Review: Caille on the Bow

[BebeAphrodite]

Worst fine dining restaurant that I've ever been to in my life. I'm boycotting that place for the rest of my life and I refuse to ever go there again.
I went there last when I was 16 years old. I guess when you're that young they assume you have no money and therefore can't afford anything. Had horrible horrible service where the server left us alone for nearly the entire time, coming only to take our orders, bring us drinks/food, bill. Never inquiring about the food. And everything took forever.
All that stood out in my head was $18 shrimp appetizer dish. Three prawns on a skewer with no taste because it looked like it had been put on a grill and left there (there were grill marks). It was served lukewarm. Anyways, wasn't too impressed, bill came to $75. Only had five $20 bills. Was going to leave $90 (being OVERLY generous as the service was atrocious and the food disappointing) so therefore required one of the $20 bills to be broken. Asked the waitress for change after she left us alone for half an hour (had to hunt her down - and there were only two tables in the entire lower area... she was busy w/ the table of 'older' people) - she said she had no change (what kind of bullshit is that??). So I walked to the bartender and I asked her for change and she actually held her hand out and said "pshhh" like "talk to the hand". I was soo furious over that that I took the $20 back (left $80 - still being overly generous but considering how we were never getting change no point in waiting around) and stormed out of there. Never been so disrespected in my life at a restaurant.
Service 0/5
Food 1/5
Ambience 1/5 (ya... contemporary mixed w/ old style wooden lodge) :rolleyes:

[BebeAphrodite]

Oohh, and another thing that pissed me off about the restaurant was the treatment they gave me compared with the 'older people'. They would come out and offer valet services to old people driving such cars as Hondas. But they wouldn't come out to valet park the Lexus I was in. When we asked them to valet it, they said there was no space left. Found one around the corner - in between two valet parked cars from Caille on the Bow (they had the little yellow tags in the windshield).
Should have taken the treatment into consideration and not even entered the restaurant to waste time and money.

[GT3]

Went there last Valentine dont have any problem but n e way my first choice is CHAUMIERE La

or DA GUIDO RISTORANTE

GASTON'S RISTORANTE

[ZorroAMG]

I would have left $60, fuck them, and fuck the stupid waitress who, after that treatment, DESERVED to pay out of her pocket. La Caille is such crap and is frankly NOT a fine dining restaurant anymore. They should put up the Golden Arches in front of it and put in a drive thru.

Da Guido's is fantastic, Guido is a friend of mine and his food and service is second to none. If you are with a big group and are hungry, ask the server to have guido take care of the ordering:eek:

[Shaolin]

hmm i used to know the family that owned Le Caille.. i guess management changed now... dam :dunno:

[BebeAphrodite]

Originally posted by ZorroAMG
I would have left $60, fuck them, and fuck the stupid waitress who, after that treatment, DESERVED to pay out of her pocket. La Caille is such crap and is frankly NOT a fine dining restaurant anymore. They should put up the Golden Arches in front of it and put in a drive thru.

Da Guido's is fantastic, Guido is a friend of mine and his food and service is second to none. If you are with a big group and are hungry, ask the server to have guido take care of the ordering:eek:

I've been meaning to try Guido but still haven't gotten around it it yet! do a quick rating??

[koopkoop2]

Ouch.


That kinda hurts considering I used to cook there two years ago.

There is only one family that owns it. The owners name is Peter and he owns the condos attached to the restaurant, as well as FOUR other restaurants in town.

Do you remeber what the waitresses name was?

[BebeAphrodite]

Originally posted by koopkoop2
Ouch.


That kinda hurts considering I used to cook there two years ago.

There is only one family that owns it. The owners name is Peter and he owns the condos attached to the restaurant, as well as FOUR other restaurants in town.

Do you remeber what the waitresses name was?
I was there 2 or 3 years ago. She worked on the main floor - a slim blonde lady with long wavy hair. The girls behind the bar was an attractive brunette girl. The blonde looked in her 30s-40s, and the brunette was probably 20 something...

[Ben]

I will never Dine at La Caille.

I had a horrendous experience there a couple years ago. Went back and it was even worse!

