Joyce On 4th Pub & Restaurant

Oh Joyce, how I normally love you for Sunday brunch, but you just disappointed me so much in our last visit.
Went on Lilac Festival Sunday and first disappointment was that they weren’t doing brunch. Ok I get it, Lilac is crazy for the restaurants on 4^th. You want to keep life as easy as possible for your kitchen. I can get over this as I quite like the rest of the food you do too. Plus you had a full menu for the day which was a nice surprise all things considered.
We had the same waitress as we have had before, she does a good job just always seems a bit flustered. But never gets any orders wrong so very middle ground there.
Now lets talk about the food we got, bearing in mind we arrived at 10am and there was hardly anyone there yet. Food also took nearly 40 minutes to come out the kitchen. Once again there wasn’t that many people there yet and all the servers were helping running food so don’t think that the food was sitting on the pass for ages waiting to be picked up from the kitchen.
One person got the pulled pork sliders. All the slider meat was cold. Not even cool but cold. Taste was alright but not great as cold pulled pork isn’t the best.
2 of us had the chicken and brie sandwich. What was going on with that chicken? It was really tough and almost had a harder casing around it. Did you guys boil it to per cook and then microwave it before putting it on the sandwich? Really really disappointing and zero flavour. Our fries were also cold.
Lamb burger was dry. The boy has had it before and enjoyed it, but not sure where they went wrong this time.
The one breakfast item they did have was a breakfast sandwich. Reports back on it were «Its just alright» and potatoes were cool.
The only plus of the whole meal? The sun was shining and the beer was cold. You guys are really only getting more than one star based on the fact you have done better in the past and I really have enjoyed your food previously. Will give the benefit of the doubt and assume ½ the kitchen had called in sick.

Had my driver’s licence, health card, student card, credit cards and still had to drive home to get my passport. Thanks for the free drink tho!!! food is good

The service is good if you’re sitting at the bar and the bartenders are friendly & efficient but not if you’re at a table. I’ve eaten here a few times it brought people in and sat at a table but not any more. Service is always bad even when they’re not busy. I don’t get it

Phoned on Wednesday to book a reservation for last night (Saturday) and the gentleman who took my information for the reservation didn’t sound 100% thrilled to be on the phone or taking the reservation. Fast forward to 6:50pm last night, three of the 7 of us I had reserved for show up only to be told there wasn’t a reservation, and the staff seemingly didn’t care that I wad upset over the lost reservation. Now I’m not sure what the issue was, whether the guy who took the call just didn’t write the info down, or if the info got misplaced, but it was highly unprofessional and not appreciated. The hostess seated us at a decent table, with a view of the hockey game on the big screens, but it took a while for our server to acknowledge our being there, she chose rather to focus on the table of 4 filled with younger guys instead. Once we got our drink orders taken she really shined. Food order was taken in quick time once the rest of the group showed up, and my only issue with my food was that my medium well steak was terrible and she only checked with one side of the table to see how their meals were. She wound up getting more tables and focused on the younger crowd that came in, rather than checking in with our group. Oh well. I guess it’ll be a while till we go back there.

Understaffed today on probably the largest hangover day off the year.
The food is cheap but tasty.
Ceasers were on special and that made me happy.
Had the eggs Florentine. Delicious hash browns.
They have nice cozy booths that create an intimate atmosphere.

Just poor service… period! The worst servers in any pub establishment. They need major improvement. You want really good service and servers that actually are attentive, pleasant and don’t leave you 30 minutes with an empty glass… go to Hudson’s on 12^th Ave and 5^th street SW. Now, that’s service!

Our server was great. She was friendly, informative and attentive. Our booth was cozy and the ambience was pleasant. The food was fine but not outstanding. They have a nice selection of beers. They have two non-​alcoholic beer choices and both tasted good.

Just came for a beer on the sunny patio, and had friendly service. Decent beer selection but most of the craft taps are focused on their own private label brews (some of which are great). Will try the food menu next time.

