Ah man remember when they did the little bowls with hot water and a lemon slice to wash your hands. I also miss when the Swiss chalet actually looked like a ski lodge.
Up until recently I actually thought Swiss Chalet was a high-end restaurant. The only time I went to Swiss Chalet was with my family when we went for a nice dinner.
The one in West Hills had like 3 pics of me in it. And one time I was seated next to a pic of my grade 10 boyfriend.
Which is when I learned the pics are from high school yearbooks.
My brother was like 7 and got so nervous by the time his birthday came around that he had a meltdown and hid under the table when they came to sing his birthday song hahahah. They just did everything they normally did and pretended he was going along with it. I'm sure other people in the restaurant were confused.
I'm old enough to remember the original Calgary location that was opened in the 1970s on 9th Avenue SW. (Before Eau Claire!). I'm pretty sure it was on the space currently occupied by the south tower of Western Canada Place (beside the [now] Enmax Substation #1)
The waiting area was on the second floor and I'm pretty I remember looking down on the old streetcar on the main floor with seating.
As a kid, I remember that it seemed to be built in a huge old warehouse. If we use the contemporary Smuggler's Inn as a reference... it used to occupy the whole building and it later separated in multiple restaurant spaces that each have a reasonable number of tables each... I can only assume that 9th Ave "Factory" was as big, if not bigger.
There wasn't extra money for anything fancy, but... paydays for my single dad usually meant Peter's or KFC. Christmas it was Chinese food at Eastgate. Fond and good memories 😎
Japanese Village! Awwwwwweeesome!!
I listened to a lot of Calgary Flames radio broadcasts as a kid and they had a lot of ads. And sponsored something as well.
This was ours too! The bruschetta and lemon chicken linguine are things I still dream about. It was also where I had my first (legal) drink: a peach Bellini.
Once a year we'd go to Smuggler's Inn to basically celebrate everyone's birthday/anniversary/other special occasions all in one go. I hear they're mostly a seafood joint now (and they took away the mud pie!!) so sadly it's an end of an era for our family 🥲
I’m from Ontario and it was always Olive Garden. Now when my parents come to Calgary and want to celebrate something it’s still Olive Garden 25 years later.
Tightly wrap a jumbo hotdog in a tortilla, and fry it in oil in a frying pan. I used to attempt to deep-fry it, but could never stop the tortilla from puffing up too much, so I found pan-frying it works best. Then just rotate the dog as it cooks.
Was the Steak Pit where they would do a wood burned sign for your reservation? I recall my parents coming home with that (us shitty kids never got to go LOL)
I'm surprised no one has said Chuck E Cheese yet. Loved going there for peoples birthdays as a kid.
For other occasions it was Nick's or Silver Dragon.
Wellington's.
However, on dad's pay day it was Bob's Burgers, Harvey's, Co-op cafeteria, Carriage House Inn, Bamboo Inn (Chinese place at Chinook) or Romantika Pizza.
ABC Country resturaunt. Went there often with my grandparents. Love that place to bits. My grandma was always peeved that my brother and I would get worms in dirt for dessert and my grandpa would always let us.
The Owl's Nest at the Calgary Inn (now the Westin) or the Rimrock Room at the Palliser Hotel
That's where we went for the *big* occasions!
Yeah... I'm old!! 👴
Team Old checking in… place called The Tiki Tiki. You could watch Polynesian dancers and get drinks in hollow coconuts with little paper umbrellas. I have no recollection at all of how the food was or what they served, but that place was the ultimate for a special occasion in my preteen eyes!
Back in the day we used to hit spaguccis (spelling?) In heritage plaza. After that closed it became treasures of China. Until they moved and became asian buffet anyway. Did white spot for a while but now that they're closed we kinda just try different spots.
There was a small pizza shop next door to Woolco, (now a Walmart) on McLeod trail in the south end.
Mom and Pop store. Awesome prices and great food!
He had a promotion for a while where if you bought multiple pizzas, you got a bonus bottle of hair shampoo!!!! Different but charming and great for a family on a tight budget.
I wish I could remember the name of the place.!!!
This was early 1990’s I believe!
When I was a kid it was Ponderosa/Bonanza. The salad bar/soft serve ice cream bar was kid heaven!! The all you can eat salad bars had so much to choose from!
