Glasshouse Bistro & Cafe

I recently visited the Glasshouse Bistro with a couple of friends for brunch. Initially the appearance, layout and vibe of the whole facility is like no other. Its surrounded by greenhouses and beautiful landscaping. Its a perfect setting for formal gatherings, small events or a simple bite to eat.
However the food was nothing to write home about. The brunch menu was limited to a handful of choices, which I personally enjoy because it makes choosing a meal much easier. All of the choices on the menu seemed appealing however I wish they had maybe 1 or 2 more sweet dishes because most of the options were savoury. The orange juice was VERY fresh, a bit too fresh for my liking. It was incredibly sweet and not sour at all. I ordered the bacon and eggs with the side of potatoes and toast. The bacon had jerky type of taste and the potatoes were cooked in a bbq style fashion. they were overdone and dry. The ketchup was fresh however it did not have that classic ketchup taste, reminded me more of pasta sauce. The 4 pieces of toast were a bit excessive to eat on their own so I had to ask for some jam.
We ordered carrot cake and turtle cheesecake for dessert which was phenomenal and satisfied our taste buds.
The price is average and the service was also average. The front desk was slow to seat us, despite us having a reservation. The only reason I enjoyed it is because of the atmosphere and interior design.
It’s a great place if you’re into organic and fresh meals.

Very disappointing. I spent almost $ 20 for a panini and a slice of carrot cake. The cake was absolutely delicious and I’d definitely order it again. Unfortunately their cooked/​prepared food wasn’t. My panini was very flavourless. All I could taste was meat. The bread wasn’t proper panini bread (pretty much the size of standard wonder bread toast) it was very thin so it kept breaking. They only put a tiny bit of basil spread so I couldn’t taste it either. Definitely not a sandwich worth $ 11 maybe $ 7 at best. I’ve had way better panini’s for much cheaper.
My friend ordered the tomato soup and she said it was very bland and they didn’t serve crackers which is a losing point. It’s a very beautiful bistro but they either need to lower the price to reflect the food quality or hire a chef who knows how to cook. I’d go here again but just for their dessert.

The alberta beef goulash served in a potato pancake with seasonal root vegetables… mmm. Also The Winter Tart which is essentially a tartine with spinach, beet, and goat cheese, also delicious. These are selections from the winter menu. We also had an almond carrot cake dessert with icing that was lick the plate no matter how impolite good. The atmosphere of all windows, fresh flowers, starlit sky and huge space with high high ceilings is relaxing, urbane and upscale. For me, this is comfortable fine dining. Also the service was informed and attentive without being smothering. Go on a date or go with the kids, either would be fine.

You know that feeling when Charlie goes into Willy Wonka’s factory and he’s a little apprehensive and excited at just how huge and magical it is? When Andrew and I stepped foot into the Enjoy Centre for the first time, that’s what it felt like.
We had no idea where the Glasshouse Bistro was. We walked in through the market and just kept walking… I kept getting distracted at the beautiful Christmas stuff on display. Finally my hunger got the better of me and I peeled my eyes away from potential gifts (for myself?) and forged onwards. Not ten steps out I spot a sign that says Glasshouse Bistro so we edge forward, looking like the rookies to this massive place that we were.
Glasshouse Bistro is gorgeous. They’ve got booths and tables in open space, fresh flowers at each table in cute, short glassware (I love this. Can you imagine trying to talk over a giant vase of flowers?!). There is ample space between tables so you never feel claustrophobic and can have a comfortable conversation with friends. I ordered their pumpkin seed super salad (this is not the official name) and Andrew ordered corn cakes. I almost wish I ordered the corn cakes because holy heck they were de-​freaking-​licious. But I’ll let Andrew talk about that. My salad was no sore loser, it had pumpkin seed with chicken breast, greens, alfalfa, butternut squash, cubes of feta. It was honestly huge and packed with nutrients. The best part was it was so fresh. Andrew’s corn cakes, a cup of coffee, salad, a small cup of fresh pressed orange juice, and bread pudding set us back about $ 65. Pretty steep for a lunch for 2, but I was happy and satisfied afterwards.
The verdict? I will definitely come back once in a while to check out their updated menus as the seasons change!

I would have really liked to get an ice chai latte the other day but you wouldn’t serve me. Don’t worry, it’s not racism. I showered and brushed my teeth and carefully drew my eyebrows in. I am pretty sure I had clean underwear on too, but there’s no way to confirm that. All I needed was breakfast to be more human. I looked forward my whole drive to the venue to that creamy ice cold chai. But alas… no chai for me. I wish your manager had the foresight to open the coffee bar at least 30 minutes early this past Sunday because over 200 vendors and guests came early to the craft show to get breakfast and coffee. So at the stroke of 10am you opened but so did we. We got no coffee. It was majorly sad. Especially for those that had hangovers. You really screwed the pooch on that one. If you want to make it up to us, we really like the tomato and olive pastry, so please make those free next time.

