We stopped in here for what we intended to be a quick drink while waiting for a dinner reservation elsewhere, but when those plans fell through, we ended up staying here for several round, as we were having a great time. We nibbled on some of their pretzels which were delicious, and joked around with the very friendly and funny staff, who all seemed to be enjoying their work! read more

Bottlescrew Bill's Pub / Buzzards Restaurant & Bar - Steakhouses Near Me - Calgary, Alberta

rvice was excellent as was the food & beer! The BSB beers we had were some of the best! (The wit was amazing) Our server reported an issue with our meal that would cause delay- we were in no hurry - but still delivered food in record time & it was yummy! They gave us discount without our asking (not that we were going to) so that was nice. The pub itself is classic yet updated & had several options for indoor, outdoor seating & groups or a couple. Cozy but not cramped. We loved it here & it was a relaxing comfortable way to end a very long trip. Just a great burger & chicken sandwich & fries with the best beer we tried in Canada! If we lived here, this would be our go-to pub! read more

Bottlescrew Bill's Pub / Buzzards Restaurant & Bar - Best burger with bacon! - Steakhouses Near Me - Calgary, Alberta

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We came here when we couldn't find a place that was open past midnight on Victoria Day long weekend. Patio was well lit which brought us inside. The bartender was really attentive as we sat at the corner, we ordered and drinks and food. He was great, always keeping an eye on us and the food was really good too. The nacho platter was huge! Over a 2 foot long plate, piled high, and we also ordered deep fried pickles. The pickles were soggy inside, but the crispy batter outside with dip was good. The bathroom was nicer than the pub itself, so that was a relief. You usually dread the washroom in an older bar, but it was clean and funky inside. I would return! read more

Bottlescrew Bill's Pub / Buzzards Restaurant & Bar - Nacho platter, deep fried pickles and my vodka soda - Steakhouses Near Me - Calgary, Alberta

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Food was so good. We had the special, green Thai curry which was out of this world good! We also shared the Buffalo wrap. It was great and the fries were so freakin' hot and delicious! Our server Madison was excellent, made great recommendations, timely and keep the drinks covered! read more

Bottlescrew Bill's Pub / Buzzards Restaurant & Bar - Buffalo chicken wrap with fries - Steakhouses Near Me - Calgary, Alberta

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Beautiful plating and yummy flavours! Bonus points for being a dog friendly patio! Perogies were filling, bison steak was a bit overcooked but flavourful and had great service. The berry pie was a little mini indivudual pie (not a slice) with the smallest dollop of ice cream on the side. Tasted great but it was a small serving! read more

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Popped in here to watch the Stanley cup and was not disappointed. I got the wings with some famous terryiaki hot sauce, and it was great. I also had their own beer which I was told by Johnny rando next to me that they just started brewing, and that was surprisingly good. They have a huge list of local and Canadian beers so if you're looking for a wide menu of beer, stop no further. As the side note the bartender has a dragon ball z sleeve, so you really can't go wrong. read more

Bottlescrew Bill's Pub / Buzzards Restaurant & Bar - a glass of beer - Steakhouses Near Me - Calgary, Alberta

Great location. Service was friendly and fast. Our party of 6 agreed the food was all delicious!

Went for a quick lunch, ordered the fish and chips and it was probably the worst I've ever had. Soggy, mushy and terrible flavor overall. Huge clumps of coagulation gravy on the fries read more

Sat in dining area for 15 minutes b4 being acknowledged. A bourbon on the rocks was literally 1 ounce. I'm from the states where drinks are poured fuller....so maybe the small pours of liquor are a Canada thing. Also the draft beer was not even cold. Anyway the best part of the bison steak dinner was the Caesar salad that came with it. One of the worst places to eat in Calgary, by far. read more

Flew into Calgary mid-morning and after checking into the hotel, was starving. The concierge recommended Vintage Chop House & Tavern. Unfortunately when we arrived, it was too early as I didn't know it only opened for dinner. On the way back to the hotel, ran into this place and sat down for lunch. The service was good but the food was average. Ordered the steak - came out kinda dry. And also the steak salad - again, came out dry as well. Not overly impressed as I ended up using hot sauce to add some spice. read more

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Get the wings. Honey garlic with ranch. They're amazing. The beer is good too. This place was alright, not a bad spot for a beer and some pub food. The staff sort of ignored me for the first ten minutes but they were pleasant and served my food quickly. read more