:thumbsdow :thumbsdow :thumbsdow :thumbsdow :thumbsdow :thumbsdow :thumbsdow :thumbsdow :thumbsdow :thumbsdow :thumbsdow :thumbsdow :thumbsdow :thumbsdow :thumbsdow

[Ben]

Originally posted by ZorroAMG
I would have left $60, fuck them, and fuck the stupid waitress who, after that treatment, DESERVED to pay out of her pocket. La Caille is such crap and is frankly NOT a fine dining restaurant anymore. They should put up the Golden Arches in front of it and put in a drive thru.

Da Guido's is fantastic, Guido is a friend of mine and his food and service is second to none. If you are with a big group and are hungry, ask the server to have guido take care of the ordering:eek:

I've always wanted to dine there, I've heard from so many people that they rule!

[BebeAphrodite]

Originally posted by Ben
I will never Dine at La Caille.

I had a horrendous experience there a couple years ago. Went back and it was even worse!

:thumbsdow :thumbsdow :thumbsdow :thumbsdow :thumbsdow :thumbsdow :thumbsdow :thumbsdow :thumbsdow :thumbsdow :thumbsdow :thumbsdow :thumbsdow :thumbsdow :thumbsdow

just curious, what happened to u there?

[Ben]

Originally posted by CuteAsianAngel


just curious, what happened to u there?

Ah, you had to ask, haha

This was a few years ago

I took my Girlfriend at the time there for her Birthday. It was a Friday evening, 7pm.

My mom recommended it because she had won a big lunch dealie a while back off Lite96. She had a great time.

I called a few days before and asked for reservations, they said they didn't take reservations on Fridays and Saturdays, but to come down around 6:30 if you want a table for 7 just to be safe. Place wasn't very busy at all, and We were seated at 6:45. We waited till shortly after 7 to have our waitress visit our table and fill the water glasses and take our drink order. Unacceptable in the least but that's fine, we had lots to talk about. After waiting another 10 minutes for our drinks, she came back with my Coke and nothing for my gf. She ex-plained that they were out of Iced Tea, and that she would have to choose something else. Meanwhile the table beside us just got their Iced Teas delivered. When I questioned how they got theirs, she explained that those were Long Island Iced teas and not the same. I told her to bring her a Virgin Long Island Iced tea then, and she explained that was not on the menu.

Her Diet Coke came 10 minutes later.

This angered us, we were feeling the condecending tone that she could have with us because we were young.

I ordered a pasta dish that came cold and the noodles were undercooked. My gf got her Chicken Caesar salad, with wilted leaves and like 2 cubes of chicken. I would have complained had the waitress came back, but she avoided us whenever possible, for another 30 minutes. After about 15 minutes we decided we might as well eat because we're being ignored. This pissed me off. Our drinks were long empty, the food was insulting. She finally returned with refills on our drinks outta nowhere, we were long finshed our dinner however. She then spilled the diet coke when she set it down on a spoon and it went all over my girlfriend. No "I'm sooooo Sorry", no "OMG my appologies" just "Fuck, lets get that cleaned up!"

After another 20 minutes of me sitting alone at a soaked and miserable table, my gf returned, stained and embarassed. The waitress came with the bill, everything full price! I immediatly got up and tore a strip off her about not checking up on us, about how the food was terrible, and that we're insulted you have the nerve to charge us after spilling a pint of Coke on my partner and not even appologizing!

She then had the nerve to say to me after all of that:

"The food couldn't have been that bad if you finished it, and I'm sorry about the spill, but you were already done your meal so I cannot discount it."

I said "Is this a joke? Where's the candid video camera?! You've got to be trying out for the most terrible waitress job in the world or something. "

I grabbed my gf's jacket and we both left immediatly after, I never paid a dime and didn't even wait for a reply. Great way to spend your birthday :rolleyes:

[BebeAphrodite]

whoa... that is pretty bad... I was just too furious to say anything so just left....
was it the same lady I had? some scrawny blonde haired old hag?

[Ben]

nah, this broad was probably in her mid 20's with dark hair. I hope she gets what's coming to her.

[20incheyes]

there are much better places to spend your money and enjoy it, I went to La Caille a couple times this last summer (invited both times) and wasn't impressed. Hy's, Caesars, Teatro, Belvedere are top joints

[BebeAphrodite]

Originally posted by Ben
nah, this broad was probably in her mid 20's with dark hair. I hope she gets what's coming to her.

I'm hoping that this was the second time when you returned that you were talking about. Because if you went back after that, I can't imagine how much worse it can be.

