The Park Kitchen & Bar — Restaurant in Calgary

My wife and I visited ‘The Park’ last night for our anniversary. I was excited to go because of the reviews online. When we made our way in, we were blown away by the decor and the ambiance of the place – it truly felt like you were dining in the heart of a park. Overall our service was great; the server was friendly and courteous. The only downfall was the food. Our first dish was the calamari, which was incredibly, incredibly bland and the batter tasted burnt and bitter. My wife and I are very cautious about our salt intake, but in this instance, we had to use the table salt provided because the calamari lacked taste. The kale on top didn’t help much in adding flavor. The only flavor in the dish came from the olives and the rationed marinara sauce lightly layered on the bottom of the calamari pile. Our main course was somewhat better; my wife had the Monday special lobster and ahi tuna tacos and I tried the duck breast myself. The ahi tuna taco, we both thought missed the target, but the lobster taco was spectacular! My plate lacked colour and the blueberry sauce was again, very bland. Fortunately the side potatoes and snap peas were perfectly seasoned and cooked. It was as if two different chefs had created my dish. My server explained the duck breast would be served medium rare, which I accepted, because that’s how a good duck breast should be presented. However when I received it, the breast was cooked all the way through. I was expecting the fat on top to be crispy and full of flavour, but the blueberry glaze on top made it soggy and along with the overcooked meat, the whole protein was quite chewy. I wouldn’t normally complain about food, but for $65 sitting for two, I would have expected higher quality. All-in-all, the atmosphere and service was great; the food was mediocre, overrated and overpriced. We wouldn’t likely come back, unless the menu was revamped or if we were craving some...

We've always driven by here and never stopped in, but today it didn't seem too busy and we took a chance. Walked in about 2pm and the place was open.

The restaurant itself has a nice charm about it. It doesn't exude a pub feel, but has an upscale welcoming feeling to it. And it's family friendly to boot! The host was very nice and greeted my kids and I with a big smile, and took us to a nice table.

Service was prompt and super friendly. They treated my kids with so much attention and patience, it was great. Once we sat down I was informed that kids eat Free on Tuesdays after 2pm. What an awesome bonus.

The food is pretty good too. I ordered the Fresno burger with a side soup (Gumbo), and it was delicious. The gumbo was spot on, just the right amount of kick. The burger was nice too, jucy, and put together with care. Then there are the kids meals, wow.

Portion wise, they'd probably satisfy a small adult. My kids ordered the mac and cheese and chicken strips. The mac and cheese was creamy and not too heavy, and the chicken strips were hand breaded and the chicken was not processed like at some other restaurants. The stops had a very satisfying crunch to them as well. The side Ceasar salads my kids ordered were also a good size and put together with care! If you are a parent, you can tell if the kitchen just slapped together a kids meal. This place really took the time to make the kids meal look and taste super appealing.

The facilities are super clean, and are well kept. And parking is plentiful. We will definitely stop by again. What a great place to have a delightful lunch with...

The Park hosted a vegan night in Aug. I was so excited there are not enough places in Calgary doing this. This was great as if fell on my husband birthday. So I pre-bough 5 tickets for my family weeks in advice and we were really excited about this. Well, this ended up being such a disappointment, they oversold and under delivered. Dinner took over 2 hours. As I mother with two young kids dinner cant take 2 + hours long. But I was told that we would get our food right away and not to worry. My kids growing hungrier and hungrier as we all waited for dinner. Not only did the food take forever but they started making their portions smaller. Instead of getting 3-4 for spanakopita triangles our table got 2. This was all over Instagram how the portions should have been and what we ended up getting. Instead of taken care of the tables the paid for tickets weeks earlier, they welcomed more an more customer in that they weren’t able to handle or take care of. Even getting a top up on our drinks were a struggle. The waitress couldn’t handle their tables. We complain to management, they called an said they were going to do it again and comp our meal to make it up to us. This was a great idea and I would come back with an open mind and give them another try. But they never ended up doing it. I’ve phoned and followed up and it’s always the next month, next month. After the last call, they just couldn’t be bothered to call me back or credit any of the money back. One big disappointment Great concept but the restaurant and staff...