Bottlescrew Bill's Pub / Buzzards Restaurant & Bar - Steakhouses Near Me - Calgary, Alberta

Why do I have to have principles? It's messing with my Yelp reviews. Bill's remains a solid 4 (and probably 5 once I'm done my beer passport) establishment. The service is awesome, the food rocks, and there's more beers than you can shake a stick at. I can excuse the fact that they only have free Shaw wifi and no free wifi for the rest of us. It's a pub, not a coffee shop. And the age of hangin' out in the pub with a brewski instead of the cool local caffeine corner isn't really prevalent enough to call it a trend yet. So on that point, I understand. But where we run into a problem is that you don't take debit. Instead you have one of those devil ATM machines that costs me $2 to take out money just to pay my bill. If you can accept credit, you can totally take a moment to accept my debit card as well. Heck, keep the cash machine if you want... just let me pay with my debit card. I'm buying enough beer and food from you. I like you. I like your servers. I like your food (ate the bison burger today with caesar salad. Yum!) Do you really need to make another buck off me on a transaction cost? read more

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*** WARNING *** Do not read if you plan on eating. And if you do plan on eating, don't eat here. *** I've been to Bottlescrew Bill's a few times over the years. I've never ordered food, since the menu isn't particularly veg-friendly. But, I've always been down to grab a pint or a hi-ball here at the beginning of an evening. I think at some point, I even got one of their passports for their "Around The World in 80 Beers" challenge. (I'm more vodkally-inclined, so I only got 4 stamps in my passport.) So, for the reasons above, I continued to drop in at least once a year, and in my eyes; Bottlescrew Bill's was a solid three stars. And, it was why I had no problem accompanying a friend here last night for a couple of drinks, while we caught up and tried to decide what else to do that evening. After scanning the menu briefly, I opted for marshmallow sodas and an order of yam fries; asking for hot sauce and ketchup, rather than the chipotle mayo sauce as I usually do, since mayo isn't vegan. The waitress never bothered to mention to me that a serving of Frank's Red Hot (which is what the hot sauce tasted like) was going to cost extra, and I assumed that only shady restaurants that enjoy nickle-and-diming applied that sort of practice, so I never asked. When the fries arrived; I got no napkins, enough Frank's Red Hot to last me a week and no ketchup. She assured me it was coming. Ten minutes later, the ketchup bottle arrived, and attempts to actually extract any from the bottle without utensils or anywhere to actually dispense it in to were pretty thorny. After finally getting a microscopic amount out of the bottle and in to a small sea of Frank's, the fries were lukewarm. The fries also probably had enough grease to wring out in to the gas tank and make the twenty-minute drive home. This is probably due to the fact that rather than drain the fries prior to plating, the cook just dumped them straight in to the bowl. Still, I hate wasting food, so I managed to put a quarter of the bowl's contents away before that sick-feeling from too much oil started making me feel queasy. I excused myself to the bathroom, and patted my face down with an oil-blotting sheet so that I could stop feeling like I needed to scrub my face down with acne wash and a loofah. After I came back, and the waitress asked how we were doing, my friend mentioned to her that the fries were ridiculously greasy and would it be possible to get a fresh batch. I was already feeling pretty sick at that point, so I talked him out of it. The waitress offered some sort of discount on the fries as an apology, since even if we were to get a fresh batch of fries - apparently the cook was refusing to drain them and we would get the same thing anyway - so, we agreed just so we could get out of there. When she came back, the fries had indeed been discounted at 20% off, which saved us $1.60. But then there was a $1 surcharge on the hot sauce for the fries, which I thought to be absolutely ridiculous. My friend didn't see what the problem was, because he thought that the waitress had been nice. And I agree, she was nice to talk to. But from a service point of view, she was pretty lack-luster. She was nowhere to be seen, when a drunk customer sitting at a nearby table fell out of her chair with her feet pointing toward the ceiling. She served us the Exxon Valdez of Fries and didn't bother to get us napkins, and then she tacked on a $1 surcharge for hot sauce. I'm sorry, is there an old Grandma in the back, lovingly stirring a vat full of an old family recipe handed down from generation to generation, after being carried here on the back of a donkey from the weeping hills of Sicily by a blind man? No, you just dumped a week's worth of Frank's in a disposable dipping container. If the surcharge had been the only issue of the evening, I would have probably maintained that this was still a three star establishment (since you can't rate someone 2.25 stars). But then, later on that night, the fries started to make their second appearance. At a public bathroom. If I was a disgusting sort, I would have taken a picture of them in the toilet, because after puking up fries and bile; you know what was sitting on top of the vomit? A LAYER OF OIL. Those fries haunted me three more times that evening. read more

