Oceana Restaurant

First time there and will be back! Service and food were great and the prices were more than reasonable.

Never disappoints. Oceanas has become my go to for business lunches and dinners. No matter what my clients or myself order we always walk away satisfied. The fish and chips are always top notch but i must say the eggs benedict on crab cakes are fantastic! I only wish the staff didn’t look at me like i was the devil himself when i request fries as a side. And, if you provide bread… please just provide it. As of late the servers ask if you would like bread but if you accept you’d think you just asked them to do something painful. Take this particular issue out of the equation and the service, like the food, rates a 4 on my personal scale.

We went there for dinner to celebrate a special occasion and we were disappointed. We found it was average.
The patio is great and the service was good. The atmosphere… hum… Some people were quite noisy: a lady seemed drunk and was very loud, another one was listening to music on her iphone and a guy started playing music as he came with an instrument. He played well for sure but I’m not sure it’s what customers expect in this kind of restaurant.
The scallop & jumbo shrimp capri with linguini were good but a bit flavorless, it was missing something in the sauce. The cajun pan seared sea scallops were very fresh and very good but the sides were average… mash potatoes with scallops is definitely not the best match!
The tiramisu is absolutely not a tiramisu… at all… And the chocolate cake is quite basic.
So it’s ok, but nothing special there and it’s not to the level of its cost.

Looks like a really nice place but there food wasn’t the best. Oysters on the half shell were warm, steak was dry. nice place but could use better food.

I feel the food could be better. I expected to be better… For what you pay for…

It’s been a few years since I’ve been to Oceana, I think it’s because it’s just on the edge of downtown that it never dawns on me to come here. Opportunity arose when my manager suggested we dine here our team lunch.
My coworkers and I trekked over; it was a bit chilly on our walk so we were all relieved we got seated near the toasty fire place. I was in the mood for pasta so it worked out that their lunch menu featured a seafood linguine (scallops, shrimp and mussels in a garlic butter sauce). Everyone else got an array of seafood laden meals (except one coworker who got beef medallions which were surprisingly tasty)
The portions are moderate, quality of the food and service are top-​notch. They do have daily lunch specials for about $ 20, but if you’re thinking dinner it will cost you a pretty penny ($ 30-​$ 40 range for just your entrée)

When I told the waitress that there were bones in my chowder she said ‘that is normal’, then I mentioned that it was also cold… She said she was sorry. Well. That was the beginning of a mediocre meal. I had chosen the $ 35 dinner special; chowder, arctic char and crème brûlée. Fish was fine, veggies were cold and the mashed potatoes were plated using an ice cream scoop. My desert was flavorless and contained something hard and white… To be honest, the potatoes were the best part of the meal.
The kids ordered pasta ranging from 26 to $ 35. They finished their drinks and were never offered another. Our table of 8 ate the bread we were offered, and although we asked for more, it didn’t arrive until immediately before dessert was served. The pear flambé wasn’t flamed, and was so sweet that a 13 yo boy could not eat it. Apparently the chocolate cake was absolutely spectacular. Our bill was $ 456.00.
Pretty location, pretty waitress, pretty awful dinner at an absolutely criminal price.

