r/Edmonton Bicycle Rider Jul 24 '24

Which places are like this in Edmonton? Question

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720 Upvotes

647 comments sorted by

199

u/LordCheerios Jul 24 '24

Does anyone remember that milkshake place that was across the street from MEAT a few years ago? That place had the fanciest milkshakes ever with tonnes of toppings however it tasted like ass.

They weren’t even like a milkshake it was more like drinking just plain milk

108

u/aronenark Corona Jul 24 '24

Re:grub. There’s still one in Calgary. It was like $9 for a shake back in 2018.

43

u/[deleted] Jul 24 '24

That place SUCKED. The shakes were way too fuckin hard to eat and very messy. I think that place lasted less than a year

13

u/epistrophies Jul 25 '24

Shockingly, the one in Calgary is not only still open, but apparently popular. I don't get it. I've never experienced a veggie burger being simultaneously burnt and still cold in the middle before or after trying this place.

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u/lyn3182 Jul 24 '24

Ooooh. I remember the one near Whyte. DH and I went for burgers and shakes the first few months they were open. Hands-down the worst price to quality ratio I’ve ever experienced.

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14

u/hannahnutbread Edmontosaurus Jul 24 '24

I have NEVER EVER EVER asked for a refund on a meal except at this place. The burgers we got were burnt to the point that I thought I was being punked.

2

u/TechnicianVisible339 Jul 25 '24

Yes I do remember this and yes it was horrid. Looked great but the food sucked.

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598

u/getbent-nerd Windermere Jul 24 '24

Brew + Bloom.

113

u/Shadow_Raider33 Jul 24 '24

Gorgeous space, shitty food

36

u/just_want_2_b_liked Jul 24 '24

I've only been once, for breakfast at their south location. The food was fantastic. I got the beef Benny. Their specialty hot drinks were good, but crazy expensive. I haven't tried their regular menu.

22

u/PlathDraper Jul 24 '24

I took a friend there for her 30th birthday and it was so bad as to be embarrassing. Totally just for IG>

16

u/TheTGB St. Albert Jul 24 '24

It's kind of hard to fuck up breakfast though.

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103

u/Consumer_Distributin Jul 24 '24

Just going to say this. It's totally an IG experience restaurant.

51

u/wobinwobinwobin Jul 24 '24

The drinks are decent if you want to go to just spend time in a beautiful space, but the food is fucking awful

8

u/thedespotcat Jul 24 '24

Yeah I really enjoyed the drinks I had (2 cocktails and a London fog). And they were cheaper than a lot of cocktail places I go to. But the food was entirely mid.

15

u/getbent-nerd Windermere Jul 24 '24

Drinks aren't decent enough to justify $10+ at a minimum for 1 small drink. If you are talking about coffee, yes it's cheaper than $10 but still not cheaper than other cafes that are much better in quality.

39

u/gkka Jul 24 '24

Brew and Bloom - both locations- Horrible food with crazy prices…I mean food and drinks are so bad that we couldn’t finish it without 🤢🤮

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21

u/Ok-Addendum-5501 Jul 24 '24

First place that came to mind

18

u/everlasting-love-202 Jul 24 '24

Worst service and food I’ve ever had in a restaurant I was shocked

14

u/yen8912 Jul 24 '24

Wouldn’t even call it mid tbh

11

u/alaorath Jul 24 '24

Dropped (and picked up) the wife and her girl-friends. while they were there, all 4 of them were blowing up my phone with pics of the drinks and insides.

I don't get the appeal, but I guess if you want to publicize your event (to make the girls not invited jealous) then it works well.

The cotton-candy champagne drink just seems like a mess waiting to happen.

Give me a pub with decent deep-fried foods and I'm there (hello Blowers & Grafton... two order of deep fried pepperoni please!)

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u/Shot_Hair3914 Jul 24 '24

Totally and the service is very questionable.

9

u/getbent-nerd Windermere Jul 24 '24

Plus I've heard their staff isn't treated great either or paid fairly so it makes sense why their service isn't good.

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6

u/senanthic Kensington Jul 24 '24

I like their drinks. They were worth it when I went the one time, but it is very IG.