We had a great experience last time that we went here. The ambience is pretty much suited for a fine class in an earthly and peaceful way type of dining. My family and my boyfriend loved the soup that we all have for appetizer, and all of us order the special that they have on that day which is «the duck» and we got no regrets for not changing our decision. The duck was perfectly cooked, the salad and oranges that comes along with it also blends along with the flavor when you put them altogether. The service was great and overall, they all enjoy it.

I came here yesterday with friends while attending the Make It Fair in the same building. As there are limited dining options in this building, my friends and I headed to this café to grab a warm drink and a snack to tie us over until our late supper date. While waiting in line to order our drinks, I see an employee of the café come out to change the sign on the counter to indicate the café was now closed. No biggie, since we were the last people in line with a small handful in front of us.
Shortly afterwards, a young gentleman comes up to us to let us know the café is now closed and that WE had to let anyone else know who showed up after us that it was now closed. Um… excuse me? That was very off putting and it definitely wasn’t OUR job to let customers know they were out of luck. In any case, we did as we were told and had to let some customers know we were the last to be served.
Once we made it to the counter, I asked the young lady behind the till if the pastries could be warmed up since they were made early that morning, and it was now 7pm. She replied that no it was not possible to heat them up. Because of this, I didn’t order the croissant, and instead grabbed a cookie from the front counter that was prepackaged and a whopping $ 3.50. I also ordered my warm drink. My next friend after me ordered the same thing as me because of the fact that the pastries couldn’t heated up. And lastly, the third friend in the group asked the same thing (unknowingly) since she wasn’t close enough to hear my original question, and was told by the young man earlier, who happened to be near the till at the time, that yes it was possible. By this time I was already waiting around the corner to get my warm dirnk when I heard her response. Oh how infuriating!!! How hard is it to either give someone the right answer or stop being so lazy because it’s the end of the day??? My overpriced cookie was almost double the cost of the pastry and it tasted horrible of course only because I knew my friend and I had been lied to. I was so mad I asked for the manager but he wasn’t on call. Instead, I was given a business card to call.
Worse customer service ever here.

I recently had lunch at the Glasshouse Bistro at the Enjoy Centre in St Albert.
I really enjoy coming here for brunch/​lunch since they use all local and organic ingredients.
I had the soba noodle and roasted beets salad for $ 14 with an Earl Grey tea.
This was one of the best salads I’ve had in a restaurant in a long time! So good! Roasted walnuts, white beans were also in this salad. It was such an interesting mix!
One thing is since this restaurant is in a greenhouse, I find the temperature can go up or down. It was quite warm the day I went with the sun beaming in. Great atmosphere though!

I so love this place and the Enjoy Center! We came here on a weekend with our kids in a double chariot jogging stroller. Our kids are 3 and 1. No one batted an eye and mentioned that there were some kid’s items we could order. I wanted to sit down in the restaurant so they led us to a table with plenty of space to park the stroller and brought a high chair. The servers were friendly with our kids and brought the children’s meal straight away as we had requested. You gotta ask for the kid’s food right away if they’re hungry! The kid’s pasta was a bowl of penne with tomato sauce. It was a healthy portion and could have fed me. The atmosphere, service, food and price points make us want to return for another lunch or possibly dinner in the future.

This place and experience is fantastic. Housed in what I’m guessing is a 100,000+ eco friendly greenhouse environment called the Enjoy Center, Glasshouse Bistro provides delicious, contemporary, healthy bistro fare in a stunning open concept space within the Greenhouse. I’m guessing 50 foot ceilings and wrap around walls of glass are the backdrop for this stylish white table cloth space. Crossing an outdoor suspension bridge takes to a semi enclosed U-​shaped dining and bar deck.
The food is healthy and tasty, Lots of dishes paired with Kale and other seasonal offerings. The Angus burger was one of the best I’ve had in recent memory and the short ribs looked sensational. Generous portion sizes and charming professional servers.
Aside from being a large nursery, the center, which is open plan as well, houses a health and beauty wellness center/​spa, organic and natural food store and deli offering products from small and local farms, a hip gardening supply store, swank bar area, euro style coffee bar and other cool stuff. More stuff is in the works.
I put a word in with the big man (owner) for an indoor waterfall, so that the soothing, theraputic sound of falling water can permeate the space so we’ll see what happens. We need one of these places in Chicago.

