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Ale House
802 Upper Gage Ave
Hamilton Ontario L8V 4K4
289-755-0518

I recently visited the Ale House in Hamilton Ontario, this once famous watering hole, has been transformed into a Hamilton gathering place. Paulette Tremblett owner of The Ale House has metamorphosed this bar and eatery into a beautiful butterfly. Taking the old and bringing in the new, with all new décor, menu, and attitude. Once a bartender at the old bar, Paulette has now taken over the Ale House and is pleasing her patrons with her warm & welcoming way.

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Plenty of road signs fill the walls. Sports memorabilia, and plenty of Hamilton memories. Paulette takes great pride in telling me that she made the dining tables, hand-picked every sign that graces the Ale House walls, and even went as far as to decorate the washroom in steel, for our amazing Steel Town. Paulette pays honor to the old bar, by keeping the original bar right where your drinks are served. The reason Paulette saved this piece of history, was because of a patron by the name of Bill Gillman who used to be a limo driver for Hollywood legend Vivien Leigh, if you look closely you can not only see a photo of Bill but also a letter sent over from Vivien Leigh herself, how could you not keep that beautiful piece of Hamilton history.

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This Vancouver born now Hamiltonian has taken her family roots of Celtic & French and incorporated it into the bar and menu. With so many choices on the menu of potato skins, shepherds pie, corn beef on rye and so much more. One item gets me very intrigued, the Giant Yorkshire Dinner that’s right I said GIANT and that’s what this English dish was. A huge Yorkshire Pudding Bowl, and before I go on for the non-English people, Yorkshire Pudding is not pudding it’s a delectable light and airy bread bowl. In my younger years, I found this out the hard way. The Giant Yorkshire dinner comes with your choice of chicken or roast beef, we chose the tender juicy shavings of the Ale House roast beef keeping with tradition and roasted in-house. We then enjoy the fluffy mashed with bacon mashed potatoes and the Ale House does not use bacon bits it’s authentic delicious Bacon! Then this Yorkie beast is dressed in a heaping ladle of homemade gravy and garnished with crunchy dried onions.

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When you see the size of this dish come to your table, you don’t know whether to call the Braveheart army in, or just enjoy every savory bite yourself. This dish was not only eye appealing, but it was mouth-watering, you can’t wait to just sink your fork into this dish, and all the flavours just blend together and its divine.
The Ale House also serves favorites such as the Ale House Burger, Salads, Poutine, Wings, and the list goes on. Let’s not forget the kids, and the Ale House has these mini hammer kids covered with Hot Dogs, Pizza, & Grilled Cheese. We ordered a grilled cheese and received a crisp and warm, toasted oozy gooey scrumptious grilled cheese. The grilled cheese stretched from the Ale House to Ivor Wynne Stadium. A true delight for the kids.

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My Clubhouse was stacked with fresh ingredients, juicy chicken breast, crispy bacon strips, fresh lettuce, tomato, and a blend of two cheeses. This triple threat sandwich was toasted and delicious with hand cut fries served with mayo and coleslaw. The Ale House put a unique spin on the coleslaw and added sunflower seeds, which added that extra crunch of flavorful coleslaw.

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The Ale House also serves some great beers, and cocktails. Sunday Caesars is what we enjoyed. With specials happening everyday, it’s a great place to have a spirit on the patio, sitting at the bar, or just grabbing a table with some great eats to compliment what ever your drinking pleasure may be. With dart leagues and so many great bands that enter the Ale House your sure to be entertained.

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This neighbourhood bar is stocked with fantastic choices for you to build your cocktail, but the amount of Ales on tap, and other beer choices I found outstanding. The Ale House has covered it.
If you get a chance to speak to Paulette at this busy eatery and bar, ask her about the top shelf of the bar where patrons have given her personal items just to say Thank you for being here for us. There are quite some vintage items, it was quite nice to see that people appreciate the Ale House.

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It’s great to see a Hamilton staple, become a hometown preference of regulars and new patrons. With the Ale House always offering a welcoming hello.
The Ale House has a Celtic logo, it means unending, forever, or on going. Which is the perfect representation for this bar and eatery that has been a piece of Hamilton’s History.

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Paulette Tremblett may have been raised in Vancouver, but she is now a Hamilton Homegirl and all her hard work is now paying off, she has turned the Ale House into Hamilton’s hospitable gathering place.

Melinda Paletta
Dabutchersdaughter.ca

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Melinda Paletta

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