National

I preface this by saying I have only gone here once in the evening, and I think it was a Wednesday. Mostly, I go there for boozy brunch on weekends. For that, it is awesome. I love how the space has so many windows to let it the sunlight, and their beer selection is pretty good. I went there for oysters once, and that was also fun– not sure if I’d want to brave it on a Saturday night.

It is next to the ship and anchor. Why would you go to to the National? Well if the lineup at the ship is too long then ok, go to the national otherwise, what we’re you thinking!!!

I’m giving only one star because of the service. Food and beer was great but the server Molly was not good at all. Not attentive at all, walking away before all questions were answered, not checking in on how we were doing, etc. We took initial orders at 2:57 and she gave us a nasty look because we asked for the happy hour prices which are from 3 – 6. Maybe this was a one off thing but my first experience here wasn’t pleasant.

I want to like this place. I really do.
But the service sucks.
I could deal with the pricey menu if the service was passable. The food is delicious, the beer list is impressive, and the mixed drinks (especially their Pimm’s cup) are fantastic. Not to mention their location is primo.
I’ve been here a number of times and not once can I say I have received adequate service. This most recent experience prompted me to write this review. The waitress more or less ignored half of our party, and the number of times she came to our table were few and far between. On top of that, they had the audacity to include a 19% or 20% gratuity on our bill without any indication prior to ordering. This pretty much guarantees that I will not return. If an auto-​gratuity is going to be required, at least give service that is worthy of that much money.

I have a love hate relationship with this place. It was waaay better when it first opened. They used to have the best fish tacos in the city. Super fresh and not deep fried. But recently was back there and the fish tacos are now battered and fried :(I also don’t like that the cocktails come in these teenie tiny minuscule cups. The wine portions are pretty brutal for a $ 12 glass of cab. If you love beer and burgers, this place would be right up your alley.

I did lots and lots of research on where I should go while visiting Calgary. National did not come up on any of those lists. I passed by National while walking around 17^th, and thought it was as great space. I decided to give it a try. I walked in and was blown away by the German Style, open table/​space concept. They had TONS of beers on tap with some tv screens displaying what beers they had and where they were from.
I sat at the bar, and the breakfast poutine was highly recommended by someone sitting next to me. Glad I ordered it! It had great vegetables, tater tots, cheese curds and some really good gravy, all topped with a fried egg. it was very very good! The only thing that it was lacking (and this is just a personal preference of mine) was some spicy. Luckily, they had tons of hot sauces to choose from!

I was impressed with the beers they had on tap! I have celiac so I can’t drink them but they did have some ciders on tap. I had their chicken wings and tater tots and it was a perfect bar snack to have! I went on wing night and for 5 bucks you do get a lot. I had the sweet chili flavour and it was delicious!

Went there mid week for a bite after work. Luckily I was there for the $ 1 oyster night. The bar was not busy so the service was fast and efficient. The bartender really pointed me in the right beer direction. It is nice to have some samples before you commit to a pint. I also ordered the burger. It was clear that the beef was fresh. I really enjoyed it. All in all the service and food were excellent.

Ehh.
I can see why this place has a low rating. The servers seemed depressed and so did the food. The mixed drinks were awful. We had the Oysters and were asked if we wanted west coast or east coast. Not too descriptive, but went with it. We ordered West Coast and they did not taste like any west coast oysters I have ever had. Won’t be a next time for this place. So many places to try!!!

We visited here not too long ago and went out with our cousins and friends for a bit of Sunday Funday action. Foodwise we ordered several dishes — and everything I ate had really good presentation. To drink, I ordered a moscow mule which was made really well.
Overall, I had a blast. What I didn’t like was the staff — though our server/​waitress was fine and nice enough. We asked several waitresses a question about wifi and they were dismissive and not really helpful. Had the staff just been overall more helpful I would have rated this higher because this is a great spot to hang out at otherwise.

