The worst bar I’ve ever been to. The owner (I assume he was the owner — during my experience, he was the one running the place) was absolutely horrendous. He was rude to customers and treated them like they were second-class. My friends and I had been inside earlier and stepped out for a moment to get some fresh air. Before we left, we got stamps that allow re-entry (we had already paid the entrance fee). But when we tried to come back in, he refused to let us. All his coworkers were trying to get us back in — they saw our stamps and knew we had paid — but this guy just kept saying no. And it wasn’t just us; he was turning away a bunch of other people too. We kept showing our stamps, over and over, and he kept denying everyone. Mind you, when we were inside, it was completely dead. Nobody — and I mean nobody — was in there, but there was a massive line outside. Honestly, I think HR needs to be called on this place. If he’s treating customers like this, I can’t imagine how he treats his staff. Fire this dude.
Atmosphere: 1
Service: 1
Sibylle Tsayem
We went as a group of 3 girls on a Friday night for the feel of an afrobeat night club and were surprised that there was an entrance fee of $20 per person. they claimed their sister has something to present. Secondly we needed to hang our jackets and they told us we should put in our car..But we used Uber so how do we go about. All the attendant said was sorry there's nothing they can do. We managed to perch our jackets in an angle in the club and went to buy some drinks. They told us drinks cost $10 per glass initially. However we ordered the 1st round of 3 cocktail plus $5tips without paying attention to the total cost $48.89; and ordered a second round and get charged $43.89. The server now says it's $11 each plus tax then we realized they did the same trick with the first round. It seems they added tips to the amount they put on the machine to pay without our consent. No time to contest because clients are waiting to be served at the club. Most annoying the cocktails were so flat just like soda. We ordered some vodka shots, amazed still flat like diluted.
The DJ was damn boring, for an afro night club one would barely get an afrobeat. The special event we were charged $20 entrance fee for, we saw nothing. That was our first experience of a night club in Ottawa, and unfortunately so disappointing.
Atmosphere: 1
Service: 1
Samantha Timpano
We had an excellent dinner as a group of 4, plus a baby. Food was tasty with generous portions. Kenny took great care of us and the cocktails were fantastic. We would recommend the calamari!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
marshall plaisir
Absolutely love Tropikàl Ottawa! The food is honestly some of the best I’ve had in the city — packed with flavour, authenticity and always fresh. The servers are wonderful too: super friendly, attentive, and they make you feel right at home every time.
That said… this place desperately needs a renovation. The bathrooms are in a dire state, the floors have definitely seen better days, and from the outside it actually looks closed or condemned — which is such a shame because what’s inside is amazing!
This restaurant deserves to shine as brightly on the outside as it does on the plate. I really hope the owners take this as a sign to invest in the space. Tropikàl has incredible potential — it just needs an upgrade to match the quality of the food and service.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Amie N Lee
Kenny was Amazing. He makes a mean espresso martini. Super cool Dude
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Meaghan Saunders
Great espresso martini - Kenny is the best great atmosphere here !
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Brigitte Coderre
Kenny was awesome! Great food, great service!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Sarah Clarisse Ininahazwe
Cash was really nice!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Vicky Wiens
Excellent food and drink! Had a wonderful experience.
Amazing drinks!!! Make sure to check it out. Say hi to Kenny C. the mixologist. Cash is very cool. Great place
Atmosphere: 5
Service: 5
O. K.
I attended the Haitian Flag Day nighttime event with a friend at Tropikàl, excited to celebrate her culture. Unfortunately, what we experienced was unsafe, unprofessional, and traumatic for attendees.
From the start, the event was completely disorganized. The advertised entry requirements didn’t match what was enforced, the line was chaotic, and the venue was overcrowded with no working air conditioning. But those were the least of the problems.
A bouncer at the event was physically aggressive and hostile. He barked at people, shoved attendees hard, and when we reached the top of the steps, he pushed my friend directly in the chest with such force it hurt her. No apology, just slammed the door in our faces and kept people waiting like it was a joke.
Later, as we were leaving, this same bouncer shoved a man so aggressively that he fell backwards on the stairs and landed on us. It could’ve seriously hurt someone. Not to mention the unsafe front stairs.
Even worse, we witnessed a young woman being choked and groped by a male “friend” on the dance floor under the guise of dancing. She looked stunned and scared. This happened in front of the DJ and security, and no one intervened. My friend and I were the only ones who stepped in to check on her.
This space is not safe, especially for women. The venue tolerated physical aggression from staff, failed to protect attendees, and created an environment where assault went ignored. I would not recommend this place to anyone.
Atmosphere: 1
Service: 1
Lisa-Anne Gallant
The food is fantastic and the staff is really welcoming and attentive.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Kelsey Pletzer
Fantastic experience at Tropikal! The food was amazing, beautiful complex Caribbean flavours (thanks Chef Jimmy!). They are also super allergen conscious.
In terms of cocktails, wow! Such fun options with a lot of complex notes and techniques, and it really shows in the quality in the drinks! Big thanks to their mixoligist Kenny for also making us some unique creations and sharing the process with us, truly blown away.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
John Buchan
Great service from Kenny and Cash at the bar!!!!!!!!
