Had a lovely drink at the downstairs bar at Charbar. Not to be confused with the rooftop bar, Charbar is actually on the main and second floor. The vibe is really cool, dark and moody. The bartender was very nice and helped with drink selection. My comrades had some lovely Manhattans and I had a One Night Stand which was fruity and delicious. When I checked in on Yelp we were sent over a plate of tempura eggplant which were tasty. I would definitely come back for a full meal but the vibe of the whole place is great to just chill and enjoy a classic cocktail. read more

Charbar - A One Night Stand and eggplant tempura - Argentine Near Me - Calgary, Alberta

We had a great evening , food is excellent and staff are friendly. Their Argentinian menu is unique in Calgary and their chef has spent lots of time there. Be sure to get food and wine advice from the chef! This is also a great place for company events and private functions! read more

Ordered the 32 oz. Porterhouse aged 77 days 4.5/5 yelps Shared by the table and it was served sliced by the kitchen. It probably would have been served the same way if the steak was for one person. Ordered brussel sprouts, yams, fries as the sides. 4/5 yelps Cerviche was mixed at the table. 4/5 yelps Service 5/5 yelps Value 4/5 yelps It's a pricey meal, be prepared to pay for it. The menu is not very extensive but you won't starve. read more

I Dined here for dinner on a Monday night with my gf for a special occasion. Everything exceeded expectations. The Porterhouse is there speciality and we knew we would be splitting this. The steak was a 60 day dry aged longhorn breed (not angus) and grassfed from a local alberta rancher. The taste was indescribably good and unique. For those not accustomed to grass fed cattle it may take some adjustments to your ideas about how steak should taste but once you go grass you don't go back. This steak would have been more than enough for both of us but we ordered much more. The beef empanadas were baked to perfection and were bursting with flavour. BUT the biggest surprise came from the pizza! We ordered the Calamari pizza and it was a slam dunk. Not a typical pie but they use Sidewalk Citizen's (bakery next door) sourdough starter for the bread which is thick and crunchy on the outside but chewy and soft on the inside. Mix that with the meltiest and richest cheese smothered all over with thick pesto drizzled all over and you get one of the best pie's in town. The restaurant is not cheap so don't be surprised to shell out some bucks for a meal here at dinner but it is well worth every penny. I will be back to try their brunch, more pizza, and special occasion meat indulgences. read more

Beautiful patio and rooftop, haven't found a place like this in Calgary before! Just a warning though. The food menu consists of 8 items and about 30 drink options. Considering how Charcut is a great place for food it's odd that they have a very limited selection for food. Guess maybe that's why it's called Charbar? We ended up leaving. read more

The patio is probably the best in Calgary, with fantastic views of the river and downtown. For scenery it's a 5-star. But the food and service need some work. The burger was excellent, but the sides were terrible. I would have been happier with a side of Ms Vickie's potato chips than the bland and tiny portion that came along. My friend ordered a side salad which was essentially the lettuce and tomato on the burger chopped up. Hardly appealing. Service was pleasant when it came by, but that was pretty rare. This place has great potential, but I won't be going back unless it is just for drinks and a view seat on the patio. read more

Like most people who have visited Charbar I was really impressed by the room. Beautifully decorated, definitely one of the more esthetically pleasing restaurants in the city. The view from the patio is also gorgeous. As with most new restaurants it needs to iron out a few wrinkles. There's a sign near the entrance that says the main floor hostess will help seat you for the patio so we checked in with them. After about a five minute wait (a headscratcher because there were plenty of vacant and unreserved tables) we were taken upstairs Interestingly enough there's another hostess at the top of the stairs who seemed to be seating people who just walked right in. The patio menu is great if you're there just for a drink but very limited if you're hungry, offering only a few dishes from their main menu. Perplexing, as we could've had dinner there but felt compelled to leave in search of more options for food. We did order an appy (tripe chips) just to be able to say we are there. While tasty, it was a little high on the salty side. The accompanying sauce was quite overpowering and probably unnecessary. We also ordered some cocktails, one of which came with the kind of ice you see in McDonald's soft drinks (not a huge concern in the big picture but definitely not acceptable if you're a cocktail snob!). I'll come back in a few months to try the menu properly and to see if time and experience helps smooth things out. read more

Amazing!! My minds been changed, Jessica herself came out from the kitchen to serve our meal! I love it and can't wait to go back! read more

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Great place. We had the burger, the chicken salad and the pistachio bruschetta. Everything was well executed and tasty. Nothing bad to say today! read more

Charbar - Huge burger and tomato basil soup - Argentine Near Me - Calgary, Alberta