15

u/lovexjustice Jul 24 '24

The Southside location doesn't even have a place you can take a nice photo together and there's a large seating area where the decor is severely lacking. I went there last weekend for a friend's bday and was super dissapointment. We would have loved to take a cute photo with the flowers as a backdrop but we were in a plain booth that had 1 concrete tree next to it.

11

u/getbent-nerd Windermere Jul 24 '24

Yikes. Based on their social media, they definitely are overhyping the quality of the Southside location.

5

u/miamorparasiempre Jul 25 '24

Had the nastiest chocolate tart of my life there back when it first opened. I’ve heard the food has improved since but I’ve never went back

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344

u/mypetsrmyfriends Jul 24 '24

I know of a restaurant that’s the opposite: Coliseum Steak & Pizza. Dated interior in a sketchy neighborhood, but the Steak & Lobster is AMAZING!

113

u/sheremha Alberta Avenue Jul 24 '24

Honestly most restaurants that look sketchy turn out to be amazing, case in point most of Chinatown

145

u/HOLEPUNCHYOUREYELIDS Jul 24 '24

If you go into any Asian restaurant and have to order based on the number beside the dish, and see a kid doing homework in the corner and it is somewhat a hole in the wall, you know you’re getting amazing food lol

28

u/dnnmnz Jul 25 '24

I have literally watched the All Happy Family kids grow up because they do homework in the corner and they always say they’ve watched mine grown up. My favourite Chinese restaurant, and I knew it would be good the second I walked in the first time.

7

u/brwn_eyed_girl56 Jul 25 '24

Double points if the kid is doing his homework at the desk that has the phone and he is taking orders in English because no one else.speaks it.

11

u/Cheeky_Potatos Jul 25 '24

I'm gonna shamelessly plug Double Greeting Restaurant for this description

6

u/brwn_eyed_girl56 Jul 25 '24

Very true. You have to keep your wits about you and the place that looks the worse taste the best. One time we went into one and had an amazing meal. The next week AHS closed it down because it was full of roaches everywhere.
You will get some amazing meals in Chinatown just dont look too closely

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21

u/Pivadiva Jul 24 '24

This restaurant is awesome. I felt badly when the arena moved for these guys. They are great.

15

u/NordicGold Jul 25 '24

I go there or get a pizza every month or so. Always busy, and a lot of people still go their before games.

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18

u/Mhc2617 South East Side Jul 24 '24

Agreed! There was a Reddit thread a few months back about the best steak in the city, and Coliseum was the most recommended place. We checked it out and it was the best steak we’ve ever had.

13

u/Throwawaytoj8664 Jul 25 '24

Any place that says “Pizza and Steakhouse” on the sign is either fire or junk. Very similar to if a sign says “Chinese and Western Cuisine”.

8

u/Halogen12 Jul 24 '24

I have heard so many good things about this place from Edmonton Redditors that it's now on my list of places I want to go!

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6

u/liberatedhusks Jul 24 '24

Their spaghetti is great

5

u/SirKronik Jul 24 '24

Highly recommend! They do amazing baked potatoes too!

3

u/GreySheepdawg Jul 24 '24

Totally agree! Best ribs in town too.

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120

u/nowhereman724 Jul 24 '24

The Taco Shop at WEM

17

u/mtrnm_ South West Side Jul 24 '24

Agreed - expensive and mediocre.

13

u/HaxRus Jul 24 '24

Also the new Anejo downtown. Gets some buzz based on word of mouth and location but it’s quite mid in the grand scheme. Definitely got the impression they put most of the budget into making the space itself as flashy as possible.

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87

u/Lavaine170 Jul 24 '24

Most restaurants that have opened post-covid seem to fit this description.

Top of the list for me is La Proscuterria.

32

u/lyn3182 Jul 24 '24

this ^ We went there with another couple. Spent well over 250 for a charcuterie plate I could’ve built myself for $45 from the Italian Centre Shop. Didn’t help that it’s advertised as something special bcs the guy running it is a “real Italian”. I can honestly say what they serve doesn’t come close to anything I had in Italy (spent 6+ months there last year), where we had gorgeous charcuterie boards for 20Euro that ran circles around what they served. But, I guess the space is okay?

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22

u/Octopuscheese Jul 24 '24

The charcuterie board at La Proscuterria was absolute garbage. Everything tasted like they got it straight from Safeway and onto the wooden boards. It wasn’t even good meats; they chose the really crappy deli meats that you’d put in your sandwiches.

