The Pourhouse Bier Bistro

We went here for a big group dinner, the menu has many different choices just for the food portion! The beer selection was awesome… Also big plus, for having gluten free beers!!! Everyone’s food was amazing and the owner gave us cheesecake on the house which sweeten the experience even more.

This used to be one of my favourite bars, before it changed ownership. Now the food has gone downhill, the décor is weird and the service leaves something to be desired. Not to mention, when ownership was transferred, the new owners refused to give back several paintings that were on loan from the artists until social media got involved. Not a good bar anymore.

We went out on a Friday night for a good eat and sadly it sent our Friday night to a bust. I hadn’t been here in over a year but thought we would pop in for a bite around 9pm. We walked in and the pub was quite busy. We were sat at the back in a larger table when there was only three of us dining. A few minutes after we were seated what seemed to be the owner asked if we would mind moving for a larger party. It was no problem but the table were sat at we ended up bumping knees and there wasn’t enough room to fit more than a few plates. We were offered shots for the trouble which was a nice gesture.
I was a little bit confused by the menu… I remember it being pub style but I think the menu has changed slightly. It’s mainly burgers, appetizers and a mix of curry dishes and pasta. Our food took a long time… In the process of waiting we were offered a larger table and moved ONCE again… At this point we were offered some free bruschetta. This just prolonged out wait for our food and by the time we got it. Our nachos were cold. We also order perogies and a burger which were alright, but by that time I think we were ready to call it a night.
Although the servers were caring and trying to be accommodating, I find the new ownership isn’t quite hitting the mark for me. They used to play old fashion movies and have a swanky ambience. Now– the lights were too bright and the atmosphere resembled a sports bar with a confusing menu. Sadly, we won’t be back.

My wife and I plus 2 wanted to go to a place for birthday food and drinks. Saw the reviews on Unilocal for Pourhouse and thought, why the hell not. It was a fantastic experience.
I am not sure what the back story is with this place, if they got new ownership/​managers, in any case, the fine bearded gentleman and our server were amazing.
To start, I reserved a table through Unilocal. Ya this place takes reservations — WIN! We got to our table and were greeted by our server who made amazing beer recommendations for us. I had the most amazing IPA ever — Brewdog Punk IPA from the UK. WOW, you need to find this and drink it. Hands down the best IPA I have ever had. Our wonderful server gave me the TIPS on this bad boy. So props to her. I also tried a wiezen from Village Wit of Calgary. Very tasty as well.
Now on to the food. Our party started with the Lobster Lager Dip and Scallops. Both were really good. You can’t really screw up scallops so it will always be a winner. But the lobster dip was really good. Very heavy and rich food. SO we were feeling pretty good when our bearded friend brought us complimentary bruschetta. Whaaaat?! That was a total surprise. After we filled out faces with appies we got to the main course. We needed some food to wash down the beers. I got their Montréal Smoked Meat sandwich while everyone else chose the Bacon Wrapped Splitter. My sandwich was great, the balance of tart from the sauerkraut and meat worked well with the bread. As a side I tried their sweet potato salad. It was good, but not a sound choice with this sandwich. I should have gone with fries. The serving size was perfect and more than enough to fill my stomach. By the time we were done eating, our bearded friend came over and gave us complimentary dessert. Whaaaat?! Now at this point I am not sure if this was given to us because it was my wife’s birthday but whatever, it was delicious and put my stomach in a coma.
It was a great night at this spot. Be warned though, we arrived at 6pm and there weren’t many people there, but by 730pm it was getting packed. So if you plan on spending a few hours there, maybe show up a bit earlier.
Their food is great and the atmosphere is just what we needed on a friday night sans kids-​adult conversations with swearing, drinks and laughter. We had a fabulous time here and I will be coming back again. It’s nice to have places like this on Whyte.

Decent food and decent drinks — great for groups of friends!

