Bar C

Wine selections in different sized pours? it’s a good time to be choosey friends!
Yes, that is one of the reasons why I wanted to try Bar C (who doesn’t like to have variety) but it was also because I wanted to try everything on the menu.
EVERYTHING.
Before I get into the food, dear Unilocalers you must know how neat this place is. Firstly, they have two types of patio choices (the standard along the sidewalk and one very quaint private patio that has a garden type feel)
The staff are friendly and attentive without being in your face and the food timing is nicely spaced.
I cannot remember everything I tried the first time I came here, but I do recall the beet salad, carpaccio and tacos being fantastic. On my last visit I got to share a few items… The tartare, mussels and risotto.
Presentation on the tartare and mussels was great and both these dishes were full of flavour and delicious. I found the risotto to have an overpowering smoked flavour that almost seemed… unnatural but it was still great in consistency.
A few more wine choices would be nice, but now I’m just being picky…

Love the cocktail menu and food especially the Son of a Hibiscus cocktail and the Elk Chorizo sliders. It is a great place if you like oysters, especially on Tuesday nights when they have a buck a shuck feature. The snapper /​braised bison tacos are a great option for sharing as are the mussels and frites. Love, love, love the buffalo tartare, scallop seviche and tuna tartare poke options on the appetizer menu. My favourite dessert is unfortunately only on the sometimes feature menu — deep fried cookie dough with home made ice cream and chocolate sauce. In a word… sublime. Please put that on the permanent menu! It is a great spot for sitting at the bar and watching a hockey game or hanging with friends.

Our first choice for a late night snack was Model Milk, but their kitchen had already closed, so we decided to try Bar C. It was a Friday night at about 10pm.
The Ambiance:
It was pretty empty for a Friday night. The place looked cool but the barstool tables were very uncomfortable so we moved to a table. The restaurant was extremely dark inside and there were big screen TV’s playing sports, which was kind of obnoxious since this place is clearly not a sports bar. It had a strange mixed vibe but no one there seemed to be really having fun (very demure atmosphere).
The Food:
The menu looked fantastic so we ordered snapper tacos, oysters, and mussels and fries. In a nutshell, everything was pretty awful for the price. The snapper tacos were bland and sub-​par. The mussels were skunky tasting and perhaps overcooked since they were miniscule in size. The oysters were shucked improperly and there was a crunchy shell in each one (a big no-​no for oyster enjoyment). Everything was overpriced for the food quality. I was extremely disappointed.
Overall:
This place lacks a few things that make a great restaurant. It lacks identity. The menu, the ambiance, and the décor have no idea what they’re trying to represent. There’s no unifying theme here, and it shows. When you walk in, it feels confusing. Am I at a sports bar? Am I at an upscale after-​work appy place? Am I at a restaurant? I have no idea. The food and menu reflects this. Serving a random assortment of goodies is great if it’s well-​done. I see in some reviews that this is a tapas bar. I have been to Barcelona to many tapas bars and this is absolutely not a tapas bar. Tapas aren’t overpriced, even in Spain because it’s meant to be small plates of scrumptious bites. Small plates = cheaper than a full meal. Duhh…
I wouldn’t recommend this place and I would not go back. Meh, I’ve experienced much better places in Calgary for the same price point.

One of the best meals we’ve had in a long time. Food was great, service was great and they handled our allergies easily. We’ll definitely be back.

Very nice ambience… The tapas were very good, The oysters were great and the wine was fine… The service was not bad. I would go back to this place…

The potions of food are so small they should be charging half the price!!!
Went for brunch to this joint and the waffles were topped with ice cream!!! This was meant to be an entrée!!!
One of us also tried the smoked salmon which was topped with too many unnecessary capers and the bagel had way too much cream cheese on it!
I asked the waitress to recommend my meal & she told me the smoked bacon pasta with peas is really good so I chose that… Quite disappointing. I definitely make a more wicked dish than this one for sure!