I experienced this café for the first time while hosting my wedding rehearsal dinner, so the «side» that I saw was really more restaurant than it was café.
I called to book a reservation for 30 people, and was told I’d be called back by a manager in order to arrange this. Never hear back, so I called 2 days later and spoke with a manager — we got through some details and she advised that they typically pare down their menu to accommodate large groups (no problem, they still accommodated our allergy concerns and had a good selection for kids) and that she would email me a sample menu. 2 days go by, no email. I called again and this time I got the email.
So, taking almost a week to book a reservation is a little annoying, but I think the beautiful light-​filled room that they set up with centrepeices for us made up for that.
Food was delicious but CRAZY expensive for what they call a café. $ 22 for a chicken sandwich is pretty steep. Service was a little slow but that’s to be somewhat expected when you have a group of 30.
Overall, still nice, and I would go again, but be aware of the steep prices.

The Glasshouse Bistro is located in The Enjoy Centre in St. Albert. It is uniquely set up as a café on one side, if you’re just stopping by for a quick soup and sandwich; and a full service restaurant on the other. Alcohol is served on both sides.
The view is an absolute delight. Although Alberta is not quite green, just yet, the sun shining into this modern, open concept restaurant is a treat you can’t find anywhere else in the city.
I ordered the stuffed chicken which was served with perfectly cooked polenta cakes and seasonal vegetables (including novelty purple cauliflower!).
Food was great. Good value for the money and a nice sized portion. The wine menu is thorough and our waitress had exceptional knowledge of her wine and food menus.
Added bonus. Most everything is local! Or as local as they can get ie. B.C. salmon. So we’re supporting our local farmers and community. The herbs are grown fresh, in-​house.
Overall, a really great experience. The patio looks super cool — it’s an extension of the building so I’ll definitely be coming back in summer. Brunch is also served (possibly on weekends only) which would be a nice change from the same ol’ same ol’.

I love the setup of this little bistro. Located on the upper floor of The Enjoy Centre, the space is full of light and feels very open and inviting.
I dined here for brunch and ordered the Corn Cakes, which come with a poached egg, avocado salsa and a (local) chili and fennel sausage. Delicious! Everything tasted fresh and flavourful, and the sausage was hearty and not greasy. Others at my table also enjoyed their meals.
Prices are on the higher end, but not at all unreasonable. I would definitely dine here again. Recommended!

I tried Glasshouse for the first time last night and I was very underwhelmed. we were one of the very few tables on a Friday night.
My friend and I wanted to try a few things so decided to order the fixed 3 course dinner and two other items. The fixed menu was good value at $ 35, if the food had all been good. It started with coconut mussels, which there were only four of. They were okay, but a little too «coconutty». The real disappointment was the main, sable fish served over sushi rice. The fish wasn’t fully cooked. Our server kindly took it back to the kitchen. It came back, the same piece of fish (heated up) and rearranged on the plate, from the manager who made us feel that we didn’t know how fish should be cooked. Thank goodness, the dessert was great. It was a banana cream tart. The pastry and cream were homemade and very fresh.
We also ordered the beet salad, which was more of a cheese appetizer with bread, lettuce and beets on the side. The lettuce had no dressing, but the bread was fresh and the carmelized onions added some good flavour.
The last item we ordered was a cauliflower, chorizo, cheese pot which was good, but nothing too exciting.
Even though the food was underwhelming, the wine was good and our server was FANTASTIC. He was friendly and all too happy to make us happy. He took $ 50 off our bill which was way more than he needed to do. This is a case that proves service is just as important as the quality of food… in a great way.

The Iconoclast drip coffee was delightful. Iconoclast is an Edmonton-​based company that roasts their own beans and does everything by hand. The result: a gorgeous cup of Joe.
Glasshouse’s Local Yogurt and House Muesli is served with house-​made fruit compote. It’s creamy, crunchy, and tart with every bite. For $ 4, you get a veritable parfait-​sized portion and it’s just. so. good.
The Roasted Beet Salad came with an unusual but very tasty hemp heart-​crusted goat cheese topping, along with onion jam, cold-​pressed hemp balsamic vinaigrette, and walnut/​apricot crackers. The beets were perfectly roasted and the goat cheese added a beautiful savoury edge to the otherwise light salad.
The French Toast came loaded with smoked Polish cheese, rosemary and apple compote, and Sandyview Farms double smoked bacon. A gigantic stack of sweetness tempered with savoury elements, the Glasshouse’s French Toast is the perfect way to heartily indulge yourself on a Sunday morning. You won’t be eating much else for most of the day, that’s for certain.
If you fancy a more traditional brunch option, try the Farmer’s Scramble. Made with Sandyview Farms chorizo, local eggs, blue and russet potatoes, herbed winter vegetables, and whole grain toast, the Scramble is one perfectly-​made bowl of brunchy goodness. The bistro uses good quality chorizo; you can tell the difference from pre-​cooked, frozen, or cheap varieties because the chorizo at the Glasshouse doesn’t taste greasy. It doesn’t taste like a deep fryer. It’s firm, flavourful, and clearly has a lower fat content than the cheaper versions. Chorizo 101: if you want a quality sausage, try to find an authentic Spanish chorizo with a lower fat content (less than 30%). The greasier the sausage, the cheaper the chorizo.
We feasted at the Glasshouse during this brunch session. I highly recommend it for Sunday brunch-​goers; give them a call to make a reservation first, since it gets pretty busy. The restaurant also offers an everyday menu that includes Roasted Trout Nicoise Salad, Baked Brie, a Winter Jacket Burger, and Coq Au Vin. It’s a diverse menu but I’ve no doubt of Glasshouse Bistro’s ability to make it shine.