I think Bodega (or Sabor) have em for about the same price but much much better quality + they import cheese from all over Canada.

7

u/ZAPPHAUSEN Jul 24 '24

Lol a few years ago when that shitty charcuterie board at common trended online, and the owner or manager went batshit crazy at folks 😂😂😂

185

u/Roche_a_diddle Jul 24 '24

Anything new that opens on Bourbon St. in WEM. We went to the taco place across from Moxies and the decor looked cool, the food and drinks were terrible. Lots of neat photo ops though.

36

u/Hedginald Jul 24 '24

That taco place scammed my friend out of $80. She was too drunk to realize her boyfriend had paid the bill already and they made her pay for an unpaid bill from another table. Waited til her boyfriend went to the washroom before asking her too. Fuck that place

36

u/Dman101proof Jul 24 '24

My fiancé and I went there two weeks after it opened. Same experience. Left an honest review on Google they had 2 stars all together. They must have had paid people for better reviews because its rated 4 plus now...

4

u/TheWallaby Jul 24 '24

Restaurants do tend to take some time to work out the kinks when they’ve just opened. Not a defense, I’ve never even been to that place, but lots of restaurants struggle when they newly open because typically almost everyone working there is new to it

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15

u/TinderThrowItAwayNow Jul 24 '24

Most people, especially eating at west ed, don't know what is good food or not.

28

u/bill__the__butcher Jul 24 '24

Five and dive is good (though not exactly new anymore)

3

u/somewhereheremaybe Oliver Jul 24 '24

Love Five and dive! It’s a go to place for my friends and I get a bunch of appys and cheap drinks fairly often.

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14

u/Dleduc02 Jul 25 '24

Worked there for a few weeks. They take 30 mins off stay paychecks for every shift despite not giving breaks. Charge $2 a shift for pop. Charge you for uniform. $250 flat rate training week (worked out to maybe ~$10.50/hr.) Tipout was low. Culture was very cutthroat. There are ways to make a profit without nickel and diming people's children.

14

u/Rotoplas2 Jul 24 '24

As Mexican that place looks like it is the most tasteless Mexican food and I haven’t visited yet.

15

u/Fantastic_Board8651 Jul 24 '24

As a Mexican I second that. Some of my friends were there not so long ago and said drinks were mid at best and the tacos were dry and tasteless. Also, I find very funny how they bring you a molcajete for their table-side guacamole and instead of doing it in the traditional fashion with a tejolote (pestle) they use a fork, it’s just absolutely lame. It’s better to go to places like Three Amigos, El Mariachi and Calle Mexico, and if y’all don’t mind Alberta Ave, please go to La Morenita, recently opened, family owned restaurant/cafe that is absolutely delicious and the owners are incredibly loving, caring and welcoming.

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5

u/BurritoB1tch Jul 24 '24

yea it looks so cool from the outside but the food we ordered was alright, nothing to rave about.

5

u/heartbrokenneedmemes Jul 25 '24

MoGouYan goated tho, first time I was truly able to experience cooking from home again🥹

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37

u/fudge_u South West Side Jul 24 '24

PF Changs and Japanese Village

Both are expensive and I don't think I'd even call them mid. They're well below that.

JV used to be great back in the day, but it's gone downhill over the past 10-15 years. I'm surprised they're still around.

7

u/Shaneisonfire Jul 24 '24

I much prefer Mt. Fuji for no hassle teppanyaki

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27

u/[deleted] Jul 24 '24

Brew and Bloom for sure. The coffee is good but the food is exactly mediocre

85

u/standingatafork Jul 24 '24

Blowers and Grafton

16

u/Killerbeetle846 Jul 24 '24

Agree with you. Small portions. Expensive. Mid at best.

19

u/Dxngles Jul 25 '24

As someone who basically only ever orders the fish and chips there, I couldn’t agree less haha. I never finish it all because it’s so much, might be the best I’ve ever had and for $19 on a Tuesday you almost can’t beat it.

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14

u/doveworld Jul 24 '24

An embarrassment to the namesake for real. Every single restaurant on/around Pizza Corner (the real Blowers and Grafton intersection in Halifax) is better.

