Late Night Latin Dancing At Latinos Resto Bar!

There are a couple of places in Ottawa that only start to get busy really late into the night! Latinos Resto Bar is one of them where you will start to see people coming in when it’s close to midnight! I have been to this place a few times now on weekend and that appears to be always be the case. If you came here early and notice only a few people, don’t worry – it will get busy for sure late in the night.

While entrance is usually free, a cover charge of $5/$10 might apply on certain days for this place.

The drinks are priced alright as well. I ended up ordering a pitcher and that was more than enough to get two people buzzed. Even though it felt like it didn’t have alcohol, it actually had a real good amount in it! So be careful!

The venue plays Salsa, Bachata and Merengue mostly however they might play a little of Carribean/Reggeaton music as well during the night. The last time I was there, there were people playing chess late at night and also people doing karaoke as well for a while!

This is one of the few places in Ottawa which attracts a lot of regulars so don’t be surprised if you see people just walking in and knowing everyone in the bar! Atmosphere is friendly in general.

If you are looking for a free place to dance, then you should definitely checkout Latinos Resto Bar. Highly recommend this place if you are with a group. If you come early it won’t be hard to find seating for a large group.

Address: 665 Bronson Ave, Ottawa, ON K1S 4E7

Business website: https://latinosrestobarottawaon.com/

Tom Mehra

Tom Mehra, an Ottawa-based Software Engineer with a Masters in Information Systems from the University of Texas at Dallas, shares insights on local food spots and top attractions in Canada and the US. He’s also a former resident of the US, UK, and India, and in 2023, his blog was nominated for an Ottawa Award by Faces Magazine. He is also a cat sitter.

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South Indian Cuisine In Downtown Ottawa At Thali!

I haven’t had a Thali (round platter) in a long time! I think the last time I ever had Thali was when I was a kid maybe more than 2 decades back and I still remember how good the stuff was! Recently I found out about an Indian restaurant in downtown Ottawa that offers Thali so really wanted to try it out!

When you are walking by Thali, you wouldn’t really feel like it is a South Indian restaurant, the place has a really big patio and when you enter inside they have a very modern decor. It looks very different than many other Indian restaurants that I have been to that usually have decor that relates to India (with pictures/indoor design/statues) or sometimes look a bit dated.

I got myself a Thali plate (with Lamb) at the restaurant. You can choose a variety of meat options – chicken, lamb, beef but the place also have vegetarian options for those who don’t eat meat. My Thali had a variety of dishes made of lamb, cauliflower, potatoes, peas, beetroots, carrots and more! You also get rice and flatbread that go along well with your dishes.

If you don’t like spicy food, then you should definitely let your server know as some of the dishes in your platter might be very spicy! Also if you have any allergies, you should mention that as the restaurant will be able to replace those dishes for you with something else on the plate.

I think the service at this place is much better than other Indian restaurants however I think the food might need some improvement. I was expecting that there would be a variety of lamb dishes in my thali however it was a very small portion. I think for the price, I was expecting atleast 2-3 meat based dishes in my meal. Personally, I think this is the smallest amount of meat I have ever had in my meal.

Address: 136 R. O’Connor St, Ottawa, ON K2P 2G7

Business website: https://thaliottawa.ca/

Rating – 7.5/10

Tom Mehra

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Piping Hot Food Delivered From Melt Diner Manchester!

This is one of the first time I have felt that the food has been delivered to me real hot! Usually when I have ordered using Uber or other delivery services out there, the food usually comes out warm or sometimes cold. However I was surprised when I received my delivery from Melt! I think it has to do with the restaurant using foil instead of paper/plastic wrappers for their food items which helps keep the food hot for a long time.

Not only was I happy with how hot my food was but also the burgers that I ordered turned out to be great! One of them was called the MeltDown Burger which consisted of Beef Patties and the other one was their Grilled Chicken Burger which contained chicken filet. I think I liked the Beef Burger a bit more than the Chicken Burger.

Beef Burger and Chicken Burger From Melt

Melt is known not for their sandwiches but also their shakes. I couldn’t try their shakes out cause I am currently caffeine intolerant but I would love to go to this spot sometime and try it out again! Highly recommend ordering from this place if you are looking to get food delivered hot 🙂

Address: 704 Wilmslow Rd, Didsbury, Manchester M20 2DW, United Kingdom

Rating – 9/10

Tom Mehra

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Pepperoni Hot Pizza At Hope Mill Theatre Manchester!

As soon as I entered Hope Mill Theatre, it felt that time had moved a few decades back! As the name suggests, the place actually hosts theatrical performances but also has a bar and restaurant. Unfortunately, I didn’t have too much time on my hands that day so I was only able to experience their food!

The Theatre is not only known for its shows but also because of their delicious pizzas! I got the Pepperoni Hot Pizza which consisted of Tomato base, cheese, pepperoni, jalapenos and chilli flakes as well as Birra Moretti which is a draught beer that they had and the cheapest one on their menu.

