Lieutenant's Pump

The Lieutenant's Pump is a British pub located on Ottawa's historic Elgin Street and surrounded by the neighbourhoods of Centretown, The Golden Triangle, and downtown Ottawa. With a street-level patio and three intimate bars, "The Pump" proudly provides friendly service, comfortable atmosphere, a wide selection of beer, wine, and spirits, and hearty food.

Lieutenant's Pump was founded in 1984, the second in a series of three "Pumps" opened in Ottawa during the early 1980's. The Lieutenant's Pump is now the last of the original Pumps in operation.

The first manager of The Lieutenant's Pump, John Couse, bought the pub from its original owner in 1992. John Couse continues to own and operate the business today. John is the good looking and amicable fellow in the sweater-vest and Florsheims often found observing service from beside the front bar or delivering orders to tables when things get busy.

The Lieutenant's Pump is a pub in the style of old English city pubs, and we're proud to carry on the storied pub tradition of serving as a meeting place for our community. We believe the strong diversity of our clientèle is a mark of our success. From serious lunchtime politicos to late-night revellers and dinner-dates to weekend brunch, we welcome everyone through our doors.

While grounded in tradition, The Lieutenant's Pump has continued to draw crowds by continually evolving to meet the needs of the people who come here. Over the years, we've added patio space (twice), wheel-chair entry, a third bar, a street-level entryway, and, one piece at a time, completely renovated the interior. We're also proud of our celiac and vegetarian menus, great new local beer, and our uncommonly wide selection of wines.

Like all of the original Pumps, The Lieutenant's Pump has a military theme. The original pubs were inspired by the Officers' mess hall - a meeting place where members would eat and socialize - and each one was a variation on this theme.

The Pump part of our name refers to the hand pumps used in bygone days (before the use of compressed air) to draw beer from barrels under the bar. Rest assured, we have a modern precision-chilled delivery system for the 16 beer lines running to our three bars.

Some people call our pub "Lieutenant's," and some people call it "The Pump." Even the people who work here don't always agree on how to pronounce it right! As Canadians, we usually say it lef-ten-ənt, but the lew-ten-ənt way is fine too. Whichever way you say it, we hope to see you soon.