Vagabond Brewery and Restaurant

Pros: this place is close to saddledome/​stampede area.
Negatives: The listed positives are very scarce. This place does not have good service, the music is average, drinks are the same price as anywhere else which is no selling point at all really.
I remember going here even back for my highschool after grad and it was genuinely ruined. I really hope this place improves because I would go so often because of its location!

«Friends don’t let friends drink boring beer!» So… Are you telling me we’re not friends, Vagabond? I’m confused. You seem to feign an interest in beer culture, so why are you trying to push $ 8.5 Coors Banquet on me? What the hell is that about? The good news is yes, they have a few local beers on tap too — also to the tune of $ 8.5 — $ 9.5, making it, as far as I know, the most expensive beer in town. Sure it’s pricey, but to make up for the really expensive beer, Vagabond goes above and beyond on… Uhh, they’re really good at… Umm… Get back to me? Sorry, I’m going to have to take a pass on this one.
I came here for some local live music, eager to support a new venue. I was glad to see that Vagabond might be finding itself, and if they’re interested in getting involved in the music scene you’d better believe I’m going to be there to support them. While on some level I feel the intent to make Vagabond a music venue is there, the delivery needs a lot of work if it’s ever going to happen. The space is insanely loud — one of those places where you can hear everything and as a result can hear nothing. If they want to do music they could benefit from a room specific PA setup, but right now it seems as if the waters are only being tested.
Another thing that really rubbed me the wrong way was the door cover. My problem isn’t in paying a cover to go see live music, in fact I expect it. In most instances, 100% the door charge goes directly to the bands, and I’m told this is the case with Vagabond. In some cases, this is the only way the bands are getting paid. While I disagree with this method, that’s a conversation for another day — what I disliked seeing is Vagabond’s willingness to let people in that weren’t interested in paying the cover charge. «Show your Roughneck Tickets — get in for free.» Great promo idea! I assume Vagabond is covering that cost then and not making the bands eat it? «Didn’t know there’s a cover? That’s ok — just go on in.» It’s probably not cool with you if one of the bands decided to do a «Come to the show — get a free beer on Vagabond» promotion without your permission, or say «Oh, you don’t feel like paying your tab? Don’t worry, you don’t have to.» It’s very possible that if you’ve got a lot of post hockey game traffic coming through on a whim, having a door charge isn’t the way to go — but then you should pay your bands differently.
Sorry guys. I promise you I’m really eager to change my mind on this one, but apart from being in close proximity to the Saddledome, I’m really struggling for reasons why I should go here. I really do want my current opinion to change.

The beer is over priced. Portion size was quite small. My fries were grey ish not golden. Nachos were delivered cold will not return.

Drinks are amazing! Food was average for a gastro pub. Service was a bit slow, but friendly and competent. Nice ambience, unique design. Will have to go back during one of their live music events.

If you have a large wallet, then this place may be for you. If you have a hipster beard, then this place may be for you.
I would say that the drinks are above average in cost for down town Calgary, and the food is definitely over priced based on the quality and portions. I ordered a Rex Pizza and the size and quality was not worth $ 16, the crust was so thin and dry it could cut your mouth when taking a bite.
The servers were prompt and did a great a job.
Also it looks like a drywaller did the electrical work in this place (i.e. free aired fire alarm cable supplying lighting circuits).

This place is not well executed from interior décor to food. The staff is rough and untrained. The food was stale, cold, and unappealing. They were out of lots of food on the menu. Nothing is fresh prepared. We thought it would be a good spot to chill before the hockey game but it wasn’t. The fast food at the Saddledome is much better than this place. That’s setting the bar very low… It’s not worth it. Don’t bother! We won’t be back.

I had a chance to visit this place about 4 months ago and it was okay and close to the dome for hockey games. I tried to visit again about 2 months ago and there was a sign indicating that they were u derailing renovations and would be open again soon. This brings us to today, there is a sign indicating that it is under new management. The menu appears to updated and has an interesting mix of food at fairly reasonable prices. My husband had the fish and chips which was good (he really like the coleslaw) and I had a simple wrap which was okay and it was what it was and I had gravy for my French fries which was awesome! They have a pretty good selection of beers both on tap and bottles. Our waitress was very friendly and attentive. The décor has been updated a bit, fresh coat of paint and new murals. I would probably go back. A great alternative to dome food.

