The Big Cheese Poutinerie

Hmmmm… I like that they cut the potatoes & fry them fresh. The gravy was good, but I don’t quite understand the curds. They add texture, but zero flavor. It was almost impossible to eat a small due to the texture & one dimensional flavor. We were searching for fries that had a little bit of crispness to break up the mushiness. I would definitely recommend asking for the fries well done/​extra crispy.

The thing about The Big Cheese Poutinerie is that the cheese is squeeky.
Like, alright poutine, but so damn squeeky.
If you don’t know what I mean, check out the Big Cheese Poutinerie and find out for yourself… if you dare.

The girl at the counter at the 17 Ave location ignored us and said she doesn’t take the Groupon cash only
When asked what store does she told me the other store in Kensington
I asked her where was it and she had no idea :(
Not impressed by her paying more attention to here text messages than her customers
Came into the kensington location 207 10 th st Nw and was Treated Way better !!
day and night experience !
I do recommend the Kensington location !

The one they have in Kensington is definitely better. Maybe the other options would taste better but i got the butter chicken and it tasted funky. so skip that if you decide to eat here.

Are you drunk? Is it 2am? If so, grab some poutine, head straight home, and enjoy some delicious poutine in bed.

My very first poutine in Canada. Awesome.
My friend and I shared the one with steak and cheese. Adding $ 3 for a larger portion was a nice deal. Very full and satisfied though I expect a bit more steak. If we weren’t here at Calgary as a day trip, we are so gonna ry more flavours.

Being from out-​of-​town we spent a lot of time searching for the best poutine in Calgary and were largely disappointed. The Big Cheese continually showed on lists so we drove downtown to taste the fare. We quickly learned that this place is a strong average. It’s nowhere near the best poutine you’ve had (unless you’ve never left Calgary) and way better than the worst. Service is average, too. The girl at the counter was emotionless. Almost mute.
Who cares? We came for the food, right? Before coming, ask yourself a question. Have you been drinking or not? If you’ve been enjoying the scene on the Red Mile, you’ll probably say this place is awesome. It’s a great late night option for those hitting up the bar scene. Meanwhile, if you’re sober and simply looking for a bite there far better choices on the strip.
Fortunately, the portions are fair and is the amount of toppings you’ll find on the fries. The fresh cut fries can be paired with an endless amount of toppings, and enough curd chunks to make you full in a few bites. In short, if you are in search of poutine this spot will suit you well.

They have quite the extensive menu, all poutine based. This was my first time having this treat in Canada itself. We had the peppercorn chicken, a small. Now if splitting, the small is just a snack size for two. If you’re hungry j recommend getting your own. There wasn’t much chicken in our poutine, so I was a little disappointed in that sense. Overall poutine is a decent dish. The environment here is pretty chill, casual, laid back. Nice place to stop in for a snack!

I’ve been here a few times and my most recent visit here was to bring my out of town family for a taste of Canadian fare. I had the beef donair Poutine and was very satisfied with my choice.
Starting with the fries, they were the home cut style fry, which is probably one of the best cuts for a Poutine. They were crisp and still had substance on the inside. The seasoned beef and onions were delicious and had a hint of the sweet sauce flavour that a donair ought to have. All around a delicious helping where the small size is good for two.
I will definitely have to come back here to try more of the flavour combinations. Definitely a great late night after bar snack as well!

DO NOT ORDER THE HORRIBLE MILKSHAKES. Worst milkshakes ever and the cashier had a HORRIBLE attitude. If you’re miserable work somewhere where you don’t have to deal with living people. Extremely rude. Wasn’t that great. I would definitely NOT go back. Get fries and gravy at KFC instead. Tastes better and no attitude from the wannabe hipster cashier. Boo on her.

First time trying poutine, got the traditional. It was good! Service was fast but not that friendly.

Jade Moore is such a delight every time I go. Which is often. I look forward to seeing her because she always cheers me up after a long day. The food is great and so are the new milkshakes. The store is clean which is great since I have a cleaning business so I know!! Lol. She always asks if I want a drink which brings up sales I’m sure. Keep up the great work and I look forward to eating there again as I always do! Steve from #getalifecleanerinc.

Five stars hands down!
I am a proud Canadian and have had my fair share of poutines, but last night I felt like my taste buds had finally been awakened.
Word on the street is they are getting a food truck! Look out Food Truck Frenzy, things are about to get cheesy!

This place was not what it was chocked up to be. I went in Thursday afternoon with a friend. I had heard good things, and wanted to try it out. I love poutine.
The cashier was so stoned she couldn’t understand a word we said to her. My bud tried to make conversation and she just stared blankly. Did not smile, say hello, goodbye, or thanks for coming. Less actual service than you’d get from the worst McDonalds restaurant. The cook in the back looked pretty ripped too. By the time we got the food I was already discouraged.
The poutine was mediocre, nothing I would recommend you go out of your way for as we did. I just got a regular poutine. My friend said his tortilla poutine or whatever was good, but he’s from Columbia and just didn’t want to offend me I guess.
⁰⁄₁₀ cheese curds. McDonalds makes better poutine.

