Lido Cafe

It’s A-​OK. 3 Stars. And that’s really what it is.
I’ve eaten here before, had the breakfast, never admittedly tried the chinese food but I can imagine as I grew up around such places as a kid.
It’s a throwback to a earlier age where kids blew bubble gum at every corner and milk was delivered by hand by a man in a white uniform and a milk truck. A time when hula hoops, Nixon was on the radio and the Beach Boys on the jukebox. A time of innocence, and for the Chinese community of those years, a time where the Chinese diaspora served cheap Chinese egg rolls to the families of Korea War-​era servicemen who were back from «Over There».
Imagine that sort of diner, add the diner staples of burger and beer, pancakes and eggs, and preserve the interior like a fly in amber since the 1950s, and you have the Lido Café.
It’s not a remarkable place for the cuisine, and the rumours I hear about the washrooms seem to be legendary (apparently age DID get to that part of the café…), but it really is what it claims to be, no more, no less.
You could get a cheap plate of bacon and eggs, some hash browns and an eternally full cup of cheap coffee for under $ 10 (which is my usual poison, every so often). A cheap burger platter with frozen fries (no fancy hand cut fries here indeed, that would be pretentious), and every so often splurge a little with the chow mein with a side of sweet & sour pork.
Sure, you can get better in Chinatown, and maybe a prettier waitress (kidding, the hostess carries her youth well), but there’ll always be the quanity and the general respect. Maybe not the type that some going to higher end restaurants expect like specialized seating or being treated as a VIP, but you’ll always know that rich or poor, powerful or peasant, everyone is equal in the Lido.
To the Lido, in these final days, you will be missed. And another part of Calgary’s history fades away into memory.

This place is closing at the end of April, and I will miss it (and the rest of the block, really) when it’s gone.
This is a prairie small-​town Chinese & Canadian restaurant in the middle of Calgary. The diner food is OK; I like the hot beef sandwich with gravy and fries. Where Lido really shines is its westernized Chinese food. The fried rice has the deep flavour of an old, seasoned wok. Don’t go here for authentic Sichuan — go here for nice salty chicken chop suey and egg fried rice for $ 8.95. You won’t be disappointed.
The only bad thing I can say about Lido, other than the fact that it’s closing, is that the bathrooms are pretty terrible. Also it attracts some colourful characters, which can be a good or bad thing depending on your perspective.

Lido is closing so there is no real point in reviewing. Hopefully they will reopen with the same charm as they had after the condo development is finished. If you can get here before it closes, try the chicken burger. It’s greasy and reminds me every small town diner I’ve ever been to. This is either a good thing or a bad thing depending on your taste.

Lido Café is excellent in its category. This is not a trendy brunch spot, it’s a great, inexpensive place to have a huge, hearty breakfast and drink a bunch of cheap coffee. The prices are unbeatable, the bacon is thick and well cooked, and the coffee is hot and plentiful. If you are in to whole in the wall type breakfast joints, this is for you. I’m an avid breakfast eater, and this is the best I’ve found in Calgary so far. Again, this is in a completely separate category from cool weekend brunch spots. I can’t wait to go back.

