Calgary Bar Advice - Calgarypuck Forums - The Unofficial Calgary Flames Fan Community

Tyler · 03-27-2006, 10:52 PM

Hi guys,

Was just wondering if you could help me out with some bar advice. I left Calgary to go to school right out of HS, so my bar knowledge of the town is rather limited.

I need to find the following type of bar in Calgary:

- downtown
- suitable for a business dinner with clients
- good business atmosphere (i.e. - we can get some burgers or steaks without having to listen to THE BEAT going on in the background)
- not looking for a KEG or Earls

Thanks!

calf · 03-27-2006, 10:56 PM

James Joyce on Stephen Avenue
Milestones on 9th (I think it's under the Mariott)

Flames4LifeFLA · 03-27-2006, 11:04 PM

Milestone's is awesome...my girlfriend and I were in Calgary for 4 days in February and went there everyday...I don't know how many of them are in Calgary, but the one we went to was right across the street from the Hyatt, on Stephen Avenue Walk...

I think it would certainly meet all of your requirements...and they have REALLY GOOD burgers!

icarus · 03-27-2006, 11:06 PM

You might also want to check out the Metropolitan Grill on 8th (Stephen) Ave.

toonmaster · 03-27-2006, 11:07 PM

hit up ceili's on a monday night.................kidding

the_only_turek_fan · 03-27-2006, 11:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by icarus

You might also want to check out the Metropolitan Grill on 8th (Stephen) Ave.

Was just going to suggest this. The Met is one of my favourite places to go. Try it you will really like it. Fuel accross the street is pretty good as well.

Phaneuf3 · 03-27-2006, 11:16 PM

i hear the cecil is a fine establishment

Tyler · 03-27-2006, 11:22 PM

Great, looks like the Met. Thanks guys.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Phaneuf3

i hear the cecil is a fine establishment

If it's anything like the Cecil here in Vancouver, I will likely be stumbling into it at the end of the night

rockstar · 03-27-2006, 11:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tyler

Great, looks like the Met. Thanks guys.

If it's anything like the Cecil here in Vancouver, I will likely be stumbling into it at the end of the night

Let's just say I wouldn't go stumbling into there if my life depended on it.

Trojan97 · 03-28-2006, 12:02 AM

I think the Cecil in Vancouver is a strip joint. I can only imagine the girls you would find inside the Calgary version.

Bobblehead · 03-28-2006, 09:36 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Trojan97

I think the Cecil in Vancouver is a strip joint. I can only imagine the girls you would find inside the Calgary version.

Lets put it this way... it is next door to the main homeless shelter. I don't want to imagine.

fredr123 · 03-28-2006, 09:59 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rockstar

Let's just say I wouldn't go stumbling into there if my life depended on it.

After wandering around downtown Calgary on the night of my bachelor party, my best man thought it would be an interesting place to check out. He never went in and was only outside for about 5 minutes before he was assaulted with a glass bottle and had to be taken to the ER. Dude was charged with assault with a weapon and we all had a bachelor party reunion in provincial court 5 months later. Good times...

Rhettzky · 03-28-2006, 10:49 AM

Me and five buddies tried that place out one night and were pretty surprised to find my next door neighbour at the time was a bartender there. Small freaking world. Anyway, it was tall can night and they were selling the kokanee versions for a buck. It was insane.

Oh yeah, and the urinals were all busted and had big holes in the porcelain so it was like you were peeing right into the wall!!

Now the T&C is a crazy place. I feared for my life in that dump.

arsenal · 03-28-2006, 11:01 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rhettzky

Me and five buddies tried that place out one night and were pretty surprised to find my next door neighbour at the time was a bartender there. Small freaking world. Anyway, it was tall can night and they were selling the kokanee versions for a buck. It was insane.

Oh yeah, and the urinals were all busted and had big holes in the porcelain so it was like you were peeing right into the wall!!

Now the T&C is a crazy place. I feared for my life in that dump.

I have been to the T&C a few times. Wasn't scared of being in there, but to date it is the first and only time I have been asked if I knew where someone could get the crack.

Shazam · 03-28-2006, 11:13 AM

Is it too late?

Take them to Murrieta's on 7th Ave (near Milestone's). It's a GREAT place to take business clients, and the food is great (even though I got a massive allergic reaction from there).