Overall pretty sweet place to hangout. Friends and I were on the patio all night having a good time — food was pretty tasty and well priced, drinks were reasonably priced as well. Server though was a little but grumpy looking for some reason, haha.
Got the bison tacos and tuna tartar, YUM. Friends got the sliders and risottos and everyone commented on how the food was surprisingly good!
Would come back…

We were the only ones here on a weekday right when they opened. It was nice to have the patio all to ourselves. Hard to comment on service though when you’re the only ones there.
The food was delicious though. We ordered the buffalo tartar and tuna tartar to start — both had nice flavour, and were fresh. The buffalo had a bit too many capers which sort of overwhelmed the dish, but it was a nice salty fix.
We split the elk sliders and the pork ribs (on special that day) which was enough for the two of us. I like when game meat doesn’t taste like ground beef, which these elk sliders had a unique taste. So props to Bar C for not just hiding the fact that its not beef.
The beverages were a bit pricey (especially for the beer) but the fact that they had Du de Ciel’s Hibiscus on draught was impressive.
Overall it was a nice experience, good food, can’t complain. Nothing was superb or standout, but it was a lovely late afternoon out.

I love Bar C! Amazing tapas, best kale salad and delicious bison tartare. TI love that their wine is served by the mL so you can try a bunch of different wines and people don’t have to share a bottle if they don’t want to. They have a great patio for the summer, too. We go here often for brunch on the weekends and can always get a table. Highly recommend.

I went to Bar C for a nice NYE dinner and loved it! My choices of food were excellent. I had the NY menu and my entrée was the quinoa stuffed peppers with a side of potatos and both were very yummy! We chose to simply get a bottle of wine rather than have the wine suggestions with the menu and it really did not suit our dinner so our lovely server gave us two glasses of the red that was chosen for our meals which was great! I will definitely go back.

We went to Bar C for New Years Eve this year. Unfortunately it was not a good experience on so many levels. First, the décor — again there are mixed feelings on here about it, but I found it cold and sterile. I really dont like sitting on stool type raised seating — some may — but I dont. I found the interior uninviting — and the table was soo tight. The table was set with so much stuff — it felt incredibly crowded. The whole thing felt uncomfortable and not somewhere I would want to spend the next 3 hours.
Our server — (we affectionately called him Teen Wolf, because of the mutton chops) was nice enough, but absent so many times throughout the evening. It was New Years Eve, and we sat and waited a considerable amount of time before someone was around to take a drink order. They were waiting for our entire party to arrive first. didnt understand why — for a drink?
Service throughout the night was sporadic, at times completely absent, and although our server was pleasant enough — service was frustrating. Seeing staff standing around at the back of the restaurant while we were sitting waiting at times was hard to swallow — now onto the food.
As a vegetarian — options were limited — I ordered 2 things — Roasted Beet Salad, followed by linguini with artichokes, black pepper and pecorino cheese. The roasted beet salad arrived and looked nice. Now I should say that it was tasty in so much that it had goats cheese, beets and candied walnuts in it. Unfortunately, the only thing that required preparation — the roasting of the beets, seemed to be lacking. Most slices were very hard — and required heavy duty use of the knife. Bummer. Now onto the next course, the pasta. The server asked if I wanted more vegetables in it — I said sure ($ 4 surcharge added to the bill — would have been nice to have known that). The portion was plentiful. Unfortunately it was bland, bland, bland. I kept thinking — I have made better at home… I only ate half of it. If it wasnt New Years and we were out for a festive night, I would have sent it back. A friend tasted it as well and thought it was terrible too. :(
Friends ordered the Baileys Cheesecake — which strangely enough — arrived in a glass. Kind of like a mini tiramisu type thing which could have worked if it wasnt so poorly executed. They had trouble cutting through the hard crust on the bottom of the glass. Crazy.
New Years Eve came and we were all given a couple of ounces of Prosecco. All in all the restaurant felt slightly sad and uninspired. I am surprised at some of the positive responses. I may have gone on a bad night — but I will not be back. With so many dynamic restaurants in Calgary — I will go somewhere else.

