To be honest, I read several negative reviews about charbar but decided to try it anyway as I was curious. Well...everything was excellent! Perhaps they also noted the previous reviews and have taken steps to correct matters. They've only been open nine days, so there are bound to be growing pains. The service was prompt, attentive and professional. My server, Kristin, was very knowledgeable, friendly, and charming. From what I could see, all the servers were focused and busy. They had their eyes on the tables and were hustling to keep things going. My food came in about 5minutes and my glass was refilled by at least three people. The executive chef, Jessica, visited each table to ask how things were and seemed genuinely interested in the responses. Communication between management and all staff seemed to be fluid and productive. I had the chicken sandwich with fries, which was delicious. Piping hot, tender, juicy, flavourful. Fries are cooked in beef fat...need I say more?? I was 100% happy with charbar and will be going again. Hopefully next time to sit on the rooftop patio! Another bonus is that you can visit the two other businesses for coffee and dessert! I had a lovely Danish from Sidewalk Citizen and coffee from Phil & Sebastien, both onsite. Again, terrific service and food. I think you can also have those items served to you at charbar, but it was nice to walk around. read more

This is an incredible restaurant in a fantastic building with such a beautiful view. The food is fantastic! The staff very helpful. I had 2 small children with me and they helped so much. The pizzas are terrific but the cerviche is to die for!! You must drink the 'tigers milk' left in the bottom of the bowl. read more

Have been waiting for this new spot to open and definitely wasn't disappointed after our first trip. Loved the space and the views of the river are spectacular. We went for brunch and our biggest issue was trying to decide what to order. Everything on the menu looked fantastic. Settled on the burger and the sourdough with eggs and avocado. One of the best burgers I've ever had! Eggs were cooked perfectly. Couldn't ask for more. Will definitely be back. read more

I was at charbar 1 week ago.. My experienced was priceless... Very good food... Staff were friendly the place is elegant inside and out... Can't wait to go back with my friends...good job read more

This is such a great restaurant! A fabulous place to hook up with friends for lunch, dinner or cocktails. We decided to park and walk along the river and ended up at Charbar for lunch and a cocktail. Love the location, the style of the restaurant the whole vibe. We decided to split some appetizers and were very happy with our selection. Our server was very attentive and provided great suggestions on items to try on the menu. If you have not been you need to add it to your list of restaurants to try! read more

Great atmosphere. The food is trendy and original. This renovated factory warehouse gives it a great modern look by the river. The prices are also very fair. And the staff is probably the best I have had. Tipping is a pleasure. read more

Not impressed with this place at all. Highly over-priced, low-quality food. Service was very poor. The prices and the decor are most probably what make this place seem 'up-scale'. read more

The first floor of the restaurant was so confusing I had a flashback to labyrinth and was expecting David Bowie to welcome us to the hell we were about to experience. After waiting 20 minutes with a grumpy bartender and over priced drinks, we were awkwardly ushered to the EMPTY patio (which is beautiful). To our surprise the menu offered less choice than real women on Ashley Madison. We were expecting a gourmet burger for the price, but were served mediocrity on a plate with a side of old dutch chips. The old dutch chips were our only option for sides - for $18 you could have offered Miss Vicks with an option of salt & vinegar or jalapeño. Now that would have been something! read more

When we arrived for our 6:00pm reservation, we were told we had to be out by 8:15. Then our server reminded us twice during dinner. Finally at 8:30, the manager asked us to vacate our table. We spend $340 on dinner for 4 people and we couldn't have the table for even 3 hours?! The two tables beside us were empty and there was no lineup at the door. But we were told a 16 top was coming in. The food was good but not great. We found the steak a little chewy and all was very salty. We mentioned when we made the reservation that it was a birthday and again to our server. Nothing was done. We would not go back. read more

3rd time here and the restaurant staff is still obnoxious and the food is over priced and not very good. We came in at 9:15 pm and were told we would have to wait as they were not sure if they had a table even though the place was half empty. The Panqueque dessert was cold and they were out of stock on a few dishes. Never coming back her again. read more

Went there with my wife for her birthday dinner on New Year's Eve. We had a great time the service was amazing and the food was excellent

First off I have been to CharBar a lot, and really enjoyed myself. Second of all I never write reviews... but I was so unhappy with this place. DO NOT GO in Large groups. I had my cousin here from England with his Family, and I immediately thought CHABAR would be a fantastic choice to take them. Beautiful historic building, nice food, great service...but boy was I very wrong. We made a reservation for 10 for Sunday brunch. Our waitress came over took our drink orders filled up one small cup of water each and took off for 25 minutes! 25 minute wait for coffee and juice... ???? She then took our main orders. We waited one hour for our brunch. The waitress NEVER CAME BACK during that entire HOUR. I had to get up and go get a jug of water myself. The mood after this quickly changed and no-one was happy, our waitress didn't seem bothered to even try to change the mood, she actually gave more attitude. That probably had something to do with the fact that the tip is included in the total in larger groups. Finally our food came, all I can say is BURNT. Everyone's meal was burned or over cooked in some way. My cousin had to send his back to the kitchen, he got another replaced very quickly. The kids with us got the french toast bites, they didn't realize how burnt they were until halfway through... I tested one... At the end of it all my cousins food which was turned back to the kitchen was on the bill, I really thought after everything we would have got that meal on the house! This was BY far the worst service I have had in a long time. I think because we were a group of 10 our waitress didn't have to work for her tip... (the restaurant automatically adds the tip in groups of 10 or more) I was embarrassed and so disappointed for our guests. It truly ruined our day and SOOOOOOOO not worth the price. iIwill not be back. read more

