cleaver

we came with a group and tried several appetizers, mains and drinks (including my fave, the super soft birthday!), but the main event at cleaver is definitely their extensive slider menu. i plan to return soon for drinks and shared snacks or really any meal when i havetimein my schedule for a sodium-induced blood pressure spike afterwards. i do get grumpy when food is served on big, sliding platters like this that clutter the table, but that was a small price to pay for such creative dishes and drinks at what felt like reasonable prices considering the quality and selection. service was friendly and helpful from when i made the reservation until it wastimeto get the bill, the attention to detail for our friend’s allergies was reassuring and the bustling, energetic atmosphere really made our dinner with friends feel like a big night out. i highly recommend cleaver for your next night out – just remember to wear your stretchy pants!

horrible experience. during our visit this past friday, the bearded hostess became hysterical and had a tantrum when we took down the umbrella at the table to get some more sun rather than talking to us like a rational adult. judging by the multiple bad reviews this is not the firsttimehe’s had a meltdown with customers and staff. save yourself the unpleasant experience and spend your money elsewhere.

i came here for the firsttimeto try one of their infamous caesars. i would say it is comparable to buying food at the stampede grounds. the chicken on the skewer was incredibly greasy and flavourless. the slider needed more of a sauce... ketchup would have been an improvement. the bacon strip was a bacon strip. the pig in a blanket was a deep fried battered sausage that was mediocre at best. the waffle was actually the best part of the caesar... it was actually better than the caesar itself. very trendy place, and i can't speak for the rest of the menu, but the server was abrupt and disingenuous.

maybe i would give it a second chance.

if you’re a party of 2 people and you’re looking to feel rushed, unwelcome and pressured to order, eat and get the heck out of there in an hour or less, this is the place for you! after 2 such episodes in a row, although i enjoy the food, and would probably like some of the cocktails if there wastimefor that and some wine with dinner, i will not be back at cleaver, nor will i recommend to anyone i know. they have zero interest in your overall experience.

i don’t know why cleaver is only rated 4.1/5 on google - it’s one of my favourite restaurants in the city. i come here a lot .... maybe once per week or every second week. i come here on dates, i come here with groups of friends, even with my adventurous 70 year old dad. i’ve never had bad service once - not sure if camilo still works here but he used to greet me with a hug eachtimei came in.

cocktails are amazing, original and fun. whole menu is great, i’ve tried everything save for a couple of items and never once had any complaints.

while i do enjoy the duck, lamb, and tempura fish and chips sliders, i think the rest of the menu is where they shine. the bone marrow with the whiskey luge is delicious, creative and a fun experience i’ve never seen anywhere else. arguably the best mac and cheese in the city. wonderful bucatini and a beef tartare that can stand up nicely to my ultimate favourite at the living room.

everytimei come here it’s a wonderful experience - food, drinks and service.

for anyone out there who has had less than a wonderful time, i urge you to go back and engage with your server - ask them about the new cocktails, ask what they recommend, joke around with them. it will surely become a favourite restaurant for you in no time

went to cleaver for the firsttimeweekend, was seated at the bar, which was great because we got to watch all of the cocktails being made, they all look delicious, there was three of us, i tried three sliders, the matcha mushroom (which was my favourite), the crab slider and the tempura fish and chips slider, my friend had one of the pizzettes, which was delicious and my other friend had the mac and cheese, which i didn't get a picture of, she said it was the best mac and cheese she'd ever had, we also tried a bunch of the cocktails, everyone was excellent, my favourite were the original sin and the turning japanese. it was a small restaurant with only 50 seats, but it had a cool vibe, and all of the staff was so friendly. i can't wait to go back abd try more.

if i could give them negative stars i would.

this place is the absolute worst.

 we went there for my birthday dinner. we booked a table for two, got seated at the bar, was told it was a three hour wait for a table. so we just took the seats they offered us. sitting at the bar for what was supposed to be a nice birthday dinner wasn't nice at all.

not a good start.

took a solid 15 minutes before our server came to take our drink order; when my partner ordered a cocktail and a glass a prosecco so we could have a toast, she straight up said "no, you can't order two drinks", stating something about it being 2 oz. pours. all while the two people directly beside us had a cocktail and a glass of bubbly each in front of them.

next up, the menu is incredibly unclear, and the server looked at us like we were nuts for asking her questions about it. sorry. it was our first (and last)timethere. she also had no idea how to explain any of the food and was very rude/condescending about. so we ordered the steak tartare to start, it's a pretty straight forward dish. we sat there and watched the guys beside us receive course after course of what looked like really great food. even the people who sat on the other side of us were getting their food. we still had not seen ours, nor had anyone been by to check in. also, at this point, our drinks were empty for about 30 mins now. completely unacceptable. especially while seated at the bar.

finally, after about 45-50 minutes, our server stops by and is all surprised that our tartare had not come out, saying something about the kitchen being backed up--- yet everyone else around us was getting their food.

so i asked to speak to the manager. man was that ever a mistake. she comes over with the fakest smile, and oh! she "conveniently" has our food.

she didn't even apologize.

