Halo Bar Bistro

I’ve left a couple reviews for various evenings we’ve had here, but this afternoon we got a special treat — my daughter had a craving for pancakes, so we asked — and sure enough, between our server and the chef, she ended up w some yummy pancakes — special order — and a great finish to our afternoon!

We stayed at the Renaissance Hotel the night before flying off on an early flight to a tropical destination. As our spirits were high and we were in a happy mood, it would have taken quite a bit to dampen it. Unfortunately, Halo did its best to try and do so.
We were thrilled to see the piano player in the lounge and he was wonderful and charismatic, playing our requests and energizing the open bar space.
We ordered a turkey and goat cheese salad as a starter to share and for mains we asked for the black tiger prawn pasta of the day and the salmon. The salad was excellent and came quickly. However, the service was intermittent at best and downright non-​existant at times. Getting drink refills was difficult and finding our waitress was challenging, even though there were few people in the bar. We were forced to approach the bartender on 2 occasions when we required attention and had not seen her for extended times.
When our mains were served the dish placed in front of me was not the black tiger prawn pasta. However, the waitress was gone before I could say anything. After waiting for her to return for some time, we approached the bartender to explain that there was a problem with our meal and he left the bar to find her.
When she arrived, she explained that the kitchen was out of the shrimp pasta and that the kitchen had substituted the lobster risotto. Wait, what? Why would they change my order without consulting me? I sent the risotto that I never actually ordered back and asked for a menu to choose a replacement main. However, the waitress never came back to see what I wanted.
So, to sum up, the ambience was nice, the food we did receive was good, but the service was so horrendous we will definitely be taking ourselves up the highway to Chop or some other place where we know we will receive decent service.

I love the atmosphere — the abundance of comfy seating, places to plug in my phone, the colours, and how the place is laid out with what seems like different rooms. My friend had the fish and chips and really liked it. I had a sampler plate of three of the small plate items: a meatball slider, fried chicken breast pieces in a green onion batter, and chicken pot stickers. My plate had some temperature variations. The pot stickers were cold and reminded me of the gyoza I often order at Brewsters. No better, no worse. The green onion chicken was served on skewers and very hot, atop a mayo dip. I couldn’t really taste the green onion much. I loved the taste of the meatball slider — the meatball was firm and perfectly cooked, although again it was not all that hot. Service was friendly and helpful. After our meal, we found some comfy seats by one of the unobtrusive televisions near the lounge so he could watch some football. However, I am not sure if maybe this was an emotional reaction because my friend was leaving to a far-​away destination for a long time, but within 20 minutes we both ended up in the washroom. I really liked the place though and although I would be hesitant to try the food again (although I would not write it off either), I would come here for a drink (the cocktails are rather expensive but seem interesting).

Halo is worth the drive. Food is fantastic! Try their signature Manhattan while you’re here. Guarantee you won’t be disappointed. The best you’ll ever have! The atmosphere is trendy and comfortable. A great place to get together with friends or just have a special night out. If things get really special, the hotel is just a few steps away.

Amazing house made pierogies! Do yourself a favour and order them! Yes the service was somewhat slow, but the atmosphere is nice — what a beautiful hotel, so easy to pass by if you don’t know it’s there. Came on a Friday at 5pm and the management had a surprise pop-​up cocktail event for bar patrons — nice touch! And the drink was deeeee-​lish =) We also ordered the nacho platter with bison chili but were too full to eat it all, and barely at the chili. Overall a very nice place, with a few kinks to work out.

Having heard many mixed reviews I thought I would join some friends and check out Halo for myself… I should have trusted the reviews.
The bar itself is architecturally pleasing, however that’s where the compliments end. There were 2 single women at the bar, 1 table with 2 patrons, another with 4 people and our table of 6… Then 8 when we joined. There were 2 servers and a bar tender… More than adequate numbers of staff. No one ordered food, just drinks.
The service was absolutely horrendous! We were ordering wine by the bottle and with 6 drinking wine, it doesn’t take long for an empty bottle… ½ hr wait times just to see a server is ridiculous. I ordered a double captain short… Waited 20 min to order my second, which the waitress got wrong. Really, a bottle of wine and 2 high ball drinks and my 2^nd drink wasn’t even captain.
At least they validate parking, however I won’t be back.

I’ve eaten here a number of times and have yet to be disappointed. The food is creative, the décor is very modern and not tacky at all. Service is good, great drinks and just an all around cool place to check out. Best place in Leduc by far.