Well well well, I really want to give this place a higher rating has great character and excellent service staff. Let me start with the Pros:
— it’s close the Cowboys casino
— it’s open
— has plenty of seating
— Little to no wait (except during Flames games)
— Nice bathrooms
— and did I mention the very friendly waitstaff? (especially Alex)
— the Red beer is good
— they have lots of vegetarian appetizers
And now the Cons:
— some menu items were not available
— some beers were not available
— the menu didn’t match what was online
— The food was barfood and so so at that
If you go there ask for Alex!

Still calling itself a brewery, still not brewing beer.

This was not an impressive showing, first of all it was Friday night and it was us and 2 other people in the pub at 7 pm.
For the bare patronage the table we chose had not been wiped down from its previous occupants despite having 5 staff members present.
We were handed a Stampede food menu (dudes it’s August 1^st), which had 12 options, the Kale salad was crossed off the menu with sharpie.
We were asked our drink order, without saying anything about their beers and what they offer. So I asked what the Vagabond beers were, I was told they had a pilsner and a red. So I got a red and my companions got the pilsner.
Beer was pretty average, there is stiff competition in the town for local brewers now, and I gotta say, it’s not really in the race.
I started staring at the taps across the bar trying to figure what else they offered (keiths, kokanee, sam adams, bud…), it wasn’t until I got up and walked across the bar to look at the taps up close it turns out they also have a vagabond IPA.
Who knew? Not our server.
We ordered our food, I went for the beef brisket sandwich that comes on a pretzel bun with an aioli and crispy onions with sweet potato fries as my side. My fiancé ordered the chicken fingers. Server came back 2 mins later saying they were out of chicken fingers. Fiancé orders pulled pork burrito. Server comes back 2 mins later saying they can’t make that either.
So he also ordered the brisket sandwich cause apparently they had that.
A menu of 12 items and 3 are not available. Good start.
Meal itself, pretzel bun was nice, though blackened, brisket was pretty average, and I don’t think there was any evidence of crispy onions ever being on that sandwich.
I gotta say, the best part of this place was the bathrooms which were pretty nice. Though my fiancé informed me the men’s had been vandalized badly, with graffiti scratched in the tile and the large mirror next to the hand dryers had been kicked in.
I won’t be back. Don’t move to the East Village yet as this is your closest pub.

Wow… This place really needs to works some things out if they want to have a chance.
Decided to have some food and drinks before a concert last night and went to Vagabond because of the proximity to the Dome.
We were aware that it’s a beer kind of place so decided to keep our beverage order easy since we weren’t in a beer place. Asked for a Lemon Drop Martini, got vodka with a lemon twist. Good thing I like vodka.
Time for some food. My friend ordered the meatloaf, I asked for the cheese, meat and pretzel plate. Waitress said great and left but 5 minutes later she came back with bad news. Apparently they were out of the cheese/​meat/​pretzels. After another look at the menu I ordered the Halibut Burger… Waitress says «GREAT! Are you ok with Salmon because we are out of Halibut». No thanks… Another look at the menu and I asked about the nachos… Good choice but they were out of ??? (Pick an ingredient). Choice #4 was the Chicken Parmesan sandwich. Angels started singing because they actually had it and I was starving! I briefly felt like I hit the jackpot until I got my order. Have you ever had Chicken Parmesan shaped cardboard? Now I have.
I appreciate that places run out of things but in my opinion if that happens you better have something that tastes good to offer in exchange. Being out of that many things on a VERY small menu is unacceptable. Especially in a place so close to an event location on an event night. We were totally disappointed. It takes a lot for me to write a place off but I won’t return until it reopens under a new name. I don’t think it will be too long unless there are some big changes fast.

Tried here before the kings of Leon concert because of it’s awesome location. Too bad the food is awful. The server was overwhelmed with how busy the place was before the concert. Which seems like an easy fix to me …
Looks like a cool place might go here for just drinks next time.

I wasn’t overly happy with Vagabond.
I liked that we could book a reservation in advance of a Saddledome event, and the service was pretty good. Decent beer and wine selection.
I had the fish and chips, and would not have them again. The entire dish was soggy by the time I was halfway through my meal. Soggy shoestring fries, and slimy, undercooked and soggy battered fish. Not good. I
’d like to give them a try again, and try the «pub fare» appetizers on the menu that sounded yummy.