Bottlescrew Bill's Pub / Buzzards Restaurant & Bar - Steakhouses Near Me - Calgary, Alberta

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Very pleasant atmosphere outside on the patio on a Sunday evening in July. The menu was a little unique with variations of common meals. We had Korean BBQ tacos and Szechuan stir-fry. Both were good meals. Taylor, our waitress, was a gem. She was helpful with our drink selections and made a good recommendation to have our sauce in the side of the tacos. Thanks! read more

Bottlescrew Bill's Pub / Buzzards Restaurant & Bar - Mostly drank Big Rock IPA - Steakhouses Near Me - Calgary, Alberta

We decided on BSB for dinner before the Flames game, our friends wanted to try somewhere we haven't been yet and my beer enthusiast boyfriend was up for it. My girlfriend and I arrived first, and were a bit confused - do we seat ourselves? It's a pub but there was a hostess stand (but no one was there). We asked a passing waitress and she said we could seat ourselves, so we settled ourselves into a booth near the door. Our waitress approached right away, food and drink menus in hand and told us the specials. My boyfriend and my girlfriend's hubby arrived shortly after, and our waitress was quick to get their drink orders and our food orders once everyone had a chance to look over the menus. The guys ordered the Buzzard's burger, I went with the Bill's style wings and my girlfriend got the Apple & Brie chicken sandwich. All the food arrived pretty quick, and it all looked delish. The burgers came on a pretzel bun, and I had a bite and the ground prime rib patty was moist and flavored really well. My wings were breaded and baked, but crispy as if they were deep fried! They were meaty and the sauce was savory - a unique teriyaki with a kick. I didn't get a chance to try the Apple & Brie chicken, but my girlfriend finished it off so I'm guess it was pretty good! This was a great first experience, there were some things on the menu I definitely want to try (bison burger and bacon wrapped meatloaf) so we'll be back. The only downside - they don't take debit for payment, there's a ATM but . . . that'll just cost ya read more

Bottlescrew Bill's Pub / Buzzards Restaurant & Bar - Lunch fish and chips - Steakhouses Near Me - Calgary, Alberta

So, you want me to drink 80 different kinds of beer in a year. Turns out Bottlescrew Bills is the place to gett'er done. I won't reiterate the concept (check Lisa P. & other reviews for a good rundown). But all I will say is this place had me at beer passport - so clever! The service is stellar at this place - really, it is. There were a few of us out together, we sort of arrived over time and our server didn't bat an eye over regurgitating the beer passport spiel to each person that showed up. She was great - awesome banter and always right there as soon as our drinks were near empty. I didn't have eats here but checked a few beers off my list instead. Great place for socializing! The beer passport is the kicker - what a neat twist, I love it! I'm hooked, it's official. This passport will keep me coming back, and back...and if I make it through all 80 beers - maybe you'll get an update outta me! read more

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Feel free to polish up your thick rimmed glasses, Bottlescrew Bill's, because you were the craft beer pub before craft beer pubs were cool! Today, with the craft beer scene exploding around the city, Bottlescrew Bill's hasn't had to change one bit. You know when people tell you about their hobbies and you can spot the difference a mile away between someone who honestly loves something, and someone who loves it because they think it's popular. Bottlescrew Bill's is without a doubt that first person. They honestly just loves serving good beer and they've got nothing to prove to you about it. It's a great place to meet up with friends for conversation over or inspired by beer. They've got a fair number of TV's around and if the game is on they'll kill the music so you can focus on the hockey! The food is delicious and as down to earth as the rest of the pub. Nothing overly fancy or unusual, just just good quality pub fare. I always order steak sandwiches rare, because more often than not, pubs will serve you a thin piece of steak that is going to wind up well-done, regardless of how long it's on the grill. Well that 'more often than not' does not apply here! Check out that steak! It's thick and it's actually rare! Thanks for that, Bottlescrew Bill's! They don't have 1.613 million beers on tap like some of Calgary's newer Beer Halls, but if it comes in a bottle, you can bet they'll have it. read more

