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flipstah
02-28-2011, 12:12 PM
WEST Restaurant & Bar
225 7 Avenue Southwest
Calgary, AB
(403) 237-5556
Inside Scotia Centre
- Food: 2.5/5
- Ambience: 2/5
- Service: 1/5

Some of my friends wanted to do an impromptu gathering and so, one of them wanted to try West. We all wanted something new and so here we were, reservation for 5 and it wasn’t off to a good start.

First, we were seated in a table for 4 but once this was addressed, we were moved to a roomier booth. In between sitting down and waiting for a server to come to address this issue, we did exactly that: just sit there. No server coming by to get us menus, water… We were just shown to our table and left for dead. I had to wave a waiter down just to acknowledge that we had heartbeats.

Finally, a different server came by and got us drinks and our orders: Braised Short Rib Rigatoni ($16), two of us got the “signature” Crab Cake Mac ‘N’ Cheese ($17 each), rotisserie chicken ($18), and the Prime Rib Burger ($13).

The Rigatoni was presented similar to watching baseball sober; you’re bored looking at it and you need to get drunk to enjoy it. It looked bland with the white rigatoni contrasting the brown shredded beef with some green garnish; tasted ‘meh.’ The chicken was 'alright' but not '$18 alright' but the one I was most disappointed with was the Crab Cake Mac ‘N’ Cheese.

For a 'signature' dish, I expected flair or quality that shows that the chef truly cares; I expected a Picasso, a Da Vinci of pasta with the most ecclectic combination of flavors that I would be utterly, undeniably, flabergasted.

Maybe I expected too much. I did.

What I got was a dsylexic rendition of paint-by-numbers; it was just boiled macaroni with the same cheese they use in their mediocre fondue ($10), and then a crab-cake. That’s about it.

I wanted for the server to come back to ask for freshly ground pepper to add flavor, but it was way faster to just grab the cracker from the kitchen myself and self-crack it. The crab-cake was brown, which is good!

To sum things up, this place is overpriced, overrated and unappetizing. The atmosphere cannot even make up for the lackluster food as mid-way through our meal, the bar suddenly cranked up the ‘background’ music or Galaxie Radio to 11; cranked up to the point that we couldn’t have a decent conversation.

I don’t know how you made one man’s night being surrounded by 4 beautiful women suck so much. You certainly outdid yourself, West! :thumbsup:

max_boost
02-28-2011, 12:16 PM
Originally posted by flipstah
WEST Restaurant & Bar
225 7 Avenue Southwest
Calgary, AB
(403) 237-5556
Inside Scotia Centre
- Food: 2.5/5
- Ambience: 2/5
- Service: 1/5


To sum things up, this place is overpriced, overrated and unappetizing.

I don’t know how you made one man’s night being surrounded by 4 beautiful women suck so much. You certainly outdid yourself, West! :thumbsup:

Pics of 4 beautiful women. :werd:

flipstah
02-28-2011, 12:18 PM
Originally posted by max_boost


Pics of 4 beautiful women. :werd:

A true player doesn't reveal his cards. You of all people should know that. ;)

trevh
02-28-2011, 12:26 PM
I knew the owner, he's very cheap, everything he uses is below average. Same owner as flames central and calgary tower. Vic choi is a very cheap lad...

revelations
02-28-2011, 12:31 PM
edit (wrong restaurant, Rush was the one that did this to Rage's car)




I've heard the same mediocre story from a few friends who visited there.

One even had a free cover (or something to that effect) and said he wouldnt go back there unless there was another freebie.

flipstah
02-28-2011, 12:33 PM
Nvm. Wrong post from revelations.

Their after-hours club isn't TOO bad but the dancefloor in +30 is very cramped and yes, wouldn't go back there unless there's no cover.

kaput
02-28-2011, 01:14 PM
.

max_boost
02-28-2011, 01:14 PM
Originally posted by flipstah


A true player doesn't reveal his cards. You of all people should know that. ;)

Then I call :bullshit:

This is Beyond, you need to back your facts up at all times.

:D

Swank
02-28-2011, 02:02 PM
I think it's a really nice looking place, too bad it's a huge let down in every other way, I agree with you there. Unfortunately the rooftop patio will make it the place to go if we have a nice summer.

ExtraSlow
02-28-2011, 09:39 PM
anytime someone suggests this place, I try to convince them to go elsewhere. Probably ten restaurants within one block that I prefer<

KO22
03-01-2011, 12:55 AM
I actually got hired as a bartender for West when it was still opening in march/april of last year.. ended up quitting after I got the shift schedule, they packed staff on like there was no tomorrow, seemed like it was gonna be a hit, but was nothing near.. ended up eating at the place in the summer and was actually quite pleased (small lunch, not overly busy, plus the server was not bad at all, even helped the gf decide) but ever since then looks like it went to shit lol... talking about shit, went to Rush for my bday last week, WOW that place has BRUTAL service, nobody in there on a tuesday and took forever even to get water, food made up for it (some what, prices not worth the quality.. at least I was full at the end of it) but never going back there .. wheres the good establishments these days I'd rather go to moxies/cactus to get a decent meal these days rather then get disappointed downtown again

ExtraSlow
03-01-2011, 07:04 AM
Just go to Rouge. All these trendy restaurants seem to start strong and then disappoint.

