The Selkirk (Selkirk Grille) — Restaurant in Calgary

We were really looking forward to having dinner at this restaurant, the last opportunity to dine out before the current pandemic shut down. The welcome was very warm but then things started to go downhill. The waiter was off hand and his service sporadic and lacking attention. Plates from the appetizer were left on the table through the three courses. The waiter who wore a ridiculous and inappropriate face mask, appeared scattered and flustered. The food was disappointing. The charcuterie featured a poor selection of tired and dried out ingredients. The wild boar pate was tough and hard to chew. The main course finally arrived when I prompted the head waiter about the delay. It had clearly been sitting under the heat lamps for a while. The seasonal vegetables were meagre and overcooked, the steaks were OK but nothing to get excited about. The wine was excellent and the cappuccino superb. We were given a discount on the bill without asking because we were clearly unhappy with the service. The head waiter spoke to us at length afterwards, apologizing for the service and promising better service next time. This was reassuring, but somehow the generally the disorganized and lackadaisical atmosphere lead us to doubt whether things would be much different next time. I thought hard about whether to leave a review in these difficult times. I now feel prompted to do so in the face of so many very positive reviews that were baffling in the light of our own experience. Heritage Park is such an important landmark for Calgary I would love to say that its upscale restaurant would be a beacon for diners from near and far. Sadly that’s not the case in...

My husband, 3 y/o son and myself who was 7 months pregnant went for lunch in this reataurant during a Thomas event. The restaurant is packed at 12 noon and we understand that it will take time to get our orders. My husband noticed that the other tables came in after us were being served first. 45 mins of waiting we asked the waiter if we'll be getting our food soon. He said that he' ll get back but never did. So another 20 mins and my son is starting to make a fuss because of hunger, we asked another waiter what happened to our order. He came back saying that our order slip was gone. It was almost 2 and I' m shaking from hunger and being pregnant I' m about to pass- out my son was crying, A nearby family gave crackers to my son because they noticed that we've been waiting for a while. I asked for the manager and told him what happened I said we' ve been waiting for almost 2 hours and no one bothered to ask us for our order again when they found out they lost it. He immediately led us out so that I don' t make a scene and got some bread from across the street. he told us to get some food at the cafe at the front gate and not to worry about paying. I don't have the strength to argue with him so we just left the restaurant. Why do we have to go to the cafe and not just eat at the restaurant? Can't they just serve us the food faster now that they know we've been waiting for a long time. We are not going to that restaurant again. Very...

Selkirk Grill was recommended to us by a family member who is a Red Seal Chef.

The appies looked interesting - we ordered the Roasted Garlic and Jalapeno Chess Dip with tri-colored tortilla chips. I think the tri-colored chips make things more fun - but it came with plain boring blond tortilla chips.

I ordered the Garden Tomato Salad - I really like tomatoes, cucumbers, and peppers. The sweet balsamic dressing was really nice. The salad was mostly tomatoes, with a few think slices of cucumber and tomatoes. Fior di latte is a fancy name for mozzarella cheese, according to google.

My husband & I really enjoy game meat - so we both ordered the Bison burger. We eat a lot of venison, including venison burgers, so we know it can be dry if it's not properly cooked. These burgers were thick, tough, flavorless, dry and did not span the bun. I ate most of it by nibbling at the burger, but eventually took the burger out of the bun so I could cut the burger with my knife - and that did not work well either. The burger was too tough to cut with a knife. Where was the caramelized onion, and avocado aioli that was supposed to be on the burger?

The bison burger could be really delicious if was thinner, spanned the bun, and not overcooked. I'd add some seasoning to the meat and a non-traditional sauce/dressing of blueberry or haskap berry instead of the usual (and almost non-existent on my burger)...