At the end of this experience, the diner in me was dissatisfied and the consumer in me was nothing short of pissed off.
First of all, we found this place by googling for Chinese places that delivered. The hours listed on their website assured us they delivered until 9pm, so we picked out what we wanted and called to make the order. My friend was very promptly (translation: rudely) cut off mid-​sentence and told that, despite calling a whole hour before their websites stated hours ended that (translating from very broken English) their driver had left for the night so they wouldn’t deliver. Already I wasn’t thrilled, but we didn’t want to waste time looking for another place so we agreed to go pick it up.
The very first thing my friend attempted to order was the lemon chicken, which was met by another mid-​sentence cut-​off, again in very broken English, telling her they didn’t have any chicken. No explanation, no apology, just «We not have chicken.» (It should be noted that an entire section of their menu is under the heading ‘CHICKEN’ — this is not a singular item that maybe was just sold out, this is a major part of their menu we were apparently unable to order from. At this point, had I been the one on the phone, I would have been asking this woman… a) Who had taught her manners, b) What kind of restaurant just «doesn’t have chicken» and can’t keep advertised delivery hours, and c) Why in the hell anybody in their right mind would still order from them after this kind of opening. My friend, however, is far too easy going for her own good sometimes.
We eventually settled on an order that held almost zero resemblance to what we originally intended on and walked over to pick it up. We were told it would be ready in 15 – 20 minutes. We timed it to take 30 to get there, just in case. We walk in at 8:30, seeing the sign says they close at 9:00, and are immediately pointed back at the door by the woman at the counter (presumably the same one from the phone) and told «No more service. We close 20 minutes!» Okay, now I’m getting irritated. As anybody who has worked in the food service industry knows, any restaurant worth the cost of it’s rent serves any customer who comes in before closing whether it be 2 hours or 10 minutes before. It’s a pain, but it’s how the industry functions. This was a third strike and I almost started giving this rude woman a piece of my mind, but we were starving, so instead I settled for just explaining we’d placed a pickup order and we proceeded to wait for another 10 minutes ANYWAY (despite our deliberately delayed arrival).
While we were there we had a look around and, if I had seen the place before we ordered, I probably would have kept looking for somewhere else. I’ve honestly seen homeless shelters in better condition and state of repair than this. Sometimes that can be sort of part of the charm when it comes to places like certain punk rock-​ish bars and whatnot where a certain state of disrepair gives it a kind of avant-​garde grungy «street cred». This place didn’t give me that vibe. It just reeked of ownership that either couldn’t afford to or didn’t care to keep up any degree of appearances.
Oh and then my absolute favorite part… the old woman who had now cut my friend off twice and shown zero regard for basic manners had the nerve to give me a dirty look when I chose not to give a tip. I’m sorry but in my world, tips are for service of which I got precisely NONE (besides putting the containers in a bag). What exactly would I be tipping you for?
When we finally did get the food and walked home, everything was greasy, bland, and failed to impress on any level. I don’t normally order Chinese so I’m not sure what the «going rates are» but I’ll take previous posters word for the fact that it was cheap, but even then I wouldn’t consider it worth it AT ALL.
2 stars for the food… if that. –1 star (if I could give it) for the service… so I guess one star is about right. I definitely won’t be back, and had we not ordered

What a great hole in the wall.
This place is a no frills diner, which is not a bad thing.
They offer both breakfast, lunch and Chinese options at reasonable prices.
Sad to see this place being torn down for a development.

The food is legit all just canned/​frozen/​cheap stuff. The fries I swear were no name cheapest possible thing on the planet. It’s cheap, but then again over priced for the food that you get. I think it’s a good place for single older guys who just want a quick who cares type meal. I didn’t like it though. I would rather have spent an extra 5 bucks for a quality meal, this was very low quality

Why make breakfast at home when you can have someone else make it for you? The cheap eats at Lido are ever tempting, simple and will satisfy the vintage diner patron. After over sixty years in the food biz you can count on these guys get your your meal quick. When in the area I take them up on the before 11 AM breakfast specials which fill me until at least 3! The endless cup of a coffee is a great pick me up while you quell your famine.

greasy spoon diner with only OK fare, but it is cheap.
I like to go to places where they ignore the customer on purpose, and Lido is one of them. I say that sarcastically, but it is true– they let you hang around and drink coffee without too much of a bother. Probably because most of their clientele are high-​schoolers skipping class, street kids, and late night bar folk.
I have tried a few items on the menu, but come there for a grilled cheese and fries, it costs like 5 bucks and is totally worth 5 bucks. Not necessarily better than i can make at home, but i guess the nostalgia factor is worth it for me now to remember all those high-​school days of paying the tab with nickels and dimes.
It’s a place to go, and eat some food, and it wont cost a lot.

