First time here? Take the 30-second tour of how Restaurantica works!
Ten music nights a week, no cover, no reservations, no tickets — that is the standing house arrangement at The Laff, and it sets the terms of every visit before the kitchen does. The tavern sits on York Street in the ByWard Market, where the building has held a public room since 1849, and the modern version still gets used the way a downtown tavern is meant to be used: open daily from eleven in the morning until two a.m., a kitchen that holds late, daytime bottle specials, a four-to-seven happy hour, and a music calendar that asks nothing of you to take part in.
The menu is short, tavern-specific, and built for the night you actually plan to have. Poutine comes in small or large with bacon, smoked meat, or crispy buffalo chicken ranch as add-ons, which is the order that tells you how the kitchen handles the basics. Chicken or Cauliflower Wings let the table pick two sauces from Frank's Hot, Butter, Honey Garlic, Honey Hot, BBQ, or Scotch Bonnet Extra Hot, tossed or on the side. A Cheeseburger Deluxe sits on local beef and a local bun with a vegan-burger option for the table that needs one; Montreal Smoked Meat comes on local rye with a gluten-free or vegan bun on request; Skwik Skwik is fried cheese curds; Poches de Tourtiere arrive three to a plate; and the Snack Tray gathers seasoned fries, tourtiere pockets, chips and queso, fried cauliflower, and fried pickles into one shareable spread. Menu prices include tax, which sets the tone for the bill before it lands.
The deal calendar tells you almost as much about the place as the menu does. Laffternoon Delight runs from four to seven on supported days — a dollar off select draught and wine, snacks discounted, two hot dips for twenty-two — and Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday each carry a late drink window from seven to close, with two dollars off select pitchers of the house 1849 ale, Labatt 50, or Beau's draught on Monday, dollar-off pints and Peller Estates wine on Tuesday, and dollar-off bar rail and Jameson on Sunday. The kitchen runs to ten Sunday through Wednesday and to eleven Thursday through Saturday, late enough that a music-first visit can still order food. Open mic, midweek bands, DJ sets, Sunday shows, and a long-running Saturday residency by Lucky Ron — whose first Laff performance the house history dates to November 3, 1999 — fill out the rest of the week. The music program is not a marketing layer; it is the tempo.
The Laff is family-run, and has been for generations. Local reporting and the family's own account place the Scott family's purchase of the business in 1966, with Deek Labelle and Francois Labelle now running operations as Owner and General Manager, Jill Scott as president and the family matriarch, and Todd Scott on the building and maintenance side. The continuity reads through the small things — a house ale named for the founding year, the dive-bar interior kept honest rather than restored, the standing weekly shows that outlast the bookers — and gives the tavern a confidence that does not come from being new. Sixty years in, the keys are still in the same family.
ByWard Market has churned through a lot of restaurants over the last decade, and the rooms that hold on share a few traits — affordable food, a reliable reason to come back, a willingness to be used rather than admired. The Laff has the set, and the 1849 origin reads less as a marketing line than as an explanation of why a daily tavern is what this building knows how to be. A pint of the house ale at the bar still costs what a pint at the bar should cost.
The Laff’s story reaches back to 1849, but the room still works like a daily tavern rather than a preserved attraction. That combination gives it a stronger identity than a normal ByWard Market pub.
The music program is not a one-off event hook; it is part of the weekly operating rhythm. Open mic, John Carroll, Lucky Ron, local bands, and DJ nights give different kinds of visitors a reason to use the room repeatedly.
The menu is practical: poutine, wings, handhelds, fried sides, and share trays, with tax-included pricing and recurring day-page specials. It makes The Laff useful for both a quick bite and a longer night out.
This is Restaurantica’s own read — synthesized from publicly available sources across diner signal and editorial research, last updated June 2026. It’s our interpretation of the evidence, not a crowd average — and placement is never for sale.
The Laff earns this through a weekly rhythm of no-cover shows rather than occasional entertainment. Open mic nights, John Carroll, Lucky Ron, local bands, and DJ sets make the music part of how the tavern is used.
The Laff is not just located in the ByWard Market; it is part of how the neighbourhood tells time. The 1849 origin story, family continuity, and everyday tavern use make it a true Ottawa anchor.
The tavern stays useful late: the room is open until 2 a.m., and the kitchen runs into the evening every day. That gives it more range than a daytime-only tourist stop or a music room with no food plan.
The value case is practical rather than flashy: tax-included menu pricing, snackable sides, happy-hour windows, and late drink specials. It is a downtown tavern that still feels usable for an ordinary week.
The menu is built around tavern comfort without becoming anonymous: Poutine, Chicken or Cauliflower Wings, Cheeseburger Deluxe, Fried Chicken Sandwich, Montreal Smoked Meat, and Skwik Skwik all have a job to do.
The Laff suits casual groups because Snack Tray, Chicken or Cauliflower Wings, Poutine, Fried Pickles, and other sides can carry a shared visit while the music keeps the night loose. People can drop in without turning the plan into a formal dinner.
Restaurantica’s write-up above is synthesized from broad public signal — community reviews add the first-person layer. Share the nuances of your visit to The Laff in Ottawa: the standout dishes, the room, the service.
Write a review