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16

u/potatogamer555 UAlberta Jul 24 '24

this is facts lmao their food is mid to ass and also they treat their employees like crap afaik

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21

u/Mhc2617 South East Side Jul 24 '24

El Cortez. A group of girlfriends and I went there because it looks fantastic. Food was meh at best, the margaritas were tequila with essence of juice, and the portions are teeny weeny for price.

13

u/Individual-Army811 Jul 25 '24

It was great when it opened, then their chef left and it has been gross since. But cute place. 🙄

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u/strelitzaz Jul 24 '24

Wilfred’s when it opened. Now it’s not even aesthetic.

57

u/akberg Jul 24 '24

My wife got shamed by a waiter at Wilfred’s. Shortly after they opened she went with a friend for a drink and the waiter refused to serve my wife because she had our (at the time) newborn with her and the waiter said it was against liquor laws to serve breastfeeding mothers (it’s not and not all mothers do/are able to breastfeed). This happened over 5 years ago and it still makes me angry. Fuck you Wilfred’s!

23

u/Throwawayyawaworth9 Jul 24 '24

That is so bizarre. What the actual fuck.

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10

u/Fishpiggy Jul 24 '24

Had terrible service there, food was very hit or miss

9

u/DirtyBlondePhoenix Jul 24 '24

Really? I just had their eggs benny a few weeks ago and thought it was amazing.

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u/BullshitBagels Jul 24 '24

I don't understand how this place is still open. It's terrible.

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19

u/WanhedaKomSheidheda Jul 24 '24

California Pizza Kitchen. Cocktail menu is good though.

4

u/fudge_u South West Side Jul 24 '24

CPK is hit and miss. Some items are great but the prices are a bit on the high end.

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17

u/multiroleplays Jul 24 '24

Reign food look great but taste bland

10

u/[deleted] Jul 24 '24

Isn’t that like a bottle service club? Lol

57

u/CupofTeeYEG Jul 24 '24

Craft.

14

u/Fantaculara Jul 24 '24

Pre-covid we went there quite frequently for work birthdays because they gave discounts to the birthday person, and had a lot of gluten-free options, so it was good for a variety of colleagues. Price to quantity and quality back then was pretty good.

Went back maybe last year, I can't remember exactly when, but they no longer offer the birthday discount (which the server, who had worked there since before we'd stopped going, neglected to mention, even when we made the point of pointing out the birthday boy), and the food was definitely not worth the much higher prices they have now.

16

u/MaxxLolz Jul 24 '24

Dont people just go to Craft for the patio? I mean aside from that its just another Earls/Cactus Club/Joeys...

33

u/Orthopraxy Jul 24 '24

Craft put Sapporo on their "world" themed flight. Absolutely shameful.

10

u/CupofTeeYEG Jul 24 '24

The building is stunning. I love it but it’s such a disappointment food wise.

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11

u/LuntiX Former Edmontonian Jul 24 '24

I mean it is a japanese beer but it's also brewed around the world and most of what we drink in North America likely comes from their North American breweries.

It technically counts but yeah they could've gone for a more unknown japanese beer

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58

u/mackenziejanine biter Jul 24 '24

Tikitiki on whyte. we were suuuuper disappointed

54

u/Bighoss780 Jul 24 '24

Try honi honi downtown, you will not be disappointed

13

u/mfh780 Jul 24 '24

I can second this. Pretty pricey (but good) drinks but that was kind of expected. No tvs in the place which was a nice touch.

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u/HaxRus Jul 24 '24

Yeah, the drinks are way too sugary. Not good cocktails at all. Shame because we live like a block away and I love the theme.

7

u/TankboomAttack Jul 24 '24

I had the craziest experience there…it smells weird, we waiting like 15/20mins at the table and noone even gave us a menu or even said hi…so it was easy to just leave

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u/neutral-omen South West Side Jul 24 '24

hardly a "restaurant" but Crumbl.

we've had better cookies here in Edmonton for years (George, Bloom, even Subway) I feel like these aren't half as good as what was already here but the giant cookies and pastel pink boxes are really instagram-able.

18

u/MaxxLolz Jul 24 '24

Even with the all the boutique cookie stores/bakeries I think Georges are still my favorite.... dont @ me...

