Warm, lively, and Irish (D'arcy McGees - Spark street, Ottawa)

Ryan and I went to D'arcy McGees after moving into downtown .. and I am thinking it was because we had a groupon (this is usually what instigates a meal out, not going to lie). In any case, Ryan quickly fell in love with the chicken tikka masala, substituting the rice for home-made delicious fries. The dish comes with a real papadum to separate the pees from the starch, and the curry sauce is very authentic.

We also tried the braised beef poutine (pictured above), which was delicious. It's all about the real fries, with skin, not pre-frozen. It makes such a difference in flavour and texture. Nothing satisfies a craving for baaadddd food like home-made fries. Mmmm.

I also quite enjoy the prime rib and the veggie burger. The latter is really well-textured and "meaty" for a veggie burger, with sauteed mushrooms and fried masala onions on top. The boxties are also aaamazing! I get the tikka masala variety. And  the side salad, for a pub, is pretty phenomenal. The house dressing is actually house made. As in, you can tell they blenderize a bunch of ingredients and it's not store bought. There are also fresh cherry tomatoes, cucumbers and sprouts. SPROUTS! With mixed greens, NOT iceberg lettuce. It's a real salad! This makes me very happy! Often salad can be a travesty at pubs (especially when they give you iceberg lettuce and shredded stale carrots that are becoming white and waxy). I.E. AT THE ROYAL OAK.

Summary: D'arcy's is a really good pub with really good food. It's almost not pub food anymore... but, as outlined above ... in all the right ways. They also occasionally have higher test beer on tap (e.g .7-9%) from Quebec, which goes well with any of the above for a late lunch.