Bagara Indian Kitchen & Bar — Restaurant in Calgary

We visited Bagara after seeing an IG post and are always down to try something new.

Our service was subpar and I hope they look to improve on the experience from timing of drinks and clearing the table.

Overall the food was good, and I gave some feedback to the manager who took it very well and promised to make some changes.

We ordered pop, appetizers, a butter paneer curry, naan and the grill platter.

The appetizer was chicken strips that were heavily salted. The chicken was tough and chewy without much flavor. It wasn't marinated and felt like the batter was the only thing with any seasoning as the meat itself was bland.

The platter is massive with 5 different curries, meat, and everything looks great. Can easily feed 6-8 people if you're not big eaters.

The butter paneer was good. The naan was good. The curries on the platter were a bit too spicy. It all came on a bed of rice which is why it could feed more than it suggests.

The Gulab Jamun cheesecake comes frozen and we didn't know that. Sadly we weren't able to enjoy it because it was too frozen to eat in to. I wished the servers would have told us that.

Wouldn't go back here.

Wishing them all the best though!

Management promises to improve on things so I hope it does turn out into a successful...

I ordered veggie Chettinad and Hyderabad shami kebab, along with tandoori roti. The kebab is not what you think it is, you know, pieces of meat on a wooden skewer. Rather, it was three large patties made of mung bean flour on the outside with shredded goat on the inside. A new presentation for me, and very tasty! The veggie dish seemed like a typical curry, but was plenty spicy. Neither of these were boring, let me tell you.

This restaurant has only recently opened, there having been a western saloon on the site previously. Much of the decor still remains the same, but the food is definitely new. The food they serve is South Asian style, so you won't see some of the northern Indian dishes like Butter chicken or Baingan Bharta. Instead, you will see lots of dishes featuring dosa, which is a large, very thin crêpe, into which the food may come stuffed, or else it may be served on the side, depending on the plate. And you will find a couple of fish and seafood dishes as these are more plentiful in the south.

I definitely do not regret taking a chance on this new local, and will be back to try more of their dishes. They have quite a large variety, including large platters, and lunchtime...

food is a lil better than the average Indian joint, so for takeout, I’d say it’s totally serviceable

service in restaurant is pretty puzzling though; we were the only party in the building and it took about an hour for food to come out, and 3 of us had ordered combos, all of which are indicated on the menu to come with rice. the server said to call for her if we needed anything else after bringing out the food (without rice), and I asked her if she was bringing the rice. she said that it’s a separate fee, and I pointed out the part of the menu that says it’s included, and then she said that the kitchen was just finishing it up, and 15 minutes later it arrived.

by the end when we were asking for bills, the server asked how many boxes we needed, and we said none because all we had left was a bit of rice (all of the portions brought out were full portions that I imagine were meant to be shared), and she said that they don’t waste in the restaurant and got frustrated. seems contradictory for a place that serves buffet style food

very strange experience, despite everything tasting...