We went to Bar C for New Years Eve this year. Unfortunately it was not a good experience on so many levels. First, the decor - again there are mixed feelings on here about it, but I found it cold and sterile. I really dont like sitting on stool type raised seating - some may - but I dont. I found the interior uninviting - and the table was soo tight. The table was set with so much stuff - it felt incredibly crowded. The whole thing felt uncomfortable and not somewhere I would want to spend the next 3 hours.
Our server - ( we affectionately called him Teen Wolf, because of the mutton chops ) was nice enough, but absent so many times throughout the evening. It was New Years Eve, and we sat and waited a considerable amount of time before someone was around to take a drink order. They were waiting for our entire party to arrive first..didnt understand why - for a drink?
Service throughout the night was sporadic, at times completely absent, and although our server was pleasant enough - service was frustrating. Seeing staff standing around at the back of the restaurant while we were sitting waiting at times was hard to swallow - now onto the food.
As a vegetarian - options were limited - I ordered 2 things - Roasted Beet Salad, followed by linguini with artichokes, black pepper and pecorino cheese. The roasted beet salad arrived and looked nice. Now I should say that it was tasty in so much that it had goats cheese, beets and candied walnuts in it. Unfortunately, the only thing that required preparation - the roasting of the beets, seemed to be lacking. Most slices were very hard - and required heavy duty use of the knife. Bummer. Now onto the next course, the pasta. The server asked if I wanted more vegetables in it - I said sure ( $4 surcharge added to the bill - would have been nice to have known that ). The portion was plentiful. Unfortunately it was bland, bland, bland. I kept thinking - I have made better at home... I only ate half of it. If it wasnt New Years and we were out for a festive night, I would have sent it back. A friend tasted it as well and thought it was terrible too. :(
Friends ordered the Baileys Cheesecake - which strangely enough - arrived in a glass. Kind of like a mini tiramisu type thing which could have worked if it wasnt so poorly executed. They had trouble cutting through the hard crust on the bottom of the glass. Crazy.
New Years Eve came and we were all given a couple of ounces of Prosecco. All in all the restaurant felt slightly sad and uninspired. I am surprised at some of the positive responses. I may have gone on a bad night - but I will not be back. With so many dynamic restaurants in Calgary - I will go somewhere else.