The Banquet (University District) — Restaurant in Calgary

Went on a Saturday at 8pm with a reservation that was booked 2 weeks in advance to celebrate a birthday. When we got there, we requested to move tables as the table we were sat at was right by the door, and it was cold. The hostess let me know that there was a Christmas party happening, and they didn’t have the space to accommodate the request until after 930 (which I completely understand, that’s fine). The real issues started shortly after when it took 25 minutes to even have a server come say hi, then an additional 20 minutes to bring over 3 shots. 45 minutes total JUST to receive 3 shots is unacceptable by any standards. I get there was a Christmas party that was keeping the staff busy, but I would anticipate better staffing, assuming that this Christmas party was booked well in advance. A large event should not impact the experience of other guests attending the space. We then had the remainder of our party join us for the evening, and we ordered a beer tower, which again took at least 20 minutes to arrive. 3 of us ordered food, and were incredibly disappointed with what we received. The chicken wings were super small, very dry, and lacked any flavour. Definitely not worth the $20 per order. We were hungry though, so we ate them. We didn’t even receive napkins with the chicken wings, so we had to go to the bar to get some, but we were only given 2 - we felt like we were inconveniencing them. The sushi tacos, however, were delicious! Those I would order again. We booked a bowling lane for 10PM on the same night (Saturday) but when it came time, the reservation was weirdly not there. Something happened in the system, and it says we booked for Sunday at 10pm, which I KNOW for a fact is not the case. There should be a new booking system in place after reading everything about people’s reservations being altered, or disappearing. We didn’t make it to our bowling lane until 11:18, when there was finally a lane available. We felt incredibly ignored and like an inconvenience to the bar whenever we would go try to order shots, even when no one was around waiting for service. My sister and her friend went to order some shots from a dead bar, and the staff rolled their eyes when they asked if they could get 3 shots. We did truly appreciate our server Jessica who made an effort to keep an eye on things once she was aware of the situation, and for also managing the food surrounding our dairy allergy. Thank you Jessica for your efforts! Overall, truly disappointed with how the evening turned out. My sister was very excited for this evening, but it was an absolute pain to get it to a turning point (bowling) where she did let go and was able to enjoy her time. We will not be returning, and will be sharing our experience with our friends and family, warning them to steer clear...

We stopped by Banquet for a couple drinks, a late lunch and a bit of bowling. I had never been here before.

Walking in I got pretty good vibes, the decor seemed nice, I noticed a couple pinball machines, a guitar hero game and a Big Buck hunter (which appeared to be turned off).

We proceeded to the bowling area and ordered some drinks and food.

The beer menu wasn’t bad, but nothing to get excited about. Some Wild Rose, Banded peak, a couple random beers and obviously the mass marketed lagers.

The food menu I was given was sticky and unclean.

Our group ordered the Big Smoke Pizza, sushi tacos and chicken strips and fries. I will only comment on the pizza I ordered, other than the fact the sushi tacos looked pretty tiny.

The Big Smoke Pizza was very cheesy and pretty tasty. I’m not sure why they didn’t bring us plates with the pizza though. My girlfriend was eating her pizza off a napkin which was kind of lame, and I ate mine off the pizza tray.

We played a game of bowling, which was kind of cool. It’s a very short lane and stubby little pins, so it doesn’t play quite the same as a regular game of bowing. One thing I noticed and found kind of gross, the ball return chute had quite the buildup of… crumbs? They need to be more careful cleaning this place….

The bathroom I used was gross. Our friends warned us one of them smelled like pee. I had to go so off I went. For some reason there were about ten flies buzzing around this small bathroom I used. The toilet seat was almost detached, hanging from a loose bolt. The second bolt of the toilet seat hinge was missing its nut completely. The floor had paper towels on it. There was a small baseboard heater that was missing its cover, and the heater fins were absolutely mangled. This bathroom gave me the impression they just don’t care about upkeep and cleanliness.

We sat beside Guitar Hero so a couple from our group could play. Unfortunately the game wasn’t working after the first play, and was eating the toonies they were putting in.

The servers were helpful and provided refunds to our group. During food/drink service the staff seemed cordial, that was nice.

Overall, I’m not sure I left with a good impression of this place. The dirty menus, ball return chute and bathroom certainly need attention. Usually If I love the beer or food I can get over some small things, but not this time. There was just too many...

Great vibes. Great entertainment as you dine. Lots of tables. HOWEVER, I'm disappointed by what I ordered and I honestly think I just unfortunately ordered the wrong thing. I should've gone for something classic like a burger and fries but instead I went for their salmon poke dish. Let me warn you, if you love poke or even if you love rice, DO NOT order the poke bowl. I'm confident they do well with their other dishes and before going here I've heard so many praises. They have a great menu selection, don't settle for the 1 dish that would leave you wishing you just stayed home and had a bowl of instant noodles instead. I would love to come back to try something else on the menu, but maybe after I get over the horror of how they made the rice.

Let me explain. I also have pictures. The one great thing about the salmon poke is actually the salmon, thankfully. It's lightly seared, and fresh and flavourful. Everything else? Meh. The sauce is literally plain old soy sauce. Nothing special. No other seasonings or sauces. You get a bowl layered with rice on the bottom, and then some veggies, avocado, and the salmon. Other than the salmon it's all plain + soy sauce. but it gets worse. THE RICE. What is up with this rice? I'm no rice expert but I grew up eating rice everyday and started cooking rice in elementary school and the rice they served me was either undercooked or been cooked and refrigerated and then not properly reheated. It was hard, and grains of it stuck together in hard chunks that--if you were lucky--shattered when your utensil stabbed into it, just to make it...somewhat edible. But this isn't rice. Rice is soft and fluffy, even sticky. This was... a dishonour on the rice farmers who meticulously grew these grains of rice. I just couldn't bring myself to finish it.

Again, I'm sure their other dishes are fantastic and as I sat there poking at the dismal rice in my bowl, I had food envy for my colleagues who were smart and ordered the chicken sandwich or a salad. Don't come here for a rice based dish. But definitely do come for the vibes and well, literally...