1881 Steakhouse & Burger Bar in Guelph

I like this place. Its reasonably priced grub.

Good food, great staff. Atmosphere was good

Great steaks and exceptional service.

I was in t restaurant only, food is good!

Had the burger special good as always My husband ordered the beer special 5.99 In bottle...was given glass ..his words were check the bill when it comes, I struggle to pay for mayo on my burger when I dont get any lettuce tomatoe, and onion those items cost more than 1.00 for mayo Server ask if we would like the bill..yes please...brings the debit machine no bill..I said thought you were bringing bill oh was response normally we dont print one. .first I ever heard of that...checked bill yup did not get beer special..server said only time you get special if there is no specials on the menu..its hard to explain..mmm okay but you have special ever night Did find portions smaller then in past

Always the best service from Kaitlyn! Kudos also to the chefs and the rest of the team.

Great service and fantastic atmosphere. Check out the large helpings of their Fish & Chips!

Great food great hotel

Mediocre food at best. You can throw a fancy brand on it but the food speaks for itself.. based on the burger I would never order a steak here

Great place down town Guelph! Service and food was good!

Wed I went for lunch with coworkers ... the food was good. But the girl brought me diet pop when I ordered regular as I was allergic to aspartame... no apology or nothing... you have to pay 1.50 for the sweet potatoe dip and you cant get a take home container for your lunch when u get the beef dip special.... I think for lunch over 20 you should be able to take home your leftovers.....

Love the place but the lack of ability for the kitchen to accommodate allergies could be improved.

The bar got robbed while I was there dining with family.....youre in a challenging location downtown; need more vigilant security!

It was ok, great prices, ok burger, staff was very friendly, there was a smashed fly in my beer,they didnt get me a new beer, just poured the old beer into a new glass

I had made reservations for six people for 6 pm a week earlier and then got a confirmation text the day before .Upon arrival I was told that we had to leave by 730 as the place was reserved for a private party. I wish they told me earlier as then I would not have even reserved there.Some of us are from Georgetown area so disappointing to drive there to be told we only have basically an hour to eat drink and catch up with old friends Oh well, we at least were able to book another restaurant but doubtful that we will ever try this place again

Attempted to eat here last weekend. Made a reso at 6pm and specifically told them we had to be at the River Run for a 7:30 show. We were told no problem. 3 of the 5 of us ordered salads (no cooking time needed) and 2 ordered burgers/wraps. Our food came to the table at 7:15 - we had to be at the River Run for 7:25. We had to ask for takeout containers right when the food came and they didnt originally comp anything on the bill. My husband had to say something and they took $25 off the bill. The server was apologetic enough and I dont blame her but the kitchen and manager were terrible. Wont be back.

The best steak I have had in a long time

Steak was good, perfectly cooked.

I went here on Good Friday for half price wine and their steak special. Our server Hunter was very attentive and friendly. The steak exceeded my expectation and a good variety of food and wine.

Honestly been here once by myself burger was great went back with my family got a steak son got ribs and girlfriend got the chicken. Sandwich and it was really good steak was tender juicy ribs my son loved gf loved the sandwich service was very quick probly cause we only ones other then one other in there was really good will definitely be back for the storm games Parking: Sometimes difficult to find parking downtown but there are parkades you can pay for

Excellent service and food. Will be back many times whenever Im back in Guelph.

Burger was great. Best burger bun ever!

We decided to try 1881 instead of our usual go-to places for a date night and Im glad we did. We decided to order a plethora of items from the menu. The antojitos and deep-fried pickles were amazing. We recommend the steak sandwich, the banquet burger and the cornflakes fried chicken sandwich. The only thing I would not order is the chicken caesar wrap. For some odd reason, it had a bone in it. Thanks, Brooke for making our night enjoyable. We will be coming here again.