I don’t mind the ambiance of this place, right in the heart of Old Strathcona on the trendy Whyte Avenue, but sometimes the service is… umm, undesirable… let’s just say that.
I love the brick walls and/​or mirrored walls, the narrowness of the room, the tiny outdoors seating, the wooden floors, and how clean they keep this place, and you can’t pick a much better location in all of Edmonton than this place.
It’s not great for large groups, but perfect for a first date, for a meet-​up with old friends, or just a quick bite to eat during one of the area’s festivals.
Good food & drink menus too! #yeglove
I Heart Edmonton

Out for a mid afternoon walk after taking the old Strathcona streetcar/​trolley across the high-​level bridge to the old Strathcona farmers market station. We decided to go for a lunch here.
We have been in this establishment before but it was many years ago and I don’t think we had anything to eat.
We were hungry so we wanted to see the menu.
We sat at the bar because that’s just like to sit there sometimes so service was quite prompt.
I decided on the short rib burger and Tina had some sort of strange burger I cannot recall the name of it I will post a picture though.
My short rib burger and baked potato was absolutely delicious. The prices are a bit on the high side but when you’re paying for premium beer by the half liter and short rib Steakburger I was happy with it.
It is quite an eclectic place with plenty of great art on its walls for decorating. They used to have the Kramer hanging above the fireplace mantle but it has been replaced with the queen, I will really would like to know where the Kramer went.

Ive been to this restaurant a couple times now. Such a fan of no deep fryer what an awesome concept. I am a super choosy eater. I dont eat bread or cheese and there is still plenty to pick from here. The beer selection is great!

The main reason I went here was because I had a groupon. It was 30 dollars for 60, so me and my friends really had 60 dollars to spend here, which is a pretty hefty amount!
So their Dip Trio comes with their Green Goddess dip, hummus, and chipotle salsa. Green goddess dip is usually a dressing made with mayo, sour cream, chives, anchovy and pepper. It’s named after its colour. All throughout the menu you can see that they add it everywhere and it’s one of their staple sauces. I found it to be really strong, and have a little bit of a bite similar to a raddish-​heat. It was tasty with the crostini chips but it was pretty powerful. The hummus was pretty typical. The best of the three dips would have to be the chipotle salsa. It was really fresh and had a nice flavour to it, almost a little bit smokey. It was a nice appetizer to eat and share amongst us. The ratio of chips/​crostini to dip was really poor though and we ended up having to ask for some more.
One thing that I can say about Pourhouse is that they actually have a lot of vegetarian options. Most places usually have one vegetarian burger and that’s it, but here you have the option of 3 different kinds of burgers. One of my friends are vegetarian and she is used to not having many options. She got the ZLT. It’s smoked and seared zucchini, with their house hummus, and veggies. I had a bite of it, and it was okay as far as vegetarian sandwiches go. The hummus made the sandwich a lot more enjoyable. It gives it a little bit of a savour-​ey unami taste. The bread was crispy and it was overall a light sandwich.
My other friend has gotten their bacon wrapped splitter a few times and I had some of that as well. It’s a bacon-​wrapped hot dog served with melted cheese and a garlic-​aioli sauce. It’s relatively good. The garlic-​aioli sauce is my favourite part. It’s nice and light and gives the rest of the hot dog nice flavours. We both got the loaded backed potato as the side. It’s loaded with their Green Goddess sauce. Both of our potatoes were undercooked and hard. It was poorly executed. And I understand how the Green Goddess sauce is like one of their signature sauces, but it was a little bit overkill on the baked potato. I don’t like to leave food on my plate (no matter how bad it is) and I couldn’t bring myself to finishing this.
My sister got :‘La Lucha’ It’s a spicy chorizo pork patty with smoked jalapeño cream cheese. Mmmm the description of it is much tastier than the burger itself. Overall it’s okay, not the greatest. It’s a little bit bland, and they warn that the burger is quite spicy but overall the flavours were underwheming. The bun came out a little bit burnt (which actually isn’t the first time I’ve seen, someone turned it back because of that once, ours was just mildly burnt).
Last but not least, is the Lamb Burger. A nice thick patty served with goat cheese and their pickled beets. This was definitely the best burger out of the bunch. If I come back here, this is the one that I’d get. The burger was a nice size and well seasoned. The star of the burger would be their pickled beets. This was actually really nice, and complemented the burger nicely. I’m not a huge fan of beets, but these were well done. Usually I find that the flavour of beets is really strong, and even after pickling, it’s a strong overwhelming taste, but these are really mild was a great addition to the burger…