#142
I’ve been going to the Joyce On 4^th Pub & Restaurant on and off for the last 3 or so years. I’ve put off reviewing it, partly because I’m lazy and partly because, for me to write a review I consider fun and/​or informative, I have to be moved one way or the other.
Located on 4^th St SW and 24^th Ave SW across from Earl’s and diagonally across from Shoppers Drug Mart, Joyce was closed for a few months to recover from the 2013 floods. A nice remodel can be a lot like a facelift or other cosmetic surgery, it looks great but only covers the underlying problem.
The underlying problem is the inconsistency of the food quality and service.
Let’s start with the food quality. It does not seem to matter if you have one of the nightly specials such as Monday’s 32 cent wings (min. order of 10) (which are 25 cents as of 6 July 2015) or Tuesday’s 3 tacos for $ 7.50 (normally 3 for $ 13+ but this summer, for 1 hour after sundown, they are 3 for $ 4.50 so based on the normal price, you are getting 6 free tacos if you bought $ 13 worth which I have done ;)) or the weekend breakfast or even one of their entrées. I know from reading the menus that Joyce states that it gets most ingredients locally (as I stated in an updated review for #141 (posted on Facebook due to a greater than average length as well as other reasons)), I am not sure if local means Calgary, the province, or in Canada (or even local in North America). Additionally, if you have or are prone to diabetes, liver, and/​or kidney problems (because of family history), bring your own condiments as most of theirs have Canada’s version of High Fructose Corn Syrup, glucose-​fructose.
Next, the service can also be hit or miss. I’ve noticed since I go there a lot, many of the servers recognize or know me so I get excellent service (which I totally appreciate) but every now and then, I get someone whom doesn’t know me and it goes down the toilet (in the basement). This is not an attack but an observation. That being said, it takes away from the experience (there are so many other pubs offering similar items).
Please note, this problem, however, is not unique to Joyce but I’ve found it a common theme in other businesses in Alberta and British Columbia as well (I have not been east yet so I do not have first hand experience).
What does have consistent quality is the selections of international, national, regional, and local beers. You do have to be careful as they can run out of some of regional beers like Gas Lamp’s Belgian White Mist (a favourite among many guest including yours truly because one beer a week is okay).
They do have free wi-​fi (their own running on Shaw as well as Shaw itself for Shaw customers) so you can attempt to work or look busy while having some suds.
One last point, parking in the area can be a little tough (there is a parking garage with small spots as well as street parking on both 4^th Ave SW and the cross streets but with so many restaurants in that area and 2 Shoppers Drug Marts (one is the old Paragon Pharmacy)), it can be a challenge. You can take Calgary Transit’s 3, 17, and 419 bus or a taxi (car2go would require parking).
Overall, Joyce is on the Edge of Glory, it will just take an aggressive push to do so while at the same time, not slandering its past or being hostile to it’s present. I keep coming back because I do get good service (with the caveat mentioned above) and I do believe they are heading in the right direction (I want to encourage this in a business no matter the size). So, as Patsy says, «Right. Cheers. Thanks-​a-​lot».

Only draft and bottles please.
The food here is not very good. I like pub food. I have no problem with pub food. But this food is awful. Steak is fatty and grisly. Everything is overly greasy, salty, flavorless.
Ordered a few well drinks here one night with a friend and twice her drinks had glass chunks in them. First time we told the staff they apologized and brought her a new one. Second time she told the staff they accused her of putting the glass from the first drink into the second drink. Just ridiculous. My friend showed the second piece of glass, the first one had been taken away with the drink it came in, and the staff looked at her and said, «you say it was in your drink, but that’s just what you are saying.» He basically called her a liar.
My friend found the manager and told him what was going on. He apologized, got her another drink. Thank goodness at least the manager did something. Still. Neither of us will likely ever go back unless it is purely because we are meeting others there. If I do end up back at this place, unfortunate as it is such a great location, I will only ever order bottled beverages or draft.

Our large group of ten managed to snag a booth and a table for two on Sat night to watch the Flames and Canucks game 6. Atmosphere was electric with anticipation, even a good two hours ahead puck drop!
Our server was busy with lots of patrons, but she kept up with drinks and food orders. We tried a variety of appies and mains. All good! The brisket Poutine was excellent as were the blue cheese and buffalo wings! The Carlsberg was on special which was awesome — at least at the time. Next morning, not so much.
The game was a crazy affair and the crowd was loud and good natured! The Canucks fans next to us were gracious in defeat. Through it all, our able server kept up! I felt badly for her as the game ended and everyone wanted to pay up and hit the Red Mile. There simply were not enough machines for the staff to clear all the tabs. Not at all the bar’s fault. More a function of our nearly cashless society, but that is for another time.
All in all a great night at a great pub!

Stopped in at this neighborhood pub last Thursday night with a group of friends to attend the one year post flood party! It was absolutely packed but we managed to get a table. I found that the beer selection was fantastic! They have 72 beers on tap, and the server completely navigated us through the beer menu and the difference between each beer. She was very knowledgeable, and over the course of a few hours we tried many different beers. To eat, we ordered the Celtic Clubhouse, and the steak sandwich. Both were delicious, and flavorful. (I’ve posted pictures of our meals). In true fashion of the pub, they had an Irish band playing live music. It made the night more enjoyable and people were even getting up to dance. Overall, if you’re looking for a good pub with live music, and good beer you should try out Joyce on 4^th!

If I’m being honest I want to like this place, its close to my condo the staff is friendly and keeps your drink full. The problem is the food sucks 50% of the time. Great menu but some days its like the chefs don’t care. The other day I stopped in for some wings. The flavors are awesome but the with us were super over cooked. My girls burger was a little under cooked. To be honest I’m gonna keep going cause when the cooks wanna work as hard as the servers the place is badass

Disappointing is an understatement.
I used to meet friends at this ‘pub’ when it was owned by the same people who own the Joyce on 8^th Avenue. Since they have sold it, the quality and the standards have plummeted at a dizzying speed.
The service is lack luster and the food is not worth mentioning. I was here for my birthday and we barely were served by our waitress. The food was basic and bland. We didn’t bother to complain because there was no one to complain to — it was just a grand disappointment. I wanted a piece of ‘home’ for my birthday and instead I was left feeling disturbed.
The once beautiful pub, reminiscent of Ireland has been replaced with a ‘pub’ riding on the coat tails of the previous owners who had established a high standard and continue to do so at their original location. I think it is critical that people know that these two pubs are not connected with one another anymore and that this one is just a poor addition to a poor chain of other ‘Irish pubs’ in this city.