Best spinach dip I ve ever had, I highly recommend any of their beef options and their appetizers. Service was a little slow, although I went on Valentine s Day so I understand. We sat in a pretty awkward space by the dance floor, but the other seating options looked great. Will be going back

First time eating here. We had a table of 8 and our food and drinks arrived perfect and quickly. Our meals were all very good. Out r server Hunter was very personable and friendly!! Our only issue was the AC was blowing into our table and it was very cold! Being -10 outside this is really made the dinner hard to enjoy. I basically elate with my jacket on.

where do i start , No host/hostess for at least 4 minutes. Finally we sit down and looked and the menu and got drinks , I got a beer and she got a root beer, which were both flat and distasteful. Then we got to ordering food, we ordered a starter with two mains. 20 minutes past then we got our mains and didnt even get the starter we ordered .She got the burger and fries , with no onions and tomatoes. Unfortunately the burger came with both, the burger cold bun and the fries were very greasy. The only thing i liked at this place is the sauces that you can order on the side. When trying to get the check , I had to interrupt one of the cooks to get our server, finally we end up paying the bill and leaving. I would not recommend this location.

Started with a waitress talking about my order to another waitress. Our waitress didn t come back until much later. Food was mediocre at best and did not reflect what was on the menu. The servers were too busy talking to the kitchen staff to notice almost all tvs weren t working. I think it s safe to say I won t be back.

The food was pathetic but the servers were sweet.

Ordered takeout since my boyfriend booked us reservations for Valentine s Day and we wanted to try something ahead of time. He got the French beef dip with fries. I got the perogies. They forgot my sour cream which feels illegal but I ll let it go because the food was beyond good. Even the fries were the best I ve had in a long time. Haven t been in person yet so can t say much about customer service and atmosphere but will update after I go in person. 10/10 recommend the food anyway.

Oh my goodness!! So good! The burgers were hot and juicy! Even the fries were hot! Crispy and salted to perfection! Great service! Will definitely go again!

Great food. Great service

One of my favorite spots in downtown Guelph. My go-to is the beef dip, its always delicious. Their feature cocktails are a nice change.

Waited an hour and a half for our food. Chicken fingers and fries for the kids, club wrap and steak sandwich for the adults. Food tasted great. Terrible service. Our server completely ignored us most of the night, with no apologies for the lateness of the food. Completely unacceptable.

I ordered from here expecting curly fries and things to taste well.. they are waffle fries and was extremely disappointed in the taste...

Was in for lunch yesterday! Came to Guelph from Sarnia on the train and met a few friends, ate here and had the banquet burger. Delicious. Staff are amazing. It s a happenin spot! Will most definitely be church back whenever I m in Guelph again. Thank y all so much! Much love! P.S, How long have you guys been in existence? I d love to know the story behind the place from beginnings. See y all again soon hopefully. Much love

Met family in Guelph for dinner here as we are both from out of town , Im sure if we were locals we would know not to eat here ..6 of us and we all left hungry as none of us ate our dinner ! And even beer on the warmer side Ribs cold, wings so over cooked u cant chew same as the chicken fingers veggie burger burnt , and the fajita bowl was the smallest ever seen with a drop of terraki sauce and they charge $18 for it what a disappointment Our server was extremely slow in getting drinks and we all sat starring at each other when none of us touched our meal as server hadnt checked in we waited 25 min then one of us went an found her outfront standing there , do yourself a favor stay home save your money or go to another restaurant! Although we did tip the server pretty good , we realized later we shouldnt have been so generous as our service was also awful. Lesson Learned Total Disappointment wont return and will not recommend

Overall food was good and tasty. Service friendly and polite. Went there at 7 pm on a Saturday night and after placing the order, got told my dish, one of 4 was already out of stock. A bit disappointing but second choice was also pretty good. Apple mojito was sadly quite bad and do not recommend that.

Place has character, drink prices and specials were very fair. Large place, lots of tables available

Excellent deal on steak night. Kid-friendliness: Grandson loved the games Food : 5/5 |

i ordered from here and got the beef dip, and it showed up with no meat, just the bun and sauce, i called and reordered, and it showed up once again no meat. super disappointed.

Great food and great atmosphere. Service was also top notch. Would come back again.

Great place to eat, We tried the Burger and it was very good

This place is beautiful. The food was very good, service was excellent, and very reasonably priced. Ill be back.