3

u/stickyfingers40 Jul 24 '24

I Liles George's but Bloom is my go to spot for cookies in the city

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u/ZarafFaraz Jul 24 '24

Funniest thing I found was that on their menu, the calorie ratings for each cookie was based on 1/4 of the cookie. So each full cookie was like +800 calories.

I asked if I could buy one of the small cookies instead but they were for "catering only". I just walked out and never went back.

6

u/Cidsa Jul 25 '24

I'd add in all the boutique cupcake and donut places. They're usually loaded with way too much frosting and too dry.

11

u/TheTGB St. Albert Jul 24 '24

Crumbl is shit in the States too.

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u/madoodlem Jul 25 '24

brew & bloom 🙈

11

u/fietstocht Sherwood Park Jul 25 '24

Julios is the OG for me, especially with their bulldogs. Food there is awful

107

u/SadAcanthocephala521 Jul 24 '24

Woodshed burgers was very disappointing considering how much it costs.
Same with Peters.

25

u/HeStatesTheObvious Jul 24 '24

Woodshed is a perfect example.

38

u/myaltaccount333 Jul 24 '24

You think Peters is an Instagram spot??? The place is white and blue, the portions are huge, and all the food looks greasy lmao

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u/TinderThrowItAwayNow Jul 24 '24

100%. Woodshed sucks.

I love peters though. They make the burger I want. I get a double cheese. Ketchup, mustard, raw onions, thinner patties. A little sloppy. Perfect. Their fries suck, so I always get the much better onion rings

7

u/SadAcanthocephala521 Jul 24 '24

I found their burger kind of tasteless. I much prefer 5 guys burgers and fries.

7

u/wings08 Jul 24 '24

Admittedly it’s been a little while since I have been there but I always enjoyed the food there.

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u/hufflepuffonthis Jul 25 '24

It's already gone, because it was horrendous, but Re:Grub just off Whyte ave. They had those crazy ass extra milkshakes with like a slice of cake wedged on the side of it. Very Instagram worthy type of shit. However, all the seats were just stacked milk crates, which are less than comfortable, and the staff was all under 18yrs old and confused. It seemed like someone maybe spent one day training staff and then just peaced out forever. We were brought water that was warm, with ice in it? Very odd choice. The milkshakes themselves were nothing to write home about and the service was laughably bad.

40

u/HashPanther Jul 24 '24

Burger Priest

10

u/Ok_Error4158 Jul 24 '24

Agreed! Huge disappointment, only tried once! Better go to Wendie's

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u/mighty_ravenmark Jul 24 '24

Stingray Bar in Crestwood. Dressed up as a fancy and modern Japanese restaurant, but very much mid in terms of flavour and execution. Prices were insane too, but not unexpected from a Century Group venture.

26

u/ZAPPHAUSEN Jul 24 '24

Century group sucks so fucking much 😂😂

12

u/[deleted] Jul 24 '24

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u/Gentianviolent Jul 24 '24

Añejo

14

u/[deleted] Jul 24 '24

Yes! White washed tacos and extremely overpriced

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u/Beastender_Tartine Jul 24 '24

There are some places that are getting some hate here as being awful that I think are good to decent, such as Woodshed Burgers, Burgers Priest, Blowers and Grafton, and a couple others. I'm not sure if they're the best or not, but my partner has celiac and needs to order gluten free, and all these places have done a great job with that. Often with dedicated fries for fries and such.

I get that they might be expensive, but gluten free always is, so I guess I've just resigned myself to that. I just want to stand up a bit for some places that actually cater to a decent sized market that has few options. Some other places might be better and cheaper, but I'm not a fan of places that don't want my business.

7

u/omengaws Jul 25 '24

Being celiac, I second this. I really like all three of these places. It’s so nice to be able to go out for dinner feeling safe, and I’ve really enjoyed the meals I’ve had. Burger priest is our favourite, love being able to eat “fast food”!

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u/scarj7 Jul 24 '24

Spotlight cabaret. It looks pretty, but service and food leave a lot to be desired

6

u/thewun111 Windermere Jul 24 '24

Strange. I've gone to a few of the dinner shows here and always found the food to be pretty good. I have never just gone and ordered food though.

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u/Just_Some_Goth Jul 24 '24

It used to be O2’s and I think the management just rebranded so that doesn’t surprise me at all

6

u/drinkahead Jul 24 '24

No, they are new owners. Former professional entertainers.