[RiCE-DaDDy]

yea La Caille WAS pretty good before not its just not worth the $$$$

[LancerShelby]

I went there last September for my gf's b-day, I felt very out of place, like I was eating in a funeral home:barf: Bill was $100 after tip. Never going there again.

[hockeybronx]

BEN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

You are my fricken hero after reading that post. I was so sick and tired of reading posts saying "I was going to say something but..."

Nice work man, I can't believe you walked out without paying.

I think I might give that place a shot, and if I recieve the same kind of service everybody else is then I'll walk out too.

[bksze]

actually La Caille has a pretty good deal going on for downtown dining week.

Soup/Salad
NY Steak with lobster tail or 2 tails
dessert

$30

That's pretty damn cheap seeing as how I don't usually leave that restaurant with a bill under $100.

Regardless, i'm not defending them nor am I complimenting them. I find service to always be subjective to the customer just as much as it is to the waiter/waitress serving.

I just thought I'd post this up as there are quite a lot of really good deals to be had in the city during downtown dining week. Keep in mind this is in relation to the regular prices that these restaurants charge.

here is a list of restaurants for you guys however the menu choices are not listed.

http://www.downtowncalgary.com/events/diningWeek.php

[szw]

Originally posted by Ben

She ex-plained that they were out of Iced Tea, and that she would have to choose something else. Meanwhile the table beside us just got their Iced Teas delivered. When I questioned how they got theirs, she explained that those were Long Island Iced teas and not the same. I told her to bring her a Virgin Long Island Iced tea then, and she explained that was not on the menu.


Actually a long island ice tea does not have ice tea in it.

If you got a virgin long island iced tea...i think all you'd end up with was some coke, ice, and some lemon wedges.

Just to clear up misconceptions.

[rage2]

I went to La Caille last year with my wife for our anniversary. We actually dressed up to go there, I was in a pimpin' suit, and she was in a nice evening dress. One of the few times I didn't look like a bum lol.

We were treated very well (it was a slow night). The valet said he'll take special care of the car because it was pretty low, the waiter kept coming back to check on our drinks, food, etc. The food wasn't great, and it was a tad expensive, so I doubt we'll be going back. We tipped well because we were really happy with the service. It'd be interesting to see what level of service we would've gotten if I went there dressed the way I usually do... or maybe rolled up in my EF covered in dog hair! lol

[girlRACER]

Katie,
I can't believe they treated you that way. All La Caille is is some average joe restaurant with crappy, flavourless food charing exhorbant prices. I don't see how a place like that can stay in business when everyone I talk to whose been there says the food is gross and they won't be going back again.


Originally posted by Ben

I grabbed my gf's jacket and we both left immediatly after, I never paid a dime and didn't even wait for a reply.

:thumbsup: spite is a wonderful thing.


Originally posted by rage2
One of the few times I didn't look like a bum lol.


:rofl: :rofl: :rofl:

[hockeybronx]

Originally posted by rage2
The valet said he'll take special care of the car because it was pretty low,

"Special" care hey?:burnout: :burnout: :burnout:

[JAYMEZ]

Well I am going to add this old thread..


I went to La Caille on Aug 6th... Got there , couldnt find a damn parking spot so i just parked in there underground, when we walked out of the underground someone that worked there said i could park in the front , but i was to lazy to go back and get the car.

So we walk in , the hostess commented on my gfs dress and made us laugh , she then took our names and we got seated right away.

Waitress came right away , and got our drinks right away, she then came back and asked how our night was and all the normal small chat. We got our apps (Tasted really good) then i got my Filet of beef , it was excellent ... Then for desert , we got our menus and wanted the fondu and with out asking our waitress said " So will it be the fondu for the lovley couple" .. We quickly agreed on it... the Fondu was fantastic...

Bill came to $160ish with tip:

Drinks
2 Apps
2 Entrees
Fondu
Tip

[Melinda]

Originally posted by BebeAphrodite


I've been meaning to try Guido but still haven't gotten around it it yet! do a quick rating??



Originally posted by Ben


I've always wanted to dine there, I've heard from so many people that they rule!
Guido's is incredible, Rolland and I usually go there whenever we have soemthing to celebrate. The food is the BEST italian I have ever tasted, all the waiters there are incredible and the service is AMAZING.

