Boxwood Cafe

Worst service I’ve ever seen. Drinks took 35 minutes to come, meal took another hour. Tough to call it a «meal» too. The sandwich was about as filling as something off the value menu at McDonald’s, but not as good. 2 hours later I was $ 50 in the hole for a two person lunch, and finding myself in the DQ drive thru. If you want to go here because it looks «cute», not worth it people.

BIG TASTE 2016
Last day of big taste & boxwood’s menu looked promising so we stopped in here for lunch. Literally stood in the teeny entranceway with maybe 4 other parties & was not addressed to by anyone for over 20 min. Is there a list? How long’s the wait? It was as if we were invisible. It’s a Sunday, maybe they were short staffed, who knows, but how long does it take really to just stop by & say «sorry, I’ll be with you in a moment»??
FINALLY SEATED, looked around, empty tables everywhere, why it took so long is beyond me. We sat at the bar & finally placed our order — not even gona bother with menu details. Our sandwiches barely had any meat in them. Thought this was normal, but then saw more orders come out after ours that were CONSIDERABLY larger. Guessing they started to run out of ingredients while they were waiting for the rotisserie to finish cooking the meat, & decided it would be okay to just provide rationed portions of their food. Wtf?
We decided to be picky & chose to wait for the oatmeal cookie to bake — she forgot about us & we ended up having them to go because we needed to get back.
The space itself is great — lots of sunlight, patio in the summer, cute bar to sit at with an open kitchen. Oh wait not that last part because you can watch them prepare the food & the girl stuck her finger into the ice cream because she couldn’t get it off the scooper omg did you wash your hands after handling meat no you didn’t you wiped them on that dirty dish towel yeah i saw you. Also why you wearing one glove & touching everything with the hand that’s not gloved.
If you don’t mind what happened in the above paragraph, then probably visit this place on a weekday when they aren’t swamped because they cannot handle a crowd. At all.

Fantastic restaurant, the food was great! Was there for Big Taste 2016, and had lentil soup (which was just ok), followed by a trout dish with gnocchi that was incredible, and a smore bread pudding dessert that was equally delicious!
My one beef was that space is definitely at a premium, and so our wait was a while for our table. I wish there was simply more space!

Perfect noon hour date spot to unwind with a GF. Ambiance was great as usual. Snow as a backdrop for comforting foods is what makes for a perfect Calgary snow day. The hummus was amazing as usual. The albacore tuna, not so much. I’m going to stick to my go-​to chickpea fritters.

Everything we tried here was excellent. Very fresh ingredients with unique dishes. We loved every bite. The desserts were the best I’ve had that I can remember.

I always wanted to try the Boxwood, it is in such a beautiful location. I was in the neighborhood and so decided to have lunch there. I ordered the Lemon Lentil Spinach Soup. It arrived barely warm and it was thick like a lentil porridge and had an unpleasant bitter taste. My time was limited and I was turned off so after a few spoonfuls I paid and left. There is no excuse for serving something this awful. I am too put off to go back and try again. It is too bad, my hopes were high. The service was fine other then that they did not ask me how my food was.

This is a very nice location. The food boasts local and organic ingredients. I had the soup of the day, which was nice. No complaints, and at the same time, nothing I had I can say is worth recommending.
Their service was very nice. The company was great, which makes this worth remembering.

This place used to be really good. But it has really gone downhill in the last couple years. I was there a month ago and ordered the lentil soup and a side of bread (really, the bread cost me 4 $?? What other restaurant charges for bread w soup?). The lentil soup was barely edible. I actually think it was literally the worst item I have ever had at any restaurant. I give it two stars bcs the waitress was very friendly and did a good job. Also, I really love the location of the restaurant. That’s about it.

Over rated! The location is neat, but there’s nothing special about this place except for the location. Save your money and go somewhere else!

Man, Calgary knows how to do their local, organic cafes right! Little café in the park? Sure! Super cute? Hell yeah!
In the corner of a little park, this is probably the coolest, most rustic, and cute café in all of downtown Calgary! With a nice view from the inside and great patio seats, this makes one of the best lunch locations, hands down!
Cam here upon a suggestion by a friend, and boy was I glad I listened to him. Walked in to a pretty busy lunch time and a massive takeout line! Lots of people buy their lunch and eat in the park, which is an awesome idea already! Everything served at Boxwood is local and organic, and it definitely makes a difference.
I had the Prochetta Sandwich, as that seemed to be a fan favourite! Oh. My. Goodness! Probably one of the few sandwiches I’ve had that were so divine, I was smiling and enjoying it more with each and every bite. And this is coming from a guy that doesn’t like bread! The prochetta was beautiful with marinated kale and some kind of jam on a beautiful house made Ciabatta bread!
If you’re from the Calgary area and haven’t been to Boxwood yet, you are definitely missing out! This is one of the spots everyone has to check out!

food was good, and it’s super cute inside. service was the shits. Lemongrass hand soap in the washroom was AMAZING! oh and we only got one set of cutlery/​napkin. I asked for another set but never received. we shared. it worked out fine.

