Places to go: House of Targ

The Venue:

House of Targ is an Arcade / Bar. Before nine, the arcade is open to all ages and family friendly. After 9pm, the venue becomes 19+, but the arcade stays open all night long. The bar features vintage games and pinball machines. The arcade has over 50 playable games; a full wall of the bar is lined with pinball machines of every kind. Throughout the rest of the bar, old-school machines such as Mortal Combat, Turbo, Tron, Tetras and more can be found and played.  The staff is friendly and  the people/customers are always lively. Live bands play most evening after nine.

(More after the break)

The Location:

1077 Bank St. Ottawa, Ontario K1S 3W9
right across from the Mayfair Theatre


Located on bank street across from Mayfair Theatre, the location is fairly quite, but lends itself well to a alternative scene (the Mayfair is known to attract a colorful crowd especially on Rocky Horror nights). It is also somewhat difficult to get to by public transit especially in the late evening, but it's not a far walk from Billing's Bridge, and not a far ride from the downtown core.

The Food (and Drink):

Perogies of many flavors are offered, including traditional cheese, sauerkraut and even delicious dessert perogies. Also included is a vegan version, and ingrediants are locally sourced. Unfortunately, there is not a gluten-free option (so I haven't sampled them, but I've heard they are amazing so go eat some). They make a pretty decent rum and coke. The bar offers a pretty standard selection of drinks and beer.

The Music:

House of Targ features a great variety of music, catering to a primarily alternative audice. They host local and international rock, metal, punk bands & dj's. The featured musicians are fantastic, loud and talented. Just this past weekend I went to Criticull's CD release party (a great punk-ska band);  the Elementals and Muffler Crunch were also featured. The show was high energy and loads of fun, mosh pits and plenty of dancing was enjoyed.

The Time:

Thurs - Sun: 5pm - 2am (or whenever there's a show)
Dinner Service: 5pm - 9pm
Shows: Doors 9pm / shows start 10pm
Arcade: Open all nite dude!