The Guild — Restaurant in Calgary

Visited The Guild for the First and Likely Last Time

We came to The Guild for our anniversary dinner and chose to sit on the patio since we had our dogs with us. The initial greeting was great. The front desk girl was kind and let us choose our own spot, which we appreciated. I’m pretty sure they’ll remember us, and I hope they do.

That said, the rest of the experience was incredibly disappointing.

The patio was filthy. Our table hadn’t been wiped. There were crumbs all over the bottom of it, and the couch seating was clearly dirty. I asked the front desk girl if she had anything to clean it with, and she didn’t respond. She just awkwardly patted it down with her hand, which was honestly kind of ridiculous for a place that presents itself as fancy.

A second lady then came over, didn’t greet us, and just placed the utensils directly on the dirty table. No linen napkins, no trays, nothing.(??) Meanwhile, we could clearly see the indoor staff setting tables properly with linens and actually cleaning them before guests arrived. Luckily, we brought our own wipes and cleaned the space ourselves.

This second server made us feel rushed and unwelcome. She didn’t even bother with a simple hi or smile. Just dove straight into taking our order like we were a nuisance. Honestly, why work in food service if you can’t greet your guests properly?

Eventually, a third server came, a blonde girl, who was the only redeeming part of the service. She was kind, attentive, and even thanked us for waiting. I wish she had been our server the whole time. By then I was already irritated, but she made an effort to make us feel like actual guests. I never got to thank her properly, but she stood out. (She was the the server that i had asked about the linen napkin and apologized abt it)

The food, thankfully, was amazing. The steaks and mashed potatoes were perfectly cooked. Huge compliments to the kitchen staff. If it weren’t for how incredible the food was, I honestly wouldn’t have even considered tipping based on the service alone.

As someone who has worked in the service industry for years, I can’t help but feel like we were treated differently simply because we were on the patio or maybe because we had dogs. If that's the case, then don’t seat customers with pets if your staff isn’t trained or comfortable serving them. Everyone dining, regardless of where they sit, is still a paying customer and deserves the same level of service, cleanliness, and respect.

I hope this message sends a clear reminder about the importance of cleanliness. I’m someone who really values hygiene, almost to a germaphobe level, and when you’re dining at an expensive place, you naturally expect it to be clean. Please, get those patios PROFESSIONALLY cleaned. It’s honestly disappointing to be eating in an environment that feels neglected. How do you expect guests to trust your establishment if something as basic as wiping a table or deep cleaning isn’t even being done?

I truly hope someone in management reads this and takes it seriously. With just a little more care and consistency, the experience could’ve been so...

It’s been two weeks, I’ve brought this to management’s attention and still have not received a response so it’s time for this review.

We celebrated my brother's Birthday two weeks ago here at the Guild, per his request. Some of us have been here at the past and enjoyed the food so it seemed like a good choice. Our reservation was on a Sunday so it was expectedly quiet.

Our group (16 ppl, 13 adults and 3 kids) ordered some happy hour bites, drinks, eased into dinner eventually. Some of us ordered appies, some did not. The wait for food was long, but hey, we have a big group and we're not starving, no fret.

The appies started rolling out... as with some people's mains (these people did not order appies). We were confused as more food were placed down so we asked our server and his response? Some people ordered appies and some did not so this is how it is. Uh, no, its not. You're supposed to ask us if that's what we want, but it's too late to fix it. We just ate as our moods started to sour. Here's me, eating my beef tartare while the person beside me has his steak and asparagus. My son has his pasta and mashed potatoes while my daughter has nothing. Explain that to me.

When we finished the food we had in front of us, the rest of us still waiting for ours mains waited a LONG time. When the food did finally arrive, we started eating fast because the rest of the group who already had their mains were just sitting, waiting and staring at us. What a sh*t show. But again, there's no fixing at this point, right? And the service was so slow. The restaurant wasn't even busy!

Finally, I don't know how much time has passed, the server comes and asked if we wanted coffee and dessert. I asked if they did Birthday desserts to which he said he didn't know it was a Birthday celebration (I noted this when I made the reservation, and the hostess knew, so how come the server didn't know?) but he actually brought out two dessert platters for everyone. We did appreciate that and I was only expecting dessert for my brother to be honest. Also, my cousin got really sick and she still thinks it was either the drink or the beef tartare and had to send her main away, and it got comped. We appreciated the gesture hence the two star rating. Everything else, however, was not. My SIL wanted to fight the gratuity but at this point we just wanted to leave. The whole dinner was already at the three hour mark so we didn't bother.

I did email management detailing the service and while they responded saying they will look into it, I have not received a response despite sending a follow up. I just feel if anyone inclines to dine here, take my experience into account especially if you are a large group. And be sure to be clear that you don't want your appetizers and mains to be served at the same time.

I will add the food wasn't even as good as I remembered. Beef tartare had this sweet vinegar taste to it and didn't look completely raw. My mahi mahi was very salty and the steak looked...

I brought my husband to The Guild for his birthday lunch after hearing great things and having it on my list for quite some time. Unfortunately, our experience didn’t reflect the reputation.

We were seated and greeted warmly at first, with water served promptly. However, after 20 minutes, we realized no one had returned to take our order. Our server was aware that this was a lunch-hour visit—my husband works downtown and was on a tight schedule. At the 25-minute mark, I got up from the table and approached the waitress to let her know we were ready to order, as we were now pressed for time.

She came over quickly but was curt and clearly not pleased that I had approached her. We originally intended to enjoy a full meal—starter, mains, and dessert—but due to the delay, we only had time to order mains. The food itself was prepared quickly and was served to us by the manager, not the server. In fact, the server didn’t return until we had finished eating, at which point it was time to ask for the check.

The entire experience left me feeling unsettled. Normally, I only leave reviews for positive experiences, as most places do live up to expectations. But in this case, I felt compelled to provide feedback directly before posting publicly. I called the restaurant—no answer—so I left a message via OpenTable where I had made our reservation. Someone replied saying a manager would contact me.

Later, the evening manager did call, though I didn’t catch his name. He listened attentively and assured me that this was not the experience they aim to deliver. He said he would follow up with the staff member involved and the manager on duty, and that he would personally reach back out. He also mentioned wanting to invite us back to show us what our experience should have been. I reiterated that I wasn’t looking for compensation, just that someone take this feedback seriously so other guests wouldn’t encounter the same.

That call was on June 2. It is now June 20. Despite my follow-up attempts—both by phone and another message via OpenTable—I have not heard anything further from the restaurant.

This leaves me no choice but to share my experience publicly. There are many exceptional dining establishments just steps away on Stephen Ave. For this special occasion, I chose The Guild—and I chose wrong. I’m quite disappointed and, unfortunately, we won’t...