🍽️ Restaurant Review:
📍 Quick Facts
- Location: 1918 Kensington Rd NW, Calgary
- Phone Number: (587) 352-1918
- Website: https://thelodgecalgary.com/
- Cuisine Type: Contemporary Canadian
After freezing through a rainy football game, Geoff and I were more than ready for a warm meal and somewhere cozy to thaw out. We quickly made a reservation and headed straight to The Lodge.
Parking took a couple of loops around the block, but we eventually found a spot nearby.
Hurrying under our umbrella, we made our way around the side of the building and slipped through a propped-open door, only to discover we had entered through the restaurant’s rear entrance.
A staff member greeted us after a few minutes and sat us at one of the tables near the back door. There were two high-top tables and one standard table tucked behind the oversized Nordic-spa-style booths, with nothing else around us to add any atmosphere. The high backs of the booths completely separated this little section from the main dining room, to the point that we had to crane our necks to see the other diners. It felt less like a designated dining area and more like tables had been added simply to fill the space, and we felt isolated and completely forgotten.
Tired of waiting, we walked around to the front hostess stand, only to have the same staff member tell us there were no tables left—even though we could clearly see two empty ones in the main dining area.
They told us the tables were reserved, but once we asked for a manager, the story shifted. The manager explained that there was a wedding party in-house and kindly let us choose between the two tables in the main dining area.
Once we were finally settled with menus and water, we could appreciate the stunning chalet-style interior. A central faux fireplace anchors the room, surrounded by cozy wood panelling, skis, a deer head and other sports-themed décor. The oversized booths are designed to look like huge Nordic-style hot tubs, with wooden exteriors that felt incredibly inviting on such a miserable day.
However, after our initial seating hiccup, the service shifted from invisible to slightly overwhelming. It felt as though word had travelled that we had asked for another table, and suddenly every single server was stopping by to check on us. While attentiveness is usually a good thing, this felt a bit over the top.
We ordered French onion soup to help us thaw out, and it arrived looking gorgeous, served in a white-handled bowl with a perfectly crusted layer of cheese and croutons on top.
Unfortunately, for our taste, the soup was far too thick and tasted more like an over-reduced, canned Bovril base than a scratch-made broth. It was quite heavy on the thyme.
For our mains, we went with the fish and chips and a club sandwich. The two dishes arrived with completely different types of fries. The fish came with regular, straight-cut fries which, unfortunately, tasted like cardboard. The fish itself, however, was exceptional. It was easily the best fish we have had since moving to Calgary, with perfectly crispy batter, light and flaky fish and excellent tartar sauce.
The club sandwich was also quite good, elevated by a tasty garlic aioli, but we were disappointed by the use of a processed round turkey roll. At a restaurant of this quality, we expected real, carved turkey. The shoestring fries that came with the sandwich were served in a wire basket and were only marginally better than the straight-cut ones.
The Lodge has plenty of charm, and that fish alone gives us a very good reason to return. But between the awkward service and the hit-and-miss food, our cozy escape from the rain left us with mixed feelings.
📊 Scorecard
🍴 FOOD — 3.5 / 5
✨ EXPERIENCE — 4/ 5
Average of Service & Hospitality, Atmosphere & Vibe, and Value for Money.
• Service & Hospitality — 3.5/ 5
• Atmosphere & Vibe — 4.5 / 5
• Value for Money — 4 / 5