What an odd duck of a restaurant.
I’ve been here twice in a single week, which is unusual in itself, but circumstances (i.e. other people’s choices) aligned to make that happen.
Had an 8pm reservation here on the first visit, earliest we could get at short notice… but when we arrived at 7:59, there were perhaps two occupied tables. We milled around for quite some time before we were noticed and seated.
Décor is a combination of hotel lobby and discards from the River Café. Not sure that snowshoes and skis go with the seafood theme, and the space is broken into multiple levels. I guess the good news is that many tables are quite private, but on the other hand you can be miles from the attention of your server.
Menu is about as seafood-​centric as you can get outside of somewhere like Catch, and this is where the restaurant shines. On both visits, the raw oysters, cooked oysters, and the Arctic char were raved about (I can vouch for the char, it was most excellent). The oyster-​lovers have seriously high standards, so their suppliers and the kitchen staff have clear oyster credit. Caesar salad was also above average.
There are some stumbles on the non-​seafood items. Ribs and lamb chops on one of the appetizer platters were only ok, and the chicken linguine is best avoided. (But really, when you eat at a place with «ocean» in the name, that’s really on you…).
Sides were average; large cut vegetables and mashed or roasted potatos, so nothing special there.
Service was all over the place. One visit was like being served by your little cousin — earnest and endearing in a cute way, but about 5 notches from the sort of professionalism you expect in a place like this. Second visit the waiter had much more skill and experience, but had a hard time with the concept of bowing out from private conversations. I appreciate you showing an interest, but we aren’t quite so interested in you becoming a part of our lives.
Pricey but what isn’t in downtown Calgary these days?

We have been to Oceana a couple of times and have found the food there is really hit and miss.
For a fine dining experience I expect my food to be consistently top notch, and unfortunately that does not appear to be the case here.
Before my review of our dining experience I do have one thing to note;
On our most recent visit to Oceana we made a reservation through Open Table.
The next day I noticed I had several missed calls from what turned out to be the restaurant.
Thinking there was a problem with my reservation I called them back on my way home from work.
First I was asked how long we planned to stay because they had booked a reservation a short time after hours. (really?!)
Through the course of the conversation it became evident the Gentleman had phoned the wrong person and we WERE the later reservation.
At this point he asked if we’d be willing to come a little later to avoid a conflict with the earlier reservation. Okay, sure. I try not to be a difficult customer when I don’t need to be. So we bumped our reservation a bit.
Then I was told they wouldn’t keep my reservation without a credit card on file.
As I was driving (don’t worry I was on hands free) I said I’d phone back.
The lady I spoke with later on explained that this was to debit my card $ 50 in the event we missed our reservation.
We dine out frequently at both casual and fine dining restaurants and I have never been asked for a credit card deposit to hold my reservation.
If this is something they require, then it should be listed on Open Table as opposed to spamming my cell phone all day long after the fact.
After expressing my concern over this practice she eventually offered to keep my reservation without a credit card. A nice gesture perhaps, but against a policy that shouldn’t exist in the first place.
As far as our actual dining experience goes, we found the service to be outstanding. Our server was attentive, helpful, and friendly.
I also found this to be the case on our previous visit.
The serving staff really do a great job at Oceana.
There is also a decent wine list, though it is a little on the pricey side for what they offer.
Onto the food…
As mentioned before, the food here is hit and miss, and we got a bit of both on this latest visit.
While we waited to order our server brought out some bread and olive tapenade.
The tapenade was plentiful and delicious! If only we’d had more than about 3 or 4 tiny slices of bread to enjoy it with.
The loaf of bread was very small and very hard to cut (only half of it had been pre-​sliced). Not much better than «day old» quality in my books, which is certainly not what I expect in a fine dining establishment.
For a starter I ordered the Kale Salad.
A very simple dish but quite tasty. I’d recommend it except it’s a very small portion for the $ 9 they charge.
For our main course we ordered the Filet Minion and the 10oz New York steak.
The Filet Minion was «good». No complaints there.
The 10oz New York — though ordered medium well — came out medium rare at best. I ate it regardless as I didn’t want the hassle of returning it.
The flavour was mediocre and it wasn’t a very good cut of meat at all.
It was also the smallest «10oz» steak I’ve ever seen.
The vegetables etc. that came with our meals were very nicely done.
Overall, the mains would be put to shame by your local steakhouse, and just don’t hold up to «fine dining» quality in any respect.
For desert we had the Tiramisu and the hand rolled Baklava.
The Tiramisu was quite tasty, so no major complaints there.
With that said, it was not quite up to the quality level of other restaurants of this calibre.
The hand rolled Baklava was excellent! Very nicely done.
The portion was the big disappointment in this case. Two tiny little pieces of, from what I could tell was the best thing on the menu.
Contrary to what some of the other reviewers have said, I don’t mind the décor at all. It’s classy and romantic.
The atmosphere isn’t contemporary but I don’t think it’s supposed to be.
In any case I’m not sure if we will visit Oceana again.
The food just isn’t on par with their prices or their competition, and the arrogance of attempting to charge me for a reservation is the final nail in the coffin.
With so many other fantastic options here in Calgary, these people really need to step up their game if they want to keep my business.

