The Exchange Pub & Restaurant

Can’t believe this has closed (if Unilocal is true) it was awesome went here in march esp the leffe brun and lamb burger!!!

Well, I once waited 25 minutes in the empty downstairs for a beer. After they made my group wait upstairs for ten minutes to «find seating» for four.
The two people across from us had also waited 30 minutes before we showed up, had yet to be served and walked at their 45 minute mark.
Naturally we didn’t tip the slacker «server», and she gave us a dirty look. It so is not our fault she can’t find a beer tap in a proper time or even tell us why it too so damn long (mechanical fault would have been a good excuse).
Another time, they bunched up a group of eight of us in their little patio space. I ordered fries and a beer. Burnt fries, warm beer, 40 dollars later.
Only thing I’m glad about is that they seem to have been shut down.

The Exchange is a go-​to spot for me and my friends after a tiring session of shopping at Rideau :) it’s comfy, cozy, and a relaxing spot to grab a glass of wine and a salad (their cranberry chicken salad is my personal fav.) The only this is to make sure you get seated upstairs — the basement, although clean with good décor, doesn’t have any natural light so I don’t like it quite as much. Cheers!

I went here for lunch on a Saturday with a friend, who recommended it. We arrived shortly after opening, so it wasn’t busy. We were seating at the lower level, way at the back. Quite a walk. ;) We didn’t mind because it gave us a quiet place to talk.
Our server was extremely polite and friendly. We ordered a couple of beers and they arrived promptly, and we then placed our food order. Our food arrived quickly as well, likely because it wasn’t busy.
I had the Haddock and Chips, which was delicious, but the portion was a little on the small side compared to other places I’ve ordered the same meal. The price for my meal food was around $ 14, which I thought was a a bit pricey for the serving size. The quietness and atmosphere made it for it. :)

I was here for Canada Day this year, man was the city a total zoo! Amazingly I got a table for 2 here with no wait on Monday evening! I don’t know what it was, but thankful.
I was a little annoyed when I asked directions for the rest rooms to the hostess and she snarked ‘do you have a table with us?’ since the washrooms were not for public use, maybe just because of that day. but anyways…
Once thing that was odd to be was the menu was very small and sparse. We would have gone elsewhere but it was pandemonium out there so didn’t have much choice.
I ordered the buffalo strips, which were not too bad except that they were a bit crunchy. Maybe overcooked but the inside wasn’t bad. Overall its usually a safe choice and they were edible. I did finish :) Then had the spicy chicken penne pasta which was actually not bad — I asked to add some vegetables like mushrooms and they did (for extra $$) but I think it was worth it. It was fine.
The location is tops, being at the busy corner end of the Rideau Mall. Service was acceptable, and food was ok. so 3 stars. not my first pick, but neither my last.

Went for drinks with a large group. Service was great. Had quite a few beers on tap. Where we were sitting there weren’t any TVs that I could see, which was kind of refreshing for a pub. Too often you’re bombarded with TSN, but that wasn’t the case. Might make it not the best place to watch a game though.

The $ 10 coffee.
Careful if you feel like having a double espresso while your friends have dinner.
Staff won’t let you know how it works, but I will: $ 3.50 + $ 3.50 + HST + Tip.
Enjoy.

The Exchange is an upscale pub located in the Rideau Centre right at the corner of Rideau and Wellington.
We went quite early for lunch (around 11:15) and were immediately seated. I ordered the Curry Chicken and my companion ordered the Thai Chicken Salad. My Curry Chicken was just okay; it was quite bland and little bit slimy. My co-diner’s salad was very small and he was a bit upset to have such a small salad for such a big price.
On the plus side, the service was very attentive and the location was fun. But with all the wonderful choices in the nearby market area, I won’t be going back.

Came here this evening for a friend’s birthday dinner. I have heard mixed things about this place so I was kind of excited to try it myself. I’d say this place is kind of like an up scale pub. A lot of the food is stuff you’d find at a pub but jazzed up a little. I’d say this would be a pretty good place to take a picky eater because they have a bit of everything.
The server came around and took our drink orders first. Before I arrived, apparently the server informed my group that the dessert drinks aren’t good and they’re thinking of taking them off the menu. That’s nice. Off to a good start. The consensus was that the drinks aren’t great. We had a bartender in the group that ordered a caesar and said it wasn’t up to par, apparently it was watery somehow.
For an appetizer I ordered the mac and cheese and the pasta with tomato basil sauce as a main. The mac and cheese was actually very good and had a yummy crispy crust of bread crumbs on top which was a nice touch.
Wish my main course was as good as my appetizer. There is no way that the pasta I ordered was any better than something I could make at home. It was okay, but the sauce was definitely out of a jar and there was way too much of it. There was a ton of sauce at the bottom when I was finished. They also garnished it with cilantro which didn’t go well with the sauce at all and tasted strange
Me and a friend split a piece of Bailey’s cheesecake which was quite good. In total my bill was $ 27, which was pretty reasonable considering I got a lot of food. Not sure I’d be back, but if I did return I definitely wouldn’t get the pasta.

The Lamb burger is Perfect! The only place that the you can taste the lamb, bread, and sauces all together at the same!

