Safari Grill — Restaurant in Calgary

If I could give less than 1* review I would. A negative would be more appropriate. The food was good, and that’s about it. This is by far the worst service I have ever experienced. We went with friends, we were 3 couples and two children both of whom were very well behaved. Our orders were very simple and we asked the server to add it as separate bills. Each couple ordered the Fordhani platter and naans and rice. That was all we saw of the server other than when bringing the food. We did not have water. The food was very spicy and due to the lack of service we actually had to take the water bottle from the next table over which we quickly finished and there was no replacement. Same time the server came out with our to go bags, all of our foods were mixed up in containers. We found ourselves sorting through our food like scavengers. When we were done, we had to go up to the counter to ask for our bill which was not provided. The owner just punched in the number pressed ok and I just had to enter my PIN number. No idea what amount I was paying. Same with my other two friends. I asked the owner for my bill and that’s when I noticed that an 18% gratuity was added to our bill. At first I questioned very politely, the owner himself got very aggressive and said what’s the problem? That’s when I got angry and told him the problem was the lack of service. Instead of addressing my complaint he just walked away. That’s when my husband got involved. At that point the owner became a lot more aggressive, especially with me. My husband actually had to step in front of me. I was pretty angry as well with his complete lack of respect or care. He told us we should learn to read the menu and it says that more than 6 people gratuity is automatically added and that they don’t split the bill for people, they did it as courtesy to us (seriously???).

The last 3 times I have been there, I went with my brothers and the service was completely different. Reason being is that they host their corporate dinners at Safari Grill so of course the owner knows how to behave when a large tab is in question. Of course I told my brothers and needless to say they are less than pleased. Definitely not going there again.

My advice is make sure to read the convoluted fine print in the menu in a dark ambience when you go there next time - because you know that’s exactly what people want out of their dining experience.

*Attached photo is the response of the owner which testifies to all...

We had invited friends for dinner and had a table for six. We waited over 15 minutes for water and menus. My husband, as we were the hosts, had to keep going up to the bar to order food as the waitress came by only once or twice. The cocktails were served in glasses that had ice outside! Did they keep those in the freezer? Also the drinks were not well made. Food came sporadically and not everyone could start at the same time. My husband walked over to the bar to settle...the owner said they were short staffed that day. Kept chatting with my husband and we paid and left as we had to drop one of our friends home to release their sitter. We looked at the detailed bill and imagine to our surprise and shock, on top of the 18% tip my husband had given, they had charged another 18% in gratuity for a “table of 8”! We were six adults and no children. We slung our bags over our chairs as there were no extra chairs and the table fit was just for six. We called back but no response. We kept trying for a week and leaving messages, nothing was heard back. Then I read other posts on fb stating similar experiences. Other horror stories of the owner taking a hefty cut of the tips given to the servers also were there. I feel quite disgusted with this cheap attitude of the owner and will never go back again. He may be richer by extra wrongly enforced tips, but will lose customers....

We missed Ali and team while they were closed down, but now they are open for pickup again and wow were they great! We contacted Ali for Mother's Day and got a takeout order set up to last us the rest of the week. Ali made sure we had lots of treats and food, everything was ready for pickup, and even though its a long drive we got it all back ready to serve and settled in to Tanzanian grill Nirvana!

One word to the wise, while things are set up as they are with limited store front space, call in your order well ahead of time, hours ahead if you can, and tell them when you want it ready for pickup. That way they can plan to have it ready for you on time and you don't have to worry about the limited waiting space they currently have until things are set up better or they are able to re-open the full dining area. You can simply check with them if its ready and even if its a few minutes to go, just wait comfortably in your car and then get it from them directly.

Welcome back Safari!

Addendum in September - we can only give one review, but just to add on, we've been keeping up going to Safari since it reopened, and have never had a bad experience with Ali and team. The flavours are savoury and spicy to please any pallet, and Ali always has a smile and a treat for us when we visit. We hope many others get to share this...