charbar
charbar things to do, attractions, restaurants, events info and trip planning
Description
Sophisticated outpost featuring seafood, wood-fired steaks & craft cocktails, plus a rooftop patio.
attractions: Olympic Plaza, Studio Bell, home of the National Music Centre, Hyatt Regency Calgary, Central Library, Fort Calgary, Glenbow Museum, Cowboys Casino, The Bow, Wonderland Sculpture, Theatre Calgary (Max Bell Theatre), restaurants: Blue Star Diner, Palomino Smokehouse, Roma's Pizzeria, Saltlik, Silver Dragon Restaurant (Calgary), Pho City, Shiki Menya, U & Me (Centre St. SW), CHARCUT, Calgary Court Restaurant
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Description
Sophisticated outpost featuring seafood, wood-fired steaks & craft cocktails, plus a rooftop patio.
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It was Calgary, after dusk. The fading sky settled comfortably like an aged Alberta t-bone. I met her at the Simmons in the East Village, next to the sign that said John and Connie's Top Causage. La Belle Dame stood tall and slinky, like the Calgary Tower in a pair of Laura Vita boots. She smiled at me as if she knew me and maybe in a different life she did. With a seductive pout, she whispered one word... Charbar Good thing I already had a reservation. La Belle Dame didn't stop for the greeting or the menu. She knew what she wanted and she knew where to find it. By the time she dropped her coat on the empty seat next to her in the cozy corner, everyone had seen her. It felt like the whole place had gone quiet, even the smoky, sizzling, frenetic kitchen. She sat with her back to the wall while she gazed over my shoulder. I was about to ask La Belle Dame what was so interesting, when glasses of bubbly and words of birthday greeting were delivered by a masked siren, all in black. The romantic lighting and dark uniform couldn't hide the ray of sunshine in a blond pony. It was Steph. Smiling, laughing, welcoming. La Belle dame stared at Ricardo's impossibly high, silver, wavy hair. I was focused on the crab dip. It was smooth, creamy and delicious. The dip, not Ricardo. Smiling behind the mask, Steph kept tempting us. La Belle Dame ordered a salad. The kind with cabbage that smelled so good. I ordered the Gaucho Burger with beef fat fries. The burger was hot and juicy, and I forgot about La Belle Dame. My dinner was so good that La Belle Dame forgot about Ricardo long enough to abscond half of my fries and two Alberta-sized bites of my burger. Mmmmmm. So good. By the time I had cleaned my own plate, La Belle Dame had finished her entire salad. Too late! Darn you Ricardo! Even your exquisite style couldn't save my dinner. Steph tempted us again with tales of dessert so succulent, that to name them here would risk my credibility. La Belle Dame could only look down at the empty plates and sigh. She rose and sauntered back out into the crisp Calgary night. She left without a glance at Ricardo. Or me. I may never see her again, but I'll be back Charbar. On another cool night in the East Village; I'll be back.
Richard DicksonRichard Dickson
20
Charbar prides itself with the quality of its ingredients and also the wide-range options from the ocean, prairies and local gardens. Chef Pelland combines locally relevant and globally inspired dishes to create an eclectic and innovative menu that will appeal to most any palate. The Argentine wood-fired grill is the true inspiration behind charbar's identity, taking from the history and culture of what it represents. The culinary influence of Argentina, which is a blend of Spanish and Italian cuisine, is evident throughout the menu, with a personalized touch of tableside service to prepare a ceviche mixto. The extensive raw bar pays homage to the fresh, sustainable, west coast seafood that is readily available to a landlocked city, and mirrors the waterfront location of the Simmons Building. At charbar, vegetarian cuisine is celebrated and appreciated by Chef Pelland, as she has made it an integral part of the unique menu. Almost half of the options are vegetarian, particularly the small plates meant to share, such as the pistachio and avocado bruschetta, sourdough Fugazza with Roman broccoli, and grilled provoleta. Established in 2015, charbar, opened it's doors in June. Located in the revitalized and ever-growing community of East Village, charbar is part of a collaborative and unique concept destined to be a culinary destination, the first of its kind. Housed in the historical Simmons Building alongside the Bow River, charbar partners with Sidewalk Citizen Bakery and Phil & Sebastian Coffee Roasters; the like-minded, complementary and thriving local businesses share a common passion to elevate Calgary's culinary platform.
Ian MacdonaldIan Macdonald
20
Tried their brunch and dinner menu on a same day! For brunch, I got the Double Patty Gaucho Burger and man it was heavy and sumptuous! Beef patty tasted really good, loaded with mozza and guacamole! My partner ordered Avocado toast and she said it was great too! Their avo toast had a chimichuri drizzle that adds flavour to the overall experience. For dinner, we tried their NY striploin steak (medium well), crispy calamari salad and torta rogel for dessert. Their steak was perfectly grilled and charred! We added chimichuri on the side to feel the real Argentinian meat experience. Crispy calamari salad was good too, with equal ratio of meat and greens. I think the best plate we had at Charbar was the Torta Rogel dessert cake. It’s a layer of wafer, dulce de leche and chocolate sauce. You should definitely try it! Staff were awesome and gave us a really good table service. The only issue we had was the SEAT CUSHION. We’ve read several reviews of this place and most of them complained of the very poor seat cushion. Be careful of seating down fast because it will give you a feeling of ‘fall’ on the floor. We observed other guests too and they all had the face of surprise when they sat on this cushion. I initially thought of giving them 4 Stars because of the cushion. But the food experience was really great that we decided to give them 5. Hopefully they change their seats soon cause they will get a lot of bad reviews from impatient and grumpy patrons.
