3.6/5 on the Foodie Foursome Index
3.2/5 on the fancy/hip steakhouse scale… you know the ones…
Anyone who’s from Calgary knows that for the past 10 years, East Village has had a 10 year plan, and that timeline has never changed, however the first signs of progress are starting to show themselves in the revitalized Simmons building.
Jenna and Mike’s Review: 😀
🐂
When you make your way down to East Village (which everyone assures us in 10 years will be as happening as ever) you find an out-of-place restaurant called “Char-Bar” with an environment that is definitely ready to keep up with the 10 year plan. Trendy coffee shop, vogue interior design, bearded waiters and multi-colored hair waitresses ensure that this place is ready to keep up with the soon to be booming demands of the area.
Although the environment fit the bill, the service and food was sub-par char-bar. Between the waitress explaining all the changes to the menu and the fact they were out of pizza dough (both acceptable errors, when delivered without making the customer think they are responsible for it and should have known before hand) it left something to be desired. Of the 4 entrees (to share) we ordered, two were phenomenal (the steak and broccoli dish), and two were equivalent to what I would expect at Boston Pizza, good, but average. Both Jenna and myself are not huge beer drinkers, so when we ordered the cucumber cocktail… is it wrong to say we were somewhat disappointed in the lack of theatrics. It is still most definitely worth checking out for their excellent atmosphere and to see the elevator in the middle… don’t see that every day…
For $240 for 4 people I think I would prefer Briggs or The Nash at the price range, but they assure us, in Ten years’ time they will figure out all the kinks.
About our couple and their experience:
Kayla is an Italian mare fresh off a month long trip to Europe and starting her own blog. James is… well James is… some sort of Dutch? perhaps Irish? maybe some British in there somewhere.
One thing is for sure, the environment is something else, walking in sure is something amazing to see, this is what sets CharBar apart. Although the service at the cappuccino bar was impeccable, the service on the restaurant side felt a bit rushed. The food was great, but similar to food we have experienced before in Calgary, would have been cool to see something different and signature (if it did exists, the waitress didn’t tell us about it).
A Couple of Couples 