The Exchange and I go way back. A repeat customer, I went to the Exchange on a weekly basis to meet up for lunch, dinner or drinks with friends and colleagues.
When I found out they rented their basement for events, I immediately wanted to book them for a high profile social media networking event that takes place once a month, eight months of the year. In business terms, that means 50 to 150 new guaranteed customers on a monthly basis eating, drinking and having a great time.
Paying a rental fee for a room anywhere is usually expected, unless you find a business that is content with the amount of food and beverage sales. Normally I pre-​order food (appetizers and light snacks) that way I don’t have to pay a room fee. Businesses like guaranteed funds, and I think that’s reasonable.
What I don’t think is reasonable is charging $ 1,000 for room rental, let alone when the heat breaks down and guests are eating and drinking in their parkas and mitts in the middle of winter in a stone-​walled basement.
I was shocked. Not only did I sympathize for my guests, but I felt bad for the employees who were working in an establishment that didn’t have heat in the middle of the winter!
I spoke with the manager after our event and asked for a well-​deserved discount. Not only did the manager not tell me the heat hadn’t been working prior to the beginning of my event, he still wanted to charge us for the venue and food.
Long story short, I paid for the food (not the room) and I’ve never been back since. Not even for a meet up with my friends and colleagues. I have built long-​standing relationships with other local restaurants who care for my 50 – 150 guests on a monthly basis and who have also thrived from repeat customers.
Goes to show that customer service goes a long way… for a long time.

Food was ok, really nothing special. Took a VERY long time to be served and get our bills — we were there for over an hour.
I might try it again for dinner, but certainly not going back for lunch.

Have been there twice and the first time wasn’t bad. The décor is nice and has a good feel to it. And the food was great.
The second time, however, was horrible. We were sat right away but we didn’t get our drinks ordered for ten minutes and they weren’t brought to us for another 5 minutes. It wouldn’t have been bad if it was busy but it was not. The food showed up after 35 minutes and was not cold but not really warm. Meanwhile people that had sat after had already been given their food. Our server ignored us until she brought us the bill and almost didn’t bring us back our change. Will not go back

The Exchange looks pretty nice compared to the old pub that was here before. After some shopping my friend and I decided to go in to get some food.
When we walked into The Exchange the place was about half to ¾ full. A hostess came out and asked how many we had which we told her two. She told us it’d be a minute as they needed a table to clear up. Ummm sure no problem. Like I said the place was at best ¾ full. A family came in after which the same server acknowledge and then took them to a table immediately. My friend gave me that look like «What was THAT?» and I just said if we aren’t seated in 2 minutes we’ll go to Milestones. Another hostess came by and asked if we had a seat which we said no and then she sat us immediately.
We were seated by the window and it was pretty cold. My friend had to keep her jacket on.
The waitress came by and took our drink orders while we looked at the menu.
I tried the chicken pot pie and my friend got some salmon. I found the chicken pot pie really bland and the dough for the pie to be pretty bad. I would not order that again and I hope it’s not one of the better items on the menu. The salmon was pretty overcooked and wasn’t the greatest either.
The drinks were ok and our waitress was nice enough but I don’t think I’ll be going back for a little while.

I had high expectations of this place going in. well my expectations let me down.
First it was very cold and drafty, one of our guests complained of the chills and she had to wear her jacket indoors.
Second, the gastro ‘grub’ as they call it was ok at best. They did a nice job with standard pub food which we ordered: fish & chips, burger (not cooked enough in my opinion) and the poutine we shared. My guests’ other dishes didn’t fare well at all, one ordered the chicken curry (can you spell microwaved chicken with curry sauce drizzled on top?) and the other a chicken pot pie which was chock full of dark meat and fatty sections.
Third, the service was good but not exceptional.
It seems this is a place to catch a drink and maybe watch a game while eating nachos. I do not recommend this place for a date or dinner.

I wasn’t expecting much when I walked into The Exchange for the first time. It’s a shopping mall bar/​restaurant afterall.
I was impressed with the design and look of the place. The downstairs is huge too so this place would be great to get colleagues or friends together after work or on the weekend.
The staff were a bit on the pushy side. My friend and I sat down and the waiter checked in on us excessively and kept pushing drinks on us. We then watched and were quite amused by just how many staff were working. It was a bit overkill.
The second time we went we grabbed a bite to eat and were impressed with their food. Better than just pub grub and reasonably priced considering this place could be an easy tourist trap.
That time we experienced fewer pushy staff members and yummy onion rings.

The Exchange is the newest restaurant addition to the Rideau Centre! Kicking out Elephant & Castle, The Exchange is two floors deep and looks worlds apart from its former space. There’s a pretty eclectic mix of décor, from plush seating to the huge wooden beams that looks as though parts are still under construction. I’m kind of confused as to why they call it a pub?
Me and my friends chose to sit downstairs because on this (Mon)day, there was a piano player and singer! The waiter was a bit pushy for us to buy drinks even after we explained that water was fine. I’m sure the raspberry martini IS delicious, but how about on a night when I’m not driving?
I ordered up the chicken curry which was good but missing something, a bit too bland. I did appreciate the little pieces of cilantro. I loved the papadums and mango chutney for a new texture and taste. Alas, the rice must have gone through some troubles in the pot because chunks were hard and stuck together. All and all the presentation was quite nice being that it was served in two pretty bowls on a small and slick, metal tray.
Also on a metal tray? Onion rings! Not too breaded, good-​sized portion and just oily enough! They made us all happy campers, especially with the mustard sauce for dipping– a really good combo.
A prime location with a unique look, maybe next time I’ll take the bus and take up that martini offer.