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First off, this is the restaurant half of a brewpub, so depending on how you approach it, if you see a sign for Bottlescrew Bill's, you're in the right place. While the bulk of the fare is pub classics like steak and burgers, the menu shows some aspiration to be more gastropub-like, which is all the rage these days. Signs of this are putting the bison burger on a pretzel bun, having a boar meatloaf with dried cherries, and throwing in a few Indian favorites such as korma and butter chicken. Mercifully, these additions are few enough that the kitchen could actually pull it off (as opposed to places with 100 item menus, which almost always disappoint). Unfortunately, they were out of boar (at 4:30pm), while both the burger and korma were prepared without any particular care or flare, white geometric plates notwithstanding. The food isn't bad, it's just at the level you'd expect from a pub, so despite the loftier intentions of the menu, Buzzard's gets three stars for execution. read more

Bottlescrew Bill's Pub / Buzzards Restaurant & Bar - Lamb korma, bison burger on pretzel bun. - Steakhouses Near Me - Calgary, Alberta

What a fantastic solo lunch I had today, I thought I had entered some saloon in Dawson city. This place is so garish you can spot it blocks away because it sits on the corner of 1st and 10 Avenue SW and it has a 10 foot wooden Royal Mounted Police statue guarding its entrance. There is the appropriate picnic tables set up on its patio and if you feel like getting your shoe shined there is an enclosed building just for that which I assume functions in the summer time. The menu is awesome, check out the Raspberry Berry Bison sandwich or Triple AAA Steak Sirloin Sandwich with onion rings garnish. The Buzzard BBQ ribs are braised in beer and they even have more exotic menu items like Coconut Curry Chicken, Seared Yellow Fin Tuna Steak, and Butter Chicken Masala. I dove into the Saskatoon Berry Burger with a delicious chutney sauce and Swiss cheese. My waitress was on the ball, serving over 8 tables and always one step ahead of me. The interior could be considered tacky but upon closer look-see I saw what they were trying to do, wagon wheel chandeliers, a sandy desert motif on walls with bull skulls on walls, oil lanterns, and horse shoe coat hangers. The entrance of the adjacent bar had hand towels over the door with different beer labels, and an assortment of beer pulling tabs. The service was excellent and so was my food, definitely a hot lunch spot downtown for those of you who work in the area. read more

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We booked a private room for a program discussion and volunteer thank you and had 31 people attend. The food was extremely disappointing for what we paid for and what we thought we would receive. Many of our guests bought additional food because they were disappointed with the snack buffet for 40 people. We paid $170.00 for wings. The waitress said it was about 6 orders of wings. Our group normally goes to another restaurant for wings on Tuesdays and we could have received the same amount of wings (6 orders at 10 wings per order) for $15.00. We also ordered the Mexican Madness. It was a large plate of tortilla chips and 4 relatively small bowls of salsa, sour cream, and guacamole that were never refilled. This cost us $90.00. There was a buffet set up fee of $50.00 on top of all of that. I was the one paying the bill at the end of the night and was shocked to see the bill come to ~$325 for what I saw we received. I spoke with the waitress and then to the working manager and they fixed their mistake and brought me a bill for $383.84. They had to add to 18% gratuity that was missing. I shouldn't have said anything in the first place I guess. We held this event last year at another restaurant and received two or three times the food for almost half of the price. We will not plan to ever return to Bottlescrew Bills for any functions in the future and will be certain to redirect any colleagues who mention the restaurant. read more

