Smoke’s Poutinerie

I had never been to smokes poutine so I figured it was finally time.
It’s terrible? I ordered a regular and the gravy tasted absolutely disgusting and ridiculously salty! There was also very little cheese. I got about 5 bites in and actually had to stop eating and throw it away, which is sad considering the poutine AT smokes is quite expensive.
Would never return.

Absolutly the best Smokes ever! Friendly management and great staff. Everything is as fresh as can be and they have some good musig going as well. Convinently located downtown and easy to get too. Place is always busy with people so make sure you have a few minutes to wait as they are busy so. Thabks again!

I didn’t think it was possible to to screw up poutine, but this place was disgusting. I don’t even normally review places, and I’m surprised it has had fairly positive reviews. Old fries, and it tasted disgusting. Cherry on top? A nice, big hair in it.

Smokes poutinerie is awesome. Hands down the best poutine I have ever had. The bacon cheeseburger poutine was absolutely mind blowing. I want to come back and try the veggie poutine. I saw another reviewer post a picture of the turkey dinner poutine… sounds heavenly! Is that a seasonal item? I did not see it on the menu when I visited in march.
We went around 4pm and did not have to wait long for our poutine. However, I have been told by my boyfriend that this place gets extremely crowded and has a line down the street during peak dinner hours, and late at night it becomes full of crazy drunk people. I am sure they make a lot of money!

Good location, expensive though and not much seating. Was decent, would go back.

Wasn’t too hungry so I got the snack size traditional poutine. Very delicious! Nice golden fries, yummy cheese curds and gravy sauce that wasn’t too thick! I didn’t feel greasy and gross after. They have a very wide variety of poutines and sizes.
Atmosphere is nice :) loud old rock music playing. Tables were kept clean and had service with a smile

I ordered bacon cheeseburger, yes it did taste like it. However, it Is to large, better to share with another one. The guy in the restaurant is very funny and happy. Definitely will visit again when I in Ottawa.

I have always wanted to try Poutine and when on business in Ottawa, a few IBMers and myself walked on over past the picturesque Parliament Hill and down into the proletariat bowls of town. This place and it’s tartan plaid sign stood out. We walked into a small room and a wonderful cashier took us through the many combinations of poutine with different meats on top. I tried one, a large one and it almost took a crane to carry it to my table. I could not believe the size of this poutine. I slowly ate it and became full after three bites. While I am sure this place is the real deal, I will not have poutine again.

I don’t like Poutine. Harsh? Nah– it just never settled in my stomach! BUT!!! I love this place and it’s the best Poutine that I’m able to stomach! The mushroom sauce is a great veggie alternative and does really well! And I love the rainbow and Mexican and everything they offer easily located downtown and just on the left of Dalhousie!
Best friend showed me the place and we secretly indulge in this place every now and again: D

Turkey Dinner Poutine = roasted turkey + stuffing + baby green peas + cranberry sauce + of course gravy + fries + cheese curds = yum!

There’s no shortage of options when it comes to poutine here. A solid fast food joint to satisfy your poutine cravings. So far I’ve tried their cheeseburger, Montréal, and standard poutines. I recommend all of them.

I really had high hopes for Smoke’s. So many different kinds of poutine. Heaven!
I opted for a bacon poutine. Bacon. Real cheese curds. Gravy. What could go wrong?
The gravy. Where was it? Not on my poutine. A light coating is not enough for a proper poutine. You should be able to taste the gravy, it is what brings a poutine to life!
All I left with was change in my pocket and shattered dreams of an amazing poutine. Sad times.

I had the classic poutine here during a trip to Ottawa. It was a fleeting visit, although we didn’t leave wowed… if I was doing it again, I would ask for extra gravy as the first time my portion felt a bit dry and stingy.

This is the place to go after a crazy, drunk night out. It really satisfies your drunk (and sober self). The cheeseburger poutine is my favourite. Love the portion sizes too, and the unique take on Canada’s favourite dish.
If you’re willing to gain a couple of lbs, definately check this place out!

Meh.
I just went once in the night and the poutine was OK and fancier than in some other places, BUT it was more expensive as well, extremely crowded, dirty (maybe this is not the usual but it was a busy night…) and without any chairs. So, definitely not for me.

WOW! The combo looks and sounds like a mess but it taste heavenly.
I’m not a vegetarian but their Veggie Deluxe Poutine was delicious! So yummy that I crave for it the next day. But please don’t eat this everyday, you will put on pounds! :-)

I’m a big fan of poutine so I had to try out this place despite some of the more negative sounding reviews others have put up here. There are quite a few different flavour options with names/​ingredients like smoked meat, pulled pork, and nacho grande. The interior is clean with several tables and the girl serving me at the cash was very friendly. I tend to think what really makes a poutine good is the gravy so my first thought was that i should just order a regular poutine so i could savour it. But my favourite food is nachos so i just couldn’t turn down the Nacho Grande ($ 7.99). I also will admit that I like Taco Bell Fries Supreme and this sounded kinda close. Guess I’ll have to come back for the regular poutine. As my order was being prepared the girl at the cash told me that she usually gets the veggie nacho. That made me confident that i had picked something good! When I eagerly opened the box the mixture of chili /​guacamole and cheese with jalepeno rings layering the top part of the box was a different looking scene to what i was used to in poutines. My first bites i was still expecting it to taste like a regular poutine. That was a little confusing to me but still interesting. I commanded my brain to stop expecting this to be a regular poutine and enjoy the new taste experience. After that it was really good. I especially enjoyed the guacamole. After the top layer of nacho flavours it becomes closer to a regular poutine. I will update later after I try out the regular poutine. All in all Smokes delivered a satisfying and different poutine experience.

Again, in general not a fan of poutine, but my friends and brother loved it. Sorry poutine peeps.

I don’t GET it! I just don’t! I wanted to have something different than McDonalds this evening at 2AM, so I figured, hey why not try Smokes YET again?! Maybe I’ll like it after the 5^th time. Seeing as there are about 100 people here every weekend DYING to get their hands on poutine I figured there must be something good about it.
I ordered the veggie poutine. It was okay. That is all. It wasn’t mind blowing, it wasn’t amazing. It tasted like any other poutine I’d get anywhere else. They were SO STINGY on the cheese curds! Give me a BREAK! The poutine here is $ 6.77 for a regular and that is the cheapest on the menu. Give me lots of cheese for that price!
I will give them credit for the tasty, crispy fries and the extremely fresh cheese curds.
Also the fact that the cashier didn’t punch me in the face. I know I would probably kill someone if I had THAT many drunks barking commands at me at 2AM.

I often feel like this place gets a bad deal on the negative reviews. As someone who used to keep an area poutine blog, I know I should have a better reason for giving it four stars, but — I just inexplicably like everything about this place and the people who run it. The poutine is very good, though it does fall short somewhat of being great.
The restaurant itself is tiny (don’t bring your family of eight — five of you will be hanging out in the kitchen), but the few times I’ve been I’ve managed to find a perch. The staff is fun, lively, and happy to tell stories of Smoke himself. Mostly, I think I just love that downtown Ottawa finally got a a poutinerie — a place unashamedly dedicated to the making and selling of our national pride and joy. I hope they keep doing what they’re doing for decades to come.