Two words: Lamb Burger.
One of the tastiest burgers I have had in ages. A flavourful & juicy burger topped with a healthy portion of goat chesse and roasted beets & arugula. Not sure what the sauce was, but it complimented the flavours exquisitely. To top it off, the bun was fresh and toasted just right.
My side of a loaded baked potato was just the right portion and the sweet potato salad I eyed on the neighbouring table looked super tasty.
While I don’t drink beer, my date was happy with the variety of brews on tap. I was pleasantly surprised to find reasonably priced and accurately (read: not watered down) mixed highballs.
It’s nice to find a pub that doesn’t serve deep fried food. It will be a good place to hit in the summer when craving something tasty and fresh!

The Pourhouse is a modern pub with a beer menu all beer enthusiasts would enjoy along with some delicious eats.
Overall, I really enjoyed my night at Pourhouse. The service we received was excellent with a funny and friendly waitress happy to entertain all of our beer questions. We also happened to go on a Thursday night which happens to be all you can eat perogies for $ 10. It’s a pretty good deal but I would recommend paying the extra $ 1 or so a plate to get the bacon and onions as well to give them some more flavor. Also while we were there they played some awesome older cult classics on the TVs which beats playing some sport I’m not interested in.
Pourhouse, good beer menu and the food looks good, but I’ll be back for the service and awesome movies.

Came for lunch on a cold day over Christmas break, and lucked out to get a meter right out front of the door!
Even better, for me anyway, it wasn’t busy that day and with only one server/​bartender working, it gave everyone great attention.
Music… it’s…oh, how to say, unique! Very unexpected selections. Not at all unpleasant, and brought us to a few wry grins and conversation topics during lunch.
I like that they don’t have a deep fryer… I don’t have to worry about cross-​contamination, and the food is just better! You know they didn’t shortcut and fry it just to cook it faster.
I ordered the ZLT — Zucchinni Lettuce Tomato — it’s the vegetarion option that happens to have gluten free bread. Be sure and ADD Bacon! (YUM) Leftovers were delicious reheated next day for lunch. My S.O. had the sliders (he’s not gluten free).
The sauce/​aoli on those potatoes… to DIE for. I could take home a vat of it.
Decent beer selection! Although the first couple my S.O. selected weren’t available that day. Holidays, deliveries etc we get it. Sometimes it makes you try something new.
Some Gluten Free beers on the menu, but occasionally out of stock. Since I can only drink 100% gluten free beer (not chemically digested wheat beer), cider is AWESOME alternative! The waitress said they were out of Magners, but since Sommersby is one of my current favourites that wasn’t a hard choice.
Gluten free offerings on the menu when we visited were quite limited, but good.
They’re on Twitter, so you can follow their specials and other goings-​on.

Tuesday night I made reservations.. kinda ridiculous because it’s Tuesday lol
My sister and I came in because I read great reviews on this place and I wanted to check it out.
We sat on the table with the back bench, it looked comfortable and was.
Our server came with the menus and it was an extensive drink menu which was terrific expecially with the cheap beer part.
We both decided on the special which is a dark beer and pretzel for only $ 5. The pretzel was ok and I wasn’t overly impressed with the dipping sauce. The beer was dark, rich, with a hint of a coffee sour after taste (not my kind of beer)
I ordered the short rib burger and my sister had the ZLT.
The place had the usual pub feel but with a tinge of trend. You look around and the patrons had a similar hipster look, so you know this place can get busy.
Our food arrived! It looked great. Ok my first bit of my burger I wasn’t as impressed, I am going to be honest because this is based on my opinion. The burger patty tasted dull, like the Mc rib but no sauce and mushy. I didn’t particularly like it but the cider slaw was tasty. We all have our refined taste buds and I’m not a huge meat Eater but when I do eat meat I want it to be «Bam!» Yum in my mouth, if you know what I mean.
My sister was happy with her meal but she couldn’t finish her beer.
Our server was great, she was very attentive and helpful.
I want to come back because I may have chosen the wrong item for myself to try on the menu. I want to try that sweet chili tofu wrap or pickled beet sliders. Plus the drink menu was impressive so maybe on a Friday night I’ll stop by.