It's been awhile since my first visit to Charbar when it first opened and although I didn't have the best experience that time around, I must say that I've truly enjoyed my last three visits here! All of them have been for their brunch or lunch service. I've been able to try the deep fried french toast bites, bagna cauda, asado plate, jamon crudo pizza, and during Big Taste their feature breakfast burger. Today I ordered one of the lunch features which was a pizza that featured roasted chicken and crispy chicken skin on top! Like what, who does that?! The crispy chicken skin is what sold me and I definitely thought it finished off the pizza so well. Their pizza dough by the way is bomb because it comes from Sidewalk Citizen =) Our server today was lovely (I wish I remembered his name, I am the worst at that!) He was very personable and made sure we were taken care of throughout our meal. And just a small thing that I noticed was that more than one person (that didn't include our server) ensured that we always had water in our glass. I appreciate that attentiveness because it really shows that they work as a team. P.S. their beef fat fries are amazeballs! They are the type of fries that you can't stop eating no matter how full you are. Reserving my last star for when I am able to go back and try their dinner menu again, but if my last few visits indicate anything, I'm sure it won't be hard to give =) read more

Great food. Great service. Great location. My first experience at Charbar was awesome!! They had a very friendly atmosphere with great service. read more

Good food , great service, and nice location with view of the river and park. Will definitely go again. read more

Charbar - Life phrase. - Argentine Near Me - Calgary, Alberta

I would give 3.75 stars. Service was great, sweet guy! Two of us had the chorizo egg sourdough dish - good but a bit too cheesy. We chose here due to proximity to MEC Fort calgary race. Good location, neat building read more

Omg this space is absolutely remarkable. Went with a group of 6 and fell in absolute love with the layout, the smells, and the friendly staff. Food was so-so for me: to start had the sourdough balls, and love love loved those bad boys. For my main I had their feature that evening that was a 7 ounce sirloin for $29 for just the steak and then ordered Brussels sprouts a la carte for my side. The steak was delicious, the Brussels sprouts (a dish that I normally love) were horrendous and inedible. They tasted like burnt nuts, another couple in our group ordered them as well and hated them. My favourite part about eating out is ordering dessert. There dessert menu consisted of 3 items- flan, gelato, or crepes. Sorry but that is not good selection, I didn't even bother trying any of them and that is rare! read more

Seriously....we got a taco and the burger and thought really????? The taco took up a 1/4 of the 8" oval plate and I had to look for the meat on the burger. Waaaaay overpriced with no food on the plate.Not even enough for an appetizer. I should have taken a pic but it wasn't worth the space on my smartphone. Ate two hours later at The Keg downtown for some real food. read more

Had brunch there jun 30....overpriced and expensive meal. $20 pizza had no pizzazz chorzio should be spicy...just a pizza..I've had a better pizza at dominos....the rib bowl was boring...the rib was just grisly and bowl was filled with oily potatoes $29....the sparkly water was $9!!!!!!! The coffee was good but who wants to pay $6 for one cup...altogether we paid $120 for brunch....the chocolate dessert was good but $12!!, The dessert was good. read more

We came here on a double date and had the aged porter house. It was some of the best neat I've ever had! We al thoroughly enjoyed it! The aides were amazing too, we had beats and another veg. The service was also amazing. Our server was attentive and funny and made some great suggestions. We will definitely be back! read more

The empanadas are good. Chorizo pizza was burnt. Pumpkin pie infused with bourbon looks squished but tasted good. Service not the greatest.

First off, the staff are AMAZING. They were funny, helpful and kind. That's a big deal to me as I felt like we weren't just another customer. This is my first time here and previously I've heard nothing but great things about this restaurant. As my office is looking for a year end party location, we decided to have lunch here. The second we walked through the doors I knew that we must have our party at this location. The decor, ambiance, history sold me right off the bat. After having a nice little tour we sat down for lunch. It's a but noisy but whatever, I can handle that. Food was fantastic. Lots of flavors and even the presentations were nice. We started off with the deep fried bread ball. Sorry diet. They were to die for. Then comes the main course. I had the empanadas and chicken soup. I ate that so quickly.... which is rare for me and who orders soup on a +30 day, well I did and I have no regrets as it was fantastic. Now on to dessert. My meal came with a to go ice cream, which they forgot to give me but that's ok because we ordered additional desserts anyway. So... Ok, if you only had one option of dessert for the rest of your life, I found it. The lemon bar with toasted marshmallows is what i could live off of. But I'd then be way too unhealthy so maybe once in a while I'll indulhe. Anyway, this is a great place that you must visit. Even if it's just for dessert. read more