This location is not up to the standards of the others in the city. We’ve been here twice, and that’s enough. One thing I will never understand is a server who forgets about a table who has no beer. Beer is a great way to drive revenue at your pub, hence most servers come by before you’re even done. This one forgot about us for lengths at a time, on a day where it was very quiet in the restaurant.
We had a few friends who ordered food. Two were forgotten, one got the wrong order, and the other was charged for something complete different than what they received. One of the two that never got their food (1 hour wait) just cancelled, the other said she’d still take it but just bring it to go as we wanted to just leave. Of course, it was not brought to-​go. At this point the situation was just funny. More of a cringey nightmare than anything.
In summary: Forgot orders, brought the wrong orders, ignored requests, overcharged, forgot about the table, and then still wanted to point out to us that «that doesn’t cover the tip». Right. Not going back here. Extremely poor management.
We should all demand more out of our pubs!

I thought I would update my review, as this particular National — on 17^th avenue has now continually disappointed in regards to service, quality, and staff.
We love the National chains throughout Calgary, and go to all of them frequently for their great weekly deals, $ 5 happy hour, and great menu. This location seriously has some issues with staff and quality control it seems, as the past 3 visits have all been terrible.
Our most recent trip, our server knew absolutely nothing about the beer selections — how do you hire someone at a beer market who has no knowledge of beer?! Whatever, we made our choices and then our friends ordered food and appetizers. The appys came out promptly. We then waited almost an hour for the entrée. Clearly there was some disconnect between the server and the kitchen, or the server forgot to enter the entrees. Something went wrong either way. We got a quick apology and the server did remove the entrée from the bill. However, when it did arrive there were multiple hairs in the food!!!
Our 3 hour visit to this National, the server barely asked us how we were, was extremely abrupt, and we basically had to flag her down to get a new beer. Frequently she’d miss 1 of us at the table and then walk away leaving that person without a beer until she decided to show up again.
I decided I wanted to order a dessert, and asked for the fiasco gelato cookie dish. The menu doesn’t really explain what it is, but my impression it was gelato with cookies, or some kind of ice cream sandwich. A few minutes later a guy walks over and plops a big bowl of ice cream down without saying ANYTHING. Definitely didn’t match the description on the menu and no one even bothered to communicate with us. Had our server said they were out of cookies I’d have definitely not ordered it, but was now expected to eat this makeshift dessert…
I will definitely be going back to other National locations, but am now avoiding this one, as there is a clear disconnect between customer, server, and quality that patrons have come to expect from the National brand.

Review: 3.8(ish)
The overall restaurant is fine. Service can take a while depending on the crowd. Patio has it toughest because the bussers and wait staff tend to it second after the crowd inside. The beer selection is alright. Decent selection. The menu can be a bit pricey, and depending on what you order, you may be a bit disappointed in the portions. But their daily specials are often great. Tuesdays it’s oysters, and Wednesdays it’s $ 5 for a pound of wings (~8−10 wings).
Fair warning: do not drop in during a game/​right before a game. You will most likely not find a seat, even though it’s a communal restaurant (because all of the tables are already reserved or are preoccupied by other people.) The only real gripe I could have with this place is how long it took our food to get to the table and getting the staff’s attention. I realise that they do indeed have other people to get to, so maybe having more staff on waiting tables would be nice.
As for the 25 & over rule for the weekends, It is indeed illegal to discriminate anyone in Canada based off of their age. But it’s also understandable to the restaurant owners. People under 25 can get out of sorts when in a bar, I’m not implying that people over 25 are immune to the effects alcohol has on their ability to make decisions, but I wouldn’t want a 20 something trying to start a fight or trying to impress their friends by being a menace in my bar. I’ve never had to deal with this, though I am under 25, so I can’t confirm whether or not this age discrimination is true or not. Perhaps they only turn away groups of men that look like they would pose a hazard for other bar patrons.

Now this is a spot for people watching, beer drinking and getting your grub on!
I do the first and second on my first trip here.
Being an out-​of-​towner this was a fun place to enjoy a cold beverage while chatting with a co-​worker and getting to feel like I was out in it, and a part of the town. This feels like a hardcore local spot and I am glad it’s so inviting at the same time.
The beer selection was great, and we even got our table neighbors extra fries that they mysteriously had show up at their table, and more mysteriously decided to give to us! Yes!
Next time I’m on the ‘Red Mile’ I’ll want to come back for sure.

Brutal:
Great location, great facility, clean bathroom.
The service was the worst I’ve had in years, maybe ever. It took 90 minutes from the time I entered the establishment to the time I left. I had a ceasar salad and a water.
How??? How??? How??? Could this order take over 60 minutes to prepare. Most establishments want to turn over the table and get the next customer.
The salad itself was wilted and on par with fast food quality which is OK for 8 bucks, but not for 18.00.
I won’t return until I’ve heard there is a change of management.

