smuggler's inn

smugglers has been around forever and is a calgary staple! i love the traditional steak house interior with the ornate furnishings. they have a exceptional menu with some of the best prime rib in town. i tried some prime rib with gravy on top and it was so delicious. i couldn’t believe the size of this cut! for my main course however, i ordered the lobster tail dinner. the tails were cooked perfectly!! i also substituted a baked potato for rice which was a great choice as the rice looked quite bland. there is a salad bar at smugglers that you are free to enjoy before the main course arrives. i found the salad bar to be mediocre at best. no caesar salads either! shocking! i asked the waiter for one and he said he had never heard that request before lol. smugglers could be a 5/5 but i really was not impressed with the service at all. i found our waiter to be rude as he assumed be were only there for appetizers. he said “you can have the salad bar unless you order a main”, and we replied ‘ummm yeas don’t worry we are fully planning on ordering main courses”. 💁🏼‍♀️ appetizers were good but salty. we ordered the escargot and bacon wrapped scallops. we will be back, i just hope the servers become more professional.

great food, staff and value. 
glad to see they stick to their time-honoured winning recipe. everything is top notch from great burgers at lunch to prime-rib dinner on sunday or the excellent birthday desserts.

i was here for brunch buffet on the weekend, and it was disappointing. i remember going to the brunch buffet when i was young and it had a huge variety food and the place was packed with people. now, there's a lot less food and only a few groups of people. the quality wasn't great either. the beef was dry and wasn't well marbled. they also had nachos and perogies as part of their hot entrees, which i personally wouldn't go crazy for at a brunch buffet. everything at the salad and dessert bars was great though.

throwback to the old days when all you could get in this town was steak. we went for the sunday buffet. same old. the place is a cave in need of a serious makeover. it just goes on and on and on. if you didn't know where the washroom was you'd get lost and they'd never find you.

good steak house, first time here. self serve soup and salad is great! the steak soup was flavoured wonderfully. ordered the rib eye, unlike most rib eyes mine did not have much fat which was good. service is friendly and fast will definitely return

ventured in the other night as it has been years since my last visit. sad to say it will be years if ever i return. pleased to see the same retro decor but can strongly say the food has gone downhill since my last visit. soups were tasty but the salad bar was poorly stocked. and, sorry to sound overly picky, but since you have a salad bar every night, is it not possible to have better signage of the items than a dry erase marker on the sneeze guard? soups were very clearly labeled....why can't the salad bar be too?

ordered the signature prime rib. bland and poorly seasoned. yorkshire pudding was a joke size wise....i've seen mini stuffed yorkshires at pubs twice the size of the one i received. side veg was very well done cauliflower. overall....not impressed. maybe should have tried one of the other concepts.

the best prime rib in the city! some days they are slightly off i'm not sure if it's a different part of the prime rib. on their bad days i still give them a 4/5. i finished a 32 ounce here once. this picture is a 22 oz. they offer free salad bar with the main course. it's a good value as well.

when an amazing meal is on the menu, with a fireplace and cozy place to catch up and be inspired, and be an encouragement, the route points to @smuggler's.  a treat and the only stop for myself, and @npginc

i loved the soup and salad bar. we were all starving when we arrived so it was great that we didn't have to wait for appetizers. i ordered the salmon and it wasn't that great. the salmon was very underseasoned- if it was seasoned at all. our waitress was nice but i felt very rushed.

my friends & i have been coming here for decades.  we love the cosy atmosphere, comfy chairs & non-intrusive music & lighting. the sausage/bean soup is always great, but on our last visit the steak soup was poor - brown gravy with no obvious pieces of meat. the salad bar selection is top notch & was promptly refilled as things disappeared. the prime rib continues to be the best i've ever eaten & very reasonably priced considering the portion size. my friends new york steak was perfectly cooked.  all in all an exceptional place to eat in calgary.

my husband and i went here for his birthday. we have eaten here many times before and it's always been pretty good, while this last experience was horrendous! our server was super flakey and awful! she asked me about four times if i wanted a drink after i had already said i was fine with water. our food took forever, we both ordered the prime rib medium rare... they came finally and not only were they overcooked but they were cold. once when i went to the bathroom i saw our server in the hallway texting on her phone, perhaps that's why our food was cold?

anyway, after we finally tracked her down after waiting about 15 minutes we sent our food back. another 40 minutes and they showed up, cooked better but still not to our liking and still cold!

we sat with our food in front of us finished for about 25 minutes before she cleared our plates. after dessert she asked us if we wanted anything else we told her no just the bill please. she came around again and by this point the restaurant was empty and again asked if we wanted coffee or tea and we said no just the bill... after another 15 minutes she brought the bill but no machine... another 15 mins and finally she shows up with the machine. did we leave a tip? no we did not, because she didn't deserve one she was awful! if you don't like your job or being friendly then maybe think of another career. she then tried to get us to sign up for their royalty program, no can do.... we will never be back. so beyond disappointed!

i eat been here a few times over the years and for the most part the experience has always been pretty solid. this time was no exception. you pretty much have to be a meat eater to make it worthwhile as the cuts are amazing.

the ambience is private and dim lit to enable dinner conversation even during the age of smartphone distraction, and the servers know their stuff.

i make no exception when i come here for my prime rib every time with horseradish. the appys and starters are also quite timeless with things like stuffed mushrooms and escargot in a savoury butter sauce that you have to dip your bread into after the last morsel.

i also had the smugglers ale which is locally brewed just for them. the salad bar is also a nice touch which helps motivate your meal being revisited after when you dive into your leftovers.

the price is however a little on the high side and the servers tend to rush your meal since turnover for peak dinner time needs to be high.

will be back but not for more than special occasions. dining here on the regular should be a treat since the prices are premium.

we really enjoy coming to smugglers. my dad loves their steak soup, and i have to agree with him. the soup and salad bar is excellent. while i do like prime rib, i am a sucker filet mignon so end up getting that instead. always cooked very nicely and has a soft, buttery texture. their escargot is also very good, so much garlic and butter, what's not to like?

i have been coming here for decades.  it is the "go to" place for excellent prime rib. there are other items on the menu including chicken and fish, but i have never ordered them, as the beef is superior.   the salad bar including bread and soup are an added bonus, which is included in your meal. the only small negative i have to say is that it is somewhat dark, and little hard to see.  service has always been excellent.

been coming here for well over a decade. smugglers inn serves excellent prime rib at very reasonable prices, while the service level is top notch and gourmet level. the salad bar that comes with most entrées, offers great selection. i love the portuguese sausage and steak soups, absolutely delicious. i usually go for the prime rib sandwich is around 8 oz of melt in your mouth prime beef. the service is always good, which brings me and my family back over and over again. have not had one bad meal here ever.