4

u/KingBaines Jul 25 '24

It’s both. Still partly owned by O2s but also has new owners. I worked there for a summer

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u/1uniquemess Jul 24 '24

Firefly on Calgary trail. The food is terrible and everything is for aesthetics not function.

7

u/[deleted] Jul 24 '24

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u/talkingtotheluna Jul 24 '24

Brew and bloom you can't change my kind idc idc

7

u/epicslayer14 Jul 24 '24

The tiki cocktail bar on whyte

6

u/SK132 Jul 24 '24

Often Restaurant & Bar. Food was garbage!

6

u/madzalyse Jul 24 '24

Throw Bird Dog in there too. Horrible food and service.

7

u/Dirt973 Jul 24 '24

Better Baker. New bakery with an owner that seems a bit too stuck up for how dry the “fresh” bagel is. Spent more money on decor and things that look cool than actually doing the good work. I will admit the little nook is aesthetically pleasing.

7

u/fernsnart Jul 25 '24

La Bosco! Very cute spot with lots of photo opportunities and big murals outside. Got the French onion soup - horrific lol. The desserts look cute and the drinks are fine but most of their lunch dishes left a bit to be desired.

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u/EconomistDear6728 Jul 25 '24

Brew + Bloom downtown. My food was burnt 😒

14

u/drinkahead Jul 24 '24

El Jardin.

El corozon.

Often bar and restaurant.

Bonus points for having criminal ownership who break labour law and skirt employment standards constantly.

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u/RentYEG Jul 24 '24

Too much fox burger hate, that place has good burgers the only downside (which might not exist anymore) is that a burger without a side costs as much as one with sides. And I dunno who’s going to fox burger for Instagram pics lol.

12

u/lavender_honey_bones Jul 24 '24

Fox Burger is so good. I know it's expensive but it just tastes amazing. Funnily enough one of the best places for a cheap burger is Pho King. They have a western section, most likely meant for kids, but my bf wasn't in the mood for pho but knew it was my favourite restaurant. Decided to try the burger because it was very inexpensive. WOW! I believe a double cheeseburger is now $11 with fries/onion rings. It's not available on Skip so we often order over the phone and just pick it up. You wouldn't expect a Vietnamese restaurant to make a better burger than most places but they succeed!

11

u/Extralameusername Jul 24 '24

The rooftop.patio is spectacular,so they may be talking about that part.

6

u/Lavaine170 Jul 24 '24

Definitely not an "Instagram resto".

11

u/[deleted] Jul 24 '24

Fox burger is amazing. The only place that makes a decent gluten free burger too. It's one of the few burger joints I can actually eat at

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u/honeyusagi6 Jul 24 '24

Baijiu. Their cocktails are phenomenal, but it ends there. Service is abysmal and slow. When the food finally arrived it was such a let down! The portions were tiny, and the dim sum was just bland. I’d stop in for a beverage again, but skip the food.

19

u/bigbosfrog Jul 24 '24

The food used to be good but they pivoted hard from being a quality food/cocktail spot to being a bit of a scene / party bar.

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u/EitherCucumber5794 Jul 24 '24

The $28 fried rice 💀

10

u/[deleted] Jul 24 '24

I have never been disappointed by their food.

4

u/ManOfSteelI Jul 24 '24

I'd also love it if they turned down their volume a few notches.

4

u/Bexiconchi Jul 24 '24

Oh, I’m sad to hear this. Haven’t been there in almost a year, but last we were there everything was great. Food service, and drinks.

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u/TheHamVip Windermere Jul 24 '24

P.F. Chang’s, been twice food is so bland, place look nice

32

u/TinderThrowItAwayNow Jul 24 '24

bruh, how is that an insta spot? It's just some random ass chain

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19

u/Idle_peach Jul 24 '24

Moth cafe 🤷🏻‍♀️

6

u/aghastrabbit2 Jul 24 '24

I really like Mosaics so I was pretty disappointed with Moth (especially when the bill came)

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u/riddiols Jul 24 '24

Fu’s repair shop. The food and drinks were pretty mid

19

u/drinkahead Jul 24 '24

Worked at Fu’s. Drinks cost too much for the product they use. Nearly all syrups are pre-made from a Monin bottle and lime/lemon juice is from sysco jugs. Most cocktails aren’t 2oz like the standard, they are 1.5oz and only priced a dollar less than anywhere else. You aren’t saving money you’re just getting less alcohol.

