Crazyweed Kitchen — Restaurant in Alberta

We emailed Crazyweed an opportunity to review this Feb 8th, 5:45 PM, 2025, and never heard back prior to posting. This doesn't surprise us on the service aspect of things. I want to start by saying everyone has bad days, and maybe we drew the short stick. Crazyweed had rave reviews online, so we made a reservation through their website, which was easy. We arrived on time, appropriately dressed, and were greeted in a very friendly manner and shown to our seats. We followed the hostess to a nice spot beside a window; they had nicely spaced the guests. I was unaware that our seats would be something you would find beside a cozy fire, very cushy, very laid back, and very low and away from the table. Many would enjoy this chair style, which is not a complaint. It is just not my style of eating. I like to be close to, higher up, and seated with good posture for my back. I asked my girlfriend, "Is it okay to respectfully ask them to seat us at the table beside us that has upright chairs? I hate being that guy." She joked that she couldn't hear me because the chairs slant you back, and we try not to talk with a raised voice in restaurants. When I looked at the online photos, I only saw one of these style chairs, and all the images show a more upright dining-style chair. Another individual, not the hostess, came to our table and said our server would be with us shortly. I asked her if we could move over a table to the other chair style. She said, "I will check with the hostess," we thanked her, and she walked off. Then, our server, Roxanne, showed up and indicated she would be our server. She did not introduce herself with her name, so I had to ask her later in the evening. I kindly stated that another individual, not the hostess, would check if we could move tables. I wanted to know if she was aware and if this other individual checked or notified her of the switch. Roxanne said we could move, but I am unsure if anyone looped her in on our original request. So we picked up our stuff and moved it over. Okay, great. We have now moved over, and Roxanne disappeared while moving our stuff. After a few minutes, she returned and asked what we would like. We were not offered a drink; she just asked if we had decided on anything on the menu. My girlfriend asked if we were ready, and I said yes, we would like to start with the Masala Ribs and French Fries, and I will have the chipotle-crusted bavette for my main course. My girlfriend indicated she would like the Pan Seared Coho Salmon and asked Roxanne if there were any traces of sesame oil in the dips for the french fries. Roxanne said she would check and quickly left the table. Upon her return, Roxanne indicated no sesame oil, and we said great. Again, she quickly left the table. I asked my girlfriend, "Okay, is she ordering everything and leaving a space in between, and am I being a pester if I ask for a drink?" We started to feel unwelcome, and I walked through my checklist: did we smell, not dress right, and did they not like we asked to change tables? Are we being taught a lesson? My girlfriend indicated Roxanne left so quickly that she didn't even ask us which dip for the fries. A gentleman showed up with the fries, ribs, and Bombay ketchup dip. My girlfriend indicated we did not get a choice and wanted the garlic aioli. The gentleman was very friendly and stated he would make it happen. He quickly returned with garlic dip. The food was delectable! I asked Roxanne if I could order something to drink. She took my drink order along with my girlfriends and returned with our drinks. Our main dishes arrived, and they were also fantastic. Everyone has bad days, and we were very cordial, using "please" and "thank you" while respecting Roxanne and everyone in that restaurant. We try to put ourselves in others' shoes. Let's chalk this up to a bad day. I still left a 20% tip to show our gratitude towards the restaurant. However, if that machine had three choices, would you like to tip the front of the house, the back of the house, or both? The chefs would have received...

I generally don't like writing bad reviews, but after reading the multiple star reviews, we decided to give the restaurant a try on our first day in Canmore/ Alberta as part of a weeklong trip. The experience unfortunately left my group avoiding Canmore/ Canmore restaurants for the remainder of our trip.

Overall

Service from our server was average in some instances and below standard in others. Service from other members - hostess and busser were good and friendly. Food was slightly above average overall, some good, and some average. But no food is worth subpar service in my opinion. If we had another server, or even the busser for the entire service, I think it could've easily been a 4 star review.

The Good

We didn't have a reservation on a Friday night and the hostess was kind enough to make room for a group of 4 after a 15 minute wait, which we appreciated. It was slightly busy and while the hostess was not at the stand when I arrived a server informed me she would be right with me. The steak and squash were good. One of the only highlights of the evening. The Chef's Curry was average, a little light on the taste, okay for a member of our group, but I found it slightly towards the bland side. Our water was refilled, by the busser who was friendlier.

The Bad

Service from our server was like a rollercoaster - friendly in some instances and almost rude at other times. While it was slightly busy, there were times when she should've checked on us, but didn't even after eye contact was made in comparison to many other restaurants. She wasn't busy enough to not check on other tables. While we were discussing the menu and waiting to order (we waited quite a while for the server to come back after dropping off the menu), she rushed over, reached over a member of our group's arm and grabbed the cocktail menu without asking if we needed it or apologizing or saying anything and rushed off to drop the menu off to another table. We waited longer and when she returned, she did not ask if we were ready, she did not greet us, we just told her our order while she wrote it down. It was at this point when we decided to "gently" inform her of our displeasure by asking her for the cocktail menu and that we had some questions for her before she previously took it away. Food came slowly with no indication or communication from our server. After the food arrived, and after we gently informed our server of our displeasure, she did seem slightly friendlier. When we asked about adding to our order later, our server indicated that it's a bit too late (kitchen closed), but added that she would check. She never came back to us after that with a response. We understand that it's late and the kitchen probably closed, but if she offered to check, then she should be returning to let us know.

To be honest, I really wished I didn't give the amount of gratuity I did. I can't remember the last time I regretted my decision on the gratuity amount as much as I did later that night after I left the restaurant. It's left such a sour taste out our mouths that we ended up eating in Banff the next night and making our own food the night after. While it may be a single individual and a single incident, we lost our interest in staying, dining and exploring any other part of Canmore. If anyone asks me, the restaurant is definitely not one I would recommend and I regretted not picking another...

My colleague and I dined at this restaurant on the weekend because it has always been her favorite spot in Canmore. We had a reservation for 6 pm. When we made the reservation online, there was a stipulation that we must show up 10 minutes prior to the time otherwise we could lose our booking. We arrived at 530 and walked up to the front of the restaurant where the hostess (manager) was standing. She seemed irritated that we were there early, and proceeded to tell us that we couldn't come in early because her staff would be overwhelmed. We asked if we should come back at 550 and she said sternly "SIX". We sat on the picnic table outside and thought we would ask if we could come in and have a drink at the bar while we waited. She said that she could seat us at 615; I told her (again) that we had a 6 pm reservation; she said "ok if you have a reservation you can come in for a drink" in a very unfriendly manner. We sat at the bar for 15 min before being served. While we waited we noticed that nearly all of the staff seemed unhappy with their jobs. Two minutes after our wine was poured, the manager came to take us to our table. She swooped our wine glasses off the bar in a rude hurry and led us to our table. We ordered 3 appies from the also unenthused waiter. When my colleague ordered, she pointed to the menu item so it was clear what we would like. He arrived back with fries, which we did not order. He said "I could have sworn I heard fries" instead of "sorry about that" or "I misunderstood". Anyway, my point is that although the food is really amazing, the experience wasn't worth it. We will not return. We completely both understand staffing issues in Canmore and don't mind waiting for great food, it was the terrible attitude that...