Lulu Bar — Restaurant in Calgary

Absolutely amazing dining experience!

I don’t even know where to begin. But everything about our meal at LuLu Bar was perfect. I can’t wait to return.

Definitely make reservations if you’re going on the weekend. It was quite busy already at 5:30 pm on a Saturday. The staff were courteous and friendly. Our server was prompt with our orders and made sure we had everything we needed.

We started with drinks. I got the Guava Mai Tai - perfect pairing for the food we ordered. I wish it had a bit more guava flavour but I’d order it again. My friend got the Venus, which she had previously at Lulu Bar, and was very happy with her drink.

We ordered 4 smaller plates to share - I’d recommend sharing dishes as each of them have such unique and intense flavours. This way you can sample them and get a good balance of flavours.

The food came out super quick. We got the Salt and Pepper Pork Belly first. It was crispy but tender, not salty at all. The sauce was kinda tangy and sweet. Highly recommend.

Next we got the Steamed Lobster Dumplings. These are a must have. They were super flavourful. The dumpling skin was soft and the meat inside was well seasoned. You get an explosion of lobster flavour inside. The basil and tobiko were the perfect garnishes. And the sauce was to die for.

Next we got the Beef Tongue Skewers. These we my absolute favourite. They were smoky, super tender, and again, very flavourful. Every bite was amazing. If you’ve never had tongue before, these are for you.

Next we got the Fried Coconut Squid. Again, these were amazing. The batter was super light and not oily at all. This was the most tender squid I’ve ever had. The pieces were thick and incredibly delicious with the light sauce. They were slightly spicy which made them addicting.

Lastly we got the Baked Hula. We normally don’t get dessert but since it was a birthday celebration, we had to try it. We’re so glad we did because it was super good. The Kona coffee ice cream and hazelnut cream paired so well together. The chocolate sauce wasn’t too sweet and the dark chocolate crust was slightly salty. It was the perfect balance of flavours with the smoky meringue.

It does get quite loud inside and the tables are quite close together but overall we enjoyed the ambiance. We had such fun table neighbors and enjoyed being able to socialize with them. With every dish that came to our table, our neighbours would follow suit and order the same thing. They even cheered when our dessert came out. It was such a fun environment.

Everything was amazing and we will definitely return!

Edit: My friend is Celiac so we made sure to ask the server about which dishes were gluten free. He assured us that everything on the menu was GF and safe for...

Went here during happy hour with a group of friends. Our group arrived at 4pm and we were greeted by our server once, ordered our first round of drinks, received them and then didn’t see her for quite sometime. Five minutes before happy hour ended, we were in search for her, ended up waving her down to order another round of drinks and food before the cut off time. We’ve had gone to a couple of happy hours before where one person would order two beers before it ended, well, when one our friends wanted two beers, he was told that it was illegal. Our friend responded that he wanted to order one for himself and one for a friend beside him, she said, no - he still has half a glass a beer. The exchange was odd, we clarified we’ve done this before at other bars, she went to speak to her manager, came back and apologized for her mistake. Proceeded to take all our food orders. When the food came, it was a different server and he had no clue who ordered what. The restaurant was pretty loud so as we were trying to tell him where the plates were going, you could tell he was getting frustrated. We just asked him to place it down anywhere and we’d reorganize them. Said friend above needed to leave early and when a third server came to our table and asked what was needed, he asked for his bill stating that he just ordered three drinks, no food. The server could not hear him, he clarified again and again, by the fourth time - which unsure why the server did not just walk near him to clarify the second time - our table was frustrated with the service. When our friend paid his bill, he ended up tipping 0. The server ran back and asked why, and he clarified. Ten minutes later, a fourth server comes to ask why. Which he has to explain again. She then explained some of the frustrations they were having and how people came flooding in at 430pm. I think that’s always a possibility when you have happy hours before 5pm on a Friday afternoon. It felt like everything and everyone was all over the place. It wasn’t great service. The fourth server ended up giving our table a free round of drinks but the happy hour experience was ruined. Don’t think we’d go here for another happy hour again. Unfortunate as the food here is great but it also gets...

I wouldn’t recommend arriving near the end of happy hour here, as no one on staff seemed happy. Understandable, perhaps, since they were closing in 45 minutes, but my friends and I weren’t lingering—we made sure to leave within 15 minutes after close, which was only minutes after a pre-existing party had left as well. Despite all this, I still wouldn’t have predicted what ensued within the first few minutes of walking in.

The host, sporting a 70’s moustache and a pineapple Hawaiian shirt, seemed pleasant at first. But when I didn’t make direct eye contact during the ID check, his demeanor shifted, snapping at me with a sharp attitude. I brushed it off, assuming it was just the end of a long night for him—but the rudeness continued.

We sat down planning to order one cocktail each. The server was helpful when I asked for recommendations, but her mood soured when I casually said, “thank you, baby” after receiving my drink. I understand verbal boundaries are important in this industry— myself and my group (mostly female, early 20s) have been servers ourselves. Still, a playful thank-you shouldn’t warrant a pointed up-and-down look paired with a snarky remark, “baby?! I don’t think so.”

Admittedly, I feel it unfortunate if my friends and I contributed to those two workers having a bad closing, as that I can certainly resonate with. In large part, however, I think displaying such levels of rudeness in those situations makes people care less and less about your establishment. After all, when the topic is 17th avenue bars, word can travel fast—especially and certainly on the service quality during happy hour. ...