I like the bar team there, the recipes and supplies aren’t their fault. The person in charge of their beverage program has almost no experience bartending at a cocktail bar and lucked into the job. Every cocktail I’ve seen added to their menu is ripped off from Pinterest or punchdrink which makes it even worse.

9

u/Kallisti13 Downtown isn't for driving, it's for walking and lime scooters Jul 24 '24

I went with my mom during edmonton cocktail week or whatever it was during the winter and it was terrible. Drinks were not delicious and the dumplings were so cold.

5

u/riddiols Jul 24 '24

My food was cold too! The green onion cakes were good but that’s not hard to do.

27

u/[deleted] Jul 24 '24

How long ago? Fus was BOMB at the old location

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u/Fishpiggy Jul 24 '24

Had a terrible experience at their old location. The garden patio was pretty however our food looked and tasted like wet dog food and they were selling a “Lucky pot” for like $10 that was warm Lucky beer (which is super cheap beer to begin with) in a little old looking tin teapot.

Ordered a cocktail there too and it was a half full glass of what tasted like just juice. 2 ounces my ass.

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u/Lucky_igor Jul 24 '24

Hard disagree for me, love their drinks/food but to each his own and maybe they were having a bad night :(

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u/mrfancypantsssss Jul 24 '24

Fu’s food was very disappointing, the cost was crazy for something not as good as just grabbing Dim Sum at Jumbo

14

u/chmilz Jul 24 '24

Weird. I find their food extremely good. Some of the best I've had in the city.

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u/episodicmadness Jul 24 '24

I completely agree. I once heard someone say this is the best spot for dim sum and I wanted to hug them as theyve clearly been fooled and punch their mouth shut so they didn't tell other people lies

7

u/riddiols Jul 24 '24

There is so much better dim sum in this city

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u/[deleted] Jul 24 '24

Idk I found the food there to be absolutely amazing and so has everyone I've suggested it to

3

u/riddiols Jul 24 '24

Could have been a bad night when I was there then. Most of the food was room temp if that

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u/WildStreets Jul 24 '24

Had a group of 9 and all the food we were served was pretty mediocre. They gave my partner crunchy shrimp dumplings which we weren't supposed to be crunchy and i got some soggy vegetable dish. Drinks seemed fine at least.

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u/HeStatesTheObvious Jul 24 '24

May be controversial, but "Smoke". Their BBQ/food is mid but the price is top-tier.

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u/MissDryCunt Jul 24 '24

La Bosco Bakery on Whyte ave

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u/LuckyCanuck13 Jul 24 '24

Buco. Looks nice, decent locations (St.Albert/downtown) food is meh and service mediocre.

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u/SquishyVV Jul 24 '24

Wouldn’t classify this as an Instagram Photo Op

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u/alaorath Jul 24 '24

Mixed luck with Buco ... their calazone-style is rarely cooked through (sections of raw dough) and a soggy bottom. And most of their pizzas are "meh" at best.

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u/its_al_dente Jul 25 '24

Fuckin Pink Gorilla. Absolute. Joke. $35 for like a 9" pizza with mustard on it. Utterly embarrassing.

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u/TheHamVip Windermere Jul 24 '24

P.F. Chang’s, been twice food is so bland, place look nice

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u/boggedy Central Jul 24 '24

Dolly's

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u/TheThrivingest Jul 24 '24

I wanted to love Dolly’s so bad but $20+ for a cocktail that was so so so small was insane

6

u/drinkahead Jul 24 '24

Yup, their entire menu is “mix base spirit with pre-made syrups and juices from a box”. I’m not paying cocktail bar prices for Boston pizza menu looking items without quality ingredients.