Came for brunch on Sunday, ordered the beef empanadas. Was very expensive and portions were very small. Served with two eggs, bread was extra. Very busy and noisy. Would not recommend. read more

I can't comment on the food as we have never made it in! Twice we've been there and they haven't been serving food mid afternoon. On the weekend! This isn't Paris where there are restaurants on every corner or an entertainer district where people come in the evenings. This is on a recreational bike path with no other services. Eating at 3:00 pm on a weekend doesn't seem unreasonable. They suggested the bakery counter in the building but they had run out of most of their food. Go figure... It's a Saturday afternoon in the summer on a bike path near a new park! We had a long walk with family from Europe there a month ago and same thing. No food, Charbar closed mid day. So we had to walk through downtown with 8 of us until landing on Rosso Coffee shop which is at least a kilometer away. Oh, and Charbar doesn't allow children on their upstairs patio for "safety reasons" even during the day. Last time they had a different excuse. My advice is don't make a special trip and show up hungry at the Simmons Building. And let's lobby to get food trucks back there! Or the city needs to rethink who they are leasing that building to! read more

Great location, cool venue and we had great service. I was disappointed in the menu though. For a place that is otherwise unique and different from the same old same old that seems to dominate the Calgary restaurant scene, the menu was uninspiring. In fact, boring. C'mon Charbar... get a little more inspired on the food and you could be the coolest place in town. read more

We went to Char Bar on Saturday, April 23 for my friend's 40th birthday. We had quite a large group so the restaurant suggested a custom menu. When we arrived and were shown to our table they had custom menus printed up for everyone with my friend's name and that it was her 40th birthday at the top. The cost for the custom dinner was $65.00 PP and was amazing value and quality for that price. The food was phenomenal and everyone walked away from the table completely satisfied. We had two children in our party and they made sure their meals were kid-friendly and had colouring books with crayons for both. Our server, (Dara) was great, very attentive without being intrusive and I think she went above and beyond in making this a special evening for my friend and our whole party. The décor of the restaurant is very cool as well. I will definitely be going back. Thanks Char Bar, you knocked it out of the park!! read more

First time at Charbar with a group of friends - not impressed enough with food to pay such expensive prices!! So many other delicious and well-priced restaurants in Calgary to feel the need to return to Charbar anytime soon. :( read more

Nice atmosphere, good service. Food was okay, not spectacular and a little overpriced. Probably won't go to Charbar again. Had a couple appetizers that were ok then opted to have dinner elsewhere. read more

Love the tuna salad and eggplant chips. Not just a replica of Charcut, great new eating experience.

We booked Charbar for a birthday dinner celebration last week. The food and service was excellent! Near the end of our meal we were advised that another group had booked this particular table and we had to move either to the patio outside or the bar. The restaurant was apparently full and they could not seat them somewhere else. I would have rated this restaurant 4 out of 5 but downrated them over the way they handled this . We spent $720 that evening between 5 people . By any standard I would consider us high paying/high value customers! A well managed restaurant would have asked the waiting party if they would mind waiting in the bar or the outside patio and even provided a complimentary drink thanking them for their patience. I felt we were treated like second class customers. When I asked to speak to the Manager on duty that night they sent a young girl who managed reservations. That was a real insult!. She acknowledged that that it was badly handled and quickly walked away. Needless to say I wont be back! Lots of other great restaurants in Calgary to go to! Followup to my review yesterday to Charbar: This is what is seriously lacking at the restaurant: "Hospitality" Definition: 1. Cordial and generous reception of or disposition toward guests. 2. An instance of cordial and generous treatment of guest read more

We enjoyed the atmosphere and service but found every dish to be extremely salty, from the meat and fish right down to the salad. We thus will not go again. read more

Last night had a chance to check this place out for the first time. We decided to sample a few things between the four of us. Very impressed with ambience, quality of food ,and overall experience given they just opened! Our server genuinely tried to impress us and aimed to please. Started with a few of the appy's. Eggplant chips were flavourful and crisp, but a bit disappointed by the portion size ~ next time will have to order two! Next on the list was ceviche which was recommended. To be honest, we were disappointed. Best for Charbar to stick with the char-meats instead of attempting to do it all. Fish pieces needed to be cut smaller for sharing and it would have been nice to have crostini or tortilla to scoop up the ceviche. The dry-aged porterhouse which was "melt in your mouth" amazing! No need to order the dips! Decadent on its own. We also ordered all of the sides to try which were great; kale, beets and frites. Will definitely go back again. Plan to check out the HUGE rooftop with the amazing river and city views. Without a doubt this place will do well. Only other friendly suggestions for improvement: we were sharing and there were not any serving utensils provided with any of the dishes. Wondering why none of sidewalk citizen desserts on the menu? No cappuccino or lattes after 9pm as Phil and Seb is closed?!will there be reserve wine list in future? read more

Was so excited to have my first visit to Charbar. Started out 'iffy', when we phoned for a reservation and was told there was nothing available that evening. Went on line and booked a reservation on line no issues. Went in, and found half the restaurant empty. Couldn't figure out why the hostess said they were full with no room for us. Oh well, so we asked if there as room on the roof top patio. Was told it was full, no room. So, we settled in at a table. Chatting with our server, was then told the patio was closed, as they couldn't handle working that space as well. Hmmmmm, two non truths told to us already. Ah well....growing pains?? So, we ordered our meals. The steaks arrived, sans any garnishment, but....floating in a bed of oil. BLECK! tried to drain my steak and eat it regardless. The cucumber drink was AMAZING I might add! So for 3 of us, a bill of over $200 floored us. Considering the small amount of food that was on each plate. Was not impressed by any means. Again, growing pains??? read more

love this restaurant..... I always stop here when Im in Calgary visiting.