Belfry Gastro House

Normally I write fairly lengthy reviews, but I cant spare the energy with this place. Long story short — Terrible wait for food — wrong food came, same thing happened to the table next to us — incredibly bad service… For a pub just steps away from the big oil and gas companies they are fools to not get it together — I and many others wont be back.

An after work hangout more than a destination bar, the best feature of this place (which keeps me coming back) is the $ 4 happy hour 3−7pm which features house red & white wines, a draft, and a random cocktail. When featured, the Dark and Stormy is nice and really spicy. The nachos are decent, and the rest of the menu is well prepared if somewhat dated/​uninspired compared to the plethora of other gastro pubs downtown these days.

First and last time at the COLDfry.
Arrived at 1215pm with table of 4. Ordered immediately off a rather boring and limited menu for a downtown Calgary eatery. Place was NOT packed but one larger table. Did not get meal until 120pm & one person had to leave before meal arrived. Were told the table of 8 and a new menu were to blame (on a THURS?!)
Everyone’s meal was cold. Fish in fish & chips was odd tasting. I ordered the chicken burger and I can honestly say the one at Wendy’s has more flavour.
Finally, took the steak sandwich and salad to go for the person who left… found out later it was also sub par and the side «salad» was a few leaves of bagged iceberg and a SINGLE tomato. No dressing. Yum?
Server was apologetic but I have never been so completely unimpressed with a lunch in my life. And worst was with GUESTS.
Worst restaurant in downtown I’ve been to hands down. «New» menu was probably new circa 1985 and I waited over an HOUR for food that made me wish we’d gone to McDonald’s on 8^th because at least there if the food is crap. it is cheap and fast crap.

This seems to be our stop for a pre-​dinner cocktail before heading off to dinner reservations as we’ve been a couple of times. So I can not comment on the food.
But the service was good each time, the décor is enchanting (dark and very European), and a great selection of wine & beer.
Looks like a fun place to meet up with some friends for an after work bevy or bite. Appears they have a meeting or gathering room for groups downstairs as well.
Next time we will be sure to try a bite.

First visit to Befry this evening. Easy to findand there was lots of street parking available.
I attended an AdRodeo event and we were hosted in the meeting space in the basement. Room was long & narrow which is not usually idea for a group presentation. However turned out to be a sweet space. There were a combination of regular tables and bar height tables, AND TVs on the wall showed the presentation making it comfortable. Sound was good. Upstairs was average noise level, but we were not disturbed by it.
Food was supplied as part of the ticket price. Wings were good, pizza was average, nachos look basic (but I didn’t try).
Food was buffet style and drinks were table service. Room was full — approx 40 people and we had 2 staff filling the buffet table and serving drinks.
Returning tomorrow for the 2^nd in the AdRodeo #AdWeek speaker series — look forward to it.

Service is terrible. Never cleaned our table in an hour, so many empty glasses on the table. Pic is the evidence.
The drinks were fine for a Friday for the price but the length of time we waited is insane.
I don’t usually have an issue when it is busy but when the table next to us is treated completely differently, there is a problem. This is the third time this kind of service on a Friday has happened.
I find it strange because I’ve come for lunch numerous times and the service has been great. The food is good.
Overall service is the most important aspect of dining/​amusement on a Friday evening.

Went there for lunch today. Very slow service and the time the food came it was so cold we couldn’t eat it. Server asked if we wanted it heated up … We left and won’t be back

My review rating falls somewhere between a 2 and 3 star.
The food was decent. I had a shrimp po’boy sandwich with yam fries. It was tasty. Nothing to rave about but solid pub food. One friend had the same as me but with regular fries and he said the fries were quite salty. Our other friend had the burger with fries,. He said it was okay, the burger being a bit dry.
Service was friendly. I had emailed a reservation but they had no record of it. They were quick to find me a spot though which was appreciated. The service speed however left a little something to be desired. I know you are busy at lunch but it seemed like we waited about 10 — 15 minutes longer than it should have taken.
Our other big issue was the glasswear. It was spotted, smudged and looked dirty. One of my friends had lipstick on his glass, which it looked like they almost tried to hide with the lime (but I will assume the like was randomly placed). It was a bit off putting to be honest.
Décor is nice, traditional pub style. Might be a good place to grab a few drinks but I am not sure I’d be lining up to eat here again anytime soon.

The service in the bar is excellent… Also the crème brûlée is delicious… I haven’t had lunch there. I just had a glass of wine and the crème brûlée. The wine was very good too. But the best thing in my opinion was the service, they were friendly, fast, and also, recommend me a great wine… I tipped about 40% of the bill there…

I went here just over a week ago for a Stella & Dot meeting. It was a Monday night and the place was empty upstairs. Our meeting was downstairs in the Bell room (I believe it’s called). I only had one glass of the house wine (red) and observed (damn lifestyle changes) the nachos being devoured. They looked delicious and smelled just as good.
The service was fine. Nothing stellar, but fine.
The ambience is dark. It’s all dark wood and much like what I’d expect an Irish pub to resemble.
Would I go back? I don’t think it’d be my first choice, but if someone suggested it I would not be against it.

