smuggler's inn

we were really impressed by theservicehere. food was great. my steak came medium when i asked for medium rare. they offerd to cook up a new one but i wasn't too bothered by it. the waitress gave us a free desert instead. other restaurants can learn something from these guys and how to treat customer's. thanks smugglers! !

this place is overrated the food is not the good and the food selection is not good.had the worstservicethey had one girl looking after 10 tables which was obviously too much for her i think the whole time we were there she came to our table once to refill our water. have been to the carriage house for brunch and it was way better than this place.

food is fantastic and reasonably priced,serviceis always exceptional.

prime rib dinner was cooked perfectly, the wife said the fish was excellent.

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 theserviceat 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.

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.serviceis friendly and fast will definitely return

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 theservicelevel 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. theserviceis always good, which brings me and my family back over and over again. have not had one bad meal here ever.

always a great choice!! they have the best prime rib and at a reasonable price too. i always eat too much at the soup and bread and salad bar because it's so good and fresh. theserviceis excellent. my boyfriend and i have been coming here for 5 years for all our special occasions. i do recommend making reservations on the weekends and plan ahead because the parking lot of always packed.

visited with a group of friends over lunch here. hadn't been in smuggler's for decades. its almost exactly as i remember it. :-)  i enjoyed the famous salad bar and added a grilled cheese sandwich. all good. theservicewas efficient and friendly. smuggler's is a great venue for catching up with friends and/or associates although perhaps a little pricy.

my wife and mother in law have been here twice for lunch recently and its a very wholesome meal for a reasonable cost. the soups and salad bar are excellent except it fills you up. i have had the steak sandwich and the beef dip and both satisfied a beef lovers appetite. theserviceis excellent and you don't have to wait to eat. we used to go here 15 years ago and it is still a great place to eat and you will not go home hungry. i highly recommend it.

easter brunch. we were very disappointed that they had run out of prime rib by noon on an easter sunday?? we chose this brunch specifically for the prime rib, given that it is the house specialty. no offer of a discount was made.servicewas fine.

valentine's day. i thought i was being pro-active booking near the beginning of feb for a valentine's dinner date with my so. however, they were booked solid so i opted to do our v-day date on feb 13. we booked for 7 pm and were promptly welcomed and seated at our table, near the fireplace/salad bar.

the salad bar was well stocked and fresh and i could have enjoyed my dinner just there alone. but, with restraint, we both ordered our entrees. i went with the seafood platter and he with the prime-rib which he ordered rare. all was done well,servicewas timely and he decided that next time he would order it medium-rare as he felt it was too under-cooked for him; personal error, not at all the kitchen's fault. flavours were excellent, portions were generous and we had a great night out. i hadn't been in several years and the reviews as of late freaked me out a bit, but it was the tried & true smuggler's experience i always remembered.
thanks smuggler's for a lovely evening.

had dinner at smuggler's tonight and it was ..okay. prices are acceptable given that the soup & salad bar are included with entrees ($16 if you just want the soup & salad bar access seems quite steep, but still.). i just didn't think quality was there anymore, though. a few updates wouldn't go amiss. for example, the dressings on the salad bar look and taste like bottled kraft dressing, french fries are doppelgängers for foodservicefries, and the red skinned garlic mashers are pretty similar to a foodserviceproduct as well. that said, we were consistently underwhelmed (i.e. our plates were lukewarm when they reached us) but nothing was terrible. the salad bar had baby kale as well as the old-school (jello! canned peaches! mayo pasta salad!) fresh -and the most things did look fresh- items. desserts are huge, and ordered from a tray of plastic replicas. the room feels like a movie set with dark timbers, low flickering light, solid tables and throne-style chairs.servicewas attentive.

salad bar. the only thing was that the lettuce didn't seem as fresh/crisp as it could have been as some of the edges were brown and we were there very early in the evening. the spinach and everything else on the salad bar was good. i really do miss the wasabi dressing and this time the bean salad was different too. i prefer the other.


-----26 may, 2014-----

another great meal, late evening sat, may 24th/2014. i looked at some of the reviews and was surprised by some of the negativity. we went for supper just after 9:00 (they close at 10) because my partner worked late and he’d been craving the portugese bean & sausage soup as well as the ribs for a few days just before. this is all he ever has and the last 2 times i have switched my favorite and each time our meals are great!!. naturally because we were so late in the evening, most of that soup was gone. he did manage to get a bowl but did see they took the pot away. he thought he'd check in case they brought out more (i told him they would not) but he came back very happy & grinning the i should have bet you look!!). we’ve never had a bad meal there and we go 3 - 4 times per year. we have been there twice already this year. we do not live in a perfect world and yes we've had a minor setback for instance a time when our waitress did not bring my wine with dinner & yes we did get free desert as an apology. what more can we ask for? yes i wanted it & was a disappointing but again was minor. things happen and these things do not happen often. come on people we have to be a little more giving & understanding. i know i speak for a few of us, we find the price affordable, like having the salad bar &serviceis good.


-----20 apr, 2013-----

great evening. was back at smugglers for 2nd time this year. a friend of mines birthday is 7 days before mine towards the end of march. we don't get a chance to visit often & i had mentioned we go there. she hadn't been in years. i had the same dish and it was as good as before so there is consistency there. we had a wonderful dinner and visit. thanks.


-----11 feb, 2013-----

supper - feb 7/13. as a family when we were younger we got to go out for meal and be treated special say your 18th birthday etc. anyhows after many years away, went back there last year and had a great meal. i have been there 4 times since mar 2012 with the most recent feb 7/13. i suggested to an elderly friend of mine we go there for supper as we treat ourselves once a year. she had never been before & was appreciative that it is a place to get food that isn't all really expensive. she most certainly did but i also enjoyed your salad bar and the chicken neptune was plenty and flavorful. we were able to chat in normal voices and our waiter was great also. she'd love to go back another time. thank you for not only a great dinner experience but for a memory that i shall cherish sharing it with her!!

gf (not by choice). i really love the food at smugglers, but i really appreciate the gluten free menu selections. as well, the salad bar puts me in control, which is great because i have so many dietary restrictions. as well, theserviceis always great - there's a reason the restaurant has been around for decades!!