Libertine Public House

Food is bland. Service was poor. I have been here several times and always leave feeling like I should have gone somewhere else.

You know those people who just take a while to get to know, but when you finally do, you realize that underneath it all they really are good people. Perhaps, misunderstood at times, but with solid and honest intentions?
I’d like to introduce to you my friend Libertine, here.
It’s taken us a few encounters to finally see eye to eye, but now that we have, I anticipate some seriously smooth sailing.
I’ve got to admit, at first I felt like they just tried a little hard. You know those people you meet and you can’t help but wanting to say «I’m sure you’re alright. Just tone it down and be who you are!» But then, they’re also dating your friend and they seem to neglect the heck out of her, and you’re left wondering «WTF, mate? You’ve been fronting so hard, but if you want to really win me over, put some effort in where it matters.»
The first, trying hard, part could probably be used to describe the whole Libertine feel. «Hey, look! We made another National (
)! …But with less beer and the food’s not as good.» Revolutionary stars! Also like National, but yeah, I get it. You’re the Beer Revolution. Well, except that Beer Revolution already exists (
)…
The second, not caring part could probably describe my on again/​off again relationship with their servers. On again because sometimes it’s A-​OK, and off again because sometimes I’m not sure if they even have servers. Am I doing it wrong? Do I just go up to the bar?
So yeah, they’ve had their quirks, but as of late I’m seeing the consistency start to shine through. I feel like they’re making a real effort and it’s starting to show. On first glance they might try hard but when you get to know them, you’ll see they really do care about beer culture in Calgary and bringing craft brew to the people. I really, really respect them for this.
Combine that with cask nights, pretty tasty cheap tacos and a good 8^th Ave patio and you’ve got yourself 4-​stars, Libertine.
I’ll be back soon!

The only reason I keep coming back to this place is for Pubstumpers trivia.
Mediocre pizza and sandwiches. Can’t really put my finger on why — the pizza is just joyless. Also had an Oktoberfest schnitzel sandwich that was dry, tough and soggy at the same time. The fries that came on the side were over-​browned.
They have Lone Tree cider on tap, which I like.

The mojito was very good. Not too sweet, and just right overall. It helps that it’s a Thursday special!
The pork tacos were good, but they were missing something. The coleslaw and pork just didn’t marry quite right. Good for a quick meal, but not much more. We also had the wings while we were out and they were okay as well. Typical wings, nothing to really write home about.
The location is awesome though! Stephan Ave is a great place to people watch. The patio makes for a great relaxing atmosphere.
The waitress was very attentive and made sure we were comfortable. Our drinks were never empty!
Come to drink and socialize and this place will go beyond your expectations.

I was upstairs where the now defunct Unicorn has taken refuge. They have a reasonably decent tap line up. They also have food! I had a burger, it was a veggie burger, kind of pasty in the middle but the bits that weren’t pasty were tasty! Friendly people and a friendly bartender.
They have a nice roomy area for a pool table. I’d totally come here for that! For the food… Well, maybe I’d go for the pizza next time.

This place… Hold one because here comes a rant… I’ve been going to libertine 3 Fridays a month for the past several months because its the only place on Steven Ave that typically has a patio spot after work. I usually try every other pub first but now with the unicorn closed things are limited.
I want to start first with the service because its the main reason I am writing this review. I went in the past friday and had drinks with my friend. Our first waitress was pretty good. not very talkative but at least was good about making sure we got food and drinks. The second waitress… what a cow. During the hour she was our waitress I had to go to the bar twice to get my own drink in which case I was told to ask my waitress. If I am going to the bar TWICE to ask for a drink its pretty clear my waitress doesn’t exist. And yes I know its busy there but there were TWO girls standing at the front to seat people in a seat yourself pub… That’s all fine and good except when it finally came time to pay for the drinks the waitress has the gull to ask me why I didn’t tip her the standard 18%. Uh because you were a shitty waitress??? Tips are a gratuity not a right.
Now lets talk about their attire! This is a pub that definitely needs to implement a dress code or a uniform. There is nothing worse than having to stare at a girls Ass cheeks, barely covered breasts, or stomach hanging out when you are trying to eat or have a few casual drinks after work. I get that servers think men want to see this but as a woman I really don;t find it appropriate or sexy. I find it desperate and disgusting. I understand its a pub but that doesn’t mean you should be wearing shorts that don;t cover your ass.
I really hope the owners or manager do something about this place because I certainly won’t be going back with waitresses dressed for the strip club that don;t really care about customer service. I’d skip it and eat at the Mc Donald’s across the street. At least they smile when you order.

