Bank & Baron P.U.B — Restaurant in Calgary

My friend and I came here for happy hour.

Wings: 4/5. The wet flavours are quite delicious and moist - full of flavour. The dry flavour was crispy on the outside and moist on the inside. I also really like that you aren’t at all obligated to buy a drink with your meal, in spite of it being wing specials night.

Service: 1/5. We received this Asian girl, and it was quite obvious that she was new to the serving industry.

When we sat down, she immediately asked for our IDs. That was the first thing that she decided to say to us. This was before she even asked if we had looked at the drink menu. It was a bit off-putting. My friend and I weren’t planning on drinking alcohol.

Our first set of wings came out, and they were absolutely delicious. However, we waited close to 40-50 minutes for our second set of wings to come. I had asked our server politely if they were ready yet, and she replied that they’re ready and she’ll bring them out, but we waited another 15 minutes before she brought them out. I’m not sure if this was a language barrier issue and her English isn’t that great? Or whether she was feeling a bit overwhelmed? But if that’s the problem, she’s been given way too many tables as a new server and should start with less so she can efficiently manage her tables to customer satisfaction.

Mind you, this night wasn’t busy - it appeared that less than 40% of tables were filled outside and inside. We saw her serve other tables multiple times before attending to our concerns.

When the second set finally arrived, our server was unsure of either flavour. We tried both, and they both tasted of Frank’s hot sauce (which we didn’t order at all - we ordered the Korean hot and the suicide hot flavour). They also arrived cold… so we know they had been sitting in the kitchen for a while before being brought to us.

Since we instantly knew they were the wrong flavours, we asked her to bring the right order. Again, we had to sit there for another 35 minutes, and even though I had asked her multiple times if our correct order was ready, it seemed that my concerns weren’t being registered, as she kept helping other tables.

When we received the two orders of wings that were supposed to be the right order, they ended up BOTH being Frank’s again….. and they came even colder than the previous set.

I asked for a take out container since we were given two wrong orders and had ended up with an extra 2 pounds of wings that we couldn’t finish. It is a huge pet peeve of mine to waste food. She said that they don’t provide takeout containers for wing night specials. I mentioned that it wasn’t our fault that we ended up receiving 60 wings instead of the 40 we had originally ordered. They still were unable to get our last order correct and we ended up with 40 wings that we didn’t even order. She further declined. And me, unwilling to waste two full trays of wings, packaged them up with the napkins we were given.

All in all, the wings were decent, price was decent, but 2/3 of our order came out wrong, and the situation was never rectified. Also looked very bad that she wouldn’t give us takeout containers for the four incorrect orders we received. I wanted to talk to management (I really just wanted the correct flavours and wasn’t going to say anything about the waitress), but my friend said not to bother. I would definitely come back again, but I would request a different, more...

Won't go back! We wanted to take a family member, who was visiting from out of town, for a fine dining experience in downtown Calgary. We made a reservation on Open Table, then our group increased to a party of 7 and we had to contact the restaurant directly for a group this size. After 2 days of calling, leaving messages, then posting a request on Facebook for them to contact us... we finally spoke to someone and made the change. That was the first 'red flag' to avoid this place. We loved the downtown location (Stephen Avenue is beautiful). We also thought the ambience was very nice. The decor and how it used to actually be a bank at one time, was cool. We sat in a comfortable booth. Our server didn't offer water and when she brought our white wine to the table she just 'plunked' the bottle and glasses in the middle of the table for us to 'self-serve'. We had to ask her to pour the wine and there was no offer to have someone taste first. This should be one of the first things a server learns to do at a fine dining establishment. Then we asked for an ice bucket and her reply was...'we don't have any'. What?? Seriously?? She finally found one in the 'basement'. She wasn't knowledgeable about the menu either. Not knowing what the kitchen was out of or information for guests with dietary restrictions. Our appetizers arrived and the steak bites were delicious! Our server kept walking by but not checking on us at all. Never asking if we were ready to order our main entrée or if we needed more drinks. We had to wave her down to order our entrée. It took awhile for the server to come back and tell us they were out of one of the entrees. This is something a server should know when they're taking orders. Then, the single entrée that was ordered separately to replace the dish they didn't have, arrived earlier than the rest of the meals. Some meals were luke warm with not much flavor, but most of the meals were good. We sat almost 30 minutes with our dirty plates in front of us after we finished eating! We had to again, wave down our server to remove the plates. We were never offered coffee or tea after the meal or a dessert menu. Very disappointed in this restaurant! If you are looking for a place to go for just drinks and appetizers, this would be a good choice. But stay away if you are looking for a full meal service. Personally, I won't be...

The Bank and Baron on Stephen Avenue was extremely disappointing. My dad ordered an Aperol Spritz, and what we received was far from the proper recipe. It was served in a standard Cabernet Sauvignon glass, filled all the way to the top with ice. I watched the bartender pour about 2 oz of Aperol—then top it off almost entirely with club soda. There was no prosecco or sparkling wine at all, and not even a slice of orange as garnish. The drink was flat, watered down, and completely missed the mark. Easily one of the worst Aperol Spritzes I’ve seen in Calgary.

We followed that with an orange juice order. It came in a tall sling or Collins glass (10–14 oz capacity), again filled to the top with ice. We had to strain it into another glass at the table, and it barely yielded 3 oz of actual juice—the rest was just ice. It felt like quantity over quality at every turn.

Then came the food. I ordered a pulled chicken sandwich, which was served cold. The bread wasn’t toasted, the French fries were also cold to the touch, and it was clear the dish had been sitting for a while before being brought out. It seemed like my plate had been prepared ahead of the others at the table, and left to wait while the kitchen finished the rest. I had to send it back.

What truly ruined the experience was the service. Instead of taking responsibility or addressing the issue professionally, the server came back and said: “I yelled at the kitchen on your behalf.” That comment was completely unnecessary. Rather than acting as a team player, he shifted blame to the kitchen, when what was needed was a simple, sincere apology and a prompt fix. A response like, “I’m really sorry about that—let me take care of it immediately,” would have been enough. His reaction showed a lack of teamwork and professionalism. It felt like he lacked the experience to work in a high-standard hospitality setting. When i mentioned the drink issue the tall server with glasses with attitude said "Thats the way we do things here"

Between the poorly made drinks, the cold food, and the unprofessional service, this visit was a letdown from beginning to end. Definitely not a place I’ll be returning to...