Stopped in for lunch and tried the nachos and the Christmas ale. Was all yummy and service was great. Would definitely come again!

The Pourhouse Bier Bistro boasts an impressive and unique beer menu that would satisfy any beer enthusiasts pallet. There is always something new and exciting on tap, which is a far departure from the many of the other cookie cutter pubs and bars on «the ave», let alone the city. Wether you’re a beer aficionado or a newbie to the beer scene, there is a wide selection of options to choose from. And if beer just happens to not be ‘your thing’, there are several interesting cocktails on the menu such as ‘The Creamcicle’ which literally tastes like the orange Popsicles we all ate as children (except now there’s alcohol involved !) and ‘The Moscow Mule’ which is an impressive concoction made with ginger beer. Delicious!
Another great feature about this place is that there are many options that cater to not only vegetarians/​vegans but also people who are gluten intolerant. This is a HUGE DEAL, usually gluten free and vegetarian/​vegan options at food establishments are bland and boring however at The Pourhouse, I can say from personal experience that the, ‘ZLT’ sandwich, which has grilled zucchini and veggies as it’s fillings and the beet sliders … are delicious! Oh… And did I mention there is no deep fryer? That’s right, no deep fryer ! This forces you to choose a healthier but just as equally yummy side such as a variety of salads, a fully loaded baked potato… or bacon. Because who doesn’t love bacon ?
The Pourhouse is also one of the few places that will still take reservations, yes, even on weekends. Wether it’s a staff or birthday party, in my experience, management has been extremely flexible and almost always willing to accommodate groups wether for private functions or otherwise. Chef Daniel who is also one of the owners, has made his services available for speciality menus for such events. This is a GREAT option if you are thinking of booking a Christmas Staff party or something of the like. But I would recommend calling soon because they book up fast !!
The Pourhouse is definite a must try if your are on Whyte Ave. They offer daily lunch specials and are open everyday, also a not of people are aware of this but The Pourhouse is fully licensed to have minors in the establishment until 9pm… the only other place that offers this on Whyte Ave is Boston Pizza. So if you’re sick and tired of the same old boring stuff, give them a try !

While wandering through Wee Book Inn today I started contemplating one of life’s great questions… what exactly am I going to have for lunch today? After passing by this place dozens of times and never going in I decided to step outside my norm and try Pourhouse today.
I decided to try one of their beers that were included in their beer and a pretzel special for $ 5.99 and was really pleased with my selection. I have never had a honey brown that went down so smoothly and the pretzel was warm and fresh. I don’t even really like pretzels that much but after today I may have to become a snack convert.
I also ordered their buffalo chicken sliders for lunch and found them to be satisfactory. I will say however that if you love lots of spice they kind of miss the mark here. Their supposedly made with Franks hot sauce and much like the commercial says «I put that sh*t on everything» so I like to think I know what it tastes like and I just wasn’t tasting that here.
On the service side I felt things were decent there as well. The young lady looking after me was friendly, attentive, and seemed to know the menu really well. I will say however that I tried to leave her a reasonably good tip ($ 4.75 on an $ 18.25 bill) and she did laugh at me when she opened up the bill folder and it included about $ 1.75 of that in quarters. I did feel it was an odd thing to do and a little rude. I used to work in food service at a golf course and we were grateful for any tip we got regardless of what denomination it came in.
With all that being said however I am still a big fan of the atmosphere as well as the food and drink provided by the Pourhouse so I feel quite comfortable in giving it four stars. I will definitely be back and look forward to trying their much talked about nacho’s.