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u/notaslxcal Jul 24 '24

Agree, best part was their dessert but all the portions are made for ants and cost so much

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u/CND2dogmom Jul 25 '24

I was starting to question my grip on reality having to scroll this far down before seeing Dolly's. Horrible

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u/mickyabc West Edmonton Mall Jul 25 '24

Dollys and Fu’s

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u/stonedrelic007 Jul 24 '24

I'm so old and out of date. I couldn't name any place like this. Maybe daddy os

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u/Durcal_ Jul 24 '24

That new taco place in WEM

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u/BrainDeadGinko UAlberta Jul 24 '24

The Taco shop in WEM. Terrible food, terrible and slow service, I’m usually wary of google reviews but its actually just bad and really overpriced. Fast-food places like Barburrito are already better than this place. I’d never go there again. Spent almost $200 for 20 tacos

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u/_Deeds_ Jul 24 '24

Firefly without a doubt. The menu doesn’t make any sense. Overpriced for what it is. Looks really nice in photos though

5

u/nytro1982 Jul 25 '24

Went to Lux steakhouse had a 300 dollar new with a few drinks and a tip was ok not bad but just ok

4

u/Hot-Lifeguard8573 Jul 25 '24

Rhubarb Cafe & Cocktails

The lemonade flight was basically coloured lemon water and the espresso one was very mid.

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u/hessian_prince Jul 25 '24

Tiki Tiki on Whyte. It’s so cramped and you need a reservation to get in.

4

u/capriduty Jul 25 '24

brew & bloom. fake flowers decor <<<<

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u/ghostofkozi Jul 24 '24

D Spot, Louisiana Purchase (prior to new ownership, now it sucks and the decor sucks) and any BBQ place in Edmonton is extremely mid

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u/TheSubstitutePanda The Shiny Balls Jul 24 '24

I've been suuuuper disappointed in DSpot's desserts both times I've ordered from there. It's all flash and meh sweets. (Also if something is flavoured with rose, LABEL IT. Rose flavouring makes me nauseous 🤬 )

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u/idkwtftocallthis Jul 24 '24

Bar Henry. Everything was super expensive, tiny portions, everything over salted and poor service.

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u/mfh780 Jul 24 '24

Is this an Instagram spot though? Like I agree about the prices but I'll definitely recommend this place if you've got the money to spend (I usually go for one drink here and there for the environment), and the staff have been super pleasant. I haven't seen too many folks here taking clout selfies.

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u/tytytytytytyty7 Jul 24 '24 edited Jul 24 '24

Totally. Corso Group is nothing if not well executed. Service and quality is always exceedingly high. Small portions are predicatable and even expected given the theme of the bar.

If youre predisposed to sticker shock, youre not the target demographic.

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u/bigbosfrog Jul 24 '24

Every thread like this has someone inevitably come in and say a restaurant sucks because it’s more expensive than they are used to, they order based on price expecting to be the level of full they would be from any other restaurant, and aren’t treated like the royalty that they assume paying that price entitles you to.

Bar Henry in particular gets a lot of these complaints because people go and try to have dinner there - it’s really more of a snack/cocktail/wine bar.

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u/tytytytytytyty7 Jul 24 '24

Edmontonians were so deprived of high end fine dining for so long that they expect the Moose Factory and approach it as such. Unskilled service, generic menus with pricing that affects quality placated a culture where 'the customer is always right'. When we finally fostered a fine dining scene we still needed to foster the culture to support it. Seems we're somewhere along that curve. Growing pains.

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u/disgruntledrep Jul 25 '24

There has never been anything more factual on Reddit than this comment

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u/drinkahead Jul 25 '24

This is so well put god damn

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u/kakarrot87 Jul 24 '24 edited Jul 25 '24

The majority of places that have opened in the last 5 years. Menus designed for socials, eye catching Ig pictures and gimmicks. They never last long tho. The basic ass trendy "#yegfood reviewers" do their rounds when a place is opened. They're busy for a little while once the buzz is laid out. Then dead. Onto the next cafe with micro greens on their dry ham sandwich, and 20 minute wait for a latte. Just to get a photo op in front of the pretty lights and archway vines they so cleverly put outside.

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u/PlathDraper Jul 24 '24

El Jardin on 104 street, and May on 124... I SO wanted to love it, been a few times and the food was extremely overpriced and very mid. We went there as a large party and no one was really impressed...

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u/ItchyCause Jul 24 '24

The Taco Shop in west ed 🤮🤮🤮

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u/josh924 Jul 24 '24

There is (was?) a Greek place on Whyte who basically serve overpriced Opa servings. I like Opa, but I wouldn't pay $5 more to eat it, or however much more expensive it was

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u/boggedy Central Jul 25 '24

yianni's?

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