Tried vegabond for the first time last night. Seems like a great location for people heading to the dome to eat or grab a drink first. From now on I’ll stick to my favs on 17^th.
We had 8 people so there is a mandatory 18 percent gratuity. I get that. It’s just too bad the waitress didn’t have to care about her job anymore after that 8^th person showed up.
I had a battered chicken sandwich. I’m guessing it came out so burnt because it was so small. They served it with a side of fries. The longest fry was maybe an inch long. It looked they were broken fries at the bottom of the bag or something. My wife had a kale Caesar salad. It came with no salad dressing. We assumed there would be Caesar salad dressing on a Caesar salad. We asked for the dressing. It came after if was already finished.
When we got our bill with her built in tip we noticed they charged us $ 1.50 for the dressing. We asked her and she said the kitchen forced her to charge us and there was nothing she could do.
The ATM didn’t work. They wouldn’t give cash back to buy a few more drinks so we left. We chose to head to the dome and drink 8 dollar beers there instead!
Great location. Great concept. Hopefully they figure it out!

Do you ever feel silly for having advance plans to meet somewhere for dinner, and then NOT calling ahead for reservations? That’s how I felt when I arrived at Vagabond for dinner before a Flames game! Well, lucky for me the server was super accommodating and was able to find a table for 3 with almost no wait. So far so good! (Hint for next time: make a reservation!)
The menu is fairly small (I am a huge fan of small menus by the way, it means less food waste), and looked almost as if it was tailored for the game. Despite the menu being «small» (it wasn’t really that small) I could have happily eaten several different items from the menu. I landed on the chicken & brie sandwich and kale caesar salad; a fabulous choice. The menu was well labeled (gluten-​free, vegetarian, etc) and the beer menu was extensive.
The atmosphere is also good. I love the concept of sharing tables, it means a more social experience and I’m sure the restaurant appreciates the economics of fitting more people into existing space. The crowd was lively and the servers were friendly.
Despite the good food (4*) and atmosphere (3.5*), I give Vagabond a 3 because the service was really slow. We ordered right when we arrived, and left the restaurant 1.5 hours later. Even drink orders were slow to arrive. It was pretty clear that everyone in the restaurant was Saddledome-​bound, so I would have expected a faster turnaround or at least an explanation for the slow service.
Will I be back to Vagabond before another Flames game? I think that’s a pretty safe bet, and next time I’ll be booking ahead!
–
L

Perhaps Vagabond opened its doors at an inconvenient time or I just live in a box, but I had no idea this place even existed until now. Having grown a little sick of the typical beer houses like Craft and National (due to them being over-​crowded and noisy), I decided to check out Vagabond.
Located just across the street from Cowboys Casino, I felt this was a rather odd location to put a bar since it’s away from the downtown scene (but that’s just my opinion). Upon first impressions, Vagabond almost looks and feels like a coffee-​shop thanks to its cool décor and large glass panels. Unlike other beer houses where they can give off a pretentious air, Vagabond has the much preferred «come-​as-​you-​are» type of atmosphere.
if you’re a big beer drinker, Vagabond may not be the place for you. Although it does offer a decently sized beer menu, they definitely do not have as large of a selection as other places like 1410 or National… since the place is still spanking new, they did not have a lot of beer in stock that night which was slightly disappointing. The upside was that our waitress was incredibly approachable and knowledgeable of beer where she did her best to accommodate us with another choice based on what we were looking to drink. Because it is a brewery/​bottle house, it does have two house beers on tap… I didn’t have any that night but apparently they are worth while to try.
The food menu was definitely unique where they offered typical classic pub food as well as choices with a modern twist ranging from fried pork rinds, beet salads, mac n cheese, etc all within the reasonable $ 5 to $ 20 dollar range for the most part. As unique as the choices were, the food definitely had its highs and lows where some food was just overdressed, over-​seasoned, over-​cheesed, etc. On the other hand though, there were a few items that did shine like the quinoa salad — although it had a little too much cheese for my liking, the overall salad was surprisingly good and refreshing where I would recommend it to other lovers of quinoa. With a few tweaks and changes, Vagabond would be able to create more consistent food. However perhaps I should say that after a few more visits to try other foods on the menu.
Despite its location, I greatly enjoyed my time at Vagabond that night. With a pool table and dart boards, Vagabond is good for catching up with people… thanks to the choice of using skinny tables to seat customers, it definitely makes it a lot easier to carry a conversation rather than shouting across the large wooden benches in other beer houses.
In my own opinion, Vagabond is not mind-​blowing but it is a nice change from the typical bar scene. If you’re in the area, then check this place out. However if you’re looking for authentic beers, it’s probably best to stick to a liquor store or the larger beer houses.