HUGE WINE PRICES ! HUGE FOOD PRICES! HUGE DISAPPOINTMENT!
it was our first time here and we came with a groupon. The feeling was we
were ‘on the cheap’ by the staff. Décor is so old and dated. Servers wander
around aimlessly… sloppily attired for an alleged high end restaurant. more
concerned about their iphones and chattering with eachother.
the bread came out not just cold but ICE COLD! i see another reviewer had
the same problem. Food was mediocre. Should not be advertised in a fine
dining catergory. Gordon Ramsey. where are you? This place needs YOU!

Really good… The halibut was very good and healthy. The mix plates to share are very very big… But they are good as well… The service was friendly too… I really enjoyed this place and I would go back.

I’m a total fan of Oceana’s fish and chips… In fact, I think it’s the best fish and chips in Calgary…
I found this place, after heading there for a birthday party for a friend. We had a large table of 12 (big round table) and the service was attentitive and friendly. The menu has a large selection of fresh seafood, and the chef is talented. This is a great place for a large party to dine!
My husband and I usually share a fish and chips plate, because their portions are big, and we just order an extra peice of fish, which they are happy to accommodate with for a small amount more. When we find a groupon deal to this place, we have our own plates, and can never finish.
One more thing about the fish & chips — the oil is always clean, and the batter is like a beer batter, only lighter and crisper. You really must try it!

The complimentary bread came out cold, not just room temperature but actually cold! The salad was a waste of time, to the point of whoever made it should apologize to the dishwasher for making him/​her clean the plate wasted on it! I could make a better salad at home. Just some greens like it came out of a packaged lettuce mix sold anywhere and other than the rare piece of what I believe to be fennel there was nothing in it! You can’t completely rely on the dressing to make a salad appetizing and with the dressing they had it might as well have been a generic store bought dressing.
The lobster bisque had no lobster flavour or any discernible lobster in it at all. I always believed there should be actual pieces of lobster in a lobster bisque, guess not.
Both the fish dish and the steak dish was under seasoned, at least the potatoes were ok.
The best and only good part of the meal came in the form of ice cream that arrived with the apple pie. Wonderfully rich and filled with vanilla flavour it was great. Unfortunately it was the only actually good thing we had all night.
In summary don’t have the Big Taste salad or bisque or cod or steak! A very disappointing evening, Oceana you’ve lost 2 people for good! Thoroughly dissatisfied!