This is one of those Bermuda Triangle locations– the management changes every year but the restaurant is always pretty similar.
I had put off trying c bar because I’ve heard nothing exciting about it, but the Saturday night line ups elsewhere drew us in for some food and beer.
For a Saturday night, it was quiet. There were a few groups of friends (a little overdressed) and the servers told us to sit anywhere. We sat with the menus for a really long time, so long that I debated leaving when the server finally addressed us.
We ordered the buffalo tartar, elk burger and bison tacos. The food came fast and was soooooo good. This is the only reason I gave c bar 3 stars.
This place had two of those obnoxious pub like TV screens playing sports while we enjoyed our high end meal, which seemed disjointed and was distracting from the good food and company!
Also the vibe in there was weird; while we ate, two (count em) fights started in the bar. One drunk gal in high heels breaking up with her boyfriend violently and one guy who kept yelling ‘you’re a nobody!!’ at the Server. Those clientele obvs are not chosen by the restauranteurs but it really made the atmosphere uncomfortable and tense.
I won’t go back!

The atmosphere was pretty cool here. The concrete walls mixed with wood and airplane aisle lights on the ceiling gave it a unique vibe. The kitchen is slightly open concept with deli meats hanging from the bar and preserved veggies in cans as the backdrop. The food was decent. The portions though were so small for sharing that I left hungry. I had the Tuna Poke — as I had just had legit poke in Hawaii last month, this tasted bland and not quite right. For the small martini glass full, it was overpriced and under flavoured. The portions of the Arctic Char were the size of ¹⁄₁₆ of a pie — so small! At least it was cooked properly. Don’t go here if you’re hungry. They pour the wine though in Erlenmeyer flasks which was pretty neat but I’m a nerd.

Bar C is one of the restaurants that seem to be popping up that have a taps/​sharing plate theme to the menu. This I liked.
I started off drinking the latte. It was ok, not sure how much it cost, but it was tepid, and came in a plastic (?) clear glass that only had about three or so inches of latte in the cup.
We ordered the snpper tacos (came in 3) and the risotto. Risotto was good, but a tad too salty, but not heavy on the oil/​butter, which I liked. The Snapper tacos, to me, had no flavor, not the tortilla, nor the fish itself. The hot sauce the waitress recommended was good, as was the other green sauce that came along with it, but ti didn’t save the tacos, which were also had too much water in them. I say water, not juice, because there was no flavor.
The waitress (who was great) recommended the Baked Hot Chocolate Soufflé, which I absolutely loved. Very sweet, and very good, you could probably share that too. It comes in a mug, with chocolate whipped cream on top.
I agree with Wendy’s comment on the décor, can’t really tell what it’s about. It’s modern, but that’s all I can really say.