As a vegetarian, I know some people will say I am not knowledgeable enough to review a poutine place; however, I have lived in Montréal & in Ottawa, where I have had many authentic plates of this Quebec specialty. Plus, I know a good curd & a proper frite when I taste one!
The pros at the Big Cheese:
1) lots of options, even for vegetarians
2) the vegetarian «sauce» is pretty good, a bit peppery.
The cons:
1) curds are low quality. I understand they have to refrigerate them here (unlike Quebec & Ottawa) so you won’t get the full squeak, but these were still below par even for Alberta
2) 2 of the 3 times I ate there, some of the fries were overdone to the point of being rock hard. Even the ones that had been soaking in sauce at the bottom of the container were too tough to stick a fork into. The first time, I assumed this was a fluke, but a repeat episode sadly proved me wrong.
Won’t be back.

Today was a cold and blustery day in fine YYC. Having to brave the blowing snow to run another errand and having intended to try this place out sooner, my partner and I decided this was a great day to splurge on a rich, high calorie take out food. Upon entering the building we found the interior to be very pleasing. It had a homey and folksy feel. There were some cool vintage pictures on the wall. The counter service was pleasant enough, if not overly friendly.
Why do I spend so much time telling you about my day and the décor? Even thinking about the two shockingly small boxes of vomit inducing, $ 20 worth of mush inside induces my gag reflex again and disappoints me so much. Recycling appeared to be important to them from the signs in the store, and that sure explains their portion size, as it means less garbage headed for the landfill. Especially in the face of how long we have waited to try this place. We ordered different kinds, they were both utterly disgusting. They both had unmelted curds and tasted probably a little better on the way up when body heat partially melted them. You will enjoy the taste of a big box fast food store much better, and I used to think that was poor quality poutine. Today, Big Cheese Poutinery lowered the bar for us significantly.

Considering that this is a place that specializes in poutine I was very disappointed. I found the gravy to be quite thin and the cheese curds to be quite minimal. There was also no layering of cheese which made the second half very boring. When I asked if the Mac & Cheese Poutine was worth a try the server told us that it depended on the cook that day… I guess she was honest, but not really what I was expecting to hear. We therefor chose the standard poutine hoping that the cook would be consistant with that order.
As for the ambiance… The music was WAY too loud and my husband and I opted to sit outside where we thought it would be quieter. We were wrong… it was just as loud outside. Not sure exactly what music they were playing but it hurt my head!
I will not be going back again, nor will I try any other Big Cheese locations. Feeling sad that this did not impress given my love for great poutine ;(

By Calgary’s standards, their poutine is edible, and I would’ve had no problem giving them 5 stars, however… their pickles, which are quite popular, and worth the $ 1.00 each, as they are/​were LARGE authentic deli-​style sour pickles, however during my recent visit, I purchased 5 pickles at $ 1.00 each, and as the pickles were being pulled out of the large glass jar behind the counter, I noticed that the pickles looked quite small (compared to how they normally look), less than half of their normal size, however I still purchased them. When I got home, I tasted one, and discovered that not only were they smaller than normal, they tasted like regular dill pickles, like the ones you would get from a jar at the supermarket (ie; NOT deli-​style, and certainly not large).
Shame on me for not questioning their size and authenticity at The Big Cheese in Calgary, and SHAME ON THE BIG CHEESE IN CALGARY, for not only trying to pass off these smaller generic pickles as their usual large authentic deli-​style sour pickles, but for also charging the full $ 1.00. It just seems like a silly way to tarnish your «brand». It is also interesting to note that this was also posted on their Facebook page, and was deleted.
It’s not the money, it’s the PRINCIPLE :(

Yikes. I have family in Quebec, so I have been to Montréal dozens of times and had the real deal poutine. This place is nowhere near the quality I’ve had in Quebec. The gravy was watery and bland, and the fries were overcooked. The cheese curds didn’t melt at all, and had no flavor. If you want something a bit closer to poutine you’d find in Quebec, try Smoke’s.

The biggest thing that irks me about this place is that they’re a complete rip-​off of Smoke’s Poutinerie in Toronto (
). I did my research before writing this review to see if there was a connection between the two businesses but there doesn’t seem to be.
Complete with plaid, an eerily similar menu, and a black and white character plastered all over, this has the complete makings of Smoke’s. There’s only one thing different here: The poutine isn’t as good.
My first trip here was in early June, not long after they opened. The fries were soggy and the gravy wasn’t hot enough to melt the cheese. I chalked this up to them just having opened and was willing to give them another try on a future trip to Calgary.
I came back this weekend after a night out with a friend. I thought that maybe some slight intoxication might make things better for me here. Not really. The fries were better and the cheese melted but it still didn’t taste that great. I’d probably give the poutine here a solid three stars, but never anything more.