Restaurants in Kensington Area

[JRSC00LUDE]

Hey guys, where's some top picks for fun/good food/possibly patio atmosphere around Kensington?

Any must go's?

[ExtraSlow]

container bar.

[JRSC00LUDE]

What's that place all about ExtraSlow?

[ExtraSlow]

I'm no expert, too many hipsters down in that part of town. I have a buddy who says it's a nice mix of folks, and a good atmosphere.

CBC review - Containter bar (http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/cool-calgary-a-bar-in-a-kensington-alley-1.3152290)

[mo_money2supe]

I work in Kensington and have "frequented" (maybe more than I should) all the local watering holes around the area. Here's a breakdown of all the ones that have patios. There's a number of other pubs around Kensington too but if patio's are in your agenda, then stick to these ones.

Sunny patios on north side of the street:
- Original Joe's (on Kensington Rd NW)
- The Yardhouse (on Kensington Rd NW)
- The Oak Tree Tavern (upstairs patio off 10th St NW)
- Lot 102, FKA Bottle House Pub (on Memorial Dr & 10th St NW)

Less sunny patios on south side of the street:
- Molly Malone's Irish Pub (on Kensington Cres NW)
- Street Side Pub & Grill, FKA Sam's Pub (on Kensington Cres NW)
- Container Bar, as mentioned earlier, which has both a make shift street patio and an "alley" patio (on Kensington Rd)
- Midtown (on 10th ST NW) but is on the east side of the street so you'll have plenty of sunlight in the afternoon/evenings

Food wise, I actually quite enjoy Street Side's menu selection and taste (they're also the only ones with a pool table), but I don't have any objections to the others, with the exception of Lot 102. A number of us at work went to Lot 102 the first week it opened and not only was the service slow, but food was overpriced and abysmal at best. I've personally cut out most salt out of the food I cook at home by using fresh, flavourful herbs & ingredients, but their food was so bland I had to add table salt to my food! :barf: Yeah, I know, first world problem...

EDIT: There's also a couple places with patios that are cafes and/or diners; let me know if that's your cup of tea and I can recommend a few too.

[dawwgy]

For food I really enjoy Vero Bistro.... They have really good brunch (Benny's are tasty).

They also have "No menu Tuesdays" where the chef prepares whatever is fresh/local etc... you have some choice in what you get (option of 2 different appetizers, 2 different mains etc...).

On Wednesday's they have Steak and frites Wednesday, I havent been to that but for $39 I've heard from others its really good, 28 day aged NY Strip, truffle fries etc....

Its a small restaraunt (~15 tables) No patio, and a quiet atmosphere, but everything I've eaten there has been really good!

[xnvy]

For good food I like Tenshi Sushi. Cheaper than a place like Roku or Zipang but the small disparity in quality is more than made up for by the price. Only knock on the place is that it's really small, like an actual Japanese restaurant. Also no patio unfortunately.

[J-D]

I like Pulcinella :dunno:

[relyt92]

Originally posted by xnvy
For good food I like Tenshi Sushi. Cheaper than a place like Roku or Zipang but the small disparity in quality is more than made up for by the price. Only knock on the place is that it's really small, like an actual Japanese restaurant. Also no patio unfortunately. Been there a couple times, good food but I was also amazed at how small it was when we went there. ~5 tables or something?

[xnvy]

I'd honestly say Tenshi's maximum comfortable capacity is 20 normal sized people. 15 if people are fat. I actually prefer that though, it reminds me of Tokyo.

[Dumbass17]

Just had fish tacos at Lot 102, good deal 3 tacos for 6 something. Quiet but liked it. I live in Kensington so I'm all over the place. FYI, container bar gets zero sun. Yard house is always bad service and bitch waitresses. Can never go wrong with OJ's. The kona burger rocks my socks

[diamondedge]

Menyatai has good ramen, it's a bit tucked away further East on 12th Street.

[Strider]

Vendome Cafe - terrific food, not so much on the fun patio atmosphere though
Ikemen - ramen/drinks/patio, again not so much on the fun patio atmosphere

I'd start at one of these for food then move onto Molly Malones, Yardhouse, OJs, or Julio Barrio for patio drinking

The Bottlehouse (I guess Lot 102 now) patio is just plain awkward... Narrow, dark, and face Memorial.

[mo_money2supe]

Originally posted by J-D
I like Pulcinella :dunno:

Pulcinella has really gone downhill in the last year or two. Once the owner was able to afford his Ferrari Modena, it seems they just don't care as much about quality anymore. Even Beer Revolution has better thin crust pizza than Pulcinella now! I haven't been to Pulcinella's sister restaurant upstairs (Dolce something a rather) in at least 3-4 years so I can't speak on that, but they had decent food from what I recall.

As for ramen places, Menyatai or even Muku on 14th ST are far better than Ikemen, and cheaper too! I also had really poor, slow service at Ikemen so I might be jaded, but several of my co-workers said the same thing when they went on other occasions.

[mo_money2supe]

[Double Post]

[R154]

Facebook suggestions not enough?

[JRSC00LUDE]

Originally posted by R154
Facebook suggestions not enough?

Doubling my exposure!

[XylathaneGTR]

Originally posted by mo_money2supe


Pulcinella has really gone downhill in the last year or two. Once the owner was able to afford his Ferrari Modena, it seems they just don't care as much about quality anymore. Even Beer Revolution has better thin crust pizza than Pulcinella now!
Always been garbage, IMO. Tried it twice in 2008/2009 and the food was pretty rough (one pizza was overcooked, almost to the point of char and the second try was somehow soggy-ish with a poor texture).
Service was average but nothing to save the poor quality of the food.

Doesn't apply to your request around kensington, but there are so many other better pizza places (Double Zero, Famoso, Four Spot, blahblahblah).

On a side note...the yellow 360 convertable that's around Kensington sometimes at night...that one?

On topic: There's some lounge place up 10th and the intersection with 5th ave....been there for a few months (used to be FATS). Anyone tried it?

[Asian_defender]

Originally posted by diamondedge
Menyatai has good ramen, it's a bit tucked away further East on 12th Street.

:thumbsup: for Menyatai, Ikemen has a good patio but the ramen isnt as good

[flipstah]

Originally posted by R154
Facebook suggestions not enough?

I said what I said on Facebook.

[Kritafo]

yup I am a Vero fan as well been going for years, love no menu tues and love the seafood platter...its a massive sharing platter, they also have a steak and searfood platter

[max_boost]

Vero for sure. Amazing place.

[Dertz]

If it's a yellow 360 with Kenwood video single din and JL Audio subs, it's not Dom's.

His 599 is done up nice.

As for Pulcinella the food was ok. years ago though

[R154]

Originally posted by flipstah


I said what I said on Facebook.

Exactly lol.

Where did you go?

[GTS Jeff]

Vero has good food, but it's a pretty stuffy atmosphere. Not really a "fun" place. Moreso a place for asian foodie snobs.

[lint]

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