Their Pizza turned out to be quite good and I think worth the price! It was served hot and the chilli flakes/peppers made it even better! I also ended up trying out their fries which I think were better than what I expected. My Beer went well with the food!

Next time I am here, I would not only want to try out their food but also experience the theatre as well! If you are driving this place does have ample parking and also they have a small patio if you want to eat/drink outside!

Address: 113 Pollard St, Manchester M4 7JA, United Kingdom

Rating – 8.5/10

Tom Mehra

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Affordable Hot Wings In Manchester At Continental!

I was craving some hot wings while walking down Burton Road in Manchester, so decided to go for a takeaway restaurant. I absolutely love hot wings and saw that this place called Continental which had them for under £3! The price seemed reasonable so I decided to try them out.

For just £2.80, I was able to get 6 hot wings! Portion size for the price seemed decent. The Hot Wings turned out to be a bit more spicy than what I expected however I did not enjoy the flavor that much for some reason. It could be that maybe their quality process is not that great or the spice ingredients are not that good or it could even be that I am just not used to the taste.

I think I would have been perfectly fine if the price was a little bit higher and the flavor was more enjoyable. I just felt something was missing that could make them right! But I think if I am hanging out after a pub crawl, I might not mind munching on them!

Continental is actually more popular for their Pizzas and I found their Pizzas visually more appetizing so if I am around the area again, I would like to try out their pizzas and see how good they are.

Address: 127 Burton Rd, West Didsbury, Manchester M20 1JP, United Kingdom

Rating – 6/10

Tom Mehra

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Good Shawarma In Gatineau At La Casbah Shawarma!

Even though Gatineau has a ton of Shawarma restaurants, I have rarely been to any Shawarma spots in the city despite being here for almost two years now! I think part of the reason might be that I went to another Shawarma restaurant a while back and the food didn’t really meet my expectation. But that doesn’t mean that all spots are like that!

My recent visit at La Casbah was actually quite pleasant. The place looks very clean and immediately upon entering, I was welcomed by a friendly person working there. I ended up ordering a Beef Shawarma which had spicy garlic sauce and a bunch of veggies in it. I also ended up ordering a fruity drink called Kodisos. While paying at the Cashier counter, I was offered a free sample of their falafel to try out.

I was actually surprised as to how good this Beef Shawarma was! If you haven’t tried Shawarma before, it basically has meat and veggies in a flatbread. There was enough meat in and I enjoyed the spicy taste of the garlic sauce which went quite well with it. The portion of the Shawarma is decent enough to fill you up.

I don’t like mango drinks usually because a lot of what you get in the stores is quite sour. However this drink called Kodisos was actually really good. It is probably one of the better Mango juices I have tried so far.

Great customer service and great Shawarmas at La Casbah!

Rating – 8.5/10

Business website: https://www.instagram.com/lacasbahshawarma

Address: 35 Allée de Hambourg Unit 101, Gatineau, Quebec J9J 0G5

Tom Mehra

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Free Bachata Classes In Manchester At Terrace NQ!

Every week Terrace NQ offers free bachata beginner lessons in Manchester for those who have never attended their classes before! So if you are looking to try something new for the night or want to do something for free, just head to their private room upstairs.

I found the lessons suitable for beginners, and I noticed that it doesn’t get crowded for the beginner lessons meaning you are able to get attention from the dance instructor. I remember getting corrected a couple of times while dancing!

Also I noticed that the place actually had two instructors for the day, one to help people lead and one to help follow, which I think can be very beneficial. A lot of places just have a instructor for the leads but it’s always great to dance with someone who knows how to follow and that can help both lead/followers practice much better.

The venue does charge for their intermediate/advanced bachata classes and it does get quite busy for their intermediate/advanced dance classes. I do recommend you to try this place out if you want to experience Bachata!

Address: 43 Thomas St, Manchester M4 1NA, United Kingdom

Rating – 8/10

Tom Mehra

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Unlimited Data SIM From SMARTY Mobile UK

SMARTY offers one of the cheapest unlimited data SIM plans in the United Kingdom. I was able to get their data plan for £18 per month (Currently being offered at a discount) which includes unlimited calls and texts in the United Kingdom as well as unlimited data (on 3G/4G/5G). It took about 2 days for the SIM to arrive by mail.

In case you haven’t heard about SMARTY, it is actually a virtual provider meaning the company doesn’t really have any telecom infrastructure of its own but instead uses Three UK’s infrastructure.

I am currently based out in Manchester and when I initially tested out using the hotspot, I was getting less than 1 mbps! Turns out that the 5G service is non-existent around my area and while it was able to connect to 4G network, the performance was quite dismal. I did end up contacting the service provider and was informed that some repairs are being performed but it has been a couple of days and I haven’t noticed any difference so far.

