We went during a quieter, dead hour when no one else was there, which made the experience really cool and relaxed. The place had a great vibe chill, welcoming, and perfect for enjoying the food without feeling rushed. The banh mi sandwiches were amazing, and the skewers were just as good, full of flavor and perfectly cooked. The only downside was that it was a bit hard to find at first, but once we did, it was definitely worth it. Would absolutely recommend and would come back again.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Banh MI, Pork Belly Skewers
Apeksha Heendeniya
The vibe of it being a speakeasy was cool! The drinks were good, definitely some hit or miss drinks on the menu especially for the higher price point. The atmosphere is cool and retro! The food was a mix bag of good to great. Really dark venue so be prepared to be squinting!
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 4
Service: 4
adam riggins
This place was unexpected in the best way! Wait staff were friendly, attentive, and hustled. The drinks were heavvvvyyy with the alcohol which was amazing! Food was delicious. 5 stars all around!!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Aranne Villanueva
Had the best time spending time with my girl friends and our server Kobe was AMAZING!! He overheard us in our conversation and he immediately tuned in and it was so much fun conversing with him like it was natural. Atmosphere was amazing as usual and the food as well no complaints! The other servers as well who helped serve our foods and complied with our requests were so friendly and kind! Definitely my favourite place with friends
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Ashley Petersen
This place is such an awesome experience. Upon first glance, the exterior looks questionable. Hidden in a decrepit looking basement entrance. When you make your way inside, you are greeted by a very cool, cultural atmosphere. Not too much light comes from the paper lantern lighting, but helps to set the mood and vibe of this place. The drinks.......oh my god, the drinks! Absolutely delicious, 10/10. Tried a few and they are all amazing. Different and unique with the flavor combinations, but so so tasty. We had the chicken banh mi and beef skewers. The skewers were quite small but very tasty.
I def recommend this place! Don't let the front door scare you away.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 5
Tanya Kelm
Not a bad spot, but won’t say I have to come back. It’s a cute concept and food was tasty, but I wasn’t overwhelmed with desire to come back or rave about what I ate.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 4
Service: 4
Doremon
A little while ago, I came here with a group of 5 friends around 7pm when the restaurant was only hosting only 1 table at the time we walked in. A little later, 2 more friends wanted to join us. I know the policy is no groups larger than 6, so I asked our server if they could come. I even said that if not, we’re understand. She went to check with the manager and came back saying yes, it was fine since there were no reservations for the night.
Before my friends even arrived, the restaurant started to fill up. Still, I figured it was okay because we were ordering plenty of food and drinks, not just sitting there. As soon as my friends sat down, the servers handed them menus but gave them barely 2 minutes to decide. They quickly ordered drinks, then placed their food order a little later.
Right after the food order was taken, the server came back and told us we only had 15 minutes left at the table. That’s when we learned about the 2-hour time limit. I understand if that’s their policy, but if they weren’t going to restart the clock when new guests joined, they should have told us upfront. Instead, my two friends barely had 30 minutes to sit, eat, and drink.
Then the bill came with an automatic 18% gratuity for parties of 6+. I normally don’t mind gratuity, but in this case it felt unfair. The service was rushed, inconsistent, and my friends hardly got to enjoy the experience.
Honestly, it felt like they said yes to adding more people because the restaurant looked slow, but once it got busy, they rushed us out without hesitation, like they didn’t care about our business. I left feeling like we got scammed — not because of the gratuity, but because of the lack of transparency and how rushed the whole thing was.
Came here because we heard the cocktails were great but the food was excellent too, easily one of the best dining experiences we’ve had in Calgary!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Tony Wyllie
Been here a few times. Great cocktails. Small bites that I have tried have been good. Cool little speakeasy.
Kayley
I did not know this place existed in Chinatown! Paper Lantern is an Asian inspired speakeasy with many Asian inspired drinks. I tried the dragon palm and the serving for 4 people came in hoisin sauce can which I thought was a genius idea. For next time, I'd try the one inch punch just because of the name. The pandan actually tasted like pandan and there were so many more cocktails I couldn't decide between. The atmosphere was great with the dimmed red lighting and it wasn't too loud so you could chat with friends easily.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 4
Marcin Swoboda
The food is actually better than the cocktails, IMHO. Still, my wife and I got real drunk.