The atmosphere was very noisy, but perhaps because they were in full Stampede swing. They had live music, which was nice, despite the crowd noise. However, when the music wasn't playing, live or otherwise, we had to practically yell at each other to have a conversation. We weren't the only ones, either. Everyone was yelling their conversations! The food was okay for Calgary. I am a bit biased, however. In Oklahoma, we do nachos & barbecue quite differently! The nachos here had a miniscule amount of cheese on them. Once you peeled off the top layer of chips, the cheese was gone. The presentation was nice & they are quite large in size. Three of us worked on them & half was left! They offered a barbecue buffet which consisted of barbecue beef, pasta salad, lettuce salad, rolls, & baked beans. The flavor of everything was quite good. It was how the food was prepared & served that seemed odd to me. The Meat & sauce: Nearly every BBQ joint in Oklahoma serves the meat soaked in BBQ sauce. The few places that do not serve it wet do so because 1) the meat is smoked & slow cooked & delectable on its own & 2) they offer no less than 3 kinds of BBQ sauce, each a different degree of heat (1 inevitably sweet). Buzzard's meat was soaking in water...??? The flavor was surprisingly good, despite this grave error in BBQ cooking. They make their sauce in-house. It is extremely tasty! It would have been great slow cooked on chicken! Alas, no chicken was offered, only this brisket-style beef. The Beans: Buzzard's baked beans (more like cowboy or camp beans - there is a difference) we really good. They were a medley of pinto, garbanzo (chick peas), kidney, & red beans & corn. Wait!?! Back this gravy train up! Did I really just say "baked beans" had garbanzo beans & corn??? Good as it was, again, this was NOT what we Oklahomans would call baked beans. Baked beans....the melt in your mouth kind.....the musical fruit kind....are slow-cooked, as well. They have a slight hint of hickory flavor. Some are cooked with molasses & are sweet. While others are cooked with the juices of the BBQ meat & leave your mouth watering for more. The Pasta Salad: Well, that was just a miss altogether! The deserts were good but odd in comparison to the menu entrees & appetizers. The Irish Chocolate Biscuit & Guiness ice cream were our faves. The Mayan Ice Cream & cookies were good but just strange. The ice cream had a spice with a slow burn. The cookies were VERY hard & difficult to stick even a fork through! Buzzard's seems to be a cool place to hang have drinks for Happy Hour. However, when it comes to serving food, they should really try to decide what kind of cuisine on which they want to focus. It ranged from American, to Asian, to Irish, to Mexican, to just odd. Not bad, but just not great. read more

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We were here last night and almost left because the service was so slow. Lost of staff they just seem to be visiting amongst themselves and it appeared one was spending time with her boyfriend. I wanted to leave but my husband wanted to stay. Almost 15 minutes before someone came to our table. Wise decision to wait it out - the foods was delicious! I had the brie/chicken sandwich and hubby had the perogies. Very nice presentation as well. Would be 5 stars if the service was better. Will try again and hope for better. read more

Overall disappointed in the food but happy with the beer and service. Really the food was pretty bad for what they charge. The burger was literally a department store patty on a bun for 20 bucks. The local rink sells the same food for about a third of the money. If you are going to have food at the pub it has to taste good and here it was at best so so. If you are looking to have a beer and not eat this is a good place to go. if you want to have a burger or other pub food go somewhere else. read more

The Buzzards is a pub with an impressive beer collection. They carry beers from all over the world and all price ranges. The menu lists 250 beers alone. We were here on a Friday night before a concert and were lucky to get a table without reservation. Our table was outside on the patio which is covered and heated in the winter but I was more sweating than shivering ;) That night we ordered some Dry Ribs as appetizer and I had the Fish & Chips but they also have some more exquisite stuff. The food was good and the price reasonable. In the past we were here with guests from out of town for dinner as well as for lunch. We would recommend this place without hesitation, the value for the money is good. Tip: Make sure to have a reservation if you want to dine here on a hockey night! read more

Bottlescrew Bill's Pub has a pub type atmosphere with a great beer selection and quality food. The first thing I'm obligated to mention is the beer passport. This pub has so many different beers (in bottles) that they challenge you to drink 80 beers and they will add your name to the wall. Overall not too difficult a challenge if you have the time and the money. It ends up being a fun challenge between friends or some excuse to regularly meet up for beers with your friends. Next I have to talk about the food. A lot of the reviews for the food on this page is for the older menu and not the more updated and delicious menu. I believe the food is of a quality much better than the average pub although you will have to pay a bit more for that pleasure. I would recommend the burgers (especially when it's on special) and the wings (also when they're on special). I had a salad once (although it was so long ago I cannot remember which exactly) and it was very delicious. Overall I don't think you'll be too disappointed. Also, look for the live music whenever there is some type of holiday around! read more

