Latest Reviews
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Quaint historical home located in a garden that you can walk around in. While the atmosphere was charming, I was a bit skeptical when I saw that the f…
Hangry In YYC
Reader’s Garden Cafe
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My son took me for Mother's Day Brunch May 13, 2018. We waited 10 minutes to be acknowledged and shown to our table. We were offered a Mimosa and ther…
Jules Goulton
Reader’s Garden Cafe
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This cafe is adorable! It like going to your grandmas house for brunch. It such an expertly maintained old house and gardens. I think it would be gorg…
Miss Zin
Reader’s Garden Cafe
About
Reader's Garden Cafe is open for Casual Dining. Reader's Garden Cafe serves Canadian dishes. Incorrect or missing information? Make a report, or claim the restaurant if you own it!Details
Feature List
private parkingindoor seatingserves cocktailsoutdoor seatingwifino alcohol availableReviews
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8 Reviews on “Reader’s Garden Cafe”
My son took me for Mother’s Day Brunch May 13, 2018. We waited 10 minutes to be acknowledged and shown to our table. We were offered a Mimosa and there were no plates on the table to eat the pastries which were a muffin, scone and banana cake. We were not offered water or coffee or tea and had to ask after an hour We waited half hour for the server to take our order and then waited another 45 mins for the food to come. I would have preferred to have ordered off the normal menu as the mother’s day brunch was not value for $35. I had the Eggs Benedict, the ham was sparse and thin and the scone was cold and the potatoes were cold. The Shepherd’s Pie came in a pastry crust with a small salad. Shepherd’s pie should be minced meat with mashed potato on top with no pastry crust. We were seated on the outside verandah and seemed to be totally forgotten about and the service was very poor. The location is wonderful, the old house is wonderful and the history are all a gem but the food and service need to be improved 100%.I had very high hopes for a wonderful Mother’s Day Brunch and was sadly very,very disappointed. The only saving grace was the view from the verandah and the gardens.
This cafe is adorable! It like going to your grandmas house for brunch. It such an expertly maintained old house and gardens. I think it would be gorgeous for a wedding! So if you want a unique brunch experience come here. Afterward take a walk around the impressive gardens and historic union cemetery. The staff is very pleasant but stretched a bit too thin I think. We ordered the smoked salmon with dill cream cheese as well as the classic farmers breakfast. Both were absolutely delicious! I loved the fresh ingredients especially the baby potatoes. Definitely worth a try and bring someone who will appreciate the history
How sad really… my SO and I do love the area. It is quite a gem within inner city Calgary. However, in the last 3 years of going to Reader Cafe, they have definitely decreased in quality of their food. It seems that they change management and/or chef every year and this year I think is the worst. My boyfriend had the croque monsieur and the way he would describe it is that it was as if he just made it at home in a few minutes. Regular bread with ham and eggs on top. And the worst was that the fruit that was served with it were definitely not ripe enough yet and they still served it. There was even a couple of slices of green cantaloupe. As for me, I got the smoked salmon bagel which was good but it was just that – no fruit or anything else served with it (not that I wanted fruit after seeing his plate). That bagel was $13.50…. very overpriced for what I got.This place has so much potential to being a great brunch place, the location is amazing with the gardens, but unfortunately the food is just not worth it. The gardens are definitely worth a walk around, but the cafe is unfortunately not.
My wonderful birthday dinner!. I loved the braised short rib…actually EVERYTHING! Our whole table raved about the food. It was interesting and delicious. And the location is divine. It is situated in the midst of the Reader Rock Garden and is a quiet oasis in the middle of the city. The views of downtown from the outdoor patio are stunning. Farm to table menu. The wine selection is very small but our choice was great. This restaurant is seasonal but in the winter they have it available for functions.
This is an email I sent the Reader Cafe today. Dear Reader Cafe;I was thinking about making a reservation for a special dinner with friends but was appalled by your website. It is full of spelling and punctuation mistakes (Artic char? Really?) Where there weren’t spelling mistakes there were weird capitalizations or multiple spaces in the middle of sentences. These were found on just one page: Lunch is available in the Restaurant, See our Menu on the WebsiteSandwich Platter’s can be arrangedMust be booked contact 311 City of CalgaryI looked at five pages and found mistakes on every one. It’s almost like your website was written by someone for whom English is a second language.Anyway, I decided not to make a reservation because I feel that a website represents a company’s face to the world and, if you can’t spell arctic char, you might not be able to cook it well either. robin thompson
SO DISAPPOINTING!. Based on my experience today, I would not recommend this Cafe. The lunch menu during the week is very limited, the portion sizes are extremely small (especially for a man), and the prices are too high for what you get. My girlfriend and I both had a bowl of mushroom soup (the daily soup special today). It really wasn’t anything special (sorry Chef) and cost $10 per small bowl. As mentioned in other people’s previous comments, most restaurants serve a bun or bread with their soup and I felt like something was missing. Even a package of crackers would have been nice! My girlfriend then had the beet salad, while I had the watermelon and tomato salad. Again, the salads, although tasty, were extremely small and could be eaten in a half dozen bites. We both had the lemonade to drink. We skipped on coffee and dessert because of the prices. All in all, our little lunch cost $57.75 PLUS TIP and we both admitted we were still hungry as we paid the bill and left the Cafe. I wish I could give a more positive review of the Cafe, considering the Gardens are so beautiful, but I would have to say – tour the Gardens but go for lunch somewhere else.
Great meal. I visited the restaurant at the recommendation of my sister and I was not disappointed. I had the beet salad, short ribs and the chocolate desert. All were delicious with terrific presentation. My wife had the Arctic Char and meringue and she was also very happy. The server was very friendly and added to the pleasure of the experience. I will be returning in the near future and I would recommend this to anyone enjoys good food, well prepared