she tried to force us to take the tartare, when we said 'no, we're incredibly unhappy now, please send it back' she tried again to get us to take the food and to "hang out". we told her that everything has been incredibly unacceptable, she didn't seem to care at all, we just wanted to leave. so she says she'll bring us our bill and we say "we;d really appreciate it if you would comp the drinks" and she flat out said "no". so we once again tried to explain to her how awful our experience had been and that the least she could do is cover the 3 drinks on there (i ended up getting a glass of wine after 30 minutes of waiting, which i didn't even get to drink but was forced to pay for) she said she wouldn't be doing that, so we said we were going to leave the bill for her to deal with, and she then threatened to call the cops on us if we did leave. so we were forced to pay our bill, which now i really wish we hadn't done and let her call the cops and see what they have to say about wasting theirtimeover $42 after what they put us through. this was the worst experience either of us have ever had at a restaurant. three days later and i'm still upset by it.

do not go here.

just don't do it. and don't go next door to gringostreet either.

go anywhere else.

i’ve been to cleaver several times, at different times of the day. happy hour is always busy, the cocktails small but tasty ($7). sliders decent as well. for brunch their benny’s are the way to go. breakfast poutine is literally made with fries and not hash browns or breakfast potatoes as you might expect - not worth it in my opinion. the thing that lacks here is definitely the service. eachtimei have been i have encountered some type of issue or cold feeling from the servers - be it that they are trying to push drinks on you or push you out when you’re done .. or the opposite. last saturday i waited approximately 10 minutes before anyone came by to offer to take our order.. meanwhile the servers were socializing behind us and actually dancing around, videoing it to put on ig rather than doing their job. if you care about kind, friendly, prompt service - go elsewhere.

brunch last sunday at clever was really good.  my wife and i both started with a caesar.  we ordered the version with the crazy amount of garnishes.  it came complete with fried chicken, a slider, waffle, bacon and a corn dog.  all were great and the caesar tasty.  after our appetizer we shared the brisket benny.  it was really tasty.  the little bit of bbq sauce gave it a nice sweetness that matched really well with the eggs and hollandaise.  i did find the service to be a bit weak.  we had to ask for napkins, plates, flatware and remind our server about missing drink orders.  regardless, the food quality, comfortable out door seating and ability to make a reservation for brunch will lead me back to cleaver the nexttimei am in calgary.

we went to cleaver for the firsttimethis weekend and made a reso for my birthday. when we arrived, we were taken to two seats... at the bar - not what we were expecting. i'm not against sitting at the bar when a resto is busy. but since we had made dinner plans for a special occasion, it killed our mood a bit and felt that cleaver should have told us this when we made the reso.

food-wise, we liked our dishes albeit a little pricey. the seared tuna is flavourful but very small plate with the smallest lettuce wraps to use. the kale salad with chicken was spot on, very well done. the polenta chips were amazing! duck slider was ok.

overall, the service was fine with food being served fairly quickly. but we felt a bit rushed as it seemed like the priority was to turn over seats as quickly as possible. i'd give the food a 4 but the restaurant experience a 2. i might come back at happy hour as that seems to be the best value. perhaps they can win me over next time.

was very disappointed. we have been to cleaver several times before but it was our firsttimebeing served by bri and she made our experience very poor. first, she came up to our table and demanded that we move tables to accommodate a large party that had walked in, we obliged but she was very rude and abrupt when telling us to move, again telling, not asking...after we had made a reservation and had been at that table for around an hour already. when we did move she continued to have an attitude, slamming drinks down, throwing our bills at us etc. when taking payments she did not interact with us but flirted with the table behind us and did not offer copies of our receipts. the food was good and in the times we have come to cleaver before we have enjoyed our experience. also, it is important to mention that the restaurant did take care of a round of drinks due to them moving us (did not lead with this though, only when we didn't seem thrilled was it offered) but it wasn't enough to salvage our server bri's rudeness. will think twice before coming back.

it is always a great experience going to cleaver! their food is geared towards comfort food, but with a delightful twist. the firsttimei went to cleaver, it was during a 2016 burger fest yyc crawl and everyone agreed that it was hands down the best burger out of the crawl!

my boyfriend and i came one night during their happy hour ($3 sliders and $5 2 oz cocktails!). we tried all of the sliders and our favorite was the buttermilk chicken and soft shell crab! in addition to their food, they have an extensive list of cocktails that you would not be able to find elsewhere, i loved the sticky wicket and my boyfriend loved that their long island iced tea was made from scratch.

if you intend on checking out cleaver, i would highly highly recommend sitting at the bar. the bartenders are hilarious and very knowledgeable in their cocktails. they'll ensure that you will have a good time!

well we're do i start. the food is ok nothing special the prices are waaaay to much to the food you get.
and the best part you are limited intimeso eat fast.
we were told to not to worry we still have 30 minutes to finish our dinner i have never been in restaurant that would limit me intime
so i would say i would not be back or recommend this place

the food is good ish, the drinks are actually surprisingly great but as are most places in calgary overpriced but to be expected however the service is absolutely appealing. we have been a couple of times once with a group of 4 and the othertimea group of 8 and both times were truly unfortunate.

i went there for the firsttimewith my friends for my birthday dinner. it was pretty busy even during construction. service was fine. the food was unique but it was pretty awesome :)! but i gotta say the drinks are pretty interesting...most tasted awful. i'll be back for the food though! try out the chicken and trio sliders soo goodddd :)