I was very excited to try this establishment out and left very disappointed. It was very busy with all indoor seating full. The patio was open so we sat there and waited and waited and waited and waited. No greeting, no server, no busser to clear the dirty table. As I looked to see if I was missing something, a couple girls sat at the next table informed us we had to order at the bar. There was no service on the patio. So my friend and I went to the bar leaving our ladies to hold the table. After waiting a good 15 min to order a drink and not even being acknowledged by the bar staff, we said screw it and left.
Easily wasted 45 min here and got nothing out of it. Went next door to the Ship and got a table, got beers and lunch all inside an hour.
I guess I will likely give National a try again but WOW what a let down! !

On our first night in Calgary, we decided to head up to 17^th Avenue in downtown. This pocket of the neighborhood is known for its patio bars and restaurants, so there were plenty of places to choose from. Eventually the crowd and patio at NATIONAL made us choose this resturant. Inside, the ambience is is interesting; long wooden patio style table with attached benches all around, long bar counters, electonic billboard menus of all their beers on tap, open concept, dim lighting, etc. Its truly a one of a kind, and I see why this place can draw many patrons.
Since we ate earlier my coworker and I settled for their local draught and shared their Lamb Sausage pizza. When this dish came out, though it had a gamey type of smell it tasted awesome! ingredients used was quite unique; tzatziki sauce, mint, topped off with zuchinni strings.
Overall we both took a chance on this dish, and it paid off! the presentation was bang-​on! our server was great! the ambience is great.
National is definitely a hotspot on 17^th avenue… but if you’re looking for coziness, or a nice quiet place to eat, this should not be your venue of choice, but great place overall if you’re with a group of friends.

All Aboard! Jump on the bandwagon and pony up to the bar on the National Express. This train of draft and debauchery is departing 7 days a week — and is always a good time!
From raucous good convos with complete strangers you meet at the German style beerhall tables, to the glorious patio, this place has got it all. So take a gander at the flickering list of brews on the numerous boards, order some tasty treats like the tater-​tots, duck nuggets or beer cheese spread & pretzel bread, and prepare to have a grand ‘ol time!
I can’t wait to pop in for a Buck-​A-​Shuck night next time (I believe that’s on Tuesday).

The great Calgarian Beer Hall! It’s places like National that have helped turn beer geekyness into total awesomeness and changed the whole vibe around what it means to go out in Calgary. National is styley enough that you won’t feel out of place if you’re still donning your power tie from the that international deal you closed like a boss earlier that day and are now pounding back pints with with your colleagues. And it’s casual enough that you’ll still feel at home in a pair of jeans and your best ironic moustache.
I gotta say, I’m a pretty big fan of the picnic table style seating that National is known for. You just get a little more interaction with the people around you. Believe it or not, 9 times out of 10 your neighbours will turn out to be pretty decent humans and you’ll wind up making some new beer friends, even if only for the next hour. At the very least you go, «Excuse me, is anyone sitting here?» and they go «No, go ahead.» Crack. That little bit of ice is broken.
The beer selection is… I believe the correct term is «off the heezy», possibly «hizzle», I’m not sure, but it’s really really good. It’s broken up by category so you can go with a type you love and then go to town. And if you REALLY want to go to town, they’ve got «Session Sundays.» $ 6.50 20oz pints of EVERYTHING. Village Brewery Blonde? $ 6.50. Rogue IPA? $ 6.50. Bud lite? GET OUT.
Scotch Egg — This is a wonderful piece of beer hall food I happened upon last night. It’s a soft boiled egg coated in in sausage and breading and then deep fried for $ 5. It’s a great little one person snack for when you get the munchies. It’s also a pretty good conversation starter. People can’t fight the mystique of the scotch egg. They’ll ask you about it with a slightly jealous curiosity and it’s not big enough that you’ll feel obligated to share with your friends.

Like their snack-​y items. where can u find corn dogs, raw oysters, scotch egg, and lobster/​duck poutine?! hehe.
Cool little ticker type menu boards
picnic table /​mess hall set up.
Crowded, loud, great atmosphere!