I went here for a business lunch recently and had the chicken sandwich with the apple fennel slaw. There was nothing terribly wrong with my experience, and I thought it was fairly mediocre. The chicken breast was on the dry side, and I thought the portion size was fairly small. I did like having the option of getting the apple fennel slaw as opposed to just the regular fries or salad.
Note, this place does not take reservations during the lunch hour, so you have to make your reservation for 1145.

I need to downgrade my last review of this place.
The Belfry is fine for lunch IF you get through the door at 11:30, seated, and order ASAP. But if you get into 11:45, or God help you, 12:00 — 12:15 territory, you are going to wait for it.
Today a group of 5 of us ordered around 12:00… and we didn’t see our food until it was pushing 1:00.
All entrees, excluding the grilled veggie and fries for sides, had clearly been sitting for a while when they were served. To summarize: burgers barely warm. Veggies hot. Nothing was in sync.
Clearly the kitchen is overwhelmed everyday at lunch, and something is wrong.
This is a shame, because if you make it early enough, the food and service is typically very good. But there is a threshold for volume that, when crossed, things go south.
That’s a shame… because other restaurants of similar size and capacity seem to be able to cope. So clearly, the kitchen management needs work to right this ship.
If I’m there at 11:30: It’s 4 stars. However, only 2 Stars during the rush.

Not good, in fact the food was terrible. Seriously I could get food with more self worth, integrity and pride at 7 11. Where do I start?
First off I wanna say that this place is deceptive, its in a location where you would expect a nice experience, the atmosphere though a bit quirky seems perfectly fine and nothing (other than the fact that hardly any customers were here at prime time) even gave me the hint that this place would drop the ball and then pop the ball …
The prices (for what you get) are WAY too high! To be fair, they’re is at least some «average» food here that I tried off my friends plates but my fish and chips were probably the 2^nd worst I have ever had in my life. Dry, tasteless and very chincy portion size. Even Captain highlander would roll in his grave at the sight! I tried my friends Mac n cheese, wow! It was THE WORST! Stale pasta, dry and no flavor at all! Shameful. And the portion was even more pathetic, I believe it also came with a shriveled pork belly…
The chicken wings were an abomination. SO Bad, they tasted freezer burned and stale and they were soggy and just plain YUCK. This was the kicker for me when I tried these i lost all hope for this joint…
The service? Well I have had worse service, but at its peak it was average. Honestly the food was just so off putting at every level not even good service could save my experience… I was displeased, i kind of hid the fact because i didnt wanna embarrass my friend who chose this place. Very very displeased. I might has well have flushed my money down the toilet! that’s how cheated I felt after I left!!!
I really wish that this review had a redeeming factor but it doesn’t… I can’t and won’t tolerate this establishment so a generous 1 star will be awarded…
²⁰⁄₃₀

This was an challenging establishment to rate. An old friend of mine once had thoughts on pubs that may apply in this case … the question … is said facility more like a porn star or a real lady? The star will titilate and tantalize, but ultimately she wants your money. A real lady, she wants you to be a part of her.
This is a nice looking place, a little polish and dim light can do wonders. The beer is all the big brands and nothing that is good-​local. The food, very standard. The service is attractive which oddly enough makes me spend money. The atmosphere … apparitions of corporate Calgary. It does what it does very well.
Ordered 8′ Hawaiian Pizza and had a glass of Grayson Pinot Noir. Both specials on Thursday (all wine is 50% off on Thursday). Reasonable prices will make this place a consideration on certain days. Not my first choice for leisure, but a great place when I want to be alone looking over some work … not a place I feel a part of though.

Tucked away on a block that includes the Uptown Stage & Screen, Vern’s, Opus and Soul Korea karaōke (maybe the most awesome block in Calgary on name status alone?), the Belfry is a pretentiously named, modestly decorated gastropub that was suspiciously empty for prime time on a Saturday night.
Our group of eight was seated promptly (maybe because we tripled the number of patrons instantly), and the food was brought out succinctly (again, I am sure there was little in terms of kitchen backup). We were offered free pint glasses with our purchases of Strongbow, and the waitress did her best to keep things going smoothly. There was drama near the end when an order of chicken wings was forgotten, and resulted in the kitchen manager’s polite shit-​eating grin being erased by my sister-in-law’s barbed-​wire comments. Our polite group was silenced and impressed.
The food itself was decent, especially if you stuck with the burgers and branched out with the chicken wing flavors. I tried the regular burger and found it to be juicy and flavorful. The mango hot sauce chicken wings were also TASTY (more on that), with a subtle heat that crept up and stayed. However, there were some complaints that stayed within our table’s confines:
— the macaroni and cheese was neither cheesey enough, and the advertised bacon was a far cry from delicious.
— the wings were made from frozen, and not as crispy as can be expected; hence, the interesting flavors were outmuscled by mediocre meat.
— the portions were disproportionately balanced between meats and starches.
The Belfry is a good enough place if you are within that block of 8^th Ave, but I wouldn’t go out of my way to patronize it again.