DuffMan · 03-28-2006, 11:13 AM

The Cecil is the only place I've ever seen the bouncers drag someone IN from outside that was passed out in the alley.

SeeGeeWhy · 03-28-2006, 12:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tyler

Hi guys,

Was just wondering if you could help me out with some bar advice. I left Calgary to go to school right out of HS, so my bar knowledge of the town is rather limited.

I need to find the following type of bar in Calgary:

- downtown
- suitable for a business dinner with clients
- good business atmosphere (i.e. - we can get some burgers or steaks without having to listen to THE BEAT going on in the background)
- not looking for a KEG or Earls

Thanks!

Kinda depends on how much you want to spend, but there are literally dozens of great restaurants with decent bars downtown.

Milestones is ok, I prefer Catch or The Saltlik which are just north and just west of Milestones respectively.

The Met is usually full of phony posers who just go to be seen, same as Fuel by Earls. Keywords there: by Earls.. this equates to "avoid".

The Vickers places further down 8th are usually a little better, like Belgo, Mango Shiva (Indian), Zen 8 (Sushi), The Chophouse (steak), but you'll typically find the same kind of crowd there as you would in the met, and it is severely overpriced.

Saizo's on 4th Ave is very good. There are the Caesars and Hy's steakhouse standbys. Old school inside and out, but the food is great and it is ALL business during lunch.

The Rose Garden for thai food on 8th is f-ing wicked.

Like I said, there are all kinds of places downtown. Really depends on what kind of tab you want to pay for at the end of the night, the kind of crowd you want, how much drinking will be involved, and the type of cuisine you like.

If you really want to knock some socks off take them to Teatro's on 1st street SE and 8th ave. VERY classy, but stuffy... depends if you can be comfortable in a somewhat formal environment or not.

Murietta's is also very nice.

It also depends on how far out of "downtown" you want to go... is this for lunch, dinner, what?

troutman · 03-28-2006, 01:30 PM

Ah, the Cecil. Good times in the 1980s:

A "lady" spat at me in the face because I declined her tempting offer to dance (yes, there is a dance floor there - sometimes bands). She later followed me into the men's room to watch me pee.

One night we witnessed a wedding reception there. True story. The happy couple actually met at the Cecil, and thought it would be romantic to celebrate their marriage at the glamoros Cecil Hotel. The parents of the bride and groom were absolutely mortified. I wonder if they stayed in the Honeymoon Suite?

Another time a woman in perhaps her 50s was passed-out on the dance floor. Two or three songs later (no one bothered to help her up) she incredibly got back on her feet, and carried on dancing. We referred to that as the "TSN Turning Point".

A native gentleman asked my friend to dance one night. I don't think the native man was gay; he was just too drunk too know if he was speaking to men or women.

There was a sign behind the bar reminding guests to "check their knives".

Why did we go there? Cheapest pitchers of beer in the city.

Next time: stories from the now defunct Hollywood North (home of the $0.99 high-balls).

Crazy Flamer · 03-28-2006, 01:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SeeGeeWhy

The Vickers places further down 8th are usually a little better, like Belgo, Mango Shiva (Indian), Zen 8 (Sushi), The Chophouse (steak), but you'll typically find the same kind of crowd there as you would in the met, and it is severely overpriced.

Saizo's on 4th Ave is very good. There are the Caesars and Hy's steakhouse standbys. Old school inside and out, but the food is great and it is ALL business during lunch.

The Rose Garden for thai food on 8th is f-ing wicked.

The Chophouse is one of the most overrated restaurants in Calgary IMO. And I don't know if its just me, but everytime I go to Hy's I get absolutely the worst service EVER. Its like stepping into a McDonald's. I've been to the one in Edmonton and was treated like a king, though.

Bring_Back_Shantz · 03-28-2006, 01:51 PM

Crazy Flamer, i almost agreed with you untill you started talking bad about Hy's. IMO it's the best steak joint in town. I've never had bad service there hell I even took my GF there for Valentine's and it was fantastic, but who knows maybe you've just been unlucky.

As for the Chophouse I couldn't agree with you more, that place is absolute trash!!! My theory on that place is that it is where people with bad taste in restaraunts take people to impress them with their taste in restaraunts. The food is mediocre, the service isn't very good, and the prices are rediculous.

EXPENSIVE DOES NOT EQUAL GOOD!