhouse with real turkey slices and the fresh brewed coffee. Usually no room left for desserts.

adrianodav

The food is great. Especially meatball sandwich

Julien Hamel

Nothing new: just the meanest meatball sandwich out there. Large dining room with top notch service.