We stopped at Belfry for pre-​party beers and dinner. The place was oddly empty for a saturday night at a downtown location where there were a lot of patrons walking the street. We suspected it might’ve been a slow night.
However our meal experience had mixed reactions. Those who ordered burgers were quite satisfied, but everyone who decided to take a chance on the «gastro» experience ended up disappointed. The food wasn’t as impressive as it was portrayed on the menu. I ordered the Bangers and Smashed. My Wild Boar sausage and smashed potatoes were ok. I was expecting a larger meal but only gotten half a sausage and several pieces of potatoes mashed down. I think there were veggies but who is really out to eat healthy on a weekend night? My friend’s mac n’ cheese wasn’t cheesy and had unimpressive strips of bacon. My friend’s wings had to be thawed before fried so this meant the wait had to be longer. I was impressed with their wing flavours though: mango hot sauce and cola bbq.
Our waitress was pretty friendly and was probably as diplomatic as anyone I’ve ever seen, considering there were quite a few things we weren’t happy with and could have easily blown up. She was cool enough to hook us up with a few prizes courtesy of a beer promo/​contest and was smart enough to butter me up with several «happy birthdays»… :P

I was at a retirement party for one of our IT Managers at Nexen, and much to my surprise, the Belfry Gastro House has a large room to accommodate events. What an amazing find! Since a few other Unilocalers have already reviewed the pub, I will take the angle of event space, since attending an event was my purpose for being there.
The Belfry has a large room in the basement that seats approximately 50 people, and it is GORGEOUS! it is done up with two 100″ HD Projection screens on each end of the room. If that isn’t enough, in between the two 100″ screens, is an additional 4, 42″ LCD televisions. At this event, we had all six screens going wishing our friend and colleague fairwell.
Since no retirement party isn’t complete without a ‘roast’, there is also a podium and a wireless microphone. It was amazing to be in a venue like that, and for all the speakers to be heard. Well done!
The food was very good. They had standard pub fare, delcious pizzas, and even a well presented (and delicious) polenta, with a cajun mayo dip.
The event ran smoothly, and the staff were extremely kind. This is definately a venue that I will return to. It is extremely close to where I work, but for whatever reason, the Belfry and I have never crossed paths. I intend to make the effort for either lunch or bevvies in the future.

I don’t mind paying top dollar for a great meal… but I do mind paying top-​dollar for a run-​of-​the-​mill meal. I was downtown recently and went wandering from steakhouse to bistro, tapas bar to chophouse… and none of the menus looked appealing. I know there’s a big business lunch crowd, but everything looked too basic AND too expensive AND too meaty! Yes, I’m a vegetarian, but that shouldn’t mean I have to eat salad every time I go out!
Finally we stumbled upon Belfry Gastro House. About time! A menu that had more than one HOT vegetarian choice! In addition to the house salad, there was a vegetarian pizza and a roasted vegetable sandwich. Plus, the appetizer of sundried tomato polenta fries (with roasted garlic aioli) sounded great. There was also a full menu of meaty choices as well. I opted for the vegetarian sandwich which was very good and the perfect late lunch. Belfry also offered lots of beers on taps and interesting mixed drinks. Our server was very polite and attentive, and they accommodated an allergy above and beyond what would normally be expected. When I’m looking for a place to satisfy a crowd, I’ll definitely be returning to Belfry.

Food Quality: ⁴⁄₅
Décor: ³⁄₅
Value: ³⁄₅
Kitchen Speed: ¹⁄₅
Service: ²⁄₅
Catering mostly to the lunch and after work downtown crowd, the kitchen here is WAY too slow to keep up with the crowd. We’ve made a few attempts to have lunch here on weekdays and each time its been 35 – 40 mins to get our food after we order. That’s not going to cut it with the downtown lunch crowd. The servers are also spread too thin to refill your drinks on time. I don’t mind coming here after work when I have more time but for a place that charges this much, they should step up to the plate more.

What is there to say about my first experience at The Belfry?
I could talk about going there after seeing a movie at the Globe. I could talk about the trendy and hip atmosphere or the great service. I could mention that the salads are really boring and below even fast-​food standards.
But…what I really want to mention is this:
If you ask really, really nicely, they’ll serve you wine in a goblet! A goblet! And not just any regular old goblet, an Indiana Jones sized one that only Sean Connery could love.
Whether you frequent downtown after dark or not, this should make the Belfry a must experience. I’m not joking, did you see what I said? A goblet. I felt like I was royalty or Harry Potter. Or one of those really old celebrities that thinks they are way too important to drink out of regular wine glasses.
Either way, a Goblet.