Dakota Bar & Grill

Don’t listen to the other people that critiqued this place because they are crazy and aren’t awesome like I am. Take that other random Unilocalers!
I sat down with my Momsy for a birthday meal (if anybody tries to mention my age, keep in mind that I’m a nerd and will hack your profile to hell :-D) and was greeted by a nice lady for our drinks. I wanted to order 11 caesars, a bottle of rum and a glass of coke. I couldn’t as I had to go back to work after lunch. The gods of booze seem to hate me.
For my main I ordered a penne with Spolumbo sausage. My mom ordered a stirfry. Ummmm holy crap. The servings were big. I was full half-​way through. It was delicious. Big chunks of meaty goodness with veggies and a smile on my face. I did finish the rest at home later. Still awesome. My mother loved hers as well. Well played on the choice of lunch spots, Mom. Well played indeed.

Walking around in the area, this place looked promising. Unfortunately, I would not go back or recommend. It seemed like a place out of restaurant impossible or kitchen nightmares, just to be clear, not because it was dirty or unsafe, but because they could improve a few things and be a great establishment. The service was slow, I think maybe on the kitchen end, our server was nice. The food was not great and the prices were too high. We had a steak which was reported as not good but not awful, and cream of tomato soup that came out cold instead of hot as intended. The décor was outdated and the bathroom was in a strange basement area with no handicap accessible stalls.

Met a family member at Banker’s Hall and we did not want to walk too far for lunch so settled on a bite to eat for lunch at Dakota’s. I had never heard of it, never read about it… but it was on 8^th Ave so has to be OK right? A blind choice simply chosen based on location.
Walked in, loved the open door concept and we waited and waited at the sign that asked us to WAIT to be seated. Finally after a table was cleaned off, we were seated in the dark, dank space. But we had stood at the front for too long. It was the first of 2 times we almost left and went elsewhere. The restaurant was fairly busy with the lunch crowd. It took forever for the server to come over to where we thought she had forgotten about us. Almost left again. Drinks were ordered with appetizers. We had the house red wine which I would NOT recommend (it stated it was Chilean but tasted stale). We also ordered potato skins and veggie spring rolls figuring those were easy enough and would not take too long.
The food came, I had to go grab our own cutlery, salt and pepper and napkins. Ridiculous. No one came by the see how everything was. The food was ok. Edible — likely frozen. I have had better at worst places but this place was pretty bad. Service 1 out of 5. The waitresses were too busy spending time at the bar yakking than to come check on their customers?
2 stars as before mentioned, the food was edible but you will likely not feel like a valued customer. My step-​mom (who I was with) asked me right after the meal (she is from Nova Scotia) why service is so crappy in Calgary. I shrugged my shoulders and responded, «I guess it depends where you go.» Weak.
Dakota’s was embarassing and I will not be back.

Last thursday, went into Dakota’s after work for a quick drink before heading to a fundraising event. The two of us sat down, had an extensive conversation, watched the two waitresses work on the couple of other tables that were already there… in other words, this place was dead quiet. The waitress station was next to our table… after watching the waitresses watch us, we came up with a new plan… head to the Unicorn Pub. When we got up from the table, we didn’t get any acknowledgement of our attendance. Being a ‘stealth’ customer inside a business establishment is not good business.
I’m not sure how Dakota’s is still in business. I’ve been there a couple of times in the past few years and the service is slow or in this current review, non-​existant.
There are many businesses out there that sincerely want my business. Dakota’s will definitely not be getting any future consideration. I would really like to give a no-​star rating as one star is clearly too high for what we received that night.

Conveniently located on Stephen Avenue across from Bankers Hall, the Dakota is a pretty standard restaurant if you’re looking for the basics. The inside is what some people would call «dark and cozy». I felt more like I was in a haunted house or gramma’s basement — even in the photo on their website you can tell that it was too dark to take the picture. The menu is pretty generic — I had the Beer Battered Halibut for $ 15.95, which was ok, but it just made me feel like I took a nose dive into their deep fryer and the tartar sauce was a bit more like elementary school paste than anything. My friend had a veggie burger which was apparently pretty good, most likely a result of the special Ranchero sauce on it, which she kept raving about. In hind sight, I should have ordered one of their burgers — they have beef and chicken burgers, or the Dakota wrap, which someone at the neighbouring table seemed to be enjoying, based on the rate at which it disappeared. The dinner menu includes several steaks and pastas, and an extensive wine menu to pair with your meat du jour. I recommend visiting in the summer, so you can sit outside and not feel like you’re in a funeral parlour.

I like Dakota. It’s a nice and less-​crowded alternative to the more hopping places that surround it.