Ever since my Dad convinced me to go for my beer passport, Bottlescrews is pretty much my mainstay when it comes to a night out. I've been here way too many times to count and I've never had a negative experience. The beer passport is WAY too fun and well worth the money you'll end up spending on beers/food/taxis/whatever the night brings. Me and my friend would always end our night of whatever we had been doing with a few more beers off the passport and felt it was a very good therapy to deal with our school stresses. The fact that you get freebies through the passport is also awesome. The challenge with the passport becomes a supply and demand thing as I can't count the number of times I've been dead set on a beer and I have to go back to square one because they don't have the beer. But they are really flexible with allowing you to substitute beers. The staff are really awesome and incredible. One of them even saved my friend from a guy that was trying WAY too hard. The food is also really good. My friend and me LOVE the nachos. She recommends the sweet potato fries and I can't resist perogies! They also do special events really well. Our class had our grad dinner there and everything was done exceptionally well and the staff were super attentive and fast for a group of over 20+. read more

Yummy! We went here for a quick dinner with friends on NYE. Although they screwed up our reservation (had it, then didn't have it, then had it again) we still ended up getting a table to fit all of us. We had a super friendly server who was really making sure we had a good meal. My beer was always full :) We started with the Pot Stickers to start and they were good. They weren't anything special but they really hit the spot. I had the Prawn Risotto for a main that I couldn't stop eating. My date had a steak sandwich that was unfortunately overcooked. It was supposed to be medium rare, but looked medium/medium well. The servers apologized and the manager made an appearance to apologize as well. His meal was prepared again and perfectly, and it was taken care of by the manager. We really appreciated this because they understood the frustration and wanted to make things right. We will definitely go back! read more

Good food and a great selection of beer make Bottlescrew Bill's a terrific place for lunch or anytime for that matter. In fact, the kitchen stays open with a full menu until 1:30 am on weekends. This is important when you get drinking the 80 beers from around the world. It costs $5 to get a passport and they stamp it after you buy one of the 80 beers. After 20 and 40, you get some deal like free food and other useful items. After you drink the full 80, they engrave your name forever on a plaque in the back room for all to admire. read more

Bottlescrew Bill's Pub / Buzzards Restaurant & Bar - photo courtesy Bottlescrew Bill's - Steakhouses Near Me - Calgary, Alberta

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My partner and I went to Buzzards for two reasons. One because the menu looked pretty good online and two, it was recommended by John Gilchrist in one of his books. Unfortunately we will not be going back anytime soon. I had the Bison Carpaccio to start and thought it was really good. My main was the Surf and Turf with the Madagascar Peppercorn sauce. I ordered my steak medium rare and it was served almost well done, very chewy and dry. The prawns were nice and fresh and I thought the garlic mash was really tasty but the doneness of the steak ruined it for me. My partner ordered the 16 oz Rib Chop medium rare as well, and his came a little undercooked but he enjoyed his meal. He had his steak with the Truffle and Red Wine Jus which I thought was really good. The Rib Chop comes with the bone in so keep in mind that it's not a full 16 oz steak. The restaurant was pretty quiet when we arrived on the Friday night. Granted it was Thanksgiving weekend so that could explain the lack of customers. The hostess took awhile to even realize we were there waiting to be seated. Service from the waitress was excellent. All in all, I wouldn't go back unless someone else was insistent on it. read more

Not bad, Bottlescrew Bill, not bad. Came here the other evening after attempting in vain to grab a table at CRAFT. It was quiet in that it was overcast outside so the patio was barely populated. Inside the front doors the restaurant, Buzzards is off to the right and BSB's Pub is to the left. We occupied a large booth by the entrance and were promptly greeted & drink orders taken. Definitely a good vibe at this place. Friendly staff, 80 beer passport, blah, blah, blah. The happy hour was enjoyed by all in this cozy, English pub setting. Solid 3 star rating. BSB, we shall meet again.. read more

Impressed that they managed to have a beer I had just requested that wasn't on the menu (Granville Winter Ale), and I really enjoyed their salmon burger on pretzel bun. I went with a large party of colleagues, and services was a BIT disorganized, nothing to complain too much about though. Overall it was a good dining and drinking experience read more