Meh. That’s the best I can give on this one… Was here on a quiet Saturday afternoon, maybe they didn’t have their A team in today but my boyfriend sat with an empty beer glass infront of him for twenty minutes before the server asked if he wanted another ANd we were sitting at the bar. The stars rating is for the sangria, it’s not too shabby, that — I would have again. The place in general and the service? — pass thanks

I made reservations to celebrate my birthday at the Libertine and it was a great choice! The staff was more than accommodating and my party had a nice quiet spot dedicated to us on the second floor. What is even better is that pool, darts and foosball are free! Would definitely recommend and return! Also it was nice to see some chairs and tables incorporated from the Unicorn, it was a nice touch.

I came here for dinner and I was appealed by the service I received. The location and restaurant are very nice, the prices were good, but the service was so horrible. The group of us had to get up and leave after waiting 40 minutes for anything to come out onto our table. The servers seemed like they were high and had no idea what they were doing. It took so long to give our order and sat forever to try to get a refill. One sever was taking all the orders while other people delivered the foods to completely wrong tables and wrong people. One thing that turned me off the most was the dirty cups we were getting our drinks in, after asking for new cups they returned with even dirtier ones.
Unless service changes, I don’t recommend this place to anyone.

One word, terrible.
I’ve been to this restaurant on multiple occasions and apart from organizational events, this place is terrible. Terrible service, so bad that I think it has actually biased my thoughts on the food and the mood.
I have been meaning to write a review about this restaurant a while ago, but because of my bad experience I figured that I should give it some time. Unfortunately that hasn’t changed anything. I’ve been there on three personal outings and wow third time is really a charm. I will never go back.
From my most recent experience, I went with a group of about six. Keep in mind that I’m not expecting much from this place considering that it is a pub and that I’ve had bad service in the past. But really, when you think things can’t possibly be worse… they are. We had a server with no clue what was on the food menu, she was slow and inattentive. It almost seemed as though she was avoiding our table. At the end when we asked for our individual bills, she came back with them, smacked them down in the middle of the table and just walked away. The least she could do was put the effort in to give us our bills. Not only that, but the paying process was so painful… a friend actually thought of just walking out. Lucky for her we waited.
I understand that pubs and bars don’t aren’t necessarily about the service, but at her level it was unacceptable.

Stopped for a late lunch following the Pride parade and got an outdoor table to watch the parade aftermath. It was a fun scene. The duck confit club sandwich I ordered was very good and the bread was incredibly fresh. My partner’s grilled salmon sandwich was very well spiced with good flavor though it could have been cooked a bit less. The server was friendly and attentive. We liked this place!
August 2014

Had a midday mid week lunch here. The «damn good burger» was damn good. And so was the service. My friends also greatly appreciated their selections — one was a special — open face roast beef sandwich and the other was some kind of a burger different than mine. They raved about their choices as much as I did with mine.
I’d definitely come back for drinks or another meal.

The location is great if you are downtown and want a bite to eat before an event. We ordered the steak sandwich with a salad and some craft beers. The steak sandwich was $ 17.00 which isn’t too bad; however the portion was a bit small for that price. The garlic sauce on the bread was to die for, and left me wanting to order a whole other steak sandwich!
The server was polite, and fun to talk with, and overall we had a nice experience here. I will forever be craving the sauce on the steak sandwich though!

I’m actually embarrassed by the number of lunch reservations I make for Libertine. This one of my favorite spots on Stephen Ave because it’s just the right mix of upperclass casual as a trendy pub. I’ve been here for everything from events (MBA party) to after-​work drinks and have always enjoyed the food, venue, and service. They have a fantastic elk burger and their house salad is absolutely awesome. They have a decent patio (for the limited space available) that’s great for people watching in the summer. I’ve never had to wait for a table here, so don’t worry about waiting. Great spot!