I was very happy to see James Joyce on 4^th Street open again post-​floods. They still offer a range of beers from around the world on tap and bottled, yummy pub fare and UK pub atmosphere. On this visit, we just stopped in for a pint on a walking pub crawl, but definitely a place I will continue to come back to for beers, live music and the patio.

We went during Stampede for a quick bite before going to the chucks. Bad service, bad food and it was dead!!! After our experience we weren’t surprised.
We asked the server to call us a cab, get this, she refused and said she didn’t do that. When another server brought us our cold food we asked her if she could and she politely said, «of course, no problem»
The bacon was raw on our burgers and the fries were cold. We mentioned it but got the typical Calgary response, «Sorry»
We had to get up to ask for a second and third round of water and drinks from the bar. Our server was BRUTAL!!! Too busy texting.

I walked into the Joyce On 4^th on a Friday night in the middle of July… Patio flanked in flowers, live band wailing away the best of Maritime band cover tunes, beer a flowing and fun being had by all. Now this is a great neighbourhood pub!
The look of the place with dark leather and brass is right in step with the music and crowd. The wait staff was totally on cue and we never had to wait for a drink. While I didn’t eat much, I did have a mini yorkie (a Canadian pub grub fave) and it was excellent! I have to say, I have never seen them served in muffin tins before, super cute idea! I am so stealing that come Christmas.
While this may not be my first choice of places to go in Mission, it’s definitely now on my short list.

Thursday night after a WOD, a couple girls and I decided to head down to Mission for a bite to eat. We wandered around in some places but they were full as there was a hockey game on. We chanced it at Joyce and got lucky with a high top table for three. Joyce is an Irish pub located on the strip of 4^th street in Mission, across the street from Earls.
Music was loud but not blazing loud, we were able to hear each other talk. There were crowds of people but it wasn’t bumpy busy, we just minded our own busy at the high top. Shortly, the waitress came around to hand us menus and water. Mecoh and I are doing paleo while Maddie isn’t so Mecoh and I ordered the original 1937 cobb salad with the dressing on the side and no bleu cheese. Maddie went with the chicken and brie sandwich and the soup of the day.
The food came out altogether and the salad was huge. The cobb salad was a mix of iceberg and romaine lettuce topped with rows of avocado, tomato, bacon, green onions, hardboiled egg, and chicken. If you’re trying to watch what you eat… this would be the salad to get. Simple yet delicious! Maddie’s chicken brie sandwich was some charbroiled chicken topped with brie and a tomato relish on a multi grain bun with dijon mayo and soup of the day which was a spicy curry soup thick. The sandwich didn’t look appetizing to me but Maddie thought it was okay. I notice the brie wasn’t melted but more like a thick slice. Maddie thought the soup was too spicy but she doesn’t take spicy hot very well. I mentioned that it would be lovely on a bed of rice, so she took the soup to go ;)
Overall, the food wasn’t anything special but it was good. Typical pub food but with slightly more options. I was drooling over the other items in the menu, nachos, sticky toffee pudding!!! (can’t believe I didn’t order my favorite dessert — yay for self control ;)).
I can’t wait to come back to try all the pub grub I’m not allowed to have right now. Hehe I’d say Joyce is a great place to chill with a group of friends and take your time, have a couple drinks and shoot the shit.
See you later next month Joyce! :)

Dropped in to check out the renovated space since the flood. The layout is much better. We sat at the bar where the service was ok. I was overwhelmed by all the beer choices so I asked the bartender to choose me one that was ‘not too hoppy’. He brings me a Coors. I might look like the most boring, unadventurous, old person out there! Sorry zero points for creativity!
I grabbed a plate of jumbo buffalo wings ($ 13.50). Yuck. All breading, like cracker crumbs soaked in hot sauce.
The 2 egg breakfast looked really good for $ 6.50, (until 2pm) which included bacon and sausage! That’s good to know for future.

Ridiculous. Went recently as I was excited for them to reopen following the June flood. My friend and I were looking forward to conversation over a couple of cold ones but the server wanted me to provide a second piece of photo ID. I don’t walk around with my passport on me ²⁴⁄₇ as I have never been asked anywhere else, even in a nightclub. She stared blankly at me and stated that the picture on my current, Alberta government issued ID does NOT look like me! Excuse me? All she needs to do is verify the patron is of age. Not only was that me then when the picture was taken, this is me NOW as I follow the rest of my party out the door.
Many people will continue to frequent this pub… I, however, will not be one of them.