Earls Kitchen + Bar — Restaurant in Red Deer

I have heard so many good reviews about this place but nothing could have prepared me for the five star experience I just had at Earls this evening.

Decor: 5/5. I loved everything from the floor to the ceiling. The colour combinations wowed me and have inspired me on decor ideas for my own home. I was blown away. It was so appealing. Have you seen those AI photos for decor going around that can’t possibly be emulated? Well, Earls made it happen. It didn’t feel real, let alone a restaurant in Red Deer.

Service: 5/5. We were seated very quickly, in a seat with a great view of their outdoor patio which was also decorated excellently. We were served by Dakota, who was everything you could ever ask for in a server. Friendly, personable, efficient, available, attentive. English is my first language and even I am not able to convey into words how excellent she was. Our table barely ever had an empty dish. She was dressed very well, her hair was perfect, her makeup was perfect, and she was friendly to boot. If they wrote a manual for how to be the best waitress ever, she’d be the author. I’d pay to attend her Ted talk. Even with the high praise here, I am still under selling it.

Ambience: 5/5. You could barely hear other tables. Sometimes I get overwhelmed in loud environments and for me the volume from the other tables was minimal. The restaurant is huge, the parking lot was almost full, there was hardly an empty table, there were lots of people, and yet it didn’t feel like it, and it didn’t sound like it. Drinks: I got a coconut mango margarita and it was divine. The flavours were on point. The drink came with blue salt on the rim, which I thought was just such a cool way to add a little flair. My friend got a Cesar which she thoroughly enjoyed. We normally only get one drink, but we just had to have another. Food: 5/5. I got probably the most expensive item on the menu, which was the strip loin surf and turf. I added truffle butter because why not? (I had a gift card so I went a little crazy.) I asked for my steak to be rare, and for the first time in my whole life, it was actually rare. I couldn’t have made it better myself. Have you ever seen the food replicator in Star Trek? My plate of food was so perfect I think a robot must have cooked it. There’s just no way a human did this. I was physically delighted when I cut into my steak. It came with mashed potatoes and asparagus. The potatoes had SHREDDED POTATOES on top that were fried and crispy. I had to ask what it was because I will never have mashed potatoes without them again. If they said “we are only paying you in mashed potatoes instead of money,” I’d actually accept the job and work there. The prawns were also cooked to perfection, and had their tails removed already which is rare for me. My friend got fettuccine Alfredo with Cajun chicken. Shes usually a slow eater but she practically scarfed this down. When I asked her in between bites how her food was, she told me it was perfection. She said she usually like her Cajun chicken pretty spicy, but she said she wouldn’t change a single thing with this dish. Her and I frequently go out for dinner and I have never once heard her say this.

I am still shocked that this restaurant is in Red Deer. Earls absolutely exceeded my expectations, which were already high given the reviews I’ve heard from other people. I haven’t even been home for fifteen minutes, I just HAD to tell people: if you haven’t gone, what are you...

To start off, we tipped 25%, not because the service was great but because our server was willing to listen to our feedback when the bill came. We were greeted at the door and seated almost immediately on the patio at table 181. However, we waited 9 minutes before our server greeted us (should have been 30 seconds), introduced herself, and took our drink order. I ordered a Whiskey Sour and asked to upgrade my whiskey, but she didn’t know which whiskeys they had. My wife ordered a glass of wine, and we also placed our orders for appetizers and entrees.

Drinks arrived at the 22-minute mark (should have been 2 min), and we were told that the bar was behind and had gotten busy. I got up to check the ticket time on the bar receipt as it was quite a long time, and it seemed like this was more of a deflection than the actual cause of the delay. If drinks are served in stemware, they should be put on the table with the stem and not where your mouth goes. We started with the wings (10) for $19.99, which we found to be way too expensive for the portion size. On the other hand, the Calamari was amazing—great flavor and a fantastic presentation. My wife had the Santa Fe, which was as delicious as always.

Unfortunately, my Chili Chicken on rice came out so hot that I couldn't touch the plate, which was concerning as someone who has worked in the industry. It was clear that the dish had been sitting under the heat warmers for too long before the server brought it out. We also waited considerably long for our entrees. While the dish itself was delicious in flavour, I was disappointed to find a hair about 3/4 of the way through. Our server apologized and took it off the bill, which I wasn’t expecting but appreciated since I had eaten most of it before finding the hair. When our food was delivered it was auctioned off as if they didn’t know which seat numbers were what.

Here’s the kicker, we just had our second kid and haven’t had a date in over 8 months. We were excited about the chance to get out and enjoy ourselves. We were going to a movie at 6:30pm and while we didn’t let her know, in our opinion we had we didn’t think we needed to as we had 1.5 hours to get out which is more than enough time. We got our bill at 6:35pm which was over the time as an average guest check. 

There was no questions being asked about what we were doing tonight, plans, etc. This is pretty standard question to initially engage with your table. My biggest pet peeve is that when you’re paying for your bill and then all the sudden they have time to converse and find out about what’s going on. Too late!...

The only thing on the menu that wasn't spicy was the fish and chips. It even came with a spiced up version of tartar sauce and the yam fries dip, I had to ask for a substitute garlic aioli dip, which was so salty you could hardly eat it, and I had to specify that do not add cracked pepper or any condiments or garnish that may be spicy. The meal for all 3 of us wasn't good enough that we will probably ever go back. The saving grace of the evening however was the service, the hostess was very cordial and our server was fantastic, I wish I knew her name as I would recommend to ask to sit in her section. We were there July 31st at about 7ish to 8ish I am guessing and were seated inside about the middle at the only table (a booth) that you could access from both sides. Maybe if Earls reads this they can figure out who she was and give her Koodoos. Even when it came to paying, we used a gift card that covered half the bill, and we used debit for the rest. Earls POS program doesn't recognize that half the payment had already been made so when it came to tip it only counted the debit portion to take a %. The tip was small then, when we noticed it she very kindly explained why that happened and said no worries, it's totally fine, it happens all the time, it's just part of the system, and she in very good nature meant that all was good. We took out cash to top it us because it wasn't her fault the system was flawed and she was what saved the evening as the food certainly didn't. I'm a very positive person, and I hate to give a bad review. I gave a low review this time as the menu and the kitchen left much to be desired. Sorry Earls you forgot your customers of over 25 years may like some of your signature dishes that made us fans in the first place. It's sad that you changed the menu so much with so many hot and spicy items that 2 of the 3 of us had to do a process of elimination to finally be able to choose something palatable for us, and even at that we had to alter the spicy condiments it was served with. I take back the comment of the kitchen, they were only cooking the food as the menu was designed. The problem is actually the menu, it has no diversification to please all your customers. My final comment is to other restaurant goers that if they can't eat spicy food, then this is definitely not the place for you to eat. Sorry Earls, we used to absolutely love you as our favorite top pick restaurant. We eat out 2 or 3 times every week, so that's a lot of meals you won't be serving us....