Came for Dinner Tasty food good portions and great service from our waitress Kaitlyn Food

Popped in to play some pinball and eat but the staff were so rude we just walked out. One staff member literally said, I m not ignoring you but I m not working the bar. When we responded with we re just looking to get quarters, she responded with I m not getting you quarters either. And then walked outside. No problem, customers lost.

Very nice atmosphere, good food and service. Would recommend to anyone.

My wife and I have been going to the 1881 Steakhouse for years. It has been our standard dinner spot before going to the show at the River Run Centre for a long time. Love the atmosphere and food. Big fan of the John Wayne burger.

We ve loved this restaurant for years. Don t sleep on ordering a side salad instead of fries. They make very good salads! Their wings are also awesome and not breaded.

While exploring downtown Guelph we came across the restaurant. Drinks were quick to arrive. Food order was taken quickly and it was all very good food. Atmosphere was great lots of airflow sports on tv, had tables outside. We will be back while visiting daughter at U of G

Worst experience! We came here this evening for my son s birthday celebrations. We ordered the food and after 1 hour and 40min finally received the food. One of the orders was completely wrong. Another order which was a 8oz steak wasn t even able to be chewed. The first waiter had an extreme strong body odour. The second waitress we had who also said she was the manager handed me the sweet potato fries we were waiting for to deliver to my own table. The side order of gravy tasted completely sour. Would definitely not recommend this place.

Decent place for standard fare -- good wings, burger, nachos. Not remarkable, but we enjoyed it well enough.

Booked a reservation a month in advance. The manager called 4 days before our reservation that we were being bumped for a larger party Beyond unprofessional Did not eat here, never will Food : 1/5

Staff wasnt the best but, food was great

Honestly some of the best burgers you can get for the price in the area. Loads of places make overly complicated burgers and charge you more than a car for them, and theyre just not that great. Im a huge fan of the bison burgers, and its one of the only places I can think of that has them.

Great beer dip

Ordered a burger on skip the dishes.It was Burnt, to the point I could not eat it. I called the restaurant back and they hung up!

Food is top notch and service is good.

Great Staff and Great Burgers.

Absolutely made my night. I decided to add a couple funny notes to my order and surprisingly the chef decided to write back with funny little notes on my order. Its the little things that these famous places do to make sure each customer is happy and wanting to come back.

Fun Western atmosphere. Food was great. Steak was cooked perfectly to medium-rare. Good list of beers and whiskey.

Dublin hot butter for the wings is amazing Id you like a little kick! Grilled cheese is fantastic as well.

What chef allows food this burnt to go out?

Food pretty average but servers were fabulous.

This is my go too for a burger.. Best in Guelph so far!! im picky too

Stopped in unexpectedly for a mid-afternoon lunch and happy we did! Burgers were excellent with hearty handmade quality beef patties, and my sons ribs and wings (combo) were great. Ribs were fall-off-the-bone tender and the wings were huge and juicy (cooked naked with crispy edges). Service was excellent, even in the midday lull as they probably prepped for the Saturday evening rush. Give them a try if youre in the area!

Had the mushroom and Swiss burger with fries. Very delicious. Nice atmosphere, friendly staff, quick service.

Mechanical toro was in the shop , but the John Wayne burger has peanut butter on it, (try it just because). Overall a good sized floor area, with a better than average bar menu.

We are seniors and only wanted a light meal so ordered wings, Adam was great helpful and informative, he took our order which included blue cheese dip he told us that it would only take 10 minutes because the restaurant was nearly empty. Nearly 30 minutes later the supervisor girl delivered our wings cold and without the dip. We asked for the dip which she then brought. We believe that we were punished because we didnt give her a large enough tip two nights before. If this is how they treat seniors they should be ashamed of themselves. We may not be able to tip as handsomely as the workers but at least we still tip. We will now be using another restaurant for the remainder of our holiday. The owners should be teaching these young greedy waitresses some manners they too will be old.

Service was friendly but slow. Steak was okay and chicken wrap was good. Wings were also tasty.

Great tasty burger and service was awesome We had no idea it was Half Price burgers on Thursday so that was AMAZING Burger Queen

The food was really good and our waiter Adam was very attentive and polite. Would definitely recommend it to friends and family looking for a casual, comfortable environment.