They all speak with some kind of accent (most are italian but there is the odd french guy) they come and see how things are several times, refill drinks, answer questions about the menu (they'll even tell you how to make the menu items if you're interested in making it at home) pull out the chairs for the ladies when you sit down, check your coats, ect ect ect. I could go on forever. Once when we were there I got up to go to the bathroom shortly after we had ordered our drinks. It was a slow night so when the waiter saw me returning, he came over and pulled my chair out for me while I sat down again. The food does cost but the taste and service is worth every penny

Service- 5/5
Ambiance- 5/5 (cute little restaurant taken right out of romantic italy)
Food- 5/5 (Never eaten a bad tasting thing there)

[Ben]

Originally posted by Melinda




Guido's is incredible, Rolland and I usually go there whenever we have soemthing to celebrate. The food is the BEST italian I have ever tasted, all the waiters there are incredible and the service is AMAZING.

They all speak with some kind of accent (most are italian but there is the odd french guy) they come and see how things are several times, refill drinks, answer questions about the menu (they'll even tell you how to make the menu items if you're interested in making it at home) pull out the chairs for the ladies when you sit down, check your coats, ect ect ect. I could go on forever. Once when we were there I got up to go to the bathroom shortly after we had ordered our drinks. It was a slow night so when the waiter saw me returning, he came over and pulled my chair out for me while I sat down again. The food does cost but the taste and service is worth every penny

Service- 5/5
Ambiance- 5/5 (cute little restaurant taken right out of romantic italy)
Food- 5/5 (Never eaten a bad tasting thing there)


Definatly gotta try that out, because all and all, I was actually rather disappointed with Osteria De Medici (http://forums.beyond.ca/showthread.php?s=&threadid=96525) for what it was worth.

Thanks for the insight.

[dino_martini]

Where is Guido place? sounds pretty friggen good

[gkAeris]

:werd: i have to agree with katie

been there, so rude! i can't stand it when pp judge you for your age!

i won't go back!

if i were you katie i would have paid just the exact bill.

went to chicago chophouse, same deal, girl wouldn't give us change!

i was stupid though:banghead: bill was $72, we waited sooo long for the bill we were irrated we just leave the stupid $100 and left (i know so un-chinese of me):D

[Melinda]

Originally posted by dino_martini
Where is Guido place? sounds pretty friggen good
On Centre Street North, just north of 16th Ave. Cant miss it, cute little building and a big sign outside saying Da Guido Ristorante

[dino_martini]

Originally posted by Melinda

On Centre Street North, just north of 16th Ave. Cant miss it, cute little building and a big sign outside saying Da Guido Ristorante

Sweet, thanks for that.

[JAYMEZ]

Originally posted by Melinda

On Centre Street North, just north of 16th Ave. Cant miss it, cute little building and a big sign outside saying Da Guido Ristorante


Im going to try and check this place out soon . Ive heard a few people say its great food and service!

[Stephen81]

I haven't been to Caille in years so I won't comment. Not that I myself haven't been floored by the ignorance that some servers can demonstrate but I'm suprised more people have not asked to speak to the manager on shift if they have any concerns AT ALL about the food OR service.

I can only speak from experience and how "I" run the restaurant I work at but my policy is that any type of concern a customer might have is addressed personally by a manager...even if it's just a matter of stopping by to check on things. Typically because servers have their own best interests in mind, they are going to respond to criticism or particualr comments their own way....I dunno, it never hurts to ask to speak to a manager..certainly better than leaving without paying :rolleyes: <which if you can get away with good for you, but I've had people brought back by the police to pay their bill and they looked pretty embarassed.

[Evro]

haha i dunno i went to La Caille for grad with sum buddies and we all found the service excellent, they musta come by 5 times to ask how the food was, and the food was good (cept for one a my buddies who got a bowl of soup the size of a shot glass) - i deffinetly agree tho the place itself isnt all i expected, especially considering the price - in my eyes just an avg restaraunt with good service and f*king retarded pricing
- shitty how they served u and all :guns:

[natejj]

I think im going to avoid Le Caille...sounds like hit and miss... That italian place sounds good!

[GQBalla]

is this restaurant the one by bow river???

[googe]

^^no, le caille on the bow is on the red deer river

[GQBalla]

oh i see can anybody tell me what that really expensive restaurant is called on the bow river?

[kiwi]

Originally posted by GQBalla
is this restaurant the one by bow river???


Originally posted by googe
^^no, le caille on the bow is on the red deer river


Originally posted by GQBalla
oh i see can anybody tell me what that really expensive restaurant is called on the bow river?



