The Banquet (University District)

Server was funny and engaging, checked on us often but not too often! Drinks came out quick and were as expected. Great experience for a quick drink with friends.

Atmosphere: 5

Service: 5

Callie is the best bartender in whole wide world

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Edit:

We went tonight for the Mac and cheese festival dish. Still a fun gastro pub. Service can be an issue here however. They put up a sign that says seat yourself and they take quite a period of time to get to your table. A fun gastro pub in the University district. Ordered sliders as an appetizer and they came out with the main which I'm not a fan of but service was good. My Sunshine Salad with chicken was tasty albeit far too much dressing (should have ordered it on the side). Great atmosphere. We will try again.

Atmosphere: 3

Food: 3

Service: 3

I went to the Banquet yesterday evening and had a great experience. In particular Kenzie at the bar was exceptional. She was attentive and recommended a couple of great drinks. I look forward to going back

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

As someone who enjoys good food, good atmosphere, and staff who enjoy their time sharing their experiences, I would highly recommend coming to see the establishment and it's team.

(Before I even knew who owned the place..) I was informed by the team about the heavy involvement that they play in deciding the menu, protecting the atmosphere, and had a great time seeing the excitement on the faces of the staff when asking for recommendations.

The team is tight knit, the food is on point, the staff are knowledgeable and kind, and I've never had a bad experience, meal, or conversation when attending The Banquet.

Top 10 in Calgary for sure.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Really slow and avoidant service. Got the nachos, the smash tacos that were on special and an apple crisp to split for dessert. The server forgot the apple crips and wasn’t around for refills. Waited 20 minutes after plates were cleared for her to ask if we wanted anything else (obviously forgot about the dessert ) and we just got the bill and left. She also charged us double the amount for the guacamole for then nachos, says on the menu it’s a $3.99 charge for it but she put in a large guacamole instead at double the cost , the amount we got didn’t reflect this, it was a smaller portion that felt right for the small nachos we ordered. At this time there was only a handful of tables in the whole restaurant.

Atmosphere: 4

Food: 2

Service: 1

Wings were absolute garbage. Do not order wings from this place. You will be disappointed

Food: 1

I want to send a very clear shout out to Paige, our server. I had called Sunday to advise I was bringing a large (10-12) group of special needs adults to take advantage of the $2 bowling special. Came in today (Monday) and got two lanes, got situated

You can imagine with that many autistic individuals from a recreational group that there would be some chaos. Paige was an absolute amazing person. She kept orders straight, helped them each pay their bill, helped us when the lanes got overbooked and my group had to move into 1 lane. Paige was incredibly patient and incredibly kind to each of them.

The restaurant was SO BUSY for a Monday afternoon, it was just wild. Paige was the solo server for most of our time there, and she did not let that stop her for a second. Positive energy, a sharp memory, patience with my crew, correct orders, treated the members of my group with incredible respect, and from what I could see she maintained that with every table she rushed over to. She is an absolute star.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Great drinks, friendly staff, and fun bowling! Would recommend

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 4

Service: 4

The vegetarian steak was so bad all I could do was laugh. They really just grilled some cauliflower with steak spice and called it a day….. incredibly creative.

If you enjoy duck-pin bowling, guitar hero, pinball....then this is a great place to hang out with a group of friends or co-workers. Food is mostly bar food, bacon wrapped pickles and Buffalo mushroom caps help them stand out. Immediately adjacent to the parade entrance and cineplex.

Atmosphere: 3

Food: 3

Service: 4

First time there, me and my two buddies, melina was amazing server with a great personality, Rob, ryan and rhino

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Beautifully decorated but so, so loud. Before the tables were full I was already having difficulty hearing others seated across from me. Afterward my throat was sore just from trying to have conversation. It's not that they were playing loud music or that people were rowdy, so it must have been the venue design.

Of note: the businesses in University District have underground parking. Most places, including this one, give you up to 3h free parking if you register. But in the cold winter weeknight I was there, parking was competitive.

I was there as part of a large event. The buffet-style food our party was served was perfectly cooked. I can't comment on the price of food, though the drinks menu prices kept me from ordering. The servers were very accommodating, but I just can't get over how loud it was in there - even before everyone in our party arrived. It's a beautiful venue, but with too many hard surfaces with no noise barriers. I can't see myself recommending it or going back.

Atmosphere: 2

Food: 5

Service: 5

Nice place

Our group came for a birthday celebration and, unfortunately, the service fell far below expectations. Despite having a reservation, our tables were not set, orders were taken extremely inconsistently between the two tables, and we often had to get our own settings. Reaching our server was difficult, and we even had to share food between tables while waiting for orders to be taken.
Arrival was also confusing. Given the loud and crowded environment, it would have been helpful to be guided to our table rather than directed from afar.
I still tipped generously out of understanding for industry tip-out policies, but the issues we experienced reflected a lack of preparation, support, and training at the restaurant level, not the fault of the server alone.

If you are planning for a night out, I would suggest visiting many of the other restaurants at uni district. This restaurant had great potential, but did not live up to even the lowest of our expectations.

Atmosphere: 2

Food: 2

Service: 1