Vintage Chophouse and Tavern — Restaurant in Calgary

A Disappointing Milestone Celebration at Vintage Chophouse.

My family (many from out of town) and I recently chose Vintage Chophouse to celebrate a very special occasion: my Sister's 65th birthday. We had been looking forward to this evening for months, planning ahead to ensure a memorable and celebratory experience at what we understood to be one of Calgary's premier steakhouses. Unfortunately, our expectations were not met, and the evening left us feeling deeply disappointed.

The ambiance and service were, for the most part, excellent. Our server was attentive and knowledgeable, and the elegant decor of the restaurant certainly set the stage for a fine dining experience.

We began the evening with cocktails and appetizers, which were all expertly prepared and delicious, further building our anticipation for the main course.

The true disappointment, however, came with the arrival of our steaks. My family ordered a variety of cuts, including the ribeye. As we all took our first bites, a shared look of dismay passed around the table. Every single steak was overwhelmingly salty. It was more than a seasoning issue; the saltiness was so pronounced that it completely overpowered the rich, high-quality flavor of the beef. It was a genuine challenge to finish our meals.

What was meant to be the highlight of the evening—the exceptional steak that one expects from an establishment of this caliber and price point—became the source of our collective letdown. This was particularly disheartening given the significance of the event. The mood of the celebration, which had started so joyfully, was dampened by this fundamental flaw. We had chosen this restaurant for a momentous occasion precisely because we trusted in the quality and execution that is expected from a very expensive steakhouse.

While we did mention the saltiness to our server, and they were very apologetic, the issue was consistent across all our steaks. This suggests a potential misstep in the kitchen's preparation standards on that particular evening. I understand that a busy kitchen can have an off night, but for a restaurant at this price point, and with the reputation they hold, a foundational element like seasoning should be consistently perfect.

This review is not intended to be purely negative, but rather a constructive critique from a group of diners who wanted nothing more than to have a perfect celebratory meal. My hope is that this feedback can be used to ensure that future guests, especially those celebrating important life events, do not have a similar experience. The potential for an outstanding meal is clearly there, but on this occasion, the execution fell short in a critical way.

We left feeling as though we had paid a significant sum for an experience that, regrettably, failed to deliver on its most basic promise. We truly hope that the kitchen can address this consistency issue, as we would love to one day be able to return and experience the superb quality that we had so eagerly anticipated.

A Disappointed Patron.

If management wishes to discuss this further with me I'd be happy to...

Came here for dinner this evening and we were pleased with our experience.

Upon entering, we were taken to our table in the lounge/tavern side. Loved the atmosphere. Dark steakhouse feel, pretty typical rich finishes, music was at an appropriate level for the lounge side with deep bass but not overwhelming. Music selection was well curated too. Our server was professional, not overbearing and we really enjoyed that the experience did not feel pretentious and was a bit more casual.

We ordered a couple appetizers - scallops and beef tartare. The appetizers were okay but I wasn’t blown away unfortunately. I was a bit confused with the flavour pairings on the scallop dish. The smoked shallot vinaigrette was very overpowering and masked the sweet, subtle flavour of the scallops. It was quite bitter, over smoked (liquid smoke?) and I felt that it needed some acid to brighten the dish. I felt the smoked shallot sauce that was served with this dish was better suited for the beef tartare. The pork belly was almost non existent on this dish.

The beef tartare - portion size was spectacular. The beef was minced well, the truffle was forward but not overwhelming. The beef tartare itself felt quite a bit flat. Underseasoned unfortunately - I was really trying to get pull more salt from the potato chips to compliment the beef. A bit of acid on this dish would have really been amazing again, to cut some of the richness of the beef and brighten it up. Even the greens dressed with a light vinaigrette instead of plain olive oil could go a long way here.

Entrees - we ordered a vintage greens salad, a 14oz prime ribeye, mushrooms and creamy peppercorn.

The salad is exactly what we expected. The spinach in the mixture was fresh and crisp - everything else as we expected. The ribeye was cooked perfectly, seasoned perfectly, served at an appropriate temperature. Great steak. The mushrooms were good, however these were underseasoned. Creamy peppercorn was great as well although I was hoping for a bit more peppercorn presence.

We ordered a creme brûlée and the brownie for dessert, with a 20yr Taylor port. The creme brûlée was amazing - although I don’t feel the sugar cookie was necessary. The brownie was also perfect and I always forget how well port pairs with chocolate so I loved seeing the port listed on the same page as the dessert menu. Thank you for that.

I can see some different plateware being used for a few items - mushrooms and the brownie had some exciting and vibrant plates from Churchill - hope you can make the change throughout the rest of the core menu to elevate that part of the dining experience.

All in all, a great night out and we thoroughly enjoyed our experience. The meal was definitely on the pricier side but I felt the value of our meals service and environment was appropriately matched to the menu prices. We will plan to enjoy another meal here in the future for...

My boyfriend and I came here for our first anniversary and I can confidently say I could love to come back.

Unbeknownst to me, my love put a note in the reservation saying it was our anniversary so we were greeted at the table with a personalized card and two glasses of champagne so the night already starts on a positive note (shout-out to all the staff who signed the card, you guys are amazing!!).

Started with a few oysters, and I gotta note the little napkin fold they did for the Tabasco because it looks so cute. I ordered two appetizers instead of an entree but my boyfriend got the prime rib with a side of roasted beets so I got to try that too.

Honestly, one of my highlights of the night from what we ordered was the beets. I don’t get them often and I’m often surprised by how good they actually are so maybe I need to change that about my ordering choices. Everything else was as delicious as I’d hoped it to be so I’m definitely not disappointed. Prime rib was juicy and to die for, scallops were perfection, the beef tartare was everything I could ask for, and you really can’t go wrong with well sourced oysters. And I love being surprised with bread at the beginning of meals, you know, cause I’m impatient.

Another highlight, if not my favourite moment of the night, was when we were ordering ‘dessert’. In place of something sweet, we ordered two more oysters and the reaction of our waiter was something I’ll remember because this is obviously something not asked often and he was of course caught off guard (I’ll admit I made my boyfriend ask for them because I was a little embarrassed). “Dessert oysters,” was announced and yeah.. he chuckled and the rest is history. Also our food runner, when he brought out the oysters, had to confirm with us that we did in fact order them and I thought that was funny as he was the one who brought out our first order.

Staff is super knowledgeable. I didn’t ask too many questions but I overheard a little when one of the waiters was describing to another table all the cuts of beef they had. Getting a tad nerdy here, food wise, but I do appreciate when steakhouses ensures their staff know about marbling scores and the difference between breeds of cattle. Extra points from me here.

I definitely love the vibe of this restaurant. It wasn’t horribly busy because of COVID restrictions (likely) and it being a Wednesday but I can imagine it getting busier on weekends. It is a darker atmosphered restaurant so don’t go when you’re sleepy but otherwise I love this place for only going there once. I’ll be back to try some of the other things I couldn’t order all at once.

Thank you all for giving us such...