ox bar de tapas

ox bar does it right! stop in for a creative cocktail or a glass (or pitcher) of sangria. the tapas here are fresh and tasty. plenty of variety to please everyone. cute little patio area to enjoy on 17th ave. delicious patatas bravas, croquettas, and churros! yummy :)

intimate atmosphere. went on a weeknight, the place was busy but not crowded. our server was knowledgeable and attentive. he timed tapas to arrive as we finished them so the table was never crowded. the food was fantastic, our favs were the fried chicken, flank steak, house salad and potatoes. definitely recommend going as a group to try several tapas from the menu.

i used to enjoy their food here before when it was ox & angela.

the quality of food has gone downhill in recent years. hoping to try this place again one day.

on sunday afternoon, amanda, her baby and i checked out the alley party on 17th ave sw. councillor evan woolley and his team spearheaded this initiative to help businesses during the road closure on 17th ave. the street in front of ox bar de tapas, ricardo’s hideaway, national and the ship and anchor were closed off, but the back alley was transformed into backyard parties, complete with djs, games and activities for kids.

just been renovated  more all of a lounge atmosphere now.   great service and fantastic food, brought to you by the same folks as una pizza and native tongue.  the food is inventive and tasty. nuff said. you will not be disappointed.

good food but terrible ambiance. we had dinner at the restaurant and they were playing this irritatingly loud lame rap music. we had to shout to each other. i asked them to change the music and they only turned it down slightly. i guess if i was in a bar having a beer i would put up with rap music, but if i was on a date i would have left. what could kill the atmosphere more than loud rap music at a restaurant? these people have no class.

food is delish!! a bit pricey, but the atmosphere makes up for it. cocktails are also great! get the chef menu - totally worth it, and you can try a bunch of options

came here as it was highly recommended and it was big taste calgary.  i honestly gave it an optimistic approach and here's my findings:

location had difficult parking (it is 17th, so not a huge surprise here). 

resos for 8:30 had us waiting for close to 20 minutes by a drafty door.  they had a server bring us a round of prosecco which was nice, and having to wait is a good problem for this place, as it means they were busy, and had a lot of people enjoying.  not a negative point in this writeup.

we were seated and there was five of us total.  4/5 got the big taste at $35/pp.  the 5th person ordered from the regular menu three items (but did not look at the big taste menu).  

when our food came, the 4 of us dove into a small portion of each course, and it was demolished quickly.  each course was simply tiny, maybe it was just the way tapas are meant to be?  small portions, shared, long delivery time in between courses means you get full faster?

the fifth person who ordered full items got an order of the steak (7oz), and an order of the potatoes of which we dove into with her to share.  now keep this in mind, one order of steak for one person was about $15 or something.  potatoes, a full plate, also about $15.  

to our surprise, those same items were on our big taste menu.  and between the four of us whom all ordered the big taste, a duplicate of one steak plate and one potato plate came out.  we had a good laugh at the fact the the 5th person ordered the same items, and then reality set in. 

if each of us was paying $35 and they brought us one steak and one potato to split between four people, the portions are clearly wrong and therefore gouging us who were duped into trying the big taste menu.  didn't leave very happy with the experience overall.

the sampler plates were literally just a small bite for everyone, of which, we were better off ordering off the menu.  this wasn't a good showcase of the hype we were geared for here.  

maybe we should have just had two of us do the big taste menu, as clearly the portions wouldn't have been really effected?  

service was great,

tapas is one of my favorite ways to dine out.  i really enjoy being able to taste multiple dishes in one sitting.  ox and angela didn't disappoint with the food.  we tried the kale salad, mushroom toast, meatballs and flank steak.  all were very tasty.  however, i have two negative points regarding service.  the first is with the order in which we were served.  we were brought two of our tapas plates before our drinks arrived.  when we mentioned this to the food runner he made sure to try and up-sell us on bread before checking on our drinks.  second, we had to ask for clean plates.  i have had tapas in spain and in turkey.... the wait staff just bring clean plates when necessary.  given the cost at ox and angela, i would think that this would be done without having to ask.  again, the food runner gave us a blank stare when we requested this.  i suppose, she doesn't know this was common in tapas restaurants.  possibly some training should be in order.  i won't be rushing back to ox and angela any time soon.

had a great time at ox & angela on friday night. definitely have to make a reservation!! and if it is cold out, ask to sit away from the door because it can get quite drafty. the food was incredible! we shared a few (quite a few) tapas plates between the four of us. it did work out to enough food, but would have been better to share between two instead of four! the portions are quite small, but delicious! next time i would love to try the paella for the table, which would be more of a meal! will definitely be back to try more dishes.

what a great evening! our dinner club met here and had a blast. greeted and seated we were well looked after for three hours. we made life easy on ourselves and ordered the spanish table and jugs of red and white sangria. the food arrived at well paced intervals. it was fantastic. each dish became our new favourite. 👍 the sangria was very good too, less sweet than some, allowing the fruit and wine to shine. dangerous. tapas and sangria is an excellent way to enjoy the company of friends. gracias team ox & angela.

wow, i'm impressed by how much i like ox and angela - certainly wish i tried it sooner! my first experience was an impromptu trip for dinner. we ordered multiple tapas to share as the items on the spanish table menu didn't quite entice us. the roasted rainbow carrots were fabulous - the tahini, goat yogurt, and feta added just the right amounts of saltiness and tartness to the charred flavour of the carrots. of course, i also loved the famous patatas bravas. they were so crispy and the brava sauce and creamy alioli balanced each other perfectly. my favourite of the night was the mushrooms on sourdough toast with poached egg. the mushrooms were fragrant of truffles and the house-made sourdough bread was delicious. i would have ordered more sourdough if i wasn't so full from everything else! my dining partner's favourite dish was the fried chicken. the chicken was rich and succulent, but the acidity of the orange glaze cut through it. 
we returned to ox and angela over the weekend and indulged in the brunch table. the sautéed mushroom eggs benedict with truffle hollandaise and the olive oil dark chocolate pancakes with dulce de leche were my favourite items from the menu. overall, exceptional food quality and great service in a beautiful dining room. can't wait to go back!

love it! come here for girls get together and food is always great. the only one bad part is that this place gets super loud for some reason and it's hard to actually hear person next to you during a conversation. so everyone starts to talk louder and louder haha. food is great and service is great though. always a fun night!

i really don't understand what the hype of this place is.  i've gone here several times and always left disappointed.  the interior is a slightly more renovated version of the bungalow (for those who remember).  the food average at the very best.  pricing seems quite high.  went here for dinner of 4,  (no where close to being full) no alcohol, and our bill was over 200.

we have friends who insist this place tops the list of favourite restaurants in yyc. we were visiting for the weekend and decided to try some quality tapas. the waitress recommended the spanish table option (essentially their tasting menu), as this was our first time. the first courses arrived quickly, and but for the small serving sizes, they did not disappoint. what did disappoint was the service. there was a period of 40 minutes between courses, where no one checked in on us, while tables cleared around us. by the time our hot plates arrived, there were no apologies or recognition of the fact that such a delay was out of their usual character. i understand that there may be busy nights that cause backlogs in getting orders out, but given the fact that the restaurant was over half empty, there seemed to be no reasonable explanation of why we were ignored for so long. ultimately, poor service overshadowed the meal itself, and i doubt that we will return in the future.