The Holy Grill

Great little breakfast/​lunch place. Unfortunately NOT open on weekends, caters to the working crowd– right downtown. Fast counter/​pager service, food was fresh and tasty. I recommend the avocado-​egg-​bacon sandwich. It was yummy.

Great food. Good service and friendly staff.

Hands down the best veggie burger I’ve had in Calgary. The portions are huge. I’m not a huge fan of the fries. A few times they’ve been under/​over cooked.

Best place to get paninis! the beet chips are so crispy and delicious! Only downside is there is not much table to dine in.

I ordered the Pacific eggs Benedict, and my person ordered the wakey wakey with sausages.
What I loved most was the hashbrown that was on the side of our meal. It was crispy, salty, and just so good. I love it when hashbrown are cooked like this!
The food and everything was good as well. The Sausage I believe is an Italian, and it wasn’t at all greasy.
When you come here, you order up at the bar and you grab the utensils, ketchup, etc. I don’t mind because this place makes up for the ‘lack’ of service with their food.

Best eggs benny in Calgary. Great staff and atmosphere too. Its my go to place for breakfast. Thank you Holy Grill!

I have been twice to this restaurant, The food is wonderful, beautiful really no words. Fantastic wine list. Exceptional service.

Went back after sometime but this time for a breakfast. It’s wasn’t the best wasn’t the worst. It was nice to go somewhere downtown for breakfast and not run into lineups, long waits and hungry people though, so that’s a bonus.
Overall it’s good, I’d still try it again, third times the charm right?

Overall Fantastic And Lovely Staff, Amazing Panini’s I’ll Be Back For Sure!
Just Done Right On The Grill And I Have Many Allergies So They Made Sure Nothing I Was Allergic Was On The Grill By Cleaning It First. I’m One Satisfied Customer

Small menu, really good food. Had a fried egg sandwich with avocado, bacon cheddar, and pickled eggplant. I was wondering how well you could possibly make a fried egg sandwich (considering the amazing reviews), turns out you can make a really great fried egg sandwich! Loved it.
No table service, you order at the front and they give you a vibrating alarm for when your food is ready. That keeps their (and your) cost down.

On my free day in Calgary decided to try this place as it was very well like on Unilocal.Maybe I am a bit difficult but it was not a 4.5* expérience for me. I had the egg benedict and the présentation was just great but that where it stop. The patatos had no sesonning therefor were bland. The eggs were cook to perfecrion but the sauce was again bland. I like it to be creamy and rich. As I was sitting I saw a few plate pass by and they all look good. i hope those have taste. Coffee is bottomless but like everything else it is a self serve. I would try something else on the menu next time if I am back in town.

The eggs Benedict and Bacon Crisp were both great! Coming from America, it has been hard coming to Calgary as brunch spots are hard to find. This place had friendly counter service, clean tables, and great breakfast! We will definitely be back next time we are here.

Great format for a sandwich joint. Took a bit of time for my order to come up, but well worth the wait! Sandwiches to die for!

Delicious and fast — great customer service! We had a chicken panini, the blackened chicken burger and I had the beet salad. Everyone loved their meals. It was lunchtime and we only had half an hour to order and eat. No problem. Parking on the side of the building is convenient. I would definitely recommend it.

I was so excited to come for breakfast at Holy Grill with all of the raving reviews on Unilocal.Obviously there are people who like this style of dining. I do not.
As soon as I walked in, expecting to be greeted and guided to a table, I was confronted by a woman who handed me a menu, told me to sit anywhere, and to come back to the counter when I was ready to order/​pay. I was a little taken back.
I already had an idea of what I wanted, and knowing that I needed to eat and then be on my way, I ordered immediately after only a quick peek at the menu. I ordered South Beach Benedict, and asked for some type of modification to eliminate the glutinous English muffin. The cook suggested a bed of spinach, which I thought was an excellent idea, and has merited a star for the sake of this review.
I paid for my meal, and in exchange was handed my receipt and a buzzer so that I could be notified when my food was ready. Let me be clear, if I’m speeding $ 20 on breakfast + a tip, I expect to sit down at a table, and to receive wait service. At the very least, deliver the food to my table so that I don’t have to get up every 10 minutes.
The coffee was pretty good, and offers bottomless refills… if you’re willing to get up and refill it yourself, of course. It is self-​serve after all.
The food: it was good. Nothing is write home about, but it was good. I sort of wished my bed of spinach was cooked, not raw, but I guess beggars can’t be choosers. (Then again, I didn’t exactly beg, I paid… hummm.) One thing that was my fault, and not the kitchen’s, was that in my haste to order, I forgot to mention that I like my eggs poached hard, so I had to deal with the nasty runny yolk. The smashbrowns were good. They are potatoes that have been expertly deep fried to a golden brown shell which is crispy on the outside, soft on the inside, like any good French fry. I suspect this is the result of choosing the right potato, and the right oil, plus keeping the oil clean as a whistle. Degree of difficulty: ³⁄₅.
Between the tasty coffee and the good food, I’ve given a second star to the review. I believe this restaurant appeals to hipsters, and as it is located directly across from MEC, they are conveniently located to cater to their crowd.