It pains my chest to have to agree with Cornelius, well not really. But the man is right, Lido is cheap, greasy, and serve large portions
But this place has a certain derelict charm to it. It has that dingy diner feel to it that you would only see in movies. I think if you lived in Kensington and wanted to have a meal and «get away from it all», this is where you went to eat.
I went here and had their fish and chips on a good friday. For 7 bucks you can do no wrong. The fish was light and fluffy, with a satisfying amount of grease. The fries and coleslaw complimented it quite well.
If you visit this place I suggest sitting by the window, you can get some amazing people watching done from this vantage point.
⁸⁄₃₀ — Underdog Challenge

Lido café is such a cornerstone of Sunnyside that you will almost certainly find yourself there. After going out with friends, meeting people for interviews, finding other shops in town are too lined up. The list goes on.
When finding yourself there, feel free to order anything on the menu. They have a large selection, all of it indistinguishable. I myself have endured the various Chow Meins, Burgers, and western breakfast options. Go with the Chow Meins, personally.
The sizes and portions are in inverse proportion to the quality. Enjoy it when you find that the universe has placed you there, for it will happen.
No need to do it willingly. Trust me.

I changed my profile picture today to me when I was 3 years old. This the kind of establishment my father took me to every weekend when I was a toddler. In memory, I thought it appropriate to temporarily change my photo for a few days.
Any restaurant that has been in the same location for 74 years has to be doing something right. The current owners have been there for a few decades.
This is one restaurant that has a real cult following. It is not fancy, the food is not Cordon Bleu nor is it authentic Chinese. What it has accomplished is being the best it can be in greasy spoons and I mean that affectionately.
Huge portions that, although not memorable, do deliver on taste and satisfaction. Add reasonable prices and it is not difficult to see why they are a winner. Where else will you find almost a whole pound of beef liver with mounds of fries, vegetables, soup, roll, and dessert for $ 10.95. The tofu hotpot is the same price and is too much to eat in one meal. Although not a big fan of sugar laden North American ginger beef and sweet and sour chicken balls, there are many diners who are and the majority end up taking a doggie bag because there was so much to eat. There is something on the menu for every taste.
The service is friendly, the owners dedicated, the kitchen lightning quick, and the atmosphere is one where you feel welcome. Sometimes the serving staff might forget about you, but this is not the Ritz.
It is not often that I can recommend nothing at the same time as recommending everything. Ambivalence is such a wonderful thing. Two people can dine for as little as $ 15.00 and it is almost downright impossible to spend $ 20.00 on a meal for one.
You see many people who are street people or otherwise down on their luck eating here. What is admirable is that the owners treat them with just as much respect as those that eat in almost daily. That impesses me.
I’ve tried the burgers, the fish and chips, beef hot pot with ginger and green onion, Singapore noodles, liver and onions, egg salad sandwiches and a host of other dishes over the past two decades. I’ve never been disappointed except for one occasion which really was not the fault of the owner. The only reason I am mentioning this is that they took responsibility when they did not have too. That’s honour for you. It had nothing to do with a dish being poorly prepared.
The greatest asset they have is that they are an incredible bargain, real bang for the buck.

Cheap, perfect hangover breakfasts. You might want to come back for the chinese food or sandwiches, but to me Lido is all about the pancakes, eggs & hashbrowns. It does the trick after a hard night.

Two stars for food; an extra star for being clean.
Lido Café doesn’t pump out great food by any stretch of the imagination, but if you’re in a bind and you want to save two-​to-​five dollars off what a roughly comparable meal would cost you in the neighbouring pubs and restaurants, it’ll do.

Greasy, cheap, effective, and with MASSSIVE portions, GOOD GOLLY. And they have cheap bottles of beer ($ 4). Asian level pf service to boot. I love that they have kept the original-​ish marquee. If money is of higher priority than health, this would be a good choice. This place is hardcore.