Starbelly Open Kitchen & Lounge

We have been driving past this place for months and finally decided to give it a go. Starbelly did nothing but impress from the very beginning. The layout of the room is something you just don't get in restaurants much anymore: huge, open-kitchen style with lots of action. Starbelly has one of the more underrated cocktail menu's in Calgary as well, the bartenders there were noticeably experienced and the menu is top-to-bottom knockouts for food and beverage alike.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Absolutely lovely food! Its a must try! The nicest staff! They are so kind! The interior is looking amazing! So I would recommend to everyone!

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Recommended dishes: Gnocchi

Smile Buddy Children's Dentistry had their Holiday party at Starbelly this year and they provided such a fantastic venue. From the seamless communication and preparation to the excellent customer service, delicious food, and beautiful venue, everything exceeded our expectations—truly a 10-star experience.

Highly recommend to any company or business that is hosting a party or event:)

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Awesome food with amazing staff that know how to serve their guests.
Every time I come to Calgary, this is my go to restaurant. Great job

Atmosphere: 4

Food: 5

Service: 4

Recommended dishes: Smoked Salmon Benny, Sticky Toffee Pudding

Great place, food was ok. But I nearly laughed when we ordered the bacon-wrapped dates appetizer and they served us 3 tiny pieces on a seemingly big plate. I thought it was a joke. Good thing there was only 3 of us. I got second hand embarrassment for Starbelly LOL!!

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 3

Service: 5

Recommended dishes: Starbelly Baked Brie

My girlfriend and I had a wonderful time here tonight. Excellent food, very polite and kind staff. We'll happily return when we have the chance! Cheers 🍻

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Delicious food. Great atmosphere. The service was excellent.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Love the atmosphere, menu, staff and location!

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Great cozy place and decent service but the food came up really, really short of the potential it has

Atmosphere: 4

Food: 1

Service: 3

Visited this weekend and had a great meal and service. I had a slight misunderstanding with my order but the server apologized and got me a new meal and even took care of my bill. Even with the hiccup we all had a good time and I appreciate fixing the mistake. Good service is hard go come by but Starbelly never misses. Will be back!

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Enjoyed the Chefs Experience! Would highly recommend doing this, completely worth it. Food was incredible, service was attentive and intuitive, cocktails were tasty and the wine list is great. Cozy atmosphere as well! We will definitely be back to have some more of that gnocchi!

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Recommended dishes: Gnocchi

It wasn't bad but wasn't really good to be honest, I had a salmon bowl with butternut squash that was completely raw, salmon was also raw in the middle. I'm unfortunately not one to complain and I was starving so I ate it. Just won't be back again. For how expensive dining out is, I at least want my food cooked.

Food is great, staff is great.

Atmosphere: 4

Food: 4

Service: 4

Great food and service.

Atmosphere: 4

Food: 4

Service: 4

I wanted share my experience at Starbelly on October 11th, 2024. We came with high expectations but ultimately left feeling disappointed.

We started with the Whipped Ricotta, which came with two slices of grilled sourdough. Unfortunately, we found that this was not enough to enjoy the ricotta appetizer fully.

For our main courses, we ordered the Roast Alberta 1/2 chicken, which was described as having a 12-hour brine, soy lacquer, potato pave, roasted vegetables, and jus. However, we learned from our waiter that the dish was unavailable and the chicken dish that was available featured a Cajun seasoning instead of soy. Additionally, the potato pave turned out to be roasted fingerling potatoes, and rather than a half chicken, we received two boneless skinless chicken breasts. The "roasted vegetables" were simply grilled broccolini. Overall, this dish did not meet our expectations, and we felt that the price did not reflect the quality or portion size.

The second dish was the braised short rib with wild mushroom risotto, grilled broccolini, and braising jus. While the short rib was tender, it was under seasoned and we felt that the portion of risotto was quite small—barely three forkfuls.

Given Starbelly's good reputation, we left wondering why our experience did not align with our expectations. While nothing was terrible, it was overall just okay, with the chicken dish being particularly disappointing.

Appended below is the response I rec'd from Starbelly as I sent them an email PRIOR to posting this review. There was no apology for the poor food, or anything about our experience just for the "delayed response"

"Good Afternoon Patrick,

My apologies for the delayed response. I appreciate your time in providing us feedback, I have shared your email with our Chef and the kitchen team. We have a new head Chef who has been diligent editing and adding to the current menu.

We hope to see you in the near future 🙂"

Atmosphere: 2

Food: 1

Service: 3