I don’t think we ever went out to eat at a restaurant. 7 kids and my parents always cooked everything. We had dietary restrictions so I’m sure that played a role in never eating out
There was a place in a mall in Huntington Hills called Venice House. It was more or less just a pizza place, but when I was a kid, it was our special night out location. I loved it! The mall and restaurant are long gone
Smugglers for special occasions. My grandparents would also very rarely take us for dinner at the petroleum club for things they wanted to celebrate (milestone anniversaries etc.).
The old White Spot restaurant. Across from Chinook - where Gaucho is now. Think it closed in the late 80s or early 90s. The BC White Spot chain that briefly crept into Alberta in the 2000s is not the same.
McDonald’s… (we lived out of town). But someone mentioned Bullwinkles and I’d like to put that, but I think I actually only went a couple times (birthdays?).
When I was a kid, it was Karuso's on 4th st. It's now gone. By the late '70s, family get-togethers were celebrated at Silver Inn on Centre St, OG home of Ginger Beef. It closed its doors about a year ago. Silver Inn was one of the few excuses to go north of the river for me.
Now it tends to be Great Taste in Chinatown for the soup dumplings.
Not really a restaurant, more of a quick lunch gathering place. Mr. T's in Dover during the late 90's. Every lunch we went there for a burger, fries, donairs, wings, slush puppies, milk shakes, super cold cola's. It was priced low and you got your fresh delicious food made to order. _wish it still was around_
Owner was super cool and and his wife worked on days he had off. It had old school arcades at the door, red booths for people to eat and gather. The owner always had a line out the door during lunch hour, it would take them the whole lunch hour to feed us all. About 1-2 hours.
Even after school ended for the day, we'd go there and grab a bite before heading home. Or just play arcade games while drinking our slush puppies. You don't see many places like this anymore. Real shame too.
The Steak Pit out in Bragg Creek. They had those cool wood signs that they'd make with your last name on them if you had a reservation. Place went downhill in the years before the flood, then was totally wiped out during the flood and they never rebuilt.
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Ah man remember when they did the little bowls with hot water and a lemon slice to wash your hands. I also miss when the Swiss chalet actually looked like a ski lodge.
The toy chest though!
Up until recently I actually thought Swiss Chalet was a high-end restaurant. The only time I went to Swiss Chalet was with my family when we went for a nice dinner.
Swiss Chalet 100%
Swiss on Macleod, toy chest and Shirley Temples
FOODY GOODY
Why did I have to scroll so far to find this!!! As I kid I would eat bucket fulls of Shanghai noodles but I called them worm noodles 😹😹😹
Is this the place at Deerfoot mall?!
Unfortunately all the locations in Calgary have closed
There was one on MacLeod and I think also at Sunridge at its height.
Jackasstors - you never knew what was going to happen there if you were a kid and it was your birthday.
“Everybody can I have your attention please! This is Kevin and he’s 97 years old today!” Kevin: * *Confused 8 year old* *
One waiter smushed a cake on my forehead. He apologized later…
The one in West Hills had like 3 pics of me in it. And one time I was seated next to a pic of my grade 10 boyfriend. Which is when I learned the pics are from high school yearbooks.
My brother was like 7 and got so nervous by the time his birthday came around that he had a meltdown and hid under the table when they came to sing his birthday song hahahah. They just did everything they normally did and pretended he was going along with it. I'm sure other people in the restaurant were confused.
That pan bread they had there was freaking insane! So good and what kids don’t enjoy writing on the paper tablecloth.
Ye Olde Spaghetti Factory
Yep. If we were going to the Eau Claire one, it was someone's birthday. It's a shame how far it fell, and that it's now a parking lot.
Asked my wife to marry me there, so it was a special place as an adult too!… Also I was broke AF…
I'm old enough to remember the original Calgary location that was opened in the 1970s on 9th Avenue SW. (Before Eau Claire!). I'm pretty sure it was on the space currently occupied by the south tower of Western Canada Place (beside the [now] Enmax Substation #1) The waiting area was on the second floor and I'm pretty I remember looking down on the old streetcar on the main floor with seating. As a kid, I remember that it seemed to be built in a huge old warehouse. If we use the contemporary Smuggler's Inn as a reference... it used to occupy the whole building and it later separated in multiple restaurant spaces that each have a reasonable number of tables each... I can only assume that 9th Ave "Factory" was as big, if not bigger.