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This place is fantastic, not sure about the Yelp average. We had the beef rib and it was a sizeable portion that we both enjoyed. The beer selection is great and carefully curated. The squid was amazing. The decor is great and the location is unbeatable. Take the time to walk around East Village if you end up in this area as a tourist. My only complaint is that it's a touch expensive, but you know that going in so it shouldn't be a surprise. read more

I sat on the patio, so I can't comment on the dining experience inside. The patio setting is great. Very nice place to sit and have a drink. The patio menu is much different from the inside menu. This would be fine, but I don't understand why they chose to offer the food that they did. There is very little on here that is actually shareable, despite what the menu says. Legitimate tapas style patio food would be absolutely perfect in this setting. I had the salt brick chicken sandwich -very nice- but it was accompanied by a side of kettle chips that were pretty clearly Ms. Vickies. I love kettle chips, and I'm fine with getting them as a side, but not if I'm being charged $16 for the meal. It just seemed lazy. The service was ok I guess, but there were about 4 people who came by our table so it was never really clear who our server was and it lead to long wait times at every stage of the meal. Overall, it was disappointing. If I'm paying medium to high prices for drinks and a meal for two it'd be nice to have an experience that isn't firmly mediocre. The whole thing just reeked of missed opportunity. The place looks great, the location is fantastic, but everything else is kinda sloppy, sorta lazy, and poorly executed. Since I live in the neighborhood I'll probably be back but it'll be for the setting, nothing else. read more

If I could give no stars I would. Should be called RudeBar not Charbar lol. Went in around 7:30pm on a Wednesday night was with my family requesting a table for 4, was told that the wait was 1.5 hours?! There were empty tables too, didn't look that busy to me at all! The hostess at the front was SO RUDE too! I honestly feel that they looked at us and for some reason refused us a table? What do they think? They are certainly not the only restaurant in the city but they sure act like it. Definitely will never go back and I could care less for the food too as there are so many great restaurants in the city with better service! Instead went to another restaurant nearby and had a fabulous meal with excellent service! read more

Was disappointed - decided to go because it was listed as one of Calgary's best restaurants. cant go wrong with that right? the food was alright. nothing memorable. and the dessert /// *drum roll * soft serve?! what in the world. one of Calgary's top restaurant and im getting soft serve for 10 bucks??? read more

Food is average. Prices are high. Would I go again? Only if the crowd I was with really wanted to. I'd never suggest it.

I came here for lunch and had an absolutely delicious warm chimichurri chicken sandwich on a charred tasty bun. It was chewy, rich and a bit vinegary too. I got a salad on the side and it was delicate and satisfying, with golden beets, feta crumbles, and red onions. The wine list looked interesting and varied, though I didn't partake. I would come back here in a heartbeat! read more

We went here with a group of 10 and were stumped on what to order because everything looked so amazing! The waiter offered to hand pick a selection of favourites for the table and the food just kept coming and was incredible! We loved it all! I will say the steak was overpriced for what it is, but we are picky when it comes to our steak. Service was great, atmosphere also great and nice that we could all hear each other in conversation at a large table. The website for this restaurant is terrible and should be upgraded to meet the standards you would expect of this type of place. Overall great place and we will return! read more

Burger was unbelievable! Service was great, chef even sent out a free appy to our table. I can't wait to go back and get the Alley Burger. read more

Had the ceviche and bruschetta which were to die for Hilary was the serve and she exceeded expectations by being personable and charming Can't wait to return for dinner next time! read more

Nice place to hang out especially during summer. Patio facing the river, amazing staff, nice location. Empanadas, chorozo pizza are my favourite. Show to the server you've checked in on yelp and you get a perks. This is a bonus. read more

If you visit Calgary, you must make a point to go to Charbar. The building itself is historic, formally an industrial building, and its juxtaposition to all of the newly constructed skyscrapers make it stand out. It's an overall beautiful, and beautifully decorated, restaurant. My husband and I sat down for an after-dinner drink at the bar and were pleasantly surprised by the wide wine, beer and cocktail selection. We also ended up ordering the yucca fries, which were to die for. Our bartender Andrew was clearly well-versed in all of the selection and made great conversation! We also had the opportunity to meet the restaurant manager, Tyson, who was more than willing to let us know more about the building's history, what they have to offer and very knowledgeable about food/drink. Everything from atmosphere to customer service to menu offerings are 5 stars! read more

