What it's like at FONO, Ottawa's first hi-fi listening bar

FONO is a direct descendant of some of Ottawa’s most memorable live-music hangouts. Photo by Jean Levac /POSTMEDIA

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It wasn’t until I had a fancy cocktail in my hand that I began to appreciate the true vibe of FONO, the new hi-fi listening lounge housed in a 100-year old building on Bronson Avenue.

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After all, I’d been hearing plenty of buzz on this intriguing spot, much of it generated by influencers who spent FONO’s grand-opening weekend in April posting glam shots of everything from the polished decor to the “elevated” cocktails.

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I feared it would be filled with hipsters, particularly upon learning the only beer on tap is Sunsplit, a hefty IPA made by a renowned local brewery, Dominion City. It’s a magnet for beer snobs, but with an ABV of 6.5%, too strong for my tastes. But I was sure I’d find something suitable to drink the evening a friend and I made the short stroll over from his Centretown apartment

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Then the cocktail menu caught my eye. The list of drink names read like an homage to the Ottawa music scene of days gone by: The Rotters Club. Zaphod. One Step Beyond. Paradise Room. (Still to come, perhaps, are drinks named after Barrymore’s and Babylon?)

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My mind flashed back to the historic spots. The Rotters Club on Bank Street was before my time as a clubgoer, but I knew it as a stomping ground for the late-70s punk scene. A decade later, One Step Beyond opened as a rare, all-ages venue that welcomed young local acts.

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And Zaphod, of course, refers to Zaphod Beeblebrox, the legendary bar on York Street, located in the ByWard Market space currently occupied by 27 Club. I saw hundreds of shows at Zaphod’s before it closed, including early Ottawa gigs for a wave of Canadian rock bands of the 90s, such as Our Lady Peace, Nickelback, Headstones, I Mother Earth, Junkhouse, Big Sugar and many more.

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Also memorialized on the menu is Cinqhole, the unique DIY establishment run by a team that included Matias Munoz, one of the partners in Fono. It shut down during the first year of the pandemic.

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Arguably the best thing about FONO, writes Lynn Saxberg, is the fact that you can hold a conversation while the music is playing. Photo by Jean Levac /OTTAWA CITIZEN/POSTMEDIA

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To get inside FONO, look for the red-lit exterior entrance on the side of the building. You will step into a sleek front room dominated by a bar counter and flanked by low chairs and tables. I had made a reservation in the lounge and got low-slung seats in a corner that were great for observing everyone else. For one or two people, sitting at the spacious bar is probably more comfortable and likely to lead to more socializing.

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Arguably, the best thing about FONO was the fact that we could hold a conversation while the music was playing. We didn’t have to yell, thanks to the well-modulated sound system. The next best thing was the low lighting; nothing kills a vibe more, in my opinion, than glaring white lights.

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A closer look around the room revealed a series of voluptuous speakers placed around the perimeter, DJ gear behind the bar and a dearth of giant screens. Don’t come here for hockey playoffs, but do come to see the gorgeous hardwood speakers from Automatic Audio, and hear the magic they bring to old-school soul, funk or whatever else the DJs choose to spin.