The Bank & Barron pub on Stephan ave.

[Graham_A_M]

Last Sat a handful of friends and I decided to go bar hopping DT.
We went to numerous places (National on 10th ave not recommended for one) but we eventually ended up at the Bank & Barron on 8th ave DT, (long story).
http://www.bankandbaronpub.com/
Its a former bank, now renovated to a very nice bar/pub. I was very much impressed with the layout. 25ft ceilings everywhere you go, the bathrooms were very swank, about what you'd expect with a higher end hotel. Decent drink & food specials, its a great place to go. Very well recommended, definitely a highlight of the bar/pub scene in Calgary.

Atmosphere: 10/10. Very very swank and high end for any pub/bar I've ever been to, without idiotic prices to justify it. The roof is mainly glass, so it would lead to a very bright open space for anybody there during the day in daylight hours. Carpet was clean and fresh, the ceilings were impossibly high (in a good way). It had all the makings of a grandeur place to be, yet still cozy enough to have a wicked time with your friends. I was thoroughly impressed with everything there. Its very "un-pub-like" but in a very good way. The delivery was flawless. No it was funny, when I was standing out side having a smoke between pool matches, a couple older, very sharp looking businessmen walked in for supper, which isn't surprising given how classy and uptown it is. They worked out the angles flawlessly, a fun awesome, cool place to go, yet a very nice bar/pub that nobody would be the least bit ashamed of being seen in.

Food 8/10 Its tough for me to say since I went there on a fairly full stomach and didn't order any food. One of my buddies ordered the "Jalapeno Arancini", he said it was REALLY good, but the portion was small, which is understandable as an appetizer. Like I say, Id love to go back and order a full 'entree', but alas they basically have none, just finger food/ appetizers really. Nothing on the menu (asides from wine) is above $19.

Service 9.5/10 I was quite happy with our server, she was fast, knew what to do and was quite prompt. Super cool chick and a lot of fun to talk to, and of course, quite scrumptious. The "bouncer" when you walked in was super cool, and found us to let us know when the pool table was free to use. Very cool guy, and decent, no ego at all, just a purveyor of what that place had to offer. I was quite impressed.

Overall 9.5/10 Id DEFINITELY go back, I just wish they had a full menu with Entree's. Quite disappointing they merely have appetizers, soups and salads. With their pool table, historic setting and everything else that makes it what it is, its not hard to spend an evening there..... just not so much grazing on mere appetizers, which can really add up if you're starving to begin with.

[dino_martini]

The Bank and Baron has a full menu. Though they have a wicked Fried Chicken Sandwich for lunch. The entree's dont start until after 5pm. There are a few steaks, a tenderloin and a rib eye on the menu after 5pm. They have a Lobster Lasagna, but it features potato instead of noodles. The head chef...I think his name is Kevin Cooper? He was one of the six chefs that started Muse...I think it was. Anyways the Lobster Lasagna has been off of Muse's menu for a few years now so I guess he felt it was safe to bring it back. The Kobe Beef burger is pretty awesome too

Very swanky place, anyone who was in there when it was "The Bank Nightclub", wont even recognize it.

[Graham_A_M]

^ Odd, the menu's we were given, and the ones on our website had no entree items at all

Frick lol, I'll have to go back then.

[dino_martini]

Originally posted by Graham_A_M
^ Odd, the menu's we were given, and the ones on our website had no entree items at all

Frick lol, I'll have to go back then.

I was there about two weeks ago and I swear there were entree's towards the right hand side of the menu. I think one problem is they have a sort of back round image on the menu, so it makes it a bit hard to read.

The night I was down there, they had 1 of the Tool Shed Brewery guys down there, I'm not a huge fan of their beers but I've met both of them now and they are very friendly people. Always willing to chat about beer. They've got People Skills on tap down at the bank and baron and the night I was there they had some sort of bong contraption hooked up to the tap infusing the beer with pineapple and whole bunch of other fruit. I think they are going to try to have one brewery down there each week, infusing a beer with some sort of other flavors. Kind of like how Wild Rose taps a cask each friday.

edit - not the best quality but this is the menu I was given a week or two back. As you can see they have a handful of entree's on the menu. Personally I'd skip the entree and get the fried chicken sandwich

[Graham_A_M]

^ Lol thats what I had when I was there, the "People Skillz" microbrew, the server even explained how that name came to be lol. No there were no entree's offered when I was there.

[JordanLotoski]

I was there last weekend, decent place, food was good.

But....I am sure there monthly lease cost of 40k+ in that location. Thats a ton of beer to sling each month just to cover that tab.

[roopi]

Pretty sure it is the same group as Berwick, Kilt, Tommy Fields, etc

[AudiPWR]

Oops!

[dino_martini]

Originally posted by roopi
Pretty sure it is the same group as Berwick, Kilt, Tommy Fields, etc

Yeah its owned by the T-Mac group, they have the Belfry, Kong's Head, among others. But this is certainly the crown jewel in their portfolio. Do spaces like this actually run 40k/month for rent? I know its on Stephen Ave and in a heritage building, but still that's friggen insane. Business lunch and happy hour had better be good for these guys.

Might pop in there this afternoon for a overdraft of Saaz Pils and a Donair pizza.

[n1zm0]

Originally posted by dino_martini
Very swanky place, anyone who was in there when it was "The Bank Nightclub", wont even recognize it.

I've been there when it was the Steak and Frites thing, then I went there when it was the club for Jes and someone else (saw a bunch of drunk idiots trying to get into the vault downstairs, that was a highlight), all good experiences, the setting obviously is interesting too, will have to check it out then.