Calvert's in the Heights — Restaurant in Pensacola

Here’s the short and the long review for Calvert’s:

The Short: Restaurant is a bit musty, food taste was pretty good with some being great, pricey for the size, hair found in mashed potatoes.

The Long: Atmosphere - it has a nice pub style about it, with some kitschy British decor. It is a bit musty smelling but I suppose that makes it even more authentic because it’s quite damp and musty in England. Food - for appetizer we had the Scotch Egg. It was much smaller than expected, especially for the price of just one egg but the flavor was delicious! It was perfectly soft boiled and the outside was super crispy but a bit lacking on the sausage. On flavor alone this would be a 5 but overall, I’d give it a 4. Our first main dish was the Beef Wellington. Not what I expected because I thought it would be a filet wrapped in the puff pastry but it is a slice of steak with a ring of puff pastry around it with a veal demi-glacé on top and mashed potatoes and green beans on the side. The Wellington, while not what we expected, it was absolutely delicious and the veal Demi-glacé just further enhanced the beefy flavor! The green beans were quite hard and we didn’t eat them but the real issue came with the mashed potatoes. There was about a 2” black hair in the potatoes. We brought it to our waitress’s attention and she replaced the mashed potatoes but the surprising thing was that a manager never came over and apologized or acknowledged the issue! This is pretty unacceptable, especially for the price point of this restaurant. On flavor of the Wellington alone, this would be a 5+ but as a complete dish, I’d say a 3.5. Our second dish was the Ahi tuna. This came with salad, rice and some pickled ginger. It was all quite delicious. The tuna was fresh and well prepared and the rice and salad were as expected. This dish overall is a solid 4.5. The third dish was the fish and chips. This was the main reason for coming here and the fish did NOT disappoint! The fish was flaky and had a beautiful mild fish flavor and the batter was quite delicious. The tartar sauce compliments the light flavor of the fish perfectly. My only gripes with the fish would be, I definitely wanted a bit more and if they aren’t bringing it straight out after preparing, don’t lay the pieces on top of each other because it did make some of the breading soggy. The chips on the other hand were a very disappointing. They were cold, not crispy at all and lacked seasoning. The fish on its own would rate a solid 4.5, would be a 5+ if there wasn’t the soggy bit but the chips dragged this dish down to a 3.5 as a whole. Service - while the waitress was polite, I feel the handling of the hair put a real damper on the overall experience.

So to wrap it all up, the food was mostly good, some excellent but a few disappointments. I think for the overall price of the meal, $120 without drinks, it was a bit disappointing, so the overall rating of 3 stars is pretty accurate. I would go again but just for the fish and chips and definitely hope the chips are hotter, crispier...

Since I had to move away from my hometown, this place has popped up. It's a great large building that has many rooms. A whole room that's a bar, a whole room that has good seating for the stage that they have live music on, and two whole rooms worth of normal tables and booths. That's all on top of the massive yard they have with more bar stuff outside and huge yard games and comfortable chairs and a beautiful view of Pensacola Bay.

When I would come into town a few times a year, I would normally go to a very popular restaurant in town. You know which one I mean. But the decline in quality and assortment of menu items, along with the fact that that place doesn't take reservations, so I've slowly transitioned to now coming here every time I come into town.

So I've been here three times now, with parties of 10+, no problems making reservations, and I've spent a lot of time in their bar yard before and after the reservation. It's a lot of fun.

Anyway, the service has always been good, and the food has had no mistakes. All particularly impressive three times in a row with 10+ people at a table.

I don't see a menu on their website, so I can't give you exact food item descriptions, but I can say that their fish 'n' chips are the best fish 'n' chips I have ever had in the United States. The chips are cut in such a way that give them such a great crisp and crunch and oh my goodness, you have to try them.

The fish itself is good. A nice, thin, crisp batter. Moist cod within. The fried shrimp is good. I would skip the Shepard's pie. And all the apps are good. Buy several and share with the table. Especially the giant pretzel.

Overall, I'm so glad that I found this place. Getting my friends and family together when I come home is very important to me, and this place gives me a five star place to bring them all to....

March 2025 Stop on a Saturday for lunch. It was one of those early spring days where it’s sunny but just a little chill in the air. Perfect for sitting out back with a great view of the bay. Staff is very friendly and helpful. The servers are knowledgeable and don’t hover around your table. Everything on the menu sounds delicious. When I arrived at almost 1 PM the parking lot was nearly full yet inside there was plenty of room. They have a separate bar area and dining area inside. They also have a couple of private dining rooms that can be closed off from the other dining area. The menu is mostly British, but is eclectic enough for us Americans.

The drunken mussels are delicious. Served in a fennel broth. They’re the perfect appetizer. The grouper sandwich was delicious. I had them blackened it rather than fried. It was fabulous.

Obviously, Calverts has been here for quite some time. It is a locals place with a very international heart.

The outdoor area has tables and umbrellas and chairs right at the edge of the yard, looking out over the bay. It has a fabulous view and an outdoor stage where I understand they have music during the warm parts of the year.

Emily and Ian are my favorite servers both showing great performance and efficiency in accommodating their clients.

The back of the house is creative and quick on the orders. They are open 7 days a week and have bingo and live music.

If it’s cooler weather be sure and dress appropriately if you care to sit outside.

I will definitely be back

Urban Cowgill updated October...