Amazing. Every appetizer, every dish… All to die for. Spinach and artichoke dip like no where else. A pulled pork sandwich on a brioche bun… Unbelievable. Great service and great atmosphere. Highly recommended.

Much like a good portion of the other reviews, i was quite pleased with the design and atmosphere of the Glasshouse Bistro, but the service was sub-​par at best. Our server was nice, and took generally good care of us, but also seemed to want us out just as soon as she took our plates away. I was out for a nice dinner with some girlfriends so of course we wanted to stay and visit for a bit. Our server came around to our table probably every 5 – 10 minutes asking if we wanted to pay our bill yet. Very annoying.
One of my friends ordered a diet coke, and chicken club sandwich with no tomato jam or onions. I ordered the exact same and got exactly what i ordered. My friend on the other hand got a regular coke, and her sandwich had BOTH the tomato jam & onions. Mistakes happen, we get it, we’re all human, but it still didn’t help with our first experience there.
As this restaurant is part of a greenhouse, a little bit of «nature» is to be expected, but we had 2 good sized spiders join our table which wasn’t very appetizing. On the floor right beside our table there was also a very large dead bee. The spiders are not really the restaurants fault, but again, it was part of the whole experience to which i am reviewing.
The food i thought was quite good however. As i said previously, i had the chicken club, and i was pleased with it. They have 3 sides to choose from i believe it was, i chose the potato salad. It had quite the kick to it. I had also ordered an iced tea, but they do not have regular iced tea, they have a home-​brewed iced tea which is much like the only option the United States offers; regular brewed tea. It was excellent.
Overall i enjoyed the restaurant. We were seated along side the glass and had a nice view of the lake. I would go back and recommend it to others.

I feel like the reviews for this bistro are talking about two different restaurants! People keep referring to Prairie Bistro, which makes me wonder if it had a different name and menu at one point.
I can’t speak to the previous incarnation of the restaurant at the Enjoy Centre, but Glasshouse Bistro is quite nice.
Tucked away from the hustle-​and-​bustle of commerce that is the rest of the Enjoy Centre, Glasshouse is bright and open. The atmosphere is nice, although the service is a bit shaky. As my wife and I approached the «please wait to be seated» sign, a bartender from the café/​take-​away counter yelled at us to stop and try some wine samples. We declined (partly because we didn’t appreciate being yelled at and partially because the samples weren’t free) and proceeded into the restaurant.
Our waitress was generally good, but the initial experience of being yelled at from across the room put a bit of a damper on things.
The menu at Glasshouse is small, but all of the items on it look good. The drink menu is also quite good. As a fan of quality beer, I’m happy to see that they have put careful thought into their small beer selection. In addition to a variety of Canadian and international bottled craft beer, Glasshouse has locally-​brewed Yellowhead on tap.
I ordered the steak sandwich. Too often, steak sandwiches are little more than a slab of meat on a toasted baguette. Glasshouse’s version has sweet onions, a herb mayo, greens, and delicious fresh bread. It would have been nice if the bread was a bit thicker, because it soaked up too much of the mayo and steak juices and was quite soggy by the end of the meal, but overall this was an excellent steak sandwich.
My wife had the roasted beet salad with a side of steak. The salad was very good, although she complained that her steak wasn’t very flavourful. Both of our steaks were cooked perfectly to order, though.
Most of the prices on the menu were quite reasonable. Some of the other reviews say that they were too high, but I didn’t find that to be the case. I also didn’t find the menu or servers to be snotty or bragging about their local ingredients (in fact, the only mention of local ingredients I noticed on the menu was that the steaks came from a particular farm). This is a major reason why I suspect that this restaurant used to have a different name and menu.
Glasshouse Bistro is a nice place for a relaxed meal after a day of perusing the Enjoy Centre. The view in the winter and early spring isn’t the best, but I imagine that it would be a nice view in the summer when the greenery has returned.
I’m giving three stars instead of four or five due to some issues with the service («Hey! Stop! Try some wine!») and the fact that my wife’s steak didn’t have much flavour, but I will definitely be back and expect that the experience will improve in the future.