We went during a quieter, dead hour when no one else was there, which made the experience really cool and relaxed. The place had a great vibe chill, welcoming, and perfect for enjoying the food without feeling rushed. The banh mi sandwiches were amazing, and the skewers were just as good, full of flavor and perfectly cooked. The only downside was that it was a bit hard to find at first, but once we did, it was definitely worth it. Would absolutely recommend and would come back again.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Banh MI, Pork Belly Skewers
The vibe of it being a speakeasy was cool! The drinks were good, definitely some hit or miss drinks on the menu especially for the higher price point. The atmosphere is cool and retro! The food was a mix bag of good to great. Really dark venue so be prepared to be squinting!
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 4
Service: 4
This place was unexpected in the best way! Wait staff were friendly, attentive, and hustled. The drinks were heavvvvyyy with the alcohol which was amazing! Food was delicious. 5 stars all around!!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Had the best time spending time with my girl friends and our server Kobe was AMAZING!! He overheard us in our conversation and he immediately tuned in and it was so much fun conversing with him like it was natural. Atmosphere was amazing as usual and the food as well no complaints! The other servers as well who helped serve our foods and complied with our requests were so friendly and kind! Definitely my favourite place with friends
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
This place is such an awesome experience.
Upon first glance, the exterior looks questionable. Hidden in a decrepit looking basement entrance.
When you make your way inside, you are greeted by a very cool, cultural atmosphere. Not too much light comes from the paper lantern lighting, but helps to set the mood and vibe of this place.
The drinks.......oh my god, the drinks! Absolutely delicious, 10/10. Tried a few and they are all amazing. Different and unique with the flavor combinations, but so so tasty.
We had the chicken banh mi and beef skewers. The skewers were quite small but very tasty.
I def recommend this place! Don't let the front door scare you away.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 5
Not a bad spot, but won’t say I have to come back. It’s a cute concept and food was tasty, but I wasn’t overwhelmed with desire to come back or rave about what I ate.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 4
Service: 4
A little while ago, I came here with a group of 5 friends around 7pm when the restaurant was only hosting only 1 table at the time we walked in. A little later, 2 more friends wanted to join us. I know the policy is no groups larger than 6, so I asked our server if they could come. I even said that if not, we’re understand. She went to check with the manager and came back saying yes, it was fine since there were no reservations for the night.
Before my friends even arrived, the restaurant started to fill up. Still, I figured it was okay because we were ordering plenty of food and drinks, not just sitting there. As soon as my friends sat down, the servers handed them menus but gave them barely 2 minutes to decide. They quickly ordered drinks, then placed their food order a little later.
Right after the food order was taken, the server came back and told us we only had 15 minutes left at the table. That’s when we learned about the 2-hour time limit. I understand if that’s their policy, but if they weren’t going to restart the clock when new guests joined, they should have told us upfront. Instead, my two friends barely had 30 minutes to sit, eat, and drink.
Then the bill came with an automatic 18% gratuity for parties of 6+. I normally don’t mind gratuity, but in this case it felt unfair. The service was rushed, inconsistent, and my friends hardly got to enjoy the experience.
Honestly, it felt like they said yes to adding more people because the restaurant looked slow, but once it got busy, they rushed us out without hesitation, like they didn’t care about our business. I left feeling like we got scammed — not because of the gratuity, but because of the lack of transparency and how rushed the whole thing was.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 1
Recommended dishes: Pork Belly Skewers, Pineapple Stir-Fry, Chicken Wings, Beef Skewers, Salt \u0026 Pepper Wings, Papaya Mango Salad, Raw Beef Salad
Paper lanterns is my favourite place in Calgary. Drinks, food and, service are always top tier.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Really enjoyed our time at this speakeasy. Food + drinks were good and staff was amazing, they were attentive + good vibes.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
very unique cocktail bar, hidden very well
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Restaurantji Recommends
Delicious drinks and yummy food.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Came here because we heard the cocktails were great but the food was excellent too, easily one of the best dining experiences we’ve had in Calgary!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Been here a few times. Great cocktails. Small bites that I have tried have been good. Cool little speakeasy.
I did not know this place existed in Chinatown! Paper Lantern is an Asian inspired speakeasy with many Asian inspired drinks. I tried the dragon palm and the serving for 4 people came in hoisin sauce can which I thought was a genius idea. For next time, I'd try the one inch punch just because of the name. The pandan actually tasted like pandan and there were so many more cocktails I couldn't decide between. The atmosphere was great with the dimmed red lighting and it wasn't too loud so you could chat with friends easily.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 4
The food is actually better than the cocktails, IMHO. Still, my wife and I got real drunk.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 5
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