After much searching, reading and chatting on Yelp to find a place to spend my birthday in Calgary, I came up with Bottlescrew Bill's. 250 beers? Ain't nothin' wrong with that! I called about a week ahead to make a reservation for 12 people on a Saturday night at 7pm. The girl on the phone was super nice. When I called again the day of to change the time, (was it the same girl? Maybe), she was just as nice and remembered my name on her own. When I arrived for the reservation, I was taken to a table aaaallllll the way in the back of the restaurant. There weren't too many people in that section at first, and even throughout the night as more people came, it still felt kind of isolated back there. That was probably the lowest point of the experience for me - I didn't really feel like I was in a lively pub at all. As I mentioned, BB's has over 250 beers on offer. Unfortunately my first choice wasn't available, but that's always to be expected so did not upset me. If I lived in Calgary or visited often, I would definitely buy the beer passport and come here often to try all of the beers on offer. The food menu was a little more interesting than I'm used to for pub food. Everyone in our party definitely enjoyed what the had. I got the lamb curry and rather enjoyed, even though I couldn't finish my portion. Our server was nice, kind of just average. Food and drinks all came in a reasonable amount of time. The background music wasn't too loud and they were playing some really good stuff - mellow, indie rock type of stuff. If I were ever in the area again, I could see myself returning. read more

I like Bottlescrew Bill's. I'd been here once waaaaay back when for a quick lunch of french onion soup with friends - it was yummy and they were really good about getting it out fast so I could hurry back to work. In December, I started a passport thanks to one of Wendy's office hours, so I've been a few times since then, trying to fill in those 80 beers (sigh). It's fun, because I'm not a big beer drinker so I'm definitely exploring new options, although I can't wait until this is over to try some of the beers on their regular menu! Like the Amber Vampire Maple Sap - YUM. Oh, and I won a Flames prize pack in a raffle a couple of weeks ago - that's always a bonus! The service can be spotty, especially at my last visit where everything seemed to be going in slow motion, which was odd since, when they seated us, they told us straight up that we had to be out of there by 8 for a previous reservation. But, as I make my way through the 70 some-odd beers I have yet to drink, I'm sure you will see me here a lot more in the months to come. read more

They feature meat from local ranches, inluding bison and buffalo dishes, and the cowboy decor is over-the-top (I mean that as a good thing). Also, the international selection of beer is very unique- they've gone out of their way to have a large number of countries represented (I have yet to find Turkey's Efes Dark served at any other bar in North America). My friend's buffalo burger was really good, my rice had a unique seasoning I really liked, but I'd had a much better chicken sandwich w/ bacon at Houlihan's in the MSP airport. It was also topped with some shredded parmesan (unmentioned in the menu), which my body has issues with. Surprise appearences of parmesan that I have to pick out of my meal do little to enhance the experience. Overall, I'm still on the fence. read more

This is by far my favorite place downtown, for food, service, and patio... Thankfully 17th ave was jam packed, because we found this gem. The potstickers brought a tear to my eye as I could not believe how yummy they were! Salt and pepper ribs were the best I ever had, and my hubby loved the bison burger loaded. The yam fries also were the best we ever had!!!!!! Sorry fellow yelper I did not find the potstickers average. but then again your review was 2010, so maybe they changed cooks. Finally, if you don't like beer like me, avoid the yummy 12 dollar martinis and get the grapefruit beer it is great. read more

I spent a lot of time at BSBs while completing my 80-beer passport. The beer menu here is amazing, although most of the beers are offered by the bottle rather than on tap. This does ensure that you are getting the beer exactly how the brewer intended it, because it isn't passing through the bar's tap lines and equipment. There are some unique beer selections that you'll have difficulty finding anywhere else. The servers here are really good and can handle the fact that the beer list is long. They always get you the right drink, and they do it quickly while still being friendly. The interior could use a bit of an uplift - it is getting somewhat worn and the booths and bathrooms feel like they were designed in the 80s. They could also use a few more TVs, although now that there is no hockey being played, I don't find I care as much! With the exception of holidays like St. Patty's day and Stampede week, you can almost always walk in and get a seat immediately. This is AWESOME SAUCE. I hate having to hover around tables in a pub, trying to predict who will be leaving soon. As a result, I rarely turn down an invitation to partake in a few beers here. I have mixed feelings about the requirement of completing the beer passport within one year. I had no problem doing it the first time around, but I must have developed some commitment issues, because I am hesitant to start a new one. I'd be in again for sure of there were no time limit. Review #29 of Yelp's 30 Day Review Challenge read more