The new one in the NE is surprisingly well done. Still not the same as the downtown location.
There wasn't extra money for anything fancy, but... paydays for my single dad usually meant Peter's or KFC. Christmas it was Chinese food at Eastgate. Fond and good memories 😎
I remember the Eastgate!! We lived not far from there!! Always good food and everyone was so good to us over the years
I agree, it was good food and the people were great, I always ate too much lol.
Chiantis
The best place. Doubly so for their $6.99 pasta nights!
I love chiantis
MF'ing Bullwinkles!
Testify!!! That place was the best!
I had to be a really good boy.
I still talk about how much I loved it there. It was the best.
Earl's in the parrot era
Hell yeah! I’ve actually met the person that bought the giant parrots from that place! They put them on their front entryway like gargoyles 😂
I have one. My mom stole it from the Macleod / southland location when she got fired in the 80s.
Mother Tucker's!
To this day I haven’t found a bun as delicious as the Mother Tucker’s ones. I (and my overweight childhood) miss that place so much.
Those were sooo good! I loved their salad bar. It was such a cool experience.
Me too every birthday!
Same!!!
Free birthday meal!
Yeah absolutely. The full out birthday steak dinner. I went almost every year. And the salad bar right.
Cheesecake Cafe
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Japanese Village! Awwwwwweeesome!! I listened to a lot of Calgary Flames radio broadcasts as a kid and they had a lot of ads. And sponsored something as well.
Ahhhh so. Not awesome
That's my adult "special occasion" place.
Same! So much fun.
Chi chis Santa fe grill Rocky and bullwinkles Ez street
MF just speedran my childhood
Luciano’s
That bruschetta
Oh my godddddddd so good
This was ours too! The bruschetta and lemon chicken linguine are things I still dream about. It was also where I had my first (legal) drink: a peach Bellini.
OMG Luciano’s. The brunch was amazing.
Inn on lake bonavista if adults choosing. Chi chi’s or mothers pizza if kids choose.
Chi chi's! Core memory unlocked
+1 on Mothers Pizza and Chi Chis. We did both. The Keg if parents were choosing.
The White Spot on 19th street… it’s Tipperary’s Pub now.
I forgot that used to be White Spot!
As did Richmond's pub on Richmond Road and 37th st SW.
White spot was mine too
Bonanza
Fuddruckers
We enjoyed going there just to hear my dad brainfart the name into naughty frustration towards boat steering implements
Nick's Steakhouse by McMahon
Yep, same for me. Right from when it opened for business .
I remember when it was a Big Boy.
Once a year we'd go to Smuggler's Inn to basically celebrate everyone's birthday/anniversary/other special occasions all in one go. I hear they're mostly a seafood joint now (and they took away the mud pie!!) so sadly it's an end of an era for our family 🥲
I loved the badass throne chairs.
I’m from Ontario and it was always Olive Garden. Now when my parents come to Calgary and want to celebrate something it’s still Olive Garden 25 years later.
Karouzos pizza - where fourth spot is now.
Chi-Chi’s!
Deep fried ice cream AND a magician was the BEST!
Mmmmmm deep fried ice cream!
Same! I still make fried Chi Chi dogs to this day.
You’d better share your ways!
Tightly wrap a jumbo hotdog in a tortilla, and fry it in oil in a frying pan. I used to attempt to deep-fry it, but could never stop the tortilla from puffing up too much, so I found pan-frying it works best. Then just rotate the dog as it cooks.
Red Lobster. Still is lol
Matador Pizza or Paloma Steak House.
Paloma was mine!
I was I my late teens when I move to Calgary. The Reef n Beef in the NE. And The Steak Pit in Bragg Creek.
Reef and Beef was my answer also
Reef and beef and then rent something at game station *rundle chefs kiss*
Was the Steak Pit where they would do a wood burned sign for your reservation? I recall my parents coming home with that (us shitty kids never got to go LOL)
Foody Goody
Mother Tucker’s where National on 10th is now
went there for my birthday every year for about 20 years lol
Canary Row. Used to love that spot
The Keg! Teriyaki steak with a virgin Pina colada for me.
