College Bar in Calgary Gets an A+

Review of College Bar in Mission

College Bar: This week I had my first chance to patronize another beltline liquor vending establishment here in Calgary, not sure how that keeps happening to me. A group of new friends had a Thursday night meetup at this pub because it was playing host to a comedy night put on by Craft Island Entertainment. Since I am a huge fan of trying new Calgary restaurants and bars, as well as never turn down the opportunity for any sort of live show, there was no way I was going to miss out on this, even if it was a weekday evening.

The location of College Bar is on 4th Ave SW, just a couple blocks South of the 17th Ave entertainment district. Coincidentally, I have been parked in front of this venue twice in the past week, once for an appointment across the street and once to go out to the Blowers and Grafton east coast pub that is just up the block.

Parking in the neighborhood, I have learned from experience, is a bit of a challenge at peak times. The nearby residential apartments all require permits for vehicles parked anywhere on the avenues around them, so patrons of the commercial businesses are essentially restricted to parking on the Streets. The good news is it appears that evening parking on those Streets is free at least.

The first thing that is notable about the College Bar is that they have currently converted their entire outdoor parking lot into picnic table seating. They must have enough outdoor seating there for 200 people. I’m sure it’s only seasonal but it’s something I haven’t seen any other Calgary restaurant make this much extra summer space. Pretty cool idea.

The inside of the pub is open and spacious. They have a couple walls cluttered with an abundance of television screens that at the time were all playing Thursday night NFL football and the Blue Jays game. There was also background music playing over the house speakers while at the same time also hosting a professional stand up show by Craft Island Comedy Festival. Seriously, not sure how any of the staff didn’t clue in that maybe one of the 3 simultaneous entertainment stimuli could be eliminated for the benefit of the others. I don’t think the NFL was bothered by it, but I can’t imagine the comedians found it to be the most event friendly thing. Hopefully somebody lets the venue know it was slightly annoying.

The layout of the place was good and it is a big space. There is a large bar with counter seating and many raised pub tables throughout the bar. They don’t appear to have a dedicated stage area but they certainly have room for it. Overall it was clean and welcoming.

Our service this evening was good. The waitress was quick to attend to us, pleasant with her presentation, and never neglected our table or left us wondering where she went. The group I was with had only basic pub appetizers and drinks so nothing about our orders were particularly complicated, but we had no problems at all and were well cared for. As is becoming a habit, I happened to order the nachos with beef for my evening snack. They were pretty good, decent flavor, reasonable amount of beef on them, jalapenos and veg toppings. Nothing amazing, but acceptable for pub nachos.

I love the fact that this Calgary lounge supports the local entertainment and nightlife scene by hosting live events. King Calgary will gladly patronize and recommend venues whom make this choice. The College Bar was a good time. It would have been nice if more people got out of their condo and socialized on this weeknight evening but we still had a good time regardless. The live entertainment kept us laughing, the pub kept us hydrated, and the company was worth the trip in from the suburbs. I have to give College Bar and A+. Stay tuned as we get out and try to review another 50 Calgary restaurant and bars in the next year.

~ King Calgary