Now I am giving this pub a 4 because I love trying new and interesting beers, and this has the best beer selection I have ever encountered. It also has pretty decent food, I have tried most of their menu items and apart from the smallest serving of nachos I have ever seen, they have generally impressed me. I have never had an issue with their food, it has always been well cooked and their menu is inventive and interesting pub fare. Having completed my Beer Passport "Around the World in 80 Beers" at Bottlescrew Bills, I spent a fair amount of time at this pub last year, especially in the summer on their patio. Unfortunately, I haven't always had the best experience at Bill's and that has caused there to be large gaps in my dining frequency. - Last summer I found eight fruit flies in the bottom of my glass of bourbon...yes...the bottom. The waitress apologized and my drink was complimentary, but I'm sorry, complimentary drinks are for beverages with ONE fly, EIGHT flies constitutes some sort of gift certificate or at minimum a very sincere apology from management! - The service is often very slow, I recently was there with a large group and not only were drinks missed, some people wanted to order food and the waitress provided menus, but never asked, and never returned. - Again with the flies, a friend of mine once had a big juicy fly in the top of his pint glass and although he alerted the waitress, who appeared to express genuine concern, a new drink was never brought, only the bill...needless to say she didn't get a tip. Overall I will keep going back for the food and the beers I can't get anywhere else but am a little cautious of any drink that did not come out of a bottle. read more

Are the beers pricey? Yes. Does it get busy? Sometimes. But I'll go to this place 100 times before I ever set foot in some of the nearby establishments ever again. They've got a great mix of beers. It's the only place in the city I've found where I can tip back a Toohey's and enjoy a Rugby match or watch the grand final. There's nothing pretentious about this place. Seats vary from plushy to stool-y. Waitresses vary from ultra-attentive to your average "where is she?!" But you come here for the beer, and the beer is good. The chicken fingers might burn your tongue; but you won't even care. You'll douse that sucker in plum sauce, turn your chin up and smile because you're not up the road standing in line like a chump and waiting to get into that new so-called "beer market" (read: meat market). Yeah, BB's, you get my vote. We'll stay friends. read more

Visit the washroom before you leave home. Actually, don't. You should visit the washroom here just so you can truly see how your flexibility is doing as you contort yourself in strange positions in order to drain your bladder without soaking your pants. Simply put: the washroom is comically small. AND, I like it here. Buzzards is a recurring visit in my life. Probably because I work so close, but it has great service, friendly staff and will often give you samples of unique items on their menu after you have been seated for a few minutes. All in all, you can't really go wrong with Buzzards, providing you don't urinate on your clothing in the washroom stall. They don't have debit, but there is a generic cash machine in Bottlescrew Bills if you need it. Try the Atlantic Salmon Salad. read more

If you like beer and are committed to spending a thousand dollars completing your beer passport in order to get a hoodie, then you'd probably love this place. If you're looking for a place with good food, good service, and a decent booze list then there are a bunch of better places to go. I was here recently with a bunch of friends for a birthday and while it was nice that it wasn't crazy busy, this didn't translate into a good level of service. However, my main complaint was the food. I asked the waitress what kind of wings they have and she said they are "the best wings ever". Now, to be fair they are listed on the menu and "the best wings ever" but let's be serious. That is a bold statement my friends, and it's one that BSB has zero business making. For $13.50, I definitely expect above average wings. I also expect more than 7 wings, that the salt and pepper flavour will have both salt AND pepper, and that the proportion of breading to chicken be such that chicken is actually in a bite of wing. Well, apparently all of these things are not reasonable when you're having the best wings ever. When the server asked us about the wings I did mention that I felt that 7 very average wings for $13.50 left me a little disappointed, she did point out that the wings filled the plate and suggested I order more food. (Sidebar: The plates are super skinny rectangles that allow you to put very little food on the plate and still serve a "full plate". Well guess what, I do this trick at home when I'm purposely trying to trick myself into eating less. Just because the wings are served on a plate the size of a coaster doesn't mean they are delicious, or....LOL "the best wings ever".) We were still hungry because 3.5 wings each does not a satisfying dinner make so we also ordered some calamari served on little plate too. It was better than the wings but maybe that's because I had filled up on the breaded portion of the wing. After we ate, we entertained ourselves with a fun little game called "Can anyone actually sit down on the toilet in the women's washroom?" This was especially hilarious because the door to the stall is about 3 inches from the toilet. You'd think after my dinner on small plates I would have been able to fit, but I guess I ate too much. Bottom line - Food and service leave a lot to be desired. read more