Hawkwood Palace Restaurant — Restaurant in Calgary

July 2023 Update. Dropped to one star for food and service.

This visit, we brought friends to our once beloved neighborhood restaurant. These friends asked us to take them here - they remembered how good it used to be. The place was clean and bright, smiling faces greeted us. We were the first and only ones in the restaurant and were given two menus between the four of us. We then waited for our server to come take our order. She seated two other groups after 15 minutes and then had to flag her down to take our order.

We ordered the Mu Shu with extra pancakes and Salt & Pepper Squid again, Ginger Beef, Beef with Green Peppers and Black Bean Sauce and Chicken Sizzling Rice. While waiting for the food to arrive, she filled our 4 glasses with ice water, did not ask if we wanted drinks so we didn’t bother ordering any. It was a hot day, we finished the water before the dinner arrived and didn’t receive a refill until we were ready to leave - and then the glasses were refilled with warm water.

We received the sizzling rice first. It was served like a soup, very mildly flavoured and impossible to eat on a plate so we scraped it into our soup bowls, that were left on the table, and ate it with soup spoons.

The Mu Shu arrived next with 5 pancakes. We asked our server 2 additional times (when she brought the additional dishes) for extra pancakes and then finally asked the woman at the front desk taking phone calls for them. We finally got the pancakes 5 minutes before we left.

The Ginger Beef was not pleasant at all - tasted like there was no ginger in it, overly sweet, no spice, with a thick sticky syrupy sauce. We received Beef with Broccoli - not Green Peppers - and the beef was chewy, not tender at all. The Salt & Pepper Squid had not a hint of spice, the squid was not cleaned (long rubber band strands had to be pulled out with our fingers), and was once again too heavily breaded. Not once did our server check on us through the meal.

We didn’t bother to wait for the bill, just got up and walked to the front cashier. Dinner came to about $80 plus tax. We did not leave a tip - the first time we have not left a tip at this restaurant. All we received was a “oh, sorry” when we complained. My husband and I normally give 30% here - and even gave a tip when we ordered takeout - because it was so good in the past. We were extraordinarily disappointed this time, especially so as we brought guests with us.

I do not recommend this restaurant any longer and we will not be going back.

June 2023: Three stars for food and service.

We live nearby since 2007 and have loved walking over to Hawkwood Palace over the years for takeout, occasionally dining in. Recently, ownership has changed and they’ve updated the interior a bit - no more ‘fighting salmon’ colours! It is as warm and welcoming as it has always been and the familiar beloved menu has stayed the same.

We ordered our past favourites. Everything tasted good with very generous portions. A few tables were already taken in the restaurant and, as usual, their take-out was very busy. We were seated right away; our server was very sweet, always checked on us, appetizers and soup were served right away with our dinner options shortly thereafter. Our only issue was that the breading was too heavy on the Salt & Pepper Squid. Try the Lemon Chicken, it was excellent - as was the Fried Shredded Pork with Eggs and 5 pancakes (ie, Mu Shu Pork) - ask for extra pancakes.

Very good value for the money with attentive and friendly staff. We wish the new owners luck and prosperity! For affordable and tasty Western Chinese, this is THE place to go. They offer discounts for...

Best Chinese food I've had in Calgary.

We ordered 3 weeks ago and the ginger beef was extra crispy on the outside and tender on the inside. I was blown away. The sweet and sour chicken was the same, extra crispy on the outside and tender on the inside.

These two dishes were the best I've ever had.

Their Shanghai noodles with beef and black bean sauce are a family favorite. They're great every time.

My children adore their pork dumplings. There's never enough in one order. Everyone devours these.

We always get their wonton soup if we're feeling ill. I prefer the regular wonton soup. Their broth is hearty and they make their won tons without shrimp, so they're a nice consistency on the inside. My husband loves ther wor wonton. It comes with veggies and shrimp. My children love the broccoli from the wor wonton soup.

I also love their deep fried wonton. Much different from what I'm used to in Ottawa, but hit the spot with house made sweet and sour sauce.

We've had a number of different dishes from Hawkwood palace, and this is the restaurant we always come back to.

Sometimes they do have off days, but 8/10 it's really good, especially in the last year. Idk what they changed, but it's a welcome change. I've been ordering from here for at least 13 years. The food this last year has been the best it...

I WAS a longtime customer here but won't go back. The new ownership seems only to care about maximizing their profits, not on customer service or value like the previous owners. Food quality isn't bad but portions are overall smaller and takeout dishes aren't filled up as they used to be, they've jacked prices (some seafood dishes increased by $3 and fewer prawns in them), and decreased cash pickup discount from 20 to 15%. I always appreciated how polite the former staff were but no longer a 'thank you' or 'sorry for the wait' from these staff, just take your cash and onto the next customer. Christmas Eve was a disaster - pickup customers filling the entrance waiting 1-2 hours longer than they were told for their order and kitchen filling some orders way ahead of people who ordered earlier. I ordered at 4:40, food was supposed to be ready at 8pm but wasn't ready till 10pm. My brother ordered before me and got his food even later. I asked for a discount because of this but was told front staff couldn't do that, took my name and number and owner would call me to make things right. That never happened. Time to give someone else...