This will be a limited review. 3 of us stopped in for a few drinks. The place was quiet at the time and the service was good. The drinks were reasonably well made and the prices on par for the area. We didn’t try any of the food hence the limited review. Based on what little I experienced I would certainly give this place another try to see what a full experience brings.

What a difference compared to our first experience: after a visit in 2012 we gave Libertine four stars. This time they barely deserved two.
We were in a group of eight and decided to have drinks and some food after a concert. At this later time the pub was relatively empty but according to the staff they still had a bigger group upstairs.
Nevertheless there was enough staff left in the bar for the amount of people in my opinion. Anyhow our waitress was completely unable to handle our table: she didn’t get the order right and had to return not once but a couple of times to double check what everyone had ordered. Then she was still bringing the wrong food and wrong drinks. The evening was a disaster.
The only thing that went pretty well was splitting the bill. Everyone got his own bill with his own stuff on it.
I would have expected a gesture from the house for the complete mess up but there was nothing.
This kind of service leaves a bad taste and it takes many good experiences to make up for one bad. Sorry guys!

As part of Big Taste Calgary, I decided to treat my sister to lunch here for her birthday.
I figured it would be busy due to Big Taste so we made reservations for 11:30, the hostess showed us to our table as soon as we arrived. We got seated in the front area, it was nice to see outside and the people starting to pile in for lunch.
Our first course was a candied fig and walnut salad and it was really good! I normally don’t like goat cheese, but it was a nice pairing with the house dressing.
Next came our entrée, the dirty blonde Mac and cheese with ale braised pork drumstick and the portion was quite huge! We probably could have just shared it between the two of us. The pork was so good, crispy and really flavorful. The mac & cheese was pretty bland, even after «a-​salting» it, it still was bleh.
While we were eating and it started to get busy, huge wind gusts kept blasting into the area we were sitting from people opening and closing the door. It was pretty chilly and quite irritating — I ended up having to put my coat on. So note to those who come here, try to get a table closer to the back area away from the door if it’s cold out.
When I read the dessert: chocolate chip and Bacon ice cream sandwich, I was like YES! My 3 faves mashed together: cookies, bacon and ice cream! I wish my mouth agreed. The maple ice cream was good, the bacon crusted cookies were not really good. The bacon wasn’t crisp so it was kinda chewy and the cookie was quite hard — I ended up only eating part of the cookie that didn’t have bacon on it :(
It was a good experience (food for the most part was delish, service was awesome), I looked up their regular menu online and there are some tasty dishes I’d like to try so I’d definitely go back

