national on 17th

i'm so over national. i have been there quite a few times and i don't know why i keep coming back. i do love their beer selection. but the food is mediocre at best. i think that is expensive for what you get. the servers have been good every time i've been there. the other staff are quite rude and snotty. i really like the decor and the patio but the wood benches become quite uncomfortable if you are there for more than a couple hours. i would say skip this place...save yourself the aggregation and money and go elsewhere. i will be taking my business to beer revolution which has an excellentselectionof food and awesome food.

was here yesterday, greatselectionof beers and had the ribs which were good. holly, the waitress provided excellent service! we will go back

started a bit of an impromptu 17th ave pub crawl here, was surprised to be able to get a table so easily inside by a window on saturday evening - patio was packed, no surprise there though, it was gorgeous outside.  our group had a great server, she was quick, friendly, made some super suggestions - she knew what she was talking about (which sounds simple, but i have found that to not be the case in other national locations).  

as usual, the beerselectionwas good, no complaints there.  

between the 6 of us we had a decentselectionof food, everyone enjoyed their meals - it all came out fairly quickly, there was a delay in my sister getting her fish tacos, but it was quickly remedied and the server handled it really well, so nothing to complain about.  my so had the prime rib sandwich w/ fries and really enjoyed his choice, especially for the price point, it was a big meal.  i went for the veggie burger & tater tots (cause... again, tater tots) - it was actually really good, tons of flavor, my so tried it and even he thought it was good (high praise from him, considering the disgusted face he usually makes when i chose to order a veggie burger despite the fact i am not a vegetarian) - with guac, clive sauce and melted cheese curds & sprouts it had a ton in there and i could barely finish it.  my only complaint is that the veggie patty itself falls apart and makes the whole thing fairly difficult to eat, but i would absolutely get it again.

after some negative experiences at the one on 10th my early opinion of the national chain was lower - but between our frequent positive visits to the one in westhills (closer to home) and the positive experience on saturday, i can honestly say my opinion is changing for the better!

come here all the time. tonight was $20 prime rib and live music. you can't go wrong with the ridiculous beerselectionwhich this place is famous for.

not 100% sure how i feel about national on 17th. the first time i had oysters here they were perfect and our server was very attentive, the last time we were in our server did not seem to have been trained well, we appreciate that she went to ask someone about anything she didn't know though, she never tried to bs us even though i'm sure that would have been more convenient for her. the oysters this night were not great and i think the wineselectioncould desperately use improvement.

good beer ...soso food. great beer selection!
why more bc (10+) beers than alberta beers (6)? (it’s not their fault alcb/aglc/ provincial government policies. ) i could rant on this, but this not the forum to talk about these policies.
i liked the revolving beer departure menu/sign board. who was the original bar/restaurant that came up with it?
i would come back for the beerselectionbut the salad i had put me off for ordering food in the future.

my gf and i use a 75% rating rule when it comes to restaurants we check out on urbanspoon. however, i feel like the national has been unfairly maligned. i do agree that the service could use work but when i read reviews that complain about tater-tots being factory made (they're tots dude) or crab tasting fishy (it's an ocean-dwelling bottomfeeder broo) i have to shake my head. the beerselectionis great and this has become my go-to place when the ship's food specials become repetitive. give the chicken club a shot and tell me i'm wrong.

good drinking spot, no good gf options. i visit national on 17th quite a bit, but only for drinks after work or on the weekend. greatselectionof beers, gf beers and the lemonade is amazing.

only downside is theselectionof food. they have gf options, but they are not true gf options. they have gf buns, but use the same toaster as the regular stuff etc.

the wait staff are pretty informed about the gluten cross contamination... now!

if you are a true celiac, this is not the place for you... unless you like plain salad!
if only they would pay a little more attention to the cross contamination, more ppl could eat there.


-----30 aug, 2012-----

drinking made easy.... been to national only for drinks on a friday night in august first impression... i like it.
crowd is good, ages 27-37ish. good mix and not too young!
i love the location, patio and atmosphere...although i must say worst bar does the german thing better, but national's location when bar hopping can't be beat!

update: dec 8/12 they have gf selections for beer and food! food was pretty tasty (had a beef burger) but it took our waitress 3 tries (in total 1/2hr) going back to the kitchen to figure out what was gf on the menu....one suggestion, know your menu! also, this is not truly gf place, they don't worry about cross-contamination.

i was already drinking so i didn't notice the pain... but i definitely paid the price for the next 4 days... staff should know their menu's.