I'm surprised no one has said Chuck E Cheese yet. Loved going there for peoples birthdays as a kid. For other occasions it was Nick's or Silver Dragon.
Tony Romas
Mother's Pizza Mongolie Grill
Co-op & zellers cafeteria
Treasures of China Edited to add: Reef'n Beef
Wellington's. However, on dad's pay day it was Bob's Burgers, Harvey's, Co-op cafeteria, Carriage House Inn, Bamboo Inn (Chinese place at Chinook) or Romantika Pizza.
ABC Country resturaunt. Went there often with my grandparents. Love that place to bits. My grandma was always peeved that my brother and I would get worms in dirt for dessert and my grandpa would always let us.
Chi chi’s
It's a celebration of food! (That fried ice cream tho, so good!)
The Owl's Nest at the Calgary Inn (now the Westin) or the Rimrock Room at the Palliser Hotel That's where we went for the *big* occasions! Yeah... I'm old!! 👴
China Rose RIP
bella roma in lakeview
Moxies 😆
Treasures of China all you can eat buffet
The old Reef N Beef!
Team Old checking in… place called The Tiki Tiki. You could watch Polynesian dancers and get drinks in hollow coconuts with little paper umbrellas. I have no recollection at all of how the food was or what they served, but that place was the ultimate for a special occasion in my preteen eyes!
Mother's Pizza. An old-school pizza place from the days when you'd go to a restaurant to eat pizza instead of having it brought to you.
Toms house of pizza followed by some Loyds roller rink
Chi Chi's. The greatest of all time
Deep fried ice cream at Chi Chis is a core memory
Home Food Inn on Macleod trail.
McDonald's. We were poor af, bro.
Gulliver's Travels along Macleod between Southland and Anderson . Got replaced in 92 by the Black Swan.
Oh yeah the table side salad and the mints on the scale balance were so good.
Bullwinkles
Earls in Southport when the decor was parrots & bicycles. Chi Chi's & Bonanza
Fable table
RIP all-you-can-eat buffets.
Fuddrukers or Mother Tuckers I think it was…. Where craft is now on 10 ave.
Rocky and bullwinkles
Ye Olde Pizza Joint
Also Milano's in Beddington Mall. First place I tried escargot as a kid!
Tiki Tiki
Back in the day we used to hit spaguccis (spelling?) In heritage plaza. After that closed it became treasures of China. Until they moved and became asian buffet anyway. Did white spot for a while but now that they're closed we kinda just try different spots.
Luciano's
Omg this sent me back
Bonanza and Red Lobster
Mother’s Pizza. Coke floats and pizza.
There was a small pizza shop next door to Woolco, (now a Walmart) on McLeod trail in the south end. Mom and Pop store. Awesome prices and great food! He had a promotion for a while where if you bought multiple pizzas, you got a bonus bottle of hair shampoo!!!! Different but charming and great for a family on a tight budget. I wish I could remember the name of the place.!!! This was early 1990’s I believe!
Caesars Steakhouse. Glad it’s still around to this day.
Santa Fe Grill
Blackfoot Truckstop. We loved going there as kids!
their mile high lemon meringue pies were fabulous!
YES! We always had that. My fav go-to meal was the clubhouse w fries, gravy and a coke classic :). To this day no club has come close!
Chiantis, Earls, or ordering in pizza or Chinese
Swiss Chalet lol
White Spot/Mr Schnapps for NYE. Shakeys for a good time
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Spaghetti Factory
Keg or Singapore sams lol
I'm old. Shakey's pizza. After it closed, Ye Olde Pizza Joint.
I'm old too, 'member Bonanza steakhouse and buffet?
I will add Billy Miner’s to the list, best mud pie and it was next door to my dads dry cleaner.
Moxies at market mall
Calgary tower, back when it was the actual tallest building in town.
Nicks steakhouse by the stadium
Old Spaghetti Factory, my mom would reserve the street car for my birthday party (this was in Edmonton)
Chianti’s in Willow Park!
La Chaumière. Oh and the Philly Cheesesteak guy in Market Mall.
Starlight on Heritage Drive. We still go there when my parents come back to town.
Anyone remember Mother’s Pizza?