We came here with a Groupon. Thank goodness as no one should pay full price for this. We made a reservation here for a Friday night and decided we would take a snowy winter walk down, which was nice. This resto is located on the river and was an easy walk from Kensi, we came across on the peace bridge.
Like Carolina M. and Linda C. mentioned, the décor here is … trying too hard. I don’t even know what they are trying for. The chairs are old and wooden, but they tried to update them with animal print fabric. Horrendous. There was no real ‘theme’ just seemed like maybe it would have looked upscale circa 87. Really just sad and dated. I really felt like I was back in the small town I grew up in, eating at the fanciest restaurant in the area. It too likely peaked in 85.
The place was totally dead when we came, save for some older couples, we were hands down the youngest people in there, the only other relatively young people were the staff. Who by the way looked god damned bored the entire time. Either gabbing by the bar, or on their phones, there was one poor soul stuck at the door, I suspect the host or whatever, but with no one coming in she was under utilized. That poor thing, just sitting on a stool, bored and staring blankly into the dining room.
The food… yeah.
For starters we chose the mussels saganaki, which sounds good on paper but what ended up being a pile of mussels and some bland tomato sauce. Not a lick of feta in the whole thing. Tepid and unappetizing. At this point we were both turning our hopes towards the mains.
Being named «Oceana» and touting itself as a seafood and steak resto, naturally we were excited to indulge in some seafood. Of course we were. I choose the pan fried jumbo shrimp and my date had the Cajun pan seared fresh nova scotia scallops. Again, simple and what should be safe classics.
However.what we got, was again tepid seafood. The scallops and shrimp were both horrendously over cooked, cold and under seasoned. Both dishes came with garlic mashed potatoes and vegetables. No seasoning either. This place has it’s head so far up it’s own ass that they don’t put seasoning on the table, implying that they have enough confidence in their food that you aren’t going to need to add anything to it.
The plating was also a disaster. If the food is good quality and cooked well, what does it matter how it’s plated. But here I think I might as well bring it up. The plating of the food was really just a reflection of the lack of care and outdated nature of this establishment. The potatoes were served from an ice cream scoop. The vegetables were «jumbo cut», think half a crown of broccoli, a quarter of a red pepper and a few shards of carrot. Reminiscent of what the keg used to do back in 92. As for the cooking of the veg. Uneven cooking jumps to mind. A steamed head of broccoli full of water and no seasoning. Hard carrots. Burnt red pepper. I wish I had a picture of the plated food next to the zebra printed chair. High end 80’s up in here. So hilarious, really, an ice cream scoop. ha ha! And at 30+ dollars a plate, my goodness.
Neither of us ate much of our meals. The waitress came round and took our dishes away, and when she asked how it was, we were unusually honest. We said it was cooked horribly and had no seasoning. It was inedible. Plain and simple. Well, the message was passed on but nothing was done about it, and I didn’t really care. I just wanted out of the retirement home.
Until we were leaving, of course after having paid our bill, putting our coats on at the door. This guy — the manager I guess, but you wouldn’t know it — decided his feathers were ruffled and thought he would inquire a little further about our experience. We simply said it wasn’t cooked properly, it didn’t have seasoning, and it was overpriced. He didn’t take any responsibility for the food served or our experience, and implied that we were the clueless ones. Again, another reflection of the establishment in it’s entirety.
Can’t help but think of Gordon Ramsay. I so wish Gordon Ramsay could go here. It would be one hell of an amazing episode.
This place needs a complete overhaul. It is way to high priced for the old folks home food they are serving. That is exactly what this place reminds me of. Ice cream scoop potato, old clientele and dated décor. Just gut it and start over.
You have a beautiful location. You are on the water, so why not take advantage of that? Do surf and turf, but do it well. Calgary has an excellent food scene, I have had many meals, half this price or less but far greater in quality. This place could be a real gem. Missed opportunity.
My advice for the gent who came up to talk to us at the end of the night, is to sit down, have a meal and see what you think.
And drop the pretentiousness and put a damn salt and pepper shaker on the table if you aren’t going to taste the food before it leaves the kitchen.
My only other advice is do not go here.

Good sized portions. really fresh fish and nice atmosphere. I was surprised it was not busier on a friday night. We live nearby, I could will be back. Good service and nice location on the river.

I have many meals at Oceana, including business dinners and celebration dinners. The food and service have been consistently excellent. They have a private room for special functions and meetings.
The scallops are the best I have had. The shrimp are very tasty. The seafood pasta is excellent. The beef is terrific as well. The fish is fresh and brought in regularly. Quite frankly this is the best seafood in Calgary. You need to try it and make your own decision.

Took our Admin group out for lunch on Admin Professionals day and a great meal was had by all! Great service, friendly atmosphere, all round great meal. For reference, the Fisherman’s Platter is fresh, delicious and a lot of food. Other favorites are the Arctic Char and the Halibut Salad. Check it out.