However, I noticed that the internet speed was much better when I chose to use 3G network on my phone. Running speed tests during day time, I am getting about 18-20 mbps download speeds while upload is around 2-3 mbps. Latency also appears to be quite good for gaming.

I also ended up running an internet speed test during the night and the speed was slightly better. So far, I have downloaded more than 25+ gigs in the last few days and haven’t noticed speeds being reduced further.

Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to test out SMARTY’s 5G speeds as I am not able to get any signal indoors. Which means if you are looking to setup a 5G hotspot at your home, maybe SMARTY wouldn’t work for you as well. I also have an eSIM from O2 and while SMARTY turns out to be slightly cheaper, O2’s data performance and coverage in my area is a lot better.

Tom Mehra

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Uber Eats Delivery From The Jerk Junction Restaurant!

Was craving something spicy this time but as my family already makes Indian food at home in Manchester, I decided to order something a bit different this time! Found out about this Jerk Meat place using Uber Eats and ended up ordering their Jerk Meat with a couple of sides.

The main item that I ordered was the Jerk Chicken Meal – you have the option to actually choose the type of gravy you want – There is the traditional Jerk Gravy, Curry Chicken, or the Pepper Steak. I went with the traditional jerk gravy. The meal comes with a side option – and I chose Rice and Peas. But you have the option to go with either White Rice or House Seasoned Fries!

Also while I was ordering, I thought why not just order some additional things as well. I really enjoy plantains and wanted to try their fries as well so added them up.

Jerk Meat, Fries, Plantains, Rice and Peas from Jerk Junction

While it took a bit more than what I anticipated for my delivery to come, my food was still warm so didn’t have to heat it up in the microwave. The delivery fee came out to about £1.79 bring my total bill to £25.99.

I think for the price I payed, it turned out to be a decent meal. Their Jerk Gravy flavor is a lot different than what I am used to, this one tasted sweet and spicy while usually whenever I have had Jerk Chicken at other restaurants in North America, I have felt that it’s more hot and spicy. Chicken was cooked perfectly! The portion size can appear to be a bit smaller as they have the chicken with gravy and the peas and rice in two separate boxes! However I think the meal was more than enough for two people!

Also I actually enjoyed their Rice and Peas which go well with the Jerk Chicken Meal! The plantains had a bit of soft texture and while they were good, I think I have a personal preference of having them a bit harder.

However I think their House Seasoned Fries felt to me just like any other regular fries. I was expecting them to have some special flavoring or maybe the seasoning on the ones that I got was just too little?

With my delivery, I also found an item that looked like a patty. Initially I thought that it was an additional item that the restaurant had put in but turns out it’s their dumpling! Well I was already stuffed so it went to the fridge!

It would be good to try out what else the Jerk Junction has!

Address: 170 Manchester Rd, Firswood, Manchester M16 0DZ, United Kingdom

Rating – 7.5/10

Tom Mehra

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O2’s Unlimited Data eSIM Plan For UK!

My new place did not have an internet connection yet, so instead of waiting weeks for the broadband service to be installed, I decided to get an unlimited data plan for my phone and set it up as a hotspot. Luckily my phone also supports eSIM so all I had to do was sign up with an eSIM provider online.

O2 Unlimited Data Plan from eSIM.net

After a bit of searching online, I found this deal for O2 (from esim.net) which would let me have unlimited data usage on their 5G network for just 20 quid and seemed quite reasonable since I am used to paying really high price for limited data plans in Canada. I think this was the cheapest unlimited data plan I could find which also offered eSIM.

O2 Plan Features

The plan offers Unlimited Data/Minutes/Texts and includes roaming in the EU as well which is great as recently with United Kingdom leaving the EU, some providers have started charging additional for roaming outside the United Kingdom!

O2 Data Plan Benchmark

While I am here in Manchester, most of the times, my phone has been on 4G+ and on speed tests I am getting downloads speed of a little less than 50 mbps on the SpeedTest. Upload speeds were a bit lower around 5 mbps but since I don’t plan to upload too much, it wasn’t that bad.

I also ended up running another speed test through Google which had higher download speeds and lower upload speeds. Also I was surprised on how low the latency was on the internet speed test.

Review

I have been using my hotspot a lot since I signed up and have consumed more than 50 gigs already on their mobile plan. So far I have not had any issues with the provider. There haven’t been any disconnections/interruptions using the service, though I did not notice that I do not get 5G around my area but the speeds on their 4G network are good enough that there is nothing to complain about.

So far I am very happy with the service and would recommend it if you are looking for an unlimited data plan that is offered by a telecom company that supports eSIM. If your phone does not support eSIM then you will need to look for a SIM based provider. This might turn out to be a bit cheaper than what I paid minus the inconvenience of going to the store and getting a SIM card.

Tom Mehra

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