The worst bar I’ve ever been to.
The owner (I assume he was the owner — during my experience, he was the one running the place) was absolutely horrendous. He was rude to customers and treated them like they were second-class.
My friends and I had been inside earlier and stepped out for a moment to get some fresh air. Before we left, we got stamps that allow re-entry (we had already paid the entrance fee). But when we tried to come back in, he refused to let us.
All his coworkers were trying to get us back in — they saw our stamps and knew we had paid — but this guy just kept saying no. And it wasn’t just us; he was turning away a bunch of other people too. We kept showing our stamps, over and over, and he kept denying everyone.
Mind you, when we were inside, it was completely dead. Nobody — and I mean nobody — was in there, but there was a massive line outside.
Honestly, I think HR needs to be called on this place. If he’s treating customers like this, I can’t imagine how he treats his staff.
Fire this dude.
Atmosphere: 1
Service: 1
We went as a group of 3 girls on a Friday night for the feel of an afrobeat night club and were surprised that there was an entrance fee of $20 per person. they claimed their sister has something to present.
Secondly we needed to hang our jackets and they told us we should put in our car..But we used Uber so how do we go about. All the attendant said was sorry there's nothing they can do.
We managed to perch our jackets in an angle in the club and went to buy some drinks. They told us drinks cost $10 per glass initially. However we ordered the 1st round of 3 cocktail plus $5tips without paying attention to the total cost $48.89; and ordered a second round and get charged $43.89. The server now says it's $11 each plus tax then we realized they did the same trick with the first round. It seems they added tips to the amount they put on the machine to pay without our consent. No time to contest because clients are waiting to be served at the club. Most annoying the cocktails were so flat just like soda. We ordered some vodka shots, amazed still flat like diluted.
The DJ was damn boring, for an afro night club one would barely get an afrobeat. The special event we were charged $20 entrance fee for, we saw nothing. That was our first experience of a night club in Ottawa, and unfortunately so disappointing.
Atmosphere: 1
Service: 1
We had an excellent dinner as a group of 4, plus a baby. Food was tasty with generous portions. Kenny took great care of us and the cocktails were fantastic. We would recommend the calamari!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Absolutely love Tropikàl Ottawa! The food is honestly some of the best I’ve had in the city — packed with flavour, authenticity and always fresh. The servers are wonderful too: super friendly, attentive, and they make you feel right at home every time.
That said… this place desperately needs a renovation. The bathrooms are in a dire state, the floors have definitely seen better days, and from the outside it actually looks closed or condemned — which is such a shame because what’s inside is amazing!
This restaurant deserves to shine as brightly on the outside as it does on the plate. I really hope the owners take this as a sign to invest in the space. Tropikàl has incredible potential — it just needs an upgrade to match the quality of the food and service.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Kenny was Amazing. He makes a mean espresso martini. Super cool
Dude
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Great espresso martini - Kenny is the best great atmosphere here !
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Kenny was awesome! Great food, great service!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Cash was really nice!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Excellent food and drink! Had a wonderful experience.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Very good
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Restaurantji Recommends
Amazing drinks!!! Make sure to check it out. Say hi to Kenny C. the mixologist. Cash is very cool. Great place
Atmosphere: 5
Service: 5
I attended the Haitian Flag Day nighttime event with a friend at Tropikàl, excited to celebrate her culture. Unfortunately, what we experienced was unsafe, unprofessional, and traumatic for attendees.
From the start, the event was completely disorganized. The advertised entry requirements didn’t match what was enforced, the line was chaotic, and the venue was overcrowded with no working air conditioning. But those were the least of the problems.
A bouncer at the event was physically aggressive and hostile. He barked at people, shoved attendees hard, and when we reached the top of the steps, he pushed my friend directly in the chest with such force it hurt her. No apology, just slammed the door in our faces and kept people waiting like it was a joke.
Later, as we were leaving, this same bouncer shoved a man so aggressively that he fell backwards on the stairs and landed on us. It could’ve seriously hurt someone. Not to mention the unsafe front stairs.
Even worse, we witnessed a young woman being choked and groped by a male “friend” on the dance floor under the guise of dancing. She looked stunned and scared. This happened in front of the DJ and security, and no one intervened. My friend and I were the only ones who stepped in to check on her.
This space is not safe, especially for women. The venue tolerated physical aggression from staff, failed to protect attendees, and created an environment where assault went ignored. I would not recommend this place to anyone.
Atmosphere: 1
Service: 1
The food is fantastic and the staff is really welcoming and attentive.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Fantastic experience at Tropikal! The food was amazing, beautiful complex Caribbean flavours (thanks Chef Jimmy!). They are also super allergen conscious.
In terms of cocktails, wow! Such fun options with a lot of complex notes and techniques, and it really shows in the quality in the drinks! Big thanks to their mixoligist Kenny for also making us some unique creations and sharing the process with us, truly blown away.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Great service from Kenny and Cash at the bar!!!!!!!!
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