We checked out Halo Bar Bistro as part of Unilocal Elite Party in August 2014.
Our party was to show-​off their hotel to us and the Halo Bar Bistro was one of our many stops.
The food we sampled was pretty good. I enjoyed everything that I had tried. Some were better than others of course but I think much of it comes down to personal taste.
We did have issues with service but some of that could be attributed to a Unilocal Party taking over the lounge. Granted they knew we were coming and they should have been prepared. The service was slow and they missed some of party that was sitting outside the main tables of the lounge (but still in the lounge). I would like to chalk this up to new bar staff so they might deserve the benefit of the doubt.
I didn’t have any cocktails from the bar so can’t comment much on the bar service.
I do have one disconcerting report. A member of our party had their credit card compromised during this event. I am hoping this is a one time issue and they found the staff involved and have taken action on this. It does make me wary about going back to this establishment because of that. Just remember to always keep your eye or your debit/​credit card folks no matter where you are!
I’d like to give Halo more than 2 stars but the credit card issue really taints my review. Perhaps they deserve a second chance but I will wait to see more reviews before I try them again.

Love the new hotel and the food is wonderful as well as the funky cool atmosphere. I am a return customer… Love it here!

A brand new property inside the airport if you’re looking for a hotel this is your only choice. Saying that here’s my review.
This place is the Air Canada of hotel bars I was there for an event and found it thoroughly underwhelming.
To be fair $ 20 for two drinks isn’t inappropriate for airport pricing. It’s just not very good.
The service was slow, but they were trying. The problem was they couldn’t make the drinks that were too fancy and still provide simple beers.
Normal room rates are $ 200 a night so I imagine if you’re given a food room voucher that you’d stay here.
Otherwise take the 15 minutes to leave the airport and stay in the other choices in south Edmonton.
But if you’re stuck bsd don’t want to pay for a cab out this isn’t a horrible place
Pros
In the airport
Pretty inside
Cons
Overpriced
Slow service

I attended an event at Halo and was disappointed in the food and service.
As a Renaissance (Marriott Boutique Hotel), I expected top notch food and service.
Last night we sampled the turkey Poutine (overly salty), fried chicken skewer with an over powering mayo sauce, cranberry and candied pecan salad, bison Donair (average) and cheesecake with soft pretzel bites in it.
The two cocktails I had were fabulous but not reason enough for my return (hibiscus flower martini and smokey bourbon with tobacco simple syrup).
We tried to order other items but the wait staff were overwhelmed and experiencing difficulty in using their debit/​credit.
The atmosphere itself was beautiful with many different seating options and bright modern washrooms with a red lips theme.
All in all, I would not trek out to the airport to have dinner here but if you’re looking for a unique cocktail ($ 12-​$ 15) while on a layover, this may be the stop for you.

Beautiful modern décor, attentive service, interesting menu. This looks like it was designed to be a really awesome place to hang-​out …if it were not awkwardly situated on the pedway level of the new airport hotel. I have no doubt this place would be really popular downtown or nearer to the university. if it were downtown, or really anywhere else in the city. The airport locale is not suited for
The food was okay, not bad but can’t say it was great. We had wine, lamb kabob appie, onion soup, lobster crêpe, steak… but nothing really impressed me about it.
What made it worse there was some type of ‘Yelp’ promotional event in the bar next to the restaurant and they had loud party music blasting and professional photographers blinding us with constant flashes as they documented a clearly staged ‘party scene’.
Loved the atmosphere but there was not enough of a draw for me to want to drive all the way to the airport for just an average dinner.
We had a 20% off voucher that included free parking, that my husband received at his office at Nisku. Basically covered the tip. (voucher was good until Sept 2014)

They are trying very hard to be a great Hotel restaurant but I was not really impressed.
The hotel has been open for almost four months and the food and beverage just don’t seem to click.
Appetizers which has an (s) in the description (implying at least two) but arrive as a single piece! A $ 40.00 Bone in Ribeye that comes covers in sauce without warning. That always makes me think what are they hiding? Overcooking or poor quality. Simple subsitution requests are ignored in the kitchen and servers have to scramble to fix it.
How about a cocktail station in the Concierge Lounge with no ice available!
A beautiful property that will improve but right now just a little off.

Wowza! Most people don’t associate fine dining with airports or airport hotels. However, most people haven’t dined at Halo!
This sophisticated hotel restaurant knocks expectations out of the ballpark in looks and tastes! I dined on a Friday night and sadly the place was much emptier than it should be. The secret is not out about this place… yet! The feel of the restaurant matches the hotel it is in which is new wave modern with silvers, grays, and white which make you feel like you are dining in a winter wonderland! Even in August!
The food was fantastic! I had the 8 oz steak and substituted risotto for fries since I’m not a fry guy and the steak had an herbed butter dollop which it didn’t even need as the steak was so flavorful, but wow, the flavor it added! The risotto was cheesy and delicious! Our group also added a side of Mac and Cheese which had a smokey kick to it and very rich and flavorful! I ended the meal with the chocolate nib marshmallow blondie served on a smear of whiskey caramel and surrounded by hazelnut praline… oh-​mazing!
Compliments of the chef — we received a patê appetizer and rhubarb sorbet before dessert. Both were a party for the palate! The chef came by and checked on us and the service was fantastic!
I hope to dine here again sometime!