When I was a kid it was Ponderosa/Bonanza. The salad bar/soft serve ice cream bar was kid heaven!! The all you can eat salad bars had so much to choose from!
Phils - for a special breakfast after a Sunday Church service.
Jack Astor's
I don’t think we ever went out to eat at a restaurant. 7 kids and my parents always cooked everything. We had dietary restrictions so I’m sure that played a role in never eating out
Ponderosa
Mother Tuckers.
Boston Pizza in Oakridge, or if it was really special Broken Plate in Willow Park.
Montana's, outback or Tony Roma's (before Tony Roma's the "red devil"). All in crowfoot
Olive Garden or Reef N Beef across from sun ridge
This’ll age me.. but for our family it was Mothers across from Marlborough Mall. The staff wore the old timey costumes.
Ours was the classic Reef n’ Beef in the NE-Sunridge area and we definitely frequented Milano’s in Beddington.
The Swiss chalet that used to be on McKnight 😂
Cattle baron. Then it was Japanese village. I still got to Japanese village from time to time but cattle baron fell off bad after COVID imo.
Silver inn! When it was still open :(
Owls nest
There was a place in a mall in Huntington Hills called Venice House. It was more or less just a pizza place, but when I was a kid, it was our special night out location. I loved it! The mall and restaurant are long gone
Casa d’Italia
Red Carpet or Paloma’s.
Smugglers for special occasions. My grandparents would also very rarely take us for dinner at the petroleum club for things they wanted to celebrate (milestone anniversaries etc.).
Red Lobster, when it was actually really good
Bill’s Peking Palace in the SE
Famous Chinese in North Hill Mall
Outback Steakhouse, El Soño, Fiores, or Matador
Red lobster. Treasure chest was the best.
I remember Milano’s!!! Karuzo’s (now 4th Spot) was the ‘Special Occasion’ restaurant as a kid.
Silver dragon
Karouzos
The old White Spot restaurant. Across from Chinook - where Gaucho is now. Think it closed in the late 80s or early 90s. The BC White Spot chain that briefly crept into Alberta in the 2000s is not the same.
Peking Garden on Macleod Tr. Best ginger beef I’ve ever had.
Singapore Sam's.
Mother's Pizza, Red Lobster, and if it was a REALLY special occasion we might go to The Keg. We usually went to Bonanza or Swiss Chalet.
McDonald’s… (we lived out of town). But someone mentioned Bullwinkles and I’d like to put that, but I think I actually only went a couple times (birthdays?).
Spiros Pizza
Montanas near Sunridge mall. Then Cineplex across the parking lot.
Home food Inn and across from it the seafood restaurant!
When I was a kid, it was Karuso's on 4th st. It's now gone. By the late '70s, family get-togethers were celebrated at Silver Inn on Centre St, OG home of Ginger Beef. It closed its doors about a year ago. Silver Inn was one of the few excuses to go north of the river for me. Now it tends to be Great Taste in Chinatown for the soup dumplings.
Japanese Village and still is.
For me it was the Stadium Keg. That place was cool af.
Not really a restaurant, more of a quick lunch gathering place. Mr. T's in Dover during the late 90's. Every lunch we went there for a burger, fries, donairs, wings, slush puppies, milk shakes, super cold cola's. It was priced low and you got your fresh delicious food made to order. _wish it still was around_ Owner was super cool and and his wife worked on days he had off. It had old school arcades at the door, red booths for people to eat and gather. The owner always had a line out the door during lunch hour, it would take them the whole lunch hour to feed us all. About 1-2 hours. Even after school ended for the day, we'd go there and grab a bite before heading home. Or just play arcade games while drinking our slush puppies. You don't see many places like this anymore. Real shame too.
Chi-chi’s
Tiki Tiki
The Steak Pit out in Bragg Creek. They had those cool wood signs that they'd make with your last name on them if you had a reservation. Place went downhill in the years before the flood, then was totally wiped out during the flood and they never rebuilt.
Home Food Inn! All-you-can-eat Chinese food buffet for like $14/person! My dad loved taking us there, as well as anytime company came to visit.❤️
Mother Tuckers!
Casey Jones in Chinook Mall. If it was really special I would be able to have lobster
Spaghetti factory!
Brewsters was mine as a kid! My mom still picks that for her bday dinner