Central Social Hall — Restaurant in Central Core

First, the good ... Great food! Everything on the plate was creatively and expertly flavoured. There was nothing lazy or second-rate with any of our dinners. It's surprising when your main entree is absolutely delicious, but the veggies were the amazingly tastier items on your plate!

The downside - and the reason we won't return - we went for dinner around 6pm on Sunday night. We never intended to go to the bar; we were going for dinner, but the restaurant was roped off on Sunday evening. The extremely loud music is for Friday and Saturday nights and a younger crowd.

Our table and many nearby tables had several older silver-haired dinner guests eating by 6-6:30pm-ish. Most, if not all, patrons came for dinner, not simply to drink.

Turn down the music, please, as we would like to talk with our friends/family while eating Sunday night dinner. Yes, we'd like to be "social" at the Central Social Hall when having dinner earlier on a Sunday evening!

The blaring music ruined the atmosphere so badly, we'll think twice about ever returning. It's a shame as the food was terrific, but did not make up for an unpleasant evening. The kitchen is first rate, but the atmosphere left us wanting to the point where we ate, quickly paid and left.

Also, as we were forced to go to the bar with its "adult high chairs" and stairs all over the place, this posed a problem for older Sunday evening patrons. You have to climb up a high stair just to sit at a table (booth), in addition to other stairs strategically placed. Several older people were mobility impaired and forced to use stairs, both outside and inside this establishment. At least two people in our party really needed to use the ramp and avoid stairs altogether, without success.

Our entire table had to move to a slightly better location for this reason, but this still made it difficult (potentially hazardous) as stairs could not be avoided. Lack of legislated access to the premises as no ramp was accessible with the restaurant being roped off - nothing on the website about this.

Not ideal, not wheelchair accessible. And not a place to go for Sunday night dinner as the restaurant wasn't even open. Our out-of-town guests in the Edmonton area for a summer weekend getaway were not impressed with this place for dinner as we couldn't hear each other over the constant...

I took my school staff team to Central Social Hall on December 19th to celebrate the holidays and their dedication to the kiddos and community. That night at Central was an incredible experience for us. The quality of service started well before our arrival that night. I connected with Vance and Jesse, Central’s leadership team, and they were able to provide me with a seamless process for booking a large party of over 30 staff. They quickly sent me booking forms with confirmation along with a personalized, curated menu that met the dietary needs of all guests. When I requested the whole front of the room with the large beautiful windows, they were happy to support the vision. Upon arrival, Vance was right there to greet me. I arrived early to ensure that the space and details requested were executed. I was so happy and excited for the guests to arrive! Vance and his serving team had welcome prosecco ready in flutes, the front area booths and table were set and sectioned off and the menus were custom made with our logo and branding. These touches were an elite level of customer service. I appreciated them very much! When the guests started to come through, they were each greeted with warm welcomes and smiles plus prosecco! The pace of the 3 course dinner menu service was exceptional and mindful of the conversations and activities of the guests. The conscious effort to read the crowd and be flexible with food service is highly appreciated. We all were hungry afterschool on a Tuesday night and boy did we satisfy our hunger. The team were raving about the brussel sprouts, steak sandwich, chicken sandwich, truffle pasta and desserts. The vegetarians were very happy with their yummy options too!. While I had to leave right after dessert, my 2.5 hour dinner stay was enjoyed immensely. Other guests stayed longer because they felt welcome and cozy there. The next morning, I received several emails saying how much fun they had and what a great venue it was to host a party. Of course, I connected with Vance and Jesse right away to book the entire patio for an afternoon in June to do it all again with our team. We cannot wait to celebrate again with Central Social Hall. They are a venue of choice for service, ambience, food and overall...

My girlfriend and I stood at the bar for 30 minutes waiting to be helped, but the bartender repeatedly skipped over us. He even served someone at 2:03 AM, despite last call being at 2:00 AM. When we finally caught his attention, he shrugged and told us in an ignorant tone that he couldn’t help us because it was after 2:00 AM. When we tried to talk to him, he turned his back on us, so we moved to the side of the bar to get his attention and ask for his manager. Instead of addressing our concerns, he yelled at my girlfriend and told her to leave, pointing at the door.

Security came over and, rather than asking about the situation or our concerns, they became hostile. One security guard yelled at my girlfriend and shoved her arm, even though she wasn’t being aggressive; she was just frustrated and trying to understand why we were ignored for 30 minutes. Despite my own frustration, I was not hostile towards the security guard, but he grabbed and held my wrist as well. From my understanding, security should not be putting hands on anyone or shoving them without probable cause.

This is not the first time we've experienced issues at this establishment. We will not be returning. Additionally, the manager was no help. She was ignorant and sarcastic when we explained the situation, telling us the establishment was closed at 2:10 AM and asking us to leave, even though I thought the closing time was 2:30 AM. The situation could have been easily resolved if the bartender hadn’t ignored us and if the manager had taken our concerns seriously. The manager excused the bartender by saying it was very busy and that sometimes people get missed. However, there were at most 65 people there, and from 1:30 AM to 2:00 AM, there were only four people at the bar.

If your establishment cannot handle the number of customers you have, then perhaps you should reconsider opening your doors. I understand that no one is perfect and things happen, but being better prepared can help avoid situations like this and ensure that all customers are served...