Home and Away YYC — Restaurant in Calgary

Home and Away has become one of my go-to spots in Calgary, especially on weekends when I’m looking for a lively atmosphere, great drinks, and the perfect place to unwind with friends. What makes this bar stand out isn’t just the food and drinks, but the fun basketball games and arcade setups scattered throughout. Shooting hoops between beers or while waiting for wings adds a playful, competitive edge to any night out. Whether you’re on a date, out with your close friends, or there with coworkers after a long week, those basketball games keep everyone entertained and engaged.

One of the main reasons I love coming here is their wings. They’re consistently crispy on the outside, juicy on the inside, and come in flavour options that actually taste different – not just mild variations of hot sauce like many bars do. My personal favourites are their Korean BBQ and the classic buffalo. Both have great depth of flavour without being overly salty. The portion sizes are generous, and paired with a cold pint, it’s easily one of the best bar meals in the area. I often come specifically for wing night and leave planning my next visit.

Another standout feature of Home and Away is their patio, which is one of the best spots to hang out in Calgary during the summer. Located centrally, it’s perfect for people-watching while enjoying the sun, or for late evening drinks under the city lights. There’s enough space to accommodate groups without feeling cramped, and the vibe remains relaxed even when the bar is busy. During hot weekends, there’s no better feeling than grabbing a spot outside with friends, ordering pitchers, and settling in for hours.

Overall, weekends at Home and Away feel like an event in themselves. Between the basketball hoops, arcade games, perfectly cooked wings, friendly staff, and the unbeatable patio, it’s one of those rare bars that combines sports bar energy with casual summer patio vibes. Every visit feels effortless and fun, and the crowd is always lively without being overwhelming. If you’re looking for a spot to watch sports, compete in arcade games, feast on wings, and soak in Calgary’s summer energy, Home and Away remains the...

TLDR: Just don't go here. If you don't mind waiting over 30 minutes for a beer, this is the place for you. I used to love this place and went frequently, but now the service is horrible.

Here is the full synopsis of this Wednesday night train wreck:

I arrived May 29, at 7:45 p.m. with a group of 8 people to Home and Away for some beer and wings since a couple of guys completed their job and wanted to have a good night out.

We seated ourselves as the sign dictated. and it took over 15 minutes for us to receive a menu or be acknowledged in any way by staff after making eye contact with one of the servers.

It took another 10 minutes to take a drink order, then another 10 minutes for us to get our drinks. So, right now we are sitting at 35 minutes to get ONE beer.

Then, we ordered food and it took 45 minutes for us to get it, fine there is 8 of us, so I can deal with it. But, they screwed up our orders and made us switch sides from one plate to another. Most of the dishes were cold, mine looked like it sat under a heat lamp for a long period of time, but whatever I was HANGRY.

We ordered another round of drinks before our server (we had 3 different people serving us??) ran away to help another table. One of the beers had a chuck of food on the side of the glass, then getting a replacement beer took 10 minutes. Plus, they never came and checked how the food was or anything. And then the wait for the bills began.

Thirty minutes later, we asked to speak to the manager and told him it was slow service, he came over and asked, "Are all your bills separate?" which we didn't, and took one beer off per couple as his retribution. No apology to the table, no explanation like they are short staffed or have new people working. Gave us our bills and went back to drying glasses behind the bar.

Like, we wanted to get a bit tipsy and spend MONEY at this establishment, but actually couldn't due to the lack of service. The entire ordeal took a total of AN HOUR AND 45 MINUTES for two beers and wings.

The whole situation put a damper on our night and then we went to Gringo street and was able to get 5 cocktails, tacos in a span of an hour and a half....

Sunday brunch with parents coming to yyc around noon.

Cons: Took about an hour to get our food, 45 min to get coffee. Seemed to be only one or two waitresses and 2/4 orders were incorrect /missing menu items.

When my H&A Classic $13 brunch arrived was disappointed that the portions were so small and half the meal was a few big pieces of bread to fill the plate. Didn't see the value. Didn't get any peanut butter or any dressing for it. Dry stale bread isn't cool.

Music was so loud we had to almost yell to hear eachother. Football game on the atmosphere was a bit much, but yea that's to be expected to an extent I guess.

Several children around (kinda icky). One of their dirty spoons was picked up off the floor and placed on our table by another patron while we waited for our waitress (ew). Please keep children out of the restaurant. The novelty of the games is lost if it's children playing them :/

Pros:

Bright side is the manager brought us some yummy dessert and coupons to make up for the mistakes. He did this without action and this helped our moods.

Verdict :

H&A is a neat concept restaurant/sports bar on trendy 17th Ave. I'm biased cause I don't like football but I'd prefer it was more restaurant than sports bar, but that's just me. H&A needs to decide what it is.

More staff are needed. I think our waitress was overrun with work hence the mistakes that were made. I understand it can be hard to staff with the minimum wage artificially higher, but our minimal expectations weren't met.

A few weeks ago on a Sunday the place was packed but there were a couple tables open yet no staff (of the few staff around) acknowledged us and no one was hosting at the front. We left.

After this recent experience not sure we will be back for sometime or at all.

The gestures by the manager with the dessert and coupons was classy though, but maybe too little too late.

Service involves anticipating needs and not just...