Goobye "TEN: Calgary. Hello Robbie Stewarts Sports Pub

[seemac70]

Looks like Ten in Kensington is toast. (10th ST and Memorial Dr)

Here comes a sports bar... In May.

www.robbiestewarts.ca

Hmmm.

[seemac70]

According to CBC: Robbie's opens Wednesday at 4:00pm.

Good luck Robbie! See you there.

[chewy_bakah]

do they have wing night ?

[cancowboy]

It's open (as of Wednesday).
They are suffering from opening jitters - staff are not totally up to speed; a dozen+ items on the menu were not available yet (including the soup of the day and haggis). Other than the Scottish options, it is the usual pub selections.
Brunch available on the weekend.
Price point is on par with the Yardhouse.
They have made it a nice and inviting pub but needs some time to find their legs.

On a positive note, Tennent's is a very nice beer.

[seemac70]

Menus are up...

Food:

http://www.robbiestewarts.ca/RSappetizersmenu.pdf

Liquor:

http://www.robbiestewarts.ca/RSliquor...

[seemac70]

Scottish Breakfast: $14.95

Good luck Robbie!

[Scary Bill]

15 bucks for "heart attack on a plate"?

If the meal doesn't give you a coronary, the bill will.

I'll never be darkening the door of Yuppie Stewarts.

[peter.v]

The liquor menu was obviously not proofread. That has to be one of my biggest pet peeves. "Sauvingan", "Beaujelis", "Grand Marniere"?? That's inexcusable! Even the single malts are misspelt, "Lafroiag", "Highand Park". I really hope those are draft menus because I would be embarrassed to have that in my establishment. I wish them the best, I really do, but going into a location like that requires some sort of care and attention to details that past establishment might have missed out on! Fortunately, with the exception of some apostrophe omissions, the food menu looks decent.

/ End pet peeve rant.

[John Manzo]

Thanks for not forcing me to bring this up Peter. It's tacky.

Also- $4.50 for an espresso? River Cafe doesn't charge that much!

[peter.v]

I bit my tongue on that one. Fortunately, I can't say I've even considered an espresso at a pub before.

[jeffwhit]

The menu reads like it was written by The Onion. It's like a satire of an awful pub menu.

The beer menu is inexcusable. This is a problem with 99% of Calgary pubs that I can't believe isn't taking care of itself. with Co-Op making major inroads with improving availability, along with Kensington Wine Market and Willow Park, why are all these Calgary pubs not even trying. Why would there be any reason, in this day and age to offer Bud, Kokanee, Canadian AND Keith's? I wish the powers that be in the universe would listen to me and Diner Deluxe would open something in that location so if I can't get a decent pint in my neighbourhood I could at least get a decent brunch.

[seemac70]

Amen brother... Jeez, the Onion has been slipping a little lately and might not come across as well! All we need is for a Mel Gibson look alike in a kilt to come striding out of the dry ice and the theme park vibe will be complete!

Hate to say it. I really do, but this place reeks of another disaster. I WILL go in and try something, just to back up my commentary, and because I said I would...

But what? One 'o them there "Auld Scottish Favourites & Entrées"

The menu is huge, ungainly, and frankly, bizarre in some ways. Bud Light Lime? Try ordering that in Scotland and see what you get .

My bet, They'll never keep all that together for production or be able to rotate all of the items through so that they stay fresh. It'll be cut down to size in less than six months as food costs mount.

A the end of the day, the devil is in the details. Speaking of which, "Spellcheck"

It has been said that the menu outside of a restaurant is the one thing that speaks to all passersby who look upon it. It is the true first impression of any establishment. Hmmm.

[DeeDub]

I have been there a few times for lunch and the menu that is currently posted on their website has been scaled back quite a bit. They are using a temporary menu right now with limited items. The vast majority of the Scottish Favorites (haggis, mince n' tatties, Scottish breakfast, ploughman's lunch) are not available right now. The service is inexperienced but friendly and accommodating and I get the sense it will be a few more weeks before all the kinks are ironed out.
The times I have been there, the lunch crowds have been strong especially when the weather is nice and the patio is open. I will certainly be back to enjoy a pint of Tennents and I look forward to when they are in a position to bring back their regular menu.

[ilikebigmactoo]

I am curious at the positive reviews so far for this place. So my friends and I was there last thursday and it was absolutely brutal.