Sometimes I just want a nice pub! Yes you can get great service/​food/​fun at a dive bar pub, but for me, 99% of the time I would rather be at a pub that is also nice. Usually «nice» AKA results in a wine or scotch bar, or upscale lounge. However there are a handful of real brew-​houses that are really nice, ie. comfortable, chic, clean with really good food, and the Pourhouse fits the bill!
The menu definitely has that comfort-​food factor with burgers, dogs, poutine, mac n cheese, etc. But the quality of the ingredients is on the level of a gastro-​pub. I had an incredible lamb burger with fresh pickled beets and the creamiest goat cheese… it was to-​die for! And another mark of a really great menu (and chef in the kitchen) is a place’s side salad. So often I don’t even bother to order a side salad because it comes out as some uncared about, wilting lettuce with slimy dressing. This side salad was phenomenal! A sharp punch of ginger that lightly dresses fresh chickpeas, greens, carrots, cucumber and cherry tomatoes. Yum!
I’m sure I don’t have to go into much detail about the beer menu; it’s well thought out and very comprehensive. The décor is kitschy and cute. And playing on the TV screens is cult-​classic comedies that I grew up with: Bill And Ted’s Excellent Adventure and Ace Ventura Pet Detective… Ya, I could sit in there all day! With a great patio smack in the middle of Whyte, the Pourhouse should be on your go-​to list. Especially for lunch!

As I am sure you can tell, «Gastro Pubs» are one of my favourite places to visit. I am a bit of a beer snob, I would like to be MORE of a beer snob someday. (Of the non-​pretentious variety) Beer goes great with food, just the same as wine, only you don’t need a sommelier to pour it for you. The Pourhouse always has a rotating selection of taps and bottles as well as a regular selection. The beer are all listed by flavour profile, which makes it easier for the non beer drinkers.
Ok, now that you know you can go to Pourhouse for a great brew, let’s talk about BurlyChef Lager… Pourhouse’s heart belongs to Chef Daniel Huber. No, he isn’t the only one that brings the Pourhouse to YEG, but he is the flavour creator. He wanted to bring a «normal» beer to Pourhouse, like the one Dad used to drink when they were BBQ’ing. Before your start grumbling and complaining about the brewery he chose, please note that he did try the «local» breweries and they were not able to give him the flavour profile that he was looking for. Labbatt’s brews «Burly Chef Lager» for the Pourhouse. It is a nice, light lager that goes with anything that the menu has to offer for food. For the entire month of August, $ 1 per pint will be donated to the Bissell Centre to help them with the rebuilding of the «Thrift Shoppe» after the two devastating fires.
So on to the food… The Pourhouse isn’t just for beer. They have a great selection of food for you to choose from on their new menu\
As you can see from the photo, there are vegan and vegetarian options, as well as some gluten free items. All diet bases are covered! The menu isn’t overloaded with choices either. It is one easy to navigate page, instead of a 50 page novel.
I brought out a few members of my foodie team. Many thanks to Jocelyn (@kareokequeen11) and Michael (@MaximMicheal). It is always easier to cover a menu better with a little help from your friends!
You really need to start off with a plate of house made pretzels;
Garlic butter, rock salt, sriracha cheese sauce and mustard aioli. These are just perfect to start getting those taste-​buds prepared for what is coming up. A little salty, a little spicy and a little tangy.
It took us all a while to decide on what we wanted to eat. My husband and I had sampled some of the menu on a previous visit and we both wanted to try something that we hadn’t had before. I am rather obsessed with bacon so I chose «The Bacon Wrapped Splitter»
That is a Coney Island Hotdog! Wrapped in Bacon, then topped with smoked cheddar and roasted garlic aioli. You get your choice of sides, I chose the handmade Macaroni Salad. The Macaroni Salad has some nice heat to it and is topped with crumbled bacon and full of chunks of cheddar cheese. This was just all kinds of delicious. I crave a good hotdog every now and again. This one is crave-​worthy!
My husband was in the mood for steak; Pourhouse Steak Sandwich
This is listed as an appetizer? Dry aged, smoked grade AAA hand cut striploin with Bleu Cheese butter. Again, comes with your choice of side. My husband chose the «Ginger Bistro Salad». The portion size is generous, bigger than a lot of gastro-​pubs we have tried. The steak was a little over-​done for a medium rare, but still juicy and delicious. He commented that the bread that the steak was served on was absolutely delicious, usually it is forgettable. The Ginger Bistro Salad my husband just loved. It was nice and refreshing.
Jocelyn decided that she really didn’t want anything heavy so she just stuck with an appetizer. She had the Lobster Lager Dip.
Beer braised lobster chunks and four cheese dip served with endless crostini. I was glad to hear that the crostini is hand made for each batch. Jocelyn let me have a taste of this one. It is just wonderful stuff! I definitely wouldn’t call it light! Perfect for sharing. To me, this is comfort food at its finest.
Michael decided that he wanted to try the star of the menu. Behold, the Ramen Burger. (See photo below)
The Burly Chef made a few attempts at this trendy gem before he got a version that was worthy of the Pourhouse. Umami burger, sriracha mayo, ramen bun, arugula, and American Chedder. The pork patty is just the right combination of spices. The sriracha mayo gives it just enough kick… The ramen bun is crispy enough to keep it all together and just like that bowl of ramen that we all know and love. Pourhouse is the only place in Edmonton that you will find one of these delicious creations, and only for a limited time. Get them while you can!
Why do I love Pourhouse so much? When you support local businesses like Pourhouse, you also support local charities like
and Bissell Centre. Chef Daniel and the rest of the crew at Pourhouse like to give back to their community.