Review #13 of Unilocal’s 30 Day Challenge 2012
The interior is simple, though friends have conflicting viewpoints on the décor. Metal meets wood. Modern? Or IKEA? You be the judge. I say… I like it.
I feel like Bar C will be the place where suburban Calgary learns about tapas and cocktails. The menu is made for sharing, but it’s full of recognizable food items that won’t scare the non-​foodies away. Pulled pork tacos, crab fritters, fries, lamb… it’s pretty straight forward. And the two big screen TVs over by the bar can’t hurt either. I know! All of y’all who’re about the atmosphere are screaming bloody murder. Chill, naysayers. It’ll be interesting to see what sort of clientele Bar C draws in the long term, but for now… I’ll liken them to the bridge between the upper scale food and cocktail culture happening in our city right now and thank them for bringing style and class to a potential scene that might otherwise stay stuck in their sportsbar, rum and coke or crappy beer drinking ways.
What we ate:
— CRMR game meat balls
— fries with paprika mayo
— crab fritters
— lamb shank
— crisp artichoke hearts
— an order of bread and tapinade for the meatballs and sauce with the lamb
— baked hot chocolate soufflé
I LOVED the crisp artichoke hearts, meat balls, lamb shank and dessert! So good. The dip with the crab fritters was tasty… but they weren’t a draw for me. I must get back to that dessert though… ZOMG! If you told me it were possible to make pure decadence into something I could stomach after I had stuffed my face full of great food and drink, I never would’ve believed you. That is… until the baked hot chocolate soufflé. It’s chocolatey enough to satisfy my choca-​holic tooth and yet light enough that I didn’t feel over stuffed after we polished it off too (mind you, there WERE three of us sharing it).
Cocktail-​wise, I tried the Aviator and the Dr. Phong.
Aviator: Oxley Gin with Giffard Violet and Luxardo Marachino. Verdict: Not for the faint at cocktail heart. It’s smooth… but it’s not the sweetest drink in the world. If you like gin or you’re a fan of a bit more complex flavour to your drink, you’ll likely enjoy this one.
Dr. Phong: Fernet-​Branca with pear and Bergamot and lemon. Have you ever tried retsina? Don’t. It’s a Greek drink made from tree sap. And it tastes like tree sap. Fernet is similar. It’s got that earthy, sappy, medicine kind of taste to it. Dr Phong is a very different drink. My prediction is that a lot of you wouldn’t enjoy it. However, it’s worth a shot, a sip rather. Make sure you invite me along. Because if you don’t enjoy it, I’ll most certainly finish it for you. But then again, I’m the kind of person that also enjoys the after taste Buckley’s leaves on my tongue. Not that Dr Phong tastes anything like Buckleys… I just don’t know what else to compare that medicinal Fernet taste to.
Anyway, Bar C’s got my approval. I’ll be back for more cocktails… and more baked hot chocolate soufflé

As the Calgary restaurant landscape continues to evolve, so do the many offerings in the form of presentation, flavour and serving concepts. Tapas is not a new idea, though lately it has seen a lot of interpretation and creativity in terms of what new cuisines can benefit from this fun and tasty, sharable delivery system. Bar C is a new Food & Drink establishment that has fun with local food, offering up some fresh and non-​pretentious dishes that are a pleasure to enjoy.
The space itself is modern and clean, incorporating natural forms and woodgrains into its environment alongside the machine-​like precision of industry with its brushed steel seat backs and metallic finishes. As a result, you get a refined overall look that has warmth and feels welcoming. The large window offers a clean view to the kitchen where the charcuterie is proudly displayed. On the wall, numerous canned vegetables are displayed. Whether they are actually used on the menu, I wasn’t sure.
The service staff is friendly and very knowledgable about the food and drink menu and are always ready to recommend their favourite items to new guests. Wine is available to order in tasting portions in addition to the standard serving sizes. The house cocktails are original with a nice variety of flavours for whatever your taste may be.
The food is a straight-​forward selection of fresh ingredients prepared in a number of traditional ways, from the crispy cornmeal-​breaded, crab fritters with a citrus tartar sauce to a simple but very delicious braised lamb shank with gremolata butter and tomato confit that willfully yields to the touch. Fresh baked bread is available, fluffy and warm with that wonderful crust, perfect for tearing into. It’s served with a fresh olive tapanade and roasted pepper ayvar that complement each other nicely.
Finger food is always necessary in a setting like this, and Bar C answers with their crispy artichoke hearts with fireweed honey and citrus aioli. Also worth mentioning are the house frites, a generous serving of french fries with padano and smoked paprika mayo. Portions are served on sharable plates that make for a very social and interactive experience with friends.
When the dinner is done, save room for the sweet stuff because Bar C offers up a baked hot chocolate soufflé that is simply decadent. At first glance, the sheer richness of the deep, dark chocolate is deceiving, but then as soon as you dig into the hot mug and sample your first taste, you are rewarded by an ethereally light, but flavour intensive bite. In addition to the main event, fresh coconut macarons are standing by, perfect for dipping.
Finish with an Americano and sit back. Enjoy the surroundings and conversation with friends. This is a place that is a perfect spot for light fare or a full and complete meal. Bar C has a lot to be proud of and I sincerely wish them the best of luck.