nomad_paulnomad_paul
00
Pretty disappointed with my recent experience with charbar. I was really excited to go out for a nice dinner as things had recently opened up and it was Valentine’s Day! My boyfriend and I had a reservation for Saturday (Feb, 13). for 8pm and didn’t receive our dinner until 9:40... It literally took over an hour and a half (see the time stamp of when we finally got our food in the photo below). The restaurant wasn’t overly busy especially since the capacity has a limit. We were seated upstairs and I think they forgot about us because it took over 1.5 hours for our main course to arrive. We had appetizers as well which took longer than usual to arrive as well. The food itself was good but NOT WORTH THE WAIT. The service was really disappointing for the price of the bill. The worst part was that other tables that were seated after us received their dinner before us! Our server also acknowledged that our order had been taking a very long time... we didn’t order anything special, we made no special requests or substitutions so I’m not sure why it took so long. Really an unreasonable amount of time to wait for your food. In hindsight I think we would have left after the 1 hour mark. Maybe if you get a lucky reservation seated downstairs you’ll have better service, otherwise I do not recommend charbar. And definitely not for a special occasion.
RachaelRachael
50
We were just heading back from a nearby dog park when we saw the place and decided to stop in for a drink. The patio is dog friendly, and has a great atmosphere on a warm, sunny day like this one. Our server almost instantly offered to get a bowl of water for our puppy. Great gesture. Thanks! Always pleased to see a menu with non alcoholic options that have actually had a bit of thought put into them. The margins are incredible so any place that is still late to this party is missing out. They have a few good ones on this menu and we both went with the Pineapple Guava mule. Excellent drink! We were there long enough that we decided to try some food. We went with a pizza. It seems the crust is in collaboration with Connie & John’s pizza and done Fugazza style (pizza al molde). Pretty solid crust. Traditionally, ham is a stable ingredient on this style in Argentina. The pizza we received had ham as a topping. The menu listed it as prosciutto cotto for some reason. Italian words look great on a menu I suppose. Call it Prosciutto Cotto Cubetti if you want to be really fancy haha. At that price point, I think a sprinkle of a fresh herb rather than some dried oregano could elevate the dish considerably. A lot more photogenic as well. Overall more than pleased with this place. Will have to go back and try dinner there sometime. Thanks, team!
Jon ChamberlainJon Chamberlain
10
This was recommended by a friend and it doesn't disappoint. The ambiance is modern and casual. It's pretty pricey but the quality of food makes up for it. We went there Saturday night for dinner and it's pretty busy, so calling for reservation is recommended. The restaurant is very rustic but it it was an old factory. They were trying to keep the original decor, I guess. There were 3 other establishments that are located in the same building. A bakery, a coffee shop, and a casual pub- if I'm not mistaken. Charbar was the busiest. Their menu is simple- I mean not a lot of choices which prob add to the good quality of food that they have. We ordered their 30oz steak and roasted veggies. The steak was pretty pricey but superb! The 2 kinds of sauces we ordered excellently goes with the steak. Pairing it with red wine completed it! It was enough for the 4 of us. The salad was a good balance as well. We'll definitely come back here again. I'll reserve it for special occasion though 'cause its pricey as I said. The downside of this place though is, the location of the washroom. It's pretty creepy down there and this might be irrelevant but 1 friend of mine saw a ghost down there. It was an old man smoking pipe and he's the one in the picture on their menu! Creepy! I won't be using their bathroom alone that's for sure!
Krianne Charell VillaKrianne Charell Villa
00
Nearby Attractions Of charbar
Olympic Plaza
Studio Bell, home of the National Music Centre
Hyatt Regency Calgary
Central Library
Fort Calgary
Glenbow Museum
Cowboys Casino
The Bow
Wonderland Sculpture
Theatre Calgary (Max Bell Theatre)

Olympic Plaza
4.4
(2.1K)Click for details

Studio Bell, home of the National Music Centre
4.6
(1.3K)Click for details

Hyatt Regency Calgary
4.5
(1.3K)Click for details

Central Library
4.7
(1.1K)Click for details
Nearby Restaurants Of charbar
Blue Star Diner
Palomino Smokehouse
Roma's Pizzeria
Saltlik
Silver Dragon Restaurant (Calgary)
Pho City
Shiki Menya
U & Me (Centre St. SW)
CHARCUT
Calgary Court Restaurant

Blue Star Diner
4.6
(1.3K)Click for details

Palomino Smokehouse
4.4
(1.4K)Click for details

Roma's Pizzeria
4.9
(1.1K)Click for details

Saltlik
4.4
(1.1K)$$$
Click for details
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