Earls Kitchen + Bar — Restaurant in Calgary

UPDATE: I did reach out to the email provided below… unfortunately no response to remedy the situation. I suspected they are trying to save face for their reviews but don’t actually follow through.

I want to start by saying that my husband and I order from this Earls location quite often—we’ve always been big fans, especially when it comes to takeout. Unfortunately, over the past while, we’ve noticed a significant drop in quality that’s left us feeling disappointed.

Our recent takeout orders have been consistently problematic: incorrect items, unusually small portions, and on multiple occasions, food that’s been burnt and inedible. I’m not sure what has changed, but this is a noticeable shift from the reliable experience we used to have.

I’ve shared my concerns with the manager in hopes things would improve, but sadly, the issues have continued. I’ve attached a couple of photos from recent orders—one showing a side of fries that looked half-eaten due to how small the portion was, and another of a burnt chicken dinner that had to be returned.

This isn’t the first time I’ve received burnt food, and on top of that, little details in our orders are consistently missed, which makes it feel like no one is double-checking them before they go out.

I truly hope this gets addressed soon. It would be a shame for such a great spot to lose its loyal customers over quality control issues.

UPDATE: I called the restaurant about the chicken I received, and they told me to bring it back—they said they would remake it and issue a refund. My husband took it back, but things got weird. They handed him the new chicken and said, “Here you go, this one’s on us.”

He reminded them that they had promised a refund as well, since we had to come all the way back because the original meal wasn’t edible. They just kept insisting that the new meal was “comp’d,” but that doesn’t make any sense—we already paid for a meal that wasn’t right, and they were just replacing it. Of course we shouldn’t have to pay again.

It was like the manager didn’t understand what “comp’d” actually means. My husband was tired of going in circles and just left. I honestly have no idea what kind of logic they were operating on, but that was incredibly poor...

This pic/menu is when Earls was still very good… My husband and I went the other night and it was disgusting! So disgusting…  shrimp cocktail was slimy, tasted gross. Blackened chicken I ordered was super salty, same thing with the blackened salmon… Fruit flies, flying around our pints of beer.  which my bartending experience over the years tells me the bar is filthy… not to mention when the server cleared our table of the shrimp cocktail my husband and I tried to eat one each and spat it out on the plate. we didn’t eat any of the other shrimp,, she came up and asked are you finished with this plate we said yes… Now if I was a server (and I have been) and I saw someone chew their food and spit it on their plate I would automatically ask them is everything OK? I guess we should’ve said something, but we were in there on gift cards and just wanted to actually get out of there, and couldn’t be bothered. Would never recommend this place or ever go there again. Best part of the whole experience is that they actually sell bottled Italian distilled water in glass!  I hate it when they come up to your table with a wine craft filled of tapwater that’s been sitting there for three hours, and expected to drink that. Overall experience was very disappointing and I’m glad we didn’t have to spend our hard earned money on that...

This is a review of the Thanksgiving meal, done as a takeout order. If you order as takeout for a family of 4, the price per person drops to a very reasonable $26.25 + tax. Ordering for one, or dining in, is $29 per person.

Simply put, everything is quite tasty and well priced despite food inflation. The turkey is moist, and while it could use a bit more seasoning, the flavorful gravy brings everything together. Mashed potatoes are smooth if somewhat lacking in butter. Carrots were firm, beans were just right, and the “bread” appears to be an unusual cross between croutons and stuffing. The sweet cranberry sauce made the whole plate feel festive.

With not so many local takeout choices this thanksgiving, and many horribly overpriced, Earls has hit the sweet spot with this winning thanksgiving meal. Save yourself the hassle of buying raw turkey at the grocery, possibly overcooking it, cleaning up so many pots and pans…and actually enjoy thanksgiving for once.

While I didn’t dine in, a quick peak reveals a recently renovated restaurant with an upscale look.

P.S. For those driving long distances this long weekend, you will pickup this meal refrigerator-cold and you absolutely will need to heat this up. Unless you tell them otherwise, this is not something you can...