Review #3 of Unilocal’s 30 Day Challenge 2012.
Food: ²⁄₅
Service: ²⁄₅
Ambiance: ²⁄₅
Overall experience: ²⁄₅
(1– Terrible; 3– decent; 5– Fantastic)
The Libertine is not a terrible bar, but it’s definitely not my top pick for a bar to drink and eat on Stephen Ave.
The Libertine is a fairly large bar with two floors, but the upstairs was closed at the time for a function. Instead my group of friends squeezed into a booth on the main floor which got really loud with the after-​work crowd. I had to yell at my friends for them to hear me. I really liked the décor where their chandelier/​lamp shades were of empty kegs. It has a crispy, clean «lounge» look than a bar with a seating arrangement similar to the District with tables close to the front, a middle section of booths, and bar tables on either side. It is fairly spacious unless you happen to sit next to a giant party who end up spilling into your area.
The service wasn’t great either — the server didn’t come by as often as we hoped and it took her a good 15−20min before she acknowledged our friend who joined our table mid-​way through the evening. She did however make up for it by buying his drink which impressed me.
A pint (20oz) of draft beer is around $ 7.50 which is a hefty price tag compared to other places. Understandably, it is located in DT but their selection of draft is very ‘generic’; nothing I haven’t seen before. They also serve a few beer cocktails, specialty cocktails ($ 6.75-$ 8), and martinis ($ 9). Glasses of wine are pretty expensive at around $ 8-​$ 11 a glass.
Their menu can be described as a failed attempt at creating a «sophisticated» bar menu. Granted they mix things up by offering unique combinations such as duck jalapeño poppers, duck clubhouse, soft shell crab, house made finger foods like olives, beer nuts, and spiced chickpeas.
My friends and I ended up sharing:
— Their new «Hot Charcuterie Beer Board» with house olives, a hummus dip, calamari with some sort of ranch dip, spring rolls with shredded duck, and a grilled skewer of mango wrapped in prosciutto. The calamari was lightly battered but were tiny and bland; the accompanying sauce didn’t add much flavour to it either. The skewers were overly salty, and the spring rolls were soggy in the middle. The only highlight of the board were the lightly salted house olives. I DO NOT recommend this charcuterie board.
— «Dirty Fries» starter ($ 12) with pulled pork, Carolina BBQ sauce, gravy, apple slaw. Another mediocre dish that can be shared between 2 – 3 people. I really enjoyed the sweetness and tenderness of the pulled pork, but there wasn’t enough of it to cover the fries. A fairly decent dish to try out but not a «must-​have».
— «Stout BBQ Chicken Marinated Chicken Flatbread» ($ 14) with red onions, red
peppers, mozzarella, stout BBQ sauce. The flatbread was very large and can be shared between 2 – 3 people. The bread was a bit chewy for my liking but the sweetness of the chicken and BBQ sauce was fantastic! Compared to the other flatbreads, I recommend getting this one for the flavour.
All in all, the Libertine is an overpriced bar on Stephen Ave with mediocre drinks, food, and service. I will not return unless I have to.

Well Saturday night, nine o’ clock… where shall we go on Stephen Ave? Since we were already in a pub like mood we decided to try out Libertine! At first all was good. We got sat at a cozy little table for two and our waitress seemed fun and seasoned.
We ordered the beer paddles (three 6oz glasses of selected beer) each and wanted to have something sweet to go with it (we like our sweets!)
So when we saw this amaaaaazing looking dessert walk by us and placed on the table behind we said the famous «we’ll have what she’s having» (by the way it was in this banana spilt type bowl with ice cream on top of chocolate cake with fancy deliciousness coming out of it)
Our waitress said,” Ok great I’ll ring that up for you“
What came out was NOT what the others had it was this mini tart that was filled with chocolate and bacon… the tart was ok, but really? We didn’t want that! And also she didn’t explain anything about our wrong looking dessert; she basically dropped it on the table and ran away.
We did confront her about it and all she said was oh, they are on a wine tasting so they get a different menu… Could you have just said that before? Yes. Did she? No.
Overall it was loud and for the rest of the night the service was just sparse… She got real friendly when it was time to pay though which I found unsettling.
Will I come here again? Maybe… but it would not be my choice.

In the world of cooking, eating and all that envelopes the appreciation of good food, there are those buzz words and terms that I can’t stand. «Foodie» is one of those words. Another one is «gastro-​pub», and though there are a lot of these so called establishments popping up recently, I really don’t see why a pub that makes solid food should be given any special classification. Let’s go to Libertine!
As a beer drinker, I was impressed by the craft beer menu. With all the great local choices from Calgary and beyond, it was hard to make a choice. This is where the beer paddle comes in — a handy 4 beer sampler, 24oz in total, to satisfy my curiosity. Problem solved.
The food selections are some of the standard fare you would find at a pub, like burgers and sandwiches, with a little bit of original items that add interest and variety to the whole menu. Take, for instance, the fish fries. Whole smelts battered and deep fried, served with housemade potato chips. The smelts are tasty, and are a nice mix of male and female — if you’re familiar with smelts, the females are a special treat because they are chock full of tasty roe. Delicious.
The pretzels are soft and beautifully cooked. They glisten with that wonderful sheen and go well with the tasty beer mustard dip. We did see the charcuterie board pass by a couple times as we were dining, and it was very full and hearty, with generous selections of meats and cheese with fresh bread.
Service is good and attentive. I found the staff to be very knowledgable in the food and drink selections and quick to offer honest suggestions when there were questions to be asked about the menu. Call Libertine a gastro-​pub if you want to. I enjoyed the food and beer, and I will definitely return.