New Robo Lounge envisioned as Ottawa's ultimate piano bar
Thanks to the Bösendorfer grand piano, the Robo Lounge is poised to become the crown jewel of Ottawa piano bars
By Lynn Saxberg, Ottawa Citizen
Published Dec 16, 2025
The crown jewel of Ottawa’s new Robo Lounge is a massive Bösendorfer grand piano on loan from Carleton University, its sleek, dark wood glinting with the promise of many nights of fine music.
Lounge co-owner Scott May sat down to tinkle the ivories during a recent visit, a move that allowed this reporter to get a sense of the quality of the sound and sightlines at his newest venture, which officially opens its doors to the public in January.
My verdict? Excellent on both fronts — and that handsome piano elevates the whole vibe.
Robo Lounge is a 150-seat bar/café on the ground floor of the Clemow, a highrise rental building aimed at folks aged 50 and over. It opened in the spring of 2025 in the Glebe-adjacent neighbourhood known as the Glebe Annex, near Carling and Bronson avenues. Although the street address is 275 Carling Ave., there’s also an entrance on Cambridge Street South.
May, a 10-year veteran of the Ottawa nightlife scene, and his wife, Ali Fuentes, moved into the Clemow soon after it opened, and wanted to add to the long list of amenities available to residents of the building, as well as enhance the neighbourhood with a “comfortable and elegant” spot where everyone is welcome.
They decided to open a hybrid coffee shop/music venue, a model similar to the other Robo establishments. The first Bar Robo on Somerset Street ran from 2016 to 2020, while the second Bar Robo (also known as Q Bar) has been operating out of Queen Street Fare since 2019.
“My wife, Ali, loves coffee and wanted to open a coffee shop, and I really love music so it’s a great combination for us,” May said, describing their vision as the ultimate piano bar.
“We will open early and have a great coffee program and nice baked goods that we make every day,” he said. “But I also wanted a listening room with a dedicated stage, the correct instrumentation and a proper sound system — comfortable, relaxed and elegant, with sophisticated interior design.”
With each Robo location, the neighbourhood and its demographics inform the core of the business. The now-closed Somerset/Chinatown room appealed to artists and creatives, and was more “creative and zany,” May said. “It skewed a little bit younger.”
The downtown location at Queen Street Fare caters to office workers who appreciate the fact that happy hour starts at 4 p.m., while the new lounge is designed to appeal to the over-50 crowd that lives at the Clemow. That means “nothing too obnoxiously loud,” May said. “We have to respect the neighbours.”
There will be a drinks menu of “creative, classic” cocktails, plus wine on tap and beer from Ottawa’s Beyond The Pale brewery. Food offerings will be “healthy and fun,” May said, and likely to include soup, salad, burgers and the “world-famous” Robo breakfast sandwich.
As for the live music, May is programming the lounge to feature solo acts and small ensembles, and hopes to reel in some big names in jazz.
One of the regular performers will be Dave Draves, the noted Ottawa producer, who’s putting together a monthly show of Elton John songs from the 1970s. It debuts during happy hour on Jan. 7.
Other piano-playing acts confirmed for the new Robo stage next month include Ottawa singer-songwriter Megan Jerome on Jan. 8, jazzman Peter Hum on Jan. 23 and a Jan. 10 double bill featuring Ottawa’s Lynn Miles with Toronto-based musical eccentric Bob Wiseman, a former Blue Rodeo keyboardist. Tickets are available at
www.barrobo.com/therobolounge/#event
In the meantime, a soft opening takes place Dec. 23 with saxman Peter Woods and friends playing holiday favourites.
https://ottawacitizen.com/news/local-news/robo-lounge-ottawa-piano-bar
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