Five of us went to the Boxwood today. Not only was the food delicious but the service was great. Our waiter was so attentive. He photobombed us too, which made it more fun. We will definitely go back again. The mac and cheese was the winner. My fav.

I came back for a work function. We were served a dry chicken sandwich, fridge-​cold hummus and veggies, and a vegetable miso soup that would have been tasty if they’d just served the broth and not accompanied it with chunky carrots and leeks.
I wasn’t surprised that I didn’t like the food, but what did surprise me was to see a staff member accidentally break the top off of a bottle of Pimm’s, and then rather than throw it away, poured it into an old wine bottle! So if you want your Pimm’s loaded with invisible pieces of glass, come down to Boxwood!

Came here with a friend for lunch, and absolutely fell in love with everything. The location — so adorable. The menu — short, but interesting and very GF appropriate. The staff — friendly!
I had the seared tuna salad, and it was lovely. The dressing complimented everything in the salad very well, and was a perfect size for lunch. We sat at the communal table, but there are lots of window seats and in good weather, outdoor seating as well, it appears. If I lived nearby, I’d want to be there all the time!

Friendly and welcome service !!! The food and dessert is tasty. Next to Central Park what a great place

Loved it when it first opened. Getting a little disappointed each time I go now.
They used to have an awesome Saskatoon ice cream sandwich but I think they took it off. At one point it was replaced with a cheaper alternative. I’m guessing the original chef isn’t there anymore???

Enjoyed our time sitting outside at this desirable space within the park.
Chicken sandwich and red lentil hummus were the main hits, while the carrot and chickpea mole was a big miss (this was about as far from a mole as one can get — it came with what seemed like naan bread, which I’m pretty sure isn’t from Oaxaca, nor was this sauce).
For a place that is trying to split the difference between upscale and super-​casual, having to pay for the bread basket hits where it hurts.
Indoor space is mostly large shared table /​bar-​top spaces.
Pleasant but not necessarily on my list of places to return to quickly.

Just got kicked out after dinner. This place sucks now! Don’t come here! I wanted to finish my drink but no! $ 90 is not enough to stay here!!! Don’t ever come here! Please avoid This place! 26 years in the restaurant biz and this place is crap! Don’t spend any money here! I would fire the manager who is on his computer when guests arrive! The service is ok but not too great! It’s not professional at all! More like a school cafeteria!

We were looking for casual lunch on a Sunday morning and we decided to try this charming café located in a small park. The location is perfect, I am sure during the summer the patio is fantastic.
As soon as I entered the restaurant, I was mesmerized by the scene of the chef cutting a home made Porchetta. At that moment, I was sure what I am going to order: D The décor and ambiance was very welcoming and cozy.
I ordered the Porchetta ciabatta sandwich (11 $). The sandwich was simple but delicious. Generous amount of pork meat with arugula and house sauce.
Before we leave, I realized they have 4 beers on tap. I am sure, I will defiantly go back there for a drink and some more delicious food.
Generally, if you are looking for a quick casual quality sandwich, I highly recommend this place. It is a very good location for a friendly gathering.

We heard about the Boxwood from the Food Channel’s You Gotta Eat Here Show. It looked so good we had to come to taste the food when we were in the area. The Boxwood is in an ideal location if you ask me. There’s the Central Memorial Park on one side & office buildings on the other side. I had one of specials for lunch, a lamb meatball sandwich in ciabatta bread. Hubby had the chickpea fritter sandwich. I was full already after half of the sandwich. But it was so good I ate the other half & stuffed myself. No matter, we went for a nice long walk afterwards to work off the food.
Waitstaff were friendly & efficient. And the space itself has a nice modern, airy, yet homey feeling. Next time I’m in Calgary I’m going to eat here again!

I finally got a chance to try the Boxwood after having walked by here numerous times. Wow what a great café by a park perfect for people gazing. We enjoyed our meal to the sight of local capoeriaristas practicing their cartwheel kicks on a sunny Tuesday night.
I got their beet salad with a local ale, while my companion went with a more protein based meal of chicken and wine. I managed to sneak a few bites of the chicken and wow, it was full of flavour. My beet salad was fresh but I wasn’t quite sure if I had paired it right with my beer. Then again salads and beer bro? Come on.
I’d love to try their cocktails next time I drop by.