The staff here are so unpleasant, rude, and condescending. The lack of professionalism is unreal. This is the worst restaurant I have ever been to and the food is extremely dry. Im not sure if they re trying to cut corners but the food is beyond horrible. If you tell the staff they will do absolutely nothing about it. If you are looking for a place with good vibes and great food GO SOMEWHERE ELSE , save your money. Fast food tastes better, trust me.

No friendly service here. Waited over 15 minutes to be served and was completely ignored by all the servers walking around. A simple acknowledgement like hi, someone will be right with you would have been nice. Walked out and went some place else.

Great food excellent atmosphere highly recommended

Delicious burgers

I loved my stay here. The staff were so friendly and helpful and accommodating. The room was lovely and clean. Be warned, there are no elevators so it might be a long way up for some people.

What a tasty Burger we had there and this restaurant definitely gave us more then enough onion rings. Would visit again.

Used to come here a lot, they must be understaffed because the service was extremely slow

Always welcoming! Great food and lovely invironment! Defenitly goin back! Everyone so friendly!

As usual it was really great experience. Good customer service

Good service and the food is tasty.

Great place. Great staff Great burgers. Didnt realize how huge the restaurant is. The front is very deceiving. If you like a great place that has good food with awesome daily specials you cant go wrong here.

Good food but terrible service. Pretty disappointing because its been great in previous years but went there for dinner last Friday and sat at our table for over 20 minutes before anyone acknowledged us. One of the cooks who was finishing his shift actually saw us and apologized and brought us some menus. We then ordered our drinks and food and after another 25 minutes got our drinks - I ordered an espresso martini and idk if the waitress wasnt sure how to make one or the bartender wasnt working that night but it was gross. We then waited another 40 minutes while being blatantly ignored by the servers who were standing in the kitchen chatting and laughing. Finally had to signal another waitress and ask what was going on and grabbed our food to go. Wont be going back.

Beautiful place and great food!! I loved it, the decor, the service, the place location!! Great place to stop for a good meal with family and friends

Food was cooked from frozen! Spinach dip was tasteless. Wings were good and server was good but dont eat here..

I ve been here previously and enjoyed typical fried bar food and enjoyed it. After a recent Guelph Storm game and having heard how good the burgers are here my niece and I decided to go. Let me assure you - do not get the burgers. I don t know if it was because of the game knowing they would be busy and they precooked a bunch but they were hard and dry. The waitress was busy understandably which is fine but I didn t complain until after I had eaten which I realize now was a mistake. However, I was able to show the other partial burger. The black edges and hard pieces my niece had eaten around. No discount was given (I only asked for half price on one burger although both were awful) but because I didn t complain right away I was told no - although no one was around to complain to! I would have happily written a 5 star review and called the bad burgers a one off if I hadn t paid full price. Bad burgers. Service was fine for the situation (busy after a storm game) but customer service is awful when a complaint received. Our sides the poutine and Cesar salad were great. However, we Won t be back.

Excellent service and quality

Closed on a saturday

Good food and service. Would go back in a heartbeat.

Ordered the full rack of ribs for takeout, got all the way home (I live in Kitchener) to find they only gave me a half rack. The ribs themselves were decent, nice smoke to them. Just disappointing to not get what I paid for.

Cool western ambiance in this Guelph landmark location. I believe it turns into a student bar at night on weekends but we like to go for lunch or dinner. Food is incredible and the service is fast.

The worst. Sunday at 2:40pm closed... when the door says they d be open. I travelled from out of town and am very disappointed.

I havent been very familiar to Western during my university days but I was a huge fan of McCabes, which forms part of the same group of bars/pubs. The food and drinks are very similar. Its the atmosphere and vibe that separates the 2. Western was more like a country style vs the more casual formal McCabes. I always had the same foods: McCabes platter that had antojitos, wings, nachos, garlic bread and carrots/celery to make it healthy and the forever loved basket of fries. Due to Covid, all orders for the 2 places are being served at Western. I had to go back to get their amazing Antojitos. Still as good as so many years ago. Was missing the pitcher of beer though

Great burgers and fries!