:rofl:

[Vagabond142]

Best food I've ever had was at Ristorante Ercole. Mama Ercole would greet you at the door with a genuinely boisterous italian accented greeting, food was SUPERB, cheap, and the servers were always there (ie I would finish a glass of water and before I could even look around to find a waiter to see if I could get a refill, he was there with a FULL pitcher of ice water and pouring it into my glass o_O damned telepathic waiters, they had)

The sad part is.... Mama Ercole retired... no one in her family wanted the restaurant... so it got sold :cry: :cry: :cry: :cry:

It used to be on 16th, just before... oh damn I can't remember the street, but it's just a little bit eastward of Peters.

RIP Ercole, best restaurant in town.

:hijack:

Anyways, about La Caille. Been there once in my life, wasn't particularly blown away by it. Generally good food, good atmosphere, but that was ~7 years ago now. (I remember my dining experiences, for some odd reason, down to the last detail.)

[asp integra]

i love that place, every time i have gone there its been great, great food, great service, and a great place all around, too bad u had a bad experience

[canadian_hustla]

La caille is a shit hole.

I took my ex (was g/f) there 2 years ago. Service was terrible, food was horribly expensive for what value was given. However the thing that ticked me off the most, was that instead of ordering pop or wine or anything like that - we ordered water to keep the bill under control (despite the fact we ordered appetizers, 2 entrees, and a dessert - so roughly 80 bucks worth). Waitress comes to our table with a bottle of evian water (1L), opens it up in front of us. At first we were thinking something like "hey, what a classy restaurant - doesn't serve tap water to their customers". Anyways long story short, the bill comes and to our suprise we were charged $8.50 for the bottle of water.

:thumbsdow :thumbsdow :thumbsdow :thumbsdow :thumbsdow :thumbsdow :thumbsdow :thumbsdow :thumbsdow :thumbsdow :thumbsdow :thumbsdow :thumbsdow :thumbsdow :thumbsdow :thumbsdow :thumbsdow

never again.

[accord823]

shit, I am planning to go there next Tues for lunch with my co-worker.... damn should change my plan and go somewhere else...
:banghead:

[koopkoop2]

It's a very pretty mask for a very ugly restaurant.

Oh yeah, the owner sucks too. "I want everyone to work New Years and Christmas day - but I'll be paying you at your usual rate" :guns:

[koopkoop2]

Originally posted by canadian_hustla
La caille is a shit hole.

I took my ex (was g/f) there 2 years ago. Service was terrible, food was horribly expensive for what value was given. However the thing that ticked me off the most, was that instead of ordering pop or wine or anything like that - we ordered water to keep the bill under control (despite the fact we ordered appetizers, 2 entrees, and a dessert - so roughly 80 bucks worth). Waitress comes to our table with a bottle of evian water (1L), opens it up in front of us. At first we were thinking something like &quot;hey, what a classy restaurant - doesn't serve tap water to their customers&quot;. Anyways long story short, the bill comes and to our suprise we were charged $8.50 for the bottle of water.

:thumbsdow :thumbsdow :thumbsdow :thumbsdow :thumbsdow :thumbsdow :thumbsdow :thumbsdow :thumbsdow :thumbsdow :thumbsdow :thumbsdow :thumbsdow :thumbsdow :thumbsdow :thumbsdow :thumbsdow

never again.


Ouch, it's gone even further downhill. It used to be Perrier and now Evian.

[legendboy]

I went there with my gf a couple years ago. The food tasted ok but we both had some serious runs and bad gas the next day :rofl:

[lastprodigy]

Originally posted by canadian_hustla
La caille is a shit hole.
- we ordered water to keep the bill under control (despite the fact we ordered appetizers, 2 entrees, and a dessert - so roughly 80 bucks worth). Waitress comes to our table with a bottle of evian water (1L), opens it up in front of us. At first we were thinking something like &quot;hey, what a classy restaurant - doesn't serve tap water to their customers&quot;. Anyways long story short, the bill comes and to our suprise we were charged $8.50 for the bottle of water.

:thumbsdow :thumbsdow :thumbsdow :thumbsdow :thumbsdow :thumbsdow :thumbsdow :thumbsdow :thumbsdow :thumbsdow :thumbsdow :thumbsdow :thumbsdow :thumbsdow :thumbsdow :thumbsdow :thumbsdow

never again.

lol OWNED by high priced dinning