Went to a tweet up to help raise awareness on the restoration of Bissell Centre. It was my first visit here and I liked what I saw! The Bistro provided free pretzels for attendees and I am sure glad they did! I am not a big pretzel fan, although to be honest I may be now.
They were so nice and warm and fresh and, well,… nummy! They came with two types of dip. The mustard dip was a bit too strong for my palate, but the other one (a mild chipolte?) was just right.
It was quite hot out so I also had a (complimentary) house beer. I am not a beer drinker either, but man did it ever hit the spot!
Important note: Bistro says a $ 1 for every house beer ordered will be donated to Bissell Centre for the month of August 2014!

Based on my one visit so far, yay I am a fan of The Pourhouse! Seems this place has had some ups and downs, but my Friday night experience was all up, thanks to Unilocal which brought this resto to my attention.
As a cooking fan and a spice lover, I was really impressed with the complexity of the flavours and layers of spice in what is otherwise light pub fare. Allspice in the buffalo chicken sliders with bleu cheese slaw? Oh my god, marry me! Every bite was a vicarious pleasure of culinary ingenuity. I felt deliciously at home, finally Caucasian food with some real spice! This plus lovely sweet potato salad (skins on, tasty and nutritious) and I was set up for a satisfying, healthy and simply salubrious supper. Definitely way better than I expected.
My bf had the ramen burger, surprisingly lean as the umami burger is pork. I can’t generally tolerate much pork but my bf and I agreed that it was not at all greasy or fatty, and was an ideal match for the ramen. The ‘buns’ themselves are OK but don’t tend to hold things together well, I’d rather see the umami burger in a Hawaiian style bun or a pretzel bun. My bf also got the Hasselback potato as a side, but found it a little disappointing, too much potato and not enough toppings. Hasselback style we think of as each slice of the baked potato having the toppings between them, versus poured only on the top per a usual baked potato.
Great first food experience, and a different, above average beer selection on tap. Service was very friendly and efficient. Extra bonus, the music is at a level where one can hold a conversation without screaming. I will definitely be back to the Pourhouse!