The food was amazing and our waitress was super nice. She seemed a little out of practice and split our drinks but she was super apologetic about it! Our table ordered a burger, Buffalo chicken wrap, southwest salad and the quesadilla and everything was delicious! We would definitely go back!

All the servers are so friendly! Food is incredible, great chef! Love the atmosphere! Such a nice place to enjoy their patio on a week night with a cold drink and a nice burger or steak!

I love the way servers are dressed like cowgirls that being said, customer service is good and food is delicious and also great variety of drinks are also available. Great place in downtown to hangout with friends and enjoy a chilled drink.

Mediocre food at best. Cheap experience for average prices.

When our food came it was the worst food I ve ever tasted and when I mentioned to the server about the comment was we have had the same cook forever and tonight it is a new one. The onion rings looked like they were over cooked and all stuck together could not eat them. The lettuce in my wrap tasted like they did not clean the lettuce in it. Will not go back again.

Awesome burgers love 1/2 price Thursdays

Nice place, good food, great service

Casual place looked good for a drink and had the best steak dinner Ive have in a long time( keg take notes), nice cut and a fair price, perfectly cooked

The food was good and reasonably priced however it did take a long time to be served. For a relatively simple menu it should not take almost an hour to get your food

The staff was extremely friendly and helpful deciding what to order. I had the open-faced steak sandwich which was well-cooked. Great atmosphere, great people, great food. Just the thing needed after a busy travel day for work!

Come here on Thursdays for the half price burgers!!! So good, such a deal.

Best lattice fries ever! French onion soup broth was good too. Burger benefited from the BBQ sauce that was on the pulled pork. Would go back.

Great service! And a tasty burger with a nice cold beer !

It was a great meeting place

Thursday night 1/2 price burgers cant be beat. Chicken cornflake burger is my favourite.

Great food! Stopped in after Guelph Storm game ! We were big 50/50 winners! Celebrated with bees, wine, burgers and the beef dip was excellent! Wonderful service!

Loved it! Thoroughly enjoyed the smoked wings!

Great steaks at special price on Sundays. and nicest waitstaff Weve had in a long time. 1/2 price burgers on Thursdays! Yummy

I cant comment on the food (as we only had drinks), but the service was beyond disappointing, probably one of the worst experiences I have had. Im not sure if it was our waitresses first day, but I hope so, because she was super unhelpful and impersonal. The vibe of the place is nice when we walked in.When we first arrived the waitress bluntly stated are you here for drinks or food because the kitchen is closed. We were only there for drinks, so it was fine, but it was worded very strangely and almost as if she was angry. When asked what the drink special was (as the menu advertised to ask your waitress), she claimed to not know (which is fine), but then did not even try to find out? When asked what was on tap, she again, didnt know and did not try to find out? It was as if we were inconveniencing her. Just before 1130, she locked the front door. We were confused as it was a Friday night at the hours stated that it was open until 2 am (and the restaurant was busy, it is not as if the place was dead). She then came to our table and said do you want your bills now, which we were taken aback by as we had no intention of leaving yet and were planning on having another. I felt like we were being shoved out! We asked what time they close and she literally didnt give a straight answer and basically said whenever and added when people leave. We decided to leave right then.. the whole experience was uncomfortable.

Food was ok but they add things that arent listed on menu

Great

Awesome food great service

Great food and service. The service can be a little slow when busy due to a small kitchen.

Great food but slow and sloppy (incorrect orders) service. Otherwise would rate higher.

Danielle (the manager) was extremely unprofessional. She refused to give me my jacket with my medication in it. She told me too bad, you can wait until the end of the night because I didn t have my ticket which fell out of my pocket. Again, I needed my medication and she still refused to give me my jacket. I have never experienced such bad customer service from a manager. She was extremely unprofessional and acted like a petty teenager. I heard complaints from other people about her as well- I wasn t the only one who had a bad experience. Very disappointed.

Thursday Line Dancing with Pro Instructor

Never had a bad meal here. 1/2 price burgers Thurs. nights so yummy!! Best part is it includes all the burgers on the menu just gotta buy a drink.

A really great little restaurant with awesome food and our waitress was helpful and happy!