First off, the service was just plain slow. I can live with that, as slow service is my expectations these days at pubs. However, the waitress was very forgetful. Also, we ordered very basic food that took forever to come out. I ordered the Pari Pari Chicken. My two friends ordered chicken fingers and Pari Pari Chicken Salad. You'll figure all three dishes should come at roughly the same time, especially the Pari Pari Chicken and my friend's Pari Pari Chicken Salad. Some how, my dish took another 10 - 15 minutes longer.

The more disconcerting part is the quality of food. It was absolutely brutal. Most noticeable is my chicken. It tasted like frozen pre-made chicken. The only favor came from the sauce they used to drown the chicken. They manage to screw up mashed potatoes and gravies as well. Both seems like they been sitting around for ages.

Finally, and I am hoping that it was just my bad luck, all their cooks were brand new and had never worked that menu before. This was the explanation that was given to us by the waitress. Based on the quality of food and speed that it came out of the kitchen, I wonder how qualified their cooks are at the moment.

I was wondering if any one had a different recent experience then me

[seemac70]

Some explanation. "Blame the kitchen..."

Never heard that one before.

No competent establishment should ship food that far apart in timing, no matter what.

What do you care about "new cooks?" If you wanted excuses you could have just stayed home, right?

[cancowboy]

Robbie Stewart's has closed.

[messier]

wow, that was quick. I wonder what will work in that location?

[Jetgirly]

I would like to propose a Foodball! I mean, for sure Camper would want to take their niche cafe out of Barcelona, across the Atlantic, halfway across North America to a location in Calgary that seems absolutely cursed!

http://www.treehugger.com/files/2005/...

[tex_in_yyc]

Well, reading the comments in this thread from when it opened, the closure seemed a certainty from the day it opened.

No ill will intended at all to the owners, but take a location that has been unsuccessful for many previous restaurateurs and add in sloppy execution, the resulting closure seems to be a given

[electroleum]

As much as it seems that the location is doomed to fail, you have to think that at some point, someone will do it right. Obviously parking is a nightmare in that area, but places like Molly Malone's, Julio's and the Yardhouse do well, so there's definitely potential.

There was a notorious nightclub location in Ottawa that turned over at least a half dozen times in the 3 years I lived there, and every new club failed just as miserably as the previous one. Then a few buddies of mine decided to open up a club in that same spot, and it became the best club in town for the next few years. It just boiled down to the fact that they knew the scene well enough to know what people wanted.

[John Manzo]

This is actually a good idea for a thread- examples of "cursed" locations that eventually found the right tenant. On 17th Ave it seemed as if the Arden Diner building was cursed, with the speedy turnover of both Big T's and then Avellino's, but since then Golden Bell has been doing great business. Right product, right price point, good service.

Kensington seems littered with these sorts of spots!

[23skidoo]

The place where "Il Giardino" is in on 4th St and 17th Ave seemed to change every 6 months in the 90s. Now of course it's been the same for a decade.

Same with "Ouzo" on 4th - it was a different Greek place, the Latin Corner, and a Turkish restaurant. It seems to have stabilized.

I guess "Winebar Kensington" could still go either way, but that place used to change a lot: cyber cafe, crepe reaturant, and other stuff I can't remember because it was so fleeting.

[DeeDub]

Continuing to be OT... what about that place on Stephen Ave between Blink and Saltlik? At one point I believe it was the relocated Latin Corner (from 4th) then it became another latin-fusion place. I am sure there were other restaurants after that... any idea what is in that space now?

[John Manzo]

Original Joe's. Seems to be doing okay in that space.

[John Manzo]

PHEW!

[alau2]

Holy crap, I was just there last week!

[seemac70]

Hey, maybe Babu Bhat will open a place in that location!

[alau2]

Does anyone know what was there before Ten, and before Verve?

[DeeDub]

I believe before Verve it was a fish hosue called Trawlers.

[sharonanne]

Before those it was something like Barakka and waaay back it was a bookstore. I'm thinking a children's bookstore but could be as wrong as I might be about the name of the subsequent restaurant.

My family looked at leasing it for a business after the bookstore but the owner said they didn't want the problems of having a food business in there. Hah!

[mandersen]

Don't remember the bookstore, but first thing i remember is as was Earth Harvest Co-op - organic food/health food grocery. Since then all I recall is a string of short-lived restaurants and lounges. Something must not work about the location. I've lived in Sunnyside and Hillhurst for years and never set foot in any of the restaurants it's been. I think I've always just stopped at any of the other places along the way that it seemed like you could probably get the same sort of thing. Seems like it should be a good spot if it can be something special enough to draw you along that last half a block. That doesn't really explain the survival of so-called-Mexican unit on the corner, though.

[howlin]

it must have been sudden,the website says that they are hiring.there's job security for ya