When it comes to local watering holes, we’re not exactly spoiled for choice in Ottawa’s west-end Carlington neighbourhood.

To be frank, we’ll often forget we have any options at all, until our neighbour Troy reminded us of Bowman's Bar and Grill, located across the street from the Royal Ottawa Mental Health Centre on Carling Avenue, between Merivale Road and Fisher Avenue.

Bowman’s opened its doors in December 2013 and is open every day from 11:30 a.m. except Monday.

Like a true hidden gem, the cozy interiors will surprise you if you’ve only taken a quick glance at the restaurant while driving past. Inside, you’ll find a fully stocked bar and a sizeable seating area with traditional tavern-style wooden tables and booths.

We were very happy to join Troy on a recent outing to Bowman’s to sample their mom-and-pop style comfort food.

At the suggestion of the server, we ordered the porkbelly clubhouse sandwich with a side of—wait for it—tater tot poutine. The latter proved to be so popular we ended up ordering another round of tater tots to share with Troy’s friends.

Pork belly was a welcome change from the usual club sandwich served with regular bacon. The thicker cut of pork, which we’re used to seeing in east and southeast Asian cuisine, was served crispy and tender. The bread, ordered from a local Portuguese bakery, was perfectly buttered, toasted and served warm. Thankfully, their aioli sauce did not skimp on the garlic and was creamy, tangy refreshing.

The sandwich was an immediate hit.

The tater-tot poutine was gone before anyone else had a chance to take a bite. These tots taste nothing like the store-bought variety sitting in your freezer. They were crispy, salty and lathered with gravy and a generous portion of cheese curds.

At $21.99, the porkbelly clubhouse sandwich was a tad more expensive than we’re used to paying for a main-course dish at strip mall gems, but their quality—coupled with the fresh ingredients—made the dish worth it.

We washed down our sandwich with a deliciously cold Dominion City Sunsplit IPA.

“We believe that when it comes to restaurant food, it doesn’t have to be fancy and expensive in order to be incredible and delicious,” reads Bowman’s website, adding their slogan is Familiar Food Done Well.

We couldn’t agree more.