flipstah
03-01-2011, 10:20 AM
Originally posted by KO22
I actually got hired as a bartender for West when it was still opening in march/april of last year.. ended up quitting after I got the shift schedule, they packed staff on like there was no tomorrow, seemed like it was gonna be a hit, but was nothing near.. ended up eating at the place in the summer and was actually quite pleased (small lunch, not overly busy, plus the server was not bad at all, even helped the gf decide) but ever since then looks like it went to shit lol... talking about shit, went to Rush for my bday last week, WOW that place has BRUTAL service, nobody in there on a tuesday and took forever even to get water, food made up for it (some what, prices not worth the quality.. at least I was full at the end of it) but never going back there .. wheres the good establishments these days I'd rather go to moxies/cactus to get a decent meal these days rather then get disappointed downtown again

Don't go to Murrieta's then. I'd write a review about it but I'd rather forget how much I spent.

Never done triple-digits for a dinner of 2... Ever. :rofl:


Originally posted by ExtraSlow
Just go to Rouge. All these trendy restaurants seem to start strong and then disappoint.

What is the menu like for Rouge? Fusion or the basic "meat and fish" dishes?

ExtraSlow
03-01-2011, 10:54 AM
Rouge Restaraunt Calgary (http://www.rougecalgary.com/)

The_1
03-01-2011, 10:58 AM
west charges a cover now?

t-im
03-01-2011, 10:59 AM
Originally posted by ExtraSlow
Just go to Rouge. All these trendy restaurants seem to start strong and then disappoint.
I went to Rouge a few years ago and was utterly disappointed. Not from the food, which was pretty decent (if overly salted), but the fact that we had to wait about 1.5 hours for appetizers, and then another hour on top of that for our entrees, due to it being a 'full house.'

I understand it's a small restaurant, but they shouldn't have booked us in if they knew they wouldn't be able to serve my group in a timely manner.

ExtraSlow
03-01-2011, 12:22 PM
t-im, that's crazy, I've never seen that kind of wait, and I would be really pissed if it happened to me. I can understand if you don't want to go back.

Check out Chef's Table at the Kensington Inn. Also good.

t-im
03-01-2011, 01:29 PM
Originally posted by ExtraSlow
t-im, that's crazy, I've never seen that kind of wait, and I would be really pissed if it happened to me. I can understand if you don't want to go back.

Check out Chef's Table at the Kensington Inn. Also good.
Yeah, they were pretty blase about us waiting that long..the whole "our kitchen is really small and it's a full house" bullshit. We were a larger group (8 of us), but still..

I've been to Chef's Table a few times. It's been awhile so the only thing I can remember is that I really enjoyed one of the appetizers. In my opinion Calgary "fine" dining is highway robbery, but that's an entirely different rant.

gkAeris
03-01-2011, 01:41 PM
Originally posted by kaput
I've been hating on this place since it opened. I'm glad people are finally starting to see what I saw long ago. Hopefully it either gets reinvented or closed sooner than later. :werd:

i boycotted WEST after my friend had his birthday there in October never been back, just the service was (waitress and the door person) horrible, the food was not good, i don't want to turn it into a rant but yeah i'm hoping for them to close down.

yes aparently west charges a cover now, (i heard from friends) even if they give me a bar tab and free cover or free anything i won't ever be back i gotten some invites of friends having birthdays there and i dont even go cause of the venue.:thumbsdow

rm777
03-28-2011, 01:48 PM
Originally posted by t-im

Yeah, they were pretty blase about us waiting that long..the whole &quot;our kitchen is really small and it's a full house&quot; bullshit. We were a larger group (8 of us), but still..

I've been to Chef's Table a few times. It's been awhile so the only thing I can remember is that I really enjoyed one of the appetizers. In my opinion Calgary &quot;fine&quot; dining is highway robbery, but that's an entirely different rant.

Calgary's culinary scene is definitely lacking variety. I agree that the price point points at these restaurants are ridiculous. Two places that have never let me down, are Cilantro's and Buon Giorno's.

JordanAndrew
03-28-2011, 02:12 PM
I'm pretty sure I posted a bad review as well about West last year. I organized a birthday party for 15 people to go get dinner on a saturday night and then was planning on staying to get drinks and party afterwards.

It wasn't clear as to who our server was because there would be a different one every time we would order something. No big deal I guess. But even with this, we always had empty drinks. Our food came after about an hour(which is fine considering it's a saturday night and we had 15 people). But what bothered me was when they decided to stagger how the food came out. Half of our table got their food, then after about 15 minutes, the rest of the food came out. Again, the server never told us this is how they are going to handle our food orders. A few of us ordered steaks and none of them were cooked right.

So finally, after a bad dinner service, it was time to break the seal and go to the washroom. While washing my hands, I notice a bartender/busser come in the washroom and use the toilet. He then decides to go out without washing his hands and proceeds to the bar right away. I watched him if he would at least wash his hands before he starts making drinks again. Nope, that didn't happen. This was the final straw for me because that was very unsanitary. I talked to a few managers but no one seemed to care.

We decided to leave and go elsewhere for the party and I'm glad we did. I even emailed the General Manager the next day and I spoke to him as well. He never got back to me or even tried to apologize.

I will never go back to this place unless they have an entirely new management.

lilmira
03-28-2011, 02:19 PM
Was that poppie?

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