Great place for lunch or breakfast. Charbar is located in the recently renovated Simmons building so the atmosphere is vintage hipster. The food is always amazing and the time is to both citizen bakery and Phil and sebastian coffee make this place an absolute must on the weekend. read more

I had a work dinner at Charbar a few months ago and loved it. I took my husband there this week and somehow left loving it more. Christmas party season is in full swing, so it was busy. But the service was very attentive, so it certainly didn't feel like they were being stretched. The food was delicious, as per usual. We had empanadas, tableside ceviche (a must) and oysters to start, and then split the porterhouse for our main. It did take a while for the porterhouse to come out - we didn't complain because it was a busy night with lots of groups, and we weren't in a rush (when it did come out, it was perfect). However, the staff recognized it as an issue - our server apologized, as did the shift lead. We assured them we didn't mind, but they gave us each a complementary dessert anyway. [The sundae is life-changing, by the way.] To top it off, they called the day after to thank us for coming in. I love everything about this restaurant - the decor, the menu, the cocktails, and the service. Very excited that it is a cornerstone of East Village. read more

The most awful experience for Mother's Day Brunch - yesterday. We had reservations for 10:00 AM - 9 of us 5 adults 4 children aged 7 10 10 12. Service was disgusting - we finally got our meals at 11:30!!! - 3 were left uneaten - cold uncooked eggs. Over priced rubbish - the kids said A&W breakfast was much better - we all agreed and $18 for village breakfast - 2 uncooked, cold eggs 3 pieces of bacon 1 sausage and sough dough bread - what a rip off - I, as one of the Mother's DEMAND a rebate - to have my family pay $300 for that occasion was so upsetting for us and disappointing for the planners. You ripped us off! read more

Went here with 8 friends for a birthday celebration. Besides the high prices, the food was good. Would've recommended for a return until our waitress was rude and assuming to our group. After finishing our dinner, we waited for 30 minutes for our bills, some of us decided to walk to the front of the restaurant to pay, and the waitress assumed we were trying to "walk out without paying". We had a decent experience here until the end of the night. The waitress was condescending towards our group and we would not recommend coming here if you are looking for good service. read more

Had a great experience here the other night. Seated quickly at our reservation time. All the food was delicious. We tried the empanadas for a started and loved the fire smoke flavor. The chorizo fugazza (pizza) was our favorite. Oily cheesy goodness to die for. We also had the steak and beef fat fries that was awesome. Great service, fun to watch the open kitchen and great setting. Will be back. read more

Had an outstanding birthday lunch with my niece at the recently renovated Simmons building in the East Village. The restaurant was lively and upbeat. Julia, our server was knowledgeable about the menu, the ingredients and where they originated, and the preparation of the dishes. She offered some great suggestions and had a great of timeliness: she was there when we needed her but did not hover. The food was exceptional! We shared a pistachio and avocado bruschetta that came with sourdough bread from Sidewalk Citizen Bakery, a half side of bagna cauda (vine tomatoes with tuna conserva and olive oil - perfect for dipping up with that sourdough) and then the choripan sausage on a bun. The flavour of all the dishes was exquisite and to be savoured! Finished up with a cup of rich, fresh roasted coffee from Phil and Sebastian's. The only down side: we didn't save room for dessert. read more

Dozens of tables available and servers standing around doing nothing. But they want you to wait 1.5 hours. Don't waste your time and effort the food can't be that good. read more

I had brunch here - the granola and a porter. Yum. Food was great, beer was great, service was lovely. And then I left my iPhone on the table and went to the airport for my flight home to NY. Ack! I didn't have time to go back and get it before my flight. Luckily they found it, and Sara helped me coordinate a courier pickup to ship it from Calgary to NYC. Whew!! Now that's amazing. I was so grateful :) Thank you to Sara and all the staff at Charbar!! read more

Date night at Charbar was a good idea! We went for a later dinner, around 9pm on a Friday night but it was still bustling. We had made a reservation so the seating process was quick. We decided to share a few things, so we got the provelata, beef chorizo pizza and the octopus with romesco. The provelata and pizza were fantastic. I would highly recommend the pizza, the crust is fantastic and fluffy, the toppings are simple but so flavorful. I wouldn't order the octopus again. I adore seafood of all kinds and the dish was underwhelming, bland and frankly over priced for 2 tiny pieces that were done in under 2 minutes! We had a couple of beers, the selection is good. Service was decent. I would go back again at some point! read more

Perfect service. Andrew at the bar got us cocktails while we waited for a table. Stephanie, our server was over the top. We spent our first anniversary here and wouldnt change a thing. 5 stars is what we think! read more