Tried it a couple times for lunch. The brisket looked amazing and so did the pizza.
However, the beet salad was so vinegary that it wasn’t particularly pleasant (confirmed by another person having it too), the tacos were a little bland, and although very friendly the service is a little slow for a daytime lunch.
It’s still new though and I’m sure will improve. The table covered in flies we sat at (that attacked us and our food the entire meal) wasn’t so impressive though.

I’m starting off this review by helping set your expectations of Vagabond. It’s still getting its brewery/​beer/​restaurant legs. The food is good, the beer selection is decent, I think a brewery/​pub style spot makes much more sense this close to the stampede grounds, so it’s off to a good start. But much of the service staff are young and still relatively new. While you might be more used to the seasoned staff at some of the other Calgary establishments, have some patience.
Beer wise, it’s got two of its house beers on tap right now, a red and maybe an IPA? I can’t quite remember. It’s a light beer at any rate and being brewed over at Brew Brothers until they can get their own brewery up and running in the building.
Food wise, the selection is impressive. It will take you more than a visit or two to work your way through these offerings. If you’re looking just for a couple of snacks to share with a friend (or keep all to yourself like I did), take a gander at the sides. Each selection is $ 5. I ordered the brussel sprouts and mac n’ cheese. They’re not so much sides as they are good half portions. My reaction when I first read about the brussel sprouts… «Ew! Are you kidding me?» My best friend eats brussel sprouts and loves them. I could never get on board with them. At least not until they were smothered in a sweet sauce and covered with bacon. SOLD! The menu doesn’t tell you that part about them, it just says brussel sprouts. Give them an order.
The interior is quite spacious. Less seating and more spaces between the tables makes me think they’re after a mingly atmosphere when it gets busier, all that aisle space is bound to help servers manœuvre their way through any busy rooms more quickly.

It smelled promising! Late night chicken wings, fries and brussel sprouts (an odd one I know). The wings look pretty exciting, an entire wing at a time. Unfortunately the skin was thick, hard and leathery, I could hardly bite through and chewing was an ordeal. The fries are well-​seasoned but they were soggy. How do shoestring fries get soggy?! I don’t know, but there were soggy and really greasy.
Best part was the brussel sprouts! Covered with bacon and pecans and a sweet glaze… I was impressed!
Oh and the beer is good. Can’t screw up a bottle of beer ;)

With a beautiful industrial modern contemporary décor Vagabond is a cool and hip place. There is a new edgy feel to this place. While I was here the other night they only had a test menu which was great because they took a lot of feedback from their customers.
I had the pulled pork poutine. Which was very good only the pork was not pulled but they took my suggestion at least. The pork was cubed which I found odd. It was very good however! The fries themselves were amazing! I could have eaten just a plate of fries. They toss them in garlic butter right out of the fryer holy man they were good! Next we tried the Lobster Dogs. Which is exactly what it sounds like. It was a Lobster corn dog also very good. They were still perfecting the batter. I happened to really like it but that is my personal taste.
I had two glasses of wine which were both very good I went with the Riesling. I also had a glass of Vagabond beer. Now I’m a gal who yes, loves wine but I also really like beer and I was impressed! The «house» beer is $ 6 for a pint which I find reasonable. They also have a variety of other great beer choices. However I want to support local businesses so I tried the beer. It’s light and has a very nice and refreshing flavor. Shout out to Darby behind the bar for being a great bartender and a great person to talk to! She was very personable and right on top of drinks. I was super dehydrated from spending all day in the sun and every time I looked over she kept my water full and gave me a lemon to boot. hehe It’s the little things guys!
There is no sign outside the venue yet but It’s in the Arriva tower apartment building, kiddie corner to Cowboys casino. It’s a great place and I hope you all check it out! It is also very spacious so it would be great to host parties there!
I should also mention they are putting in a brewery next door to brew the Vagabond beer in. It will be so awesome when it’s all finished. Right now all the equipment is in and you can peek in from outside and from a little bit in the venue. It will have an open concept when it’s all done so you can see into the brewery. I’m excited for it to be done. For now you should try the Vagabond beer to get your taste buds ready!