Definitely trying to hard with the décor but i liked the place. I was in Calgary visiting my son and i had bought a Groupon to try this restaurant. Because of time constraints we could not do dinner but we did lunch instead.
The location of the place is great. in a great area of Calgary, very Downtown and cool.
There were only a few people in the restaurant that day for lunch, we were seated by a window, which had a nice view on the outside so it was nice.
They had lunch specials, which is what we had, my son had the Salmon and rice pilaf and i had the peppercorn steak with mash potatoes and salad.
Everything was solid.
Our waiter though, was not overly friendly, but after spending time in Calgary i learned Canadians (maybe only Calgarians) are very cold, so this did not bother us.
He was though quick and service was ok overall.
Now the only complain i have is that when the check came and i informed the waiter we had a Groupon, he kinda made a face and proceeded to tell me that the Groupons were only good for entrees, or for dinner and i could not use it for lunch.
I told him that i had made a reservation before hand and i had mentioned the Groupon to the manager and he had said there was no problem. He said he had to «go check» and came back after 10 minutes and said «there will be no problem to use the Groupon». So that was pretty lame on his part, since the point of Groupon is to get people to try different venues and they can in turn get new and recurring customers.
I have to admit we were both pleased with the food, but if it was not for Groupon i do not think it’d have tried this place as the reviews were not very positive.
Overall, it was a good experience and i will likely be back to Oceana when i go back to Calgary.

We went as a group of around 40 or so people as part of a staff Christmas Party/​Dinner at the beginning of December. The underground parking directly across the street was much welcomed as the weather was quite cold (worth 4 stars all on it’s own!). I thought the ambiance was very nice, but not too formal. It allowed us as a group to feel very comfortable and relaxed to be ourselves. Also, everyone was super friendly!
The girlfriend and I shared our main courses…
Appetizers were: –Lobster Crustini
–Baby Back Ribs
–Mini Beef Wellingtons
Soup: –New England Clam Chowder
Main course: –8 Oz Filet Mignon with Nova Scotia Sea Scallops
–Charbroiled Alaskan Halibut Filet with market fresh vegetables and garlic mashed potatoes

Drinks: –Caesars– ordered extra spicy
Dessert: –Tiramisu– Not the best Tiramisu ever, but still very rich and tasty…
ANALYSIS: All three appetizers were perfect! The Baby back ribs seemed out of place compared to the other menu items, but were very delicious. The New England clam chowder was served very warm, but not too hot. For someone who is not a big fan of soup, I actually quite enjoyed it. I had ordered the Filet Mignon medium rare, and was not disappointed! Perfect to the second, and full of natural flavor. The Scallops were very tender, but not too chewy or underdone. The Halibut was very moist, and melted in our mouths. Even the Caesars were perfect (And I am very, very picky about my Caesars!!) Note: although the drinks themselves were perfect, they were the only item that took forever to recieve once ordered
The food and the fast service, even though we were a large group, was outstanding. The serving staff were very organized and had the timing right on the money. Everything was served at the the right temperature, and the servers were very attentive and it was easy to get a hold of their attention.
Oh, and one more thing– the plate presentation was spectacular! We will definitely be returning!

I agree with the other review. Décor was trying REALLY hard to be upscale but failed… seemed to me a little like a nightclub with it’s lights on?! (if that makes sense)… of course I had gone for lunch… perhaps at dinner, the darker lighting would hide some flaws?
Food:
Oyster Rockefeller — I disliked a lot. Felt it was dry, and not cohesive.
Calamari — it was ok, nothing above normal
Halibut salad — Halibut was pretty good.
Sole filet meal — very buttery, tender… it was ok, again nothing earth shattering.
Luckily, we had a GC so it lowered the price of the bill which was nice.
Conclusion: Overpriced, wanting to be high-​end, but not succeeding.