Nice place

Excellent pub and food

The food was so good and they were excellent about our keto diet substitutions. The food was presented beautifully. I dont know how they marinate their burger meat but it was outstanding. So flavourful, I cant remember the last time I had a better burger. Also they have an Addams Family pinball machine . It was our first visit to the Western and In cant wait to go back, also the music was great and our server was very nice and did a fantastic job.

Good burgers and beers. A true Guelph classic. Helps you prepare for an absolute grueller of a night

Krispy saucy wings.

Hair in food, dirty dishes, dirty table - not a good COVID-19 eating experience. Public health needs to check on this restaurant.

One of the best restaurants downtown guelph !!

We had flat beer and bo diet pepsi taste, other than that was regular dood!

Vibe is very casual but dinner food always feels oddly upscale. Steaks well cooked and chicken was delicious.

Hands down the best beef dip sandwich!

Great place for a burger and beer

Food was so-so, unfortunately I had higher expectations.

Decent service, drinks and food

Service wasnt great but the food was ok.

Servers are really friendly but dont try the food.

The portions was small for the price good but not near enough food to fill you up

Huge portions and quick service.

Go somewhere else.

Food was okay had to wait a while for food service was slow food was hot.

Good food fair prices and cold beer

Went to the Restaurant, at approx 530 to avoid the Storm game, met my wife and we looked at the menu....when we ordered, told our server, a small, whispy bearded fellow, that we would like the California burger for my wife, and the burger with smoked cheese etc..asked about the sides for $2, the server said if we wanted EXTRA FRIES, it would be $2, we could upgrade to Poutine, for $3....my wife and I agreed,..after a 30 minute wait, our food came out, mine was correct but my wife s was a chicken breast on a bun, NO WHERE NEAR A CALIFORNIA BURGER....the young runner, not our server, took it back and while I ate, she sat there looking at me...for 15 minutes!!!....our server came meekly over and said, they re cooking your food ...and went away.....I finished and her food arrived 15 minutes later.....NO MANAGER TOUCHING OUR TABLE TO APPEASE US AND MITIGATE THE SITUATION....just .....WAIT, WE LL DO IT AGAIN....NO SENSE OF URGENCY....HORRIBLE MITIGATION OF THE BAD SITUATION......when the invoice came, the $3 poutine became $4, not what was told.....and another thing, we sat there with our menus on our tables....the guy didn t even take them off after may visits to the table.... this day never have seen a MANAGER....WOULD NEVER RECOMMEND to go here is you re in any hurry or can t be totally focused on your food and what they say.....server took 25% off my wifes california burger...should have been compd....for all the mistakes.....food was great but all this aggro is not worth the hassle......SHAMEFUL......

Great burger!

Fantastic food. Steaks are a little bit expensive but very enjoyable. I live in Toronto, but my parents live in Guelph; whenever I am in Guelph, I make a point of stopping by. Will visit again

Too many hicks

Great food really enjoyed it

I enjoy this place but it is always hit or miss. If you go during a semi busy time the food is good but if you go late the food feels not so fresh. Still usually its not bad and the servers do their best. The decor is also nice.

was given a discount for being friends w kitchen staff and i appreciated that

Great service and lovely food. Low key and welcoming

Great burgers and a surprisingly large space behind the door ! Very easy atmosphere and great staff.

Went there on a busy guelph storm night. The server found us a table for 2. She said 45mins for food, which we were ok with. Ordered our Steam Whistlers and our food was there 12mins later! Great place! Great food! Great pricing!

Food was amazing!

Had lunch here with several neighbours, The burgers were half price that day and a bargain! Delicious, and home made. Friendly and efficient service. For now, our favorite lunch time spot ... near the bust station.

Great food, fantastic service

If you work downtown, this is a good place for lunches and drinks. Remind yourself of your to do list if you come for lunch, otherwise youll stay until youre toasted. Nicely toasted.

They had a shrimp appetizer with garlic toast. It was outta this world. Since they cancelled it, I went back once was was sorely unimpressed. Used to get that twice a week. Now I make it at home.

Quick and friendly service. And really awesome burgers! Try a burger!!!