I saw this place on «you gotta eat here» and they were raving about the smashbrowns and the breakfast so naturally I thought there must be something special about this place!
Sadly I was disappointed — I got there at noon and they stop serving breakfast at 11… disappointment #1
Add that to the fact that the ordering process is somewhat strange (you have to order the food yourself and then go pick it up yourself, get your own cutlery and water, which if the food was phenomenal, I wouldn’t mind so much… let the foreshadowing begin)
So I thought ok, since this is a grill let me try the burger — loaded burger, with fried egg and bacon replaced with avocado and fries replaced with smashbrowns — it was nice of them to accommodate me but… the burger, it wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t delicious either — a normal average burger (disappointment #2). The smashbrowns were a huge let down! I’m not sure what the guy on you gotta eat here was talking about since these tasted like regular fried potatoes (disappointment #3)…in short, I didn’t have to eat here
I might try it again for breakfast but I might opt for an all day breakfast diner instead… I haven’t decided yet

The food was good, loved the potatoes:) the only reason I’m not giving the extra star is because of the way service works… I know a lot of restaurant are getting this pay and receive a buzzer thing but I just don’t like the feeling of being in a McDonald when seeking exactly the opposite… anyway.
Other then that it was very good: D

I have been here three times now so safe to say that I LOVE this place. The portions are huge, the food is delicious, and the breakfast is also tasty. The only things I don’t like about it are: 1) the line to order can easily get unweildy and confusing, so just be aware of that during the lunch rush and 2) they have super limited hours. Both of those things, though, are totally understandable and the food is so good that I will still give this place 5-​stars.
This is a sandwich/​burger place in the best way possible. Everything is made on a grill and is made to order. The menu features a variety of burgers (veggie included) with a creative and traditional toping list. I have had the traditional burger, a roast beef panini and the eggs benedict (with salmon). I have also had both the regular fries and the sweet potato chips. Everything was delicious and fresh. I cannot wait to go back and sample the beet chips.
This isn’t necessarily the sort of place where you go with a large group, I must say. The tables can be pushed together, but seating is pretty limited so it can be a challenge. I would, however, recommend this place either for a quick lunch or brunch any day of the week.

I’ve had a long standing love affair with The Holy Grill going on 12 years now.
What really blows me away is the same guys are still there giving the same over the top friendly attention to their customers as they ever have. How is this possible? Well, there’s no act to put on. They’re the most genuine, nicest guys who make the most genuine, meanest panini!
In a rush? they’ll have your fresh food ready before you can even get your wallet out.
I swear this place invented sweet potato/​yam chips for Calgary. Even if they didn’t, they sure well set the standard.
3 Words. Blackened Chicken Panini. Why isn’t this on the menu?! The Blackened Chicken Burger and the Mr. Chicken Panini are both solid. This would be one super sexy hybrid!

Great food. I’m happy to have discovered this place and a little disappointed that I hadn’t sooner. I have been to The Holy Grill twice in the past week, the first time for a take-​out lunch and the second for a sit-​in mid-​afternoon «lunch».
Both times the service has been quick and the food quite tasty! I have tried their Blackened Chicken Burger, New Californian Panini, Bacon Avocado Crisp, and their Yam Chips. Every meal was full of flavour and the presentation was great.
So far the Bacon Avocado Crisp is my favourite but that might change as I foresee myself having many more lunches here. I would recommend this place to anybody looking for a great place to eat.