hostess was amazing!

excellent atmosphere. awesomeselectionof beer, small menu but would have to say best fish tacos ever!!

good time and atmosphere. it is refreshing to see a new concept in calgary turn out to be successful. went for casual drinks and appies with my wife on a saturday and was pleasantly surprised. we arrived about 7pm and the place was nearly full. the family style seating is interesting for a pub but it works. the door person was polite and showed us where to sit immediately. it took a few minutes to get served but after that the evening flowed smoothly. the food coming from the back all looked fantastic and theselectionof draught beers is second to none. the menu is a bit different from regular pub grub which provides a nice spin on your typical calgary pub experience. definitely recommend this place but you should arrive early as it fills up.

worth a second try. i've been to national twice now. the first time was a total bust - terrible service, slow food. but the second time was great! we had a table of 10 and our waitress was superb. she was quite knowledgeable about the menu and was able to make some excellent recommendations - helpful since their beerselectionis huge. drinks were always refilled, and the service was great. food for the most part is good - you should probably stick to stuff with more substance like the charcuterie board, or entrees - or you'll find that it might feel overpriced (i.e. the stuffed jalepenos or the beer cheese spread w/ crackers). we happened to be there for "buck o shuck" as well and the oysters were delishhhh (& don't break the bank!). i'll definitely be back for more oysters, the fish tacos (heard they were awesome) and to try more beers! guess i'd just warn against bad servers who ruin your experience - overall this place is great and definitely worth checking out.

high hopes, but not great. beerselectionwas fairly mundane for a beer geek. the only beer i went down for was out! the pork sausage in the soft egg, scotch egg (nearly genius) was not cooked through. i'm not a fan of pork tartar. the wings were bland and a bit tough. the waitresses we dealt with were very nice. no problems there. music was too loud for conversation to take place. i did appreciate the acoustic tiles on the ceiling though. wouldn't go back unless there were some really special beers on tap.

i am surprised at all the good reviews this resturant received. my fiance and i went there a few weeks ago on a sunday night at around 9pm for dinner and a few drinks. our first impressions were good. the decor is nice and we liked how all the beers were listed above the bar on an arrival / departure board like you would see at a train station in europe. the tables were like picnic style group seating. which we liked. the decor gave the place an interesting twist. although eventually i got so tired of sitting on the hard wood benchs. on first glance the menu prices seemed reasonable. until you get your food and actually see what you are getting for that price. i ordered the $14 chicken burger without a side. it came with what looked like lays potato chips dumped on the plate. if you are going to serve potato chips as a side make your own. and if you decide to go with store bought don't empty the bag crums and all onto the plate. the presentation was horrible. there was not enough chicken on the burger and it was kind of blane. not bad just ok. my fiance had a burger and a side of fries. the side of fries was an extra $3 on top of the $15 they charge for the burger. again the food was blane and just ok. he never even finished his burger. we did order a starter of wings which we both liked. the food is served on cutting board style plates which is kind of neat. beverages are served in mason jars. not cool. not trendy. theselectionof beers was nice and it was fun trying some new things. at the end of the night when the bill came, there was a little bit of sticker shock. over $100 for nothing. the only thing this place has going for it is the decor, beerselectionand location. if you are going there to eat you are wasting your money. if you are going there to drink you will spend a fortune. my recommendation is if you are looking for the atmosphere of national and have a $100 to spend for a couple of drinks and food go to wurst located on 4th street and 25th ave. don't go to national.

love it!. great location and the open concept is perfect for socializing and a wonderfulselectionof fun food to share. will be back!

just ok... nothing special!. my wife & i eat out 7 days a week and are always tempted to try new places and realize that their service may not be fine tuned in the early stages of their operations. this place is owned by the same group as model milk, double zero pizza and i believe maybe also flames central. personally i do not like communal tables (like in this place)... nor do i enjoy the new trendy "share everything" concept with the dishes that so many other places try to distinguish themselves from their competition. we both had the burger and ranked it "run of the mill" where there was nothing really special. in fact, there are quite a number of other restaurants in calgary that would beat national for the title of best burger. the fries were way too salty for our liking. on to the beer! can't say that theselectionis too little, however, i would have liked to have seen some of my favourite bottled varieties such as newcastle, leffe, chimay, etc. but, then again, tasting a different variety isn't all that bad an idea. the patrons that frequent this establishment are one tiny step above the ship & anchor - a little "blue collery" with plenty of ink to keep people watchers occupied! their corner patio andselectionof beer may convince me to return on occasion.