Pasquales On MacLeod

Charged 11 $/​oz for a liqueur that is 6 $/​oz at other restaurants … Good food rude waiter too much for the liquor and a physical threat from the waiter … Hmmmm

Great atmosphere, cool music. Dinner was excellent and served hot. Service was exceptional. Will be going back!

Food was awesome. My favourite was lemon chicken with fantasy salad.
Service was great too.

I convinced my husband and daughter to come out to try a new restaurant. We chose this place as Husband was feeling Italian-​y and we had seen the billboards for years so decided to check it out.
We were sat, ordered the nice house red, the calamari and escargot. The calamari was lovely, the escargot okay. We ordered our entrees, a stuffed veal dish for me, the veal special for Daughter and Husband got a steak Neptune type dish. Our meals all came, but Husband’s steak was overcooked. As all three of us have worked in the service industry, front and back of house, we believed it had been browned under the salamander too long and rather than coming back rare was done medium in spots, medium rare in others. Regardless, it was a $ 35 steak, I suggested he send it back as it was not done as he wanted. The waiter was gracious and insisted he get a new one that would suit his needs, but a minute later the chef and proprietor (we recognized him from the billboards) came out to lecture my husband on how a steak should be cooked. He stuck his finger in the steak and pronounced it cold so it HAD to be rare. He agreed to go back and cook it «bleu rare» as we are only ignorant customers. He would not stop lecturing until Husband had to tell him to «please back off». My daughter and my meals were delicious, but hardly enjoyable at that point.
Not only did the chef embarrass our table and make us very uncomfortable, it ruined what was a very nice evening with my family. The steak did come out properly cooked, rare but not bleu, after my daughter and I were done. The waiter did bring my husband another bit of wine for his meal, but the evening was ruined. We would normally share a dessert and get a cappuccino or three, but we just wanted out at that point.
Our bill was $ 189 at the end. We will not return. Our experience left a bad taste in our mouths, indeed.

I booked this restaurant for a group dinner of 7 people. This restaurant exceeded our expectations in not only the food but the service. I wish I had gotten our waitress’ name because she was just excellent and made our experienced a great one. She was funny, efficient and I couldn’t get over the fact that she never wrote down a single thing we when ordered drinks, appys and our dinner.
The calamari was an excellent starter. The plate was piled high and portion generous. One guest ordered the ribs and had a hard time finishing them because there was so much. I was the only one that ordered a steak. It was delicious but was jealous of the other diners, they all ordered a pasta dish and looked awesome. I think next time I’ll get a pasta dish myself.
The only thing we struggled with was the parking. Our reservation was 7:00 on a Saturday night. There are other restaurants in the same area and finding a parking spot was difficult. All our dinner guests had something to say about this subject. But don’t let that discourage you from trying this place, just be aware of it.
We’ll definitely be back and highly recommend this restaurant if you want fantastic pasta and a quiet but friendly atmosphere.

Went there for Saturday night dinner. Made a reservation by phone 3 days ahead, however upon arrival we hung around the lobby for close to 10 mins whilst waiting for apparently a specific person to show us to our table, eventually she came to the lobby to tell us they are just putting glasses of water on the table before we can be seated…
Finally seated, service was good, main course arrived 1 hour after arriving in the restaurant. Five diners no one was particularly impressed, veal ordinary, chicken picatto limone, very ordinary, seafood pasta not great one of the mussels rather chewy, rack of lamb ordinary.
Décor quite nice. Not sure I will return, bit pricey for rather ordinary dishes !

My husband and I were out and about on a Saturday night and decided to try this place for a late dinner — The service, I have to say, was fabulous. The owner was very nice, made polite conversation and our waitress was great — very attentive and even took back a dish that my husband did not find to his liking (although I thought it was alright).
Very nice place, very nice atmosphere, food was not bad either… will definitely be back…

A mixed Bag here. My wife ordered the stuffed veal that was fantastic. I ordered the what was essentially the steak neptune and was dissapointed. The steak was mosly grissle and fat. The service was fairly good and the food came with no issues, except for the quality of the steak. We will try here again on the streghth of the veal.

So confused by these reviews. You’re either a fan or not. I’ve come here with groups, on a date, a more intimate evening with friends never had a problem. Food was always good. Our servers were always amazing and friendly. They usually would laugh and joke with us. Maybe they got new staff? I have no idea but I have yet to have a problem.
I’ve had pasta, veal, seafood, I try and have something new every time I come, never have I had an issue. Food was always good and filling. My boyfriend and I like to share what ever we are eating.

I had a great experience here! you really get a family-​business feel in this restaurant and everyone is charming and friendly! It was also VERY busy when I was in!
The food was EXCELLENT! price was great! I had a crêpe-​cheese-​pasta sauce dish. yum yummmm
I would definitely go back, and recommend this restaurant to others!

Quite impressed. Even without a reservation we were seated almost immediately, which can sometimes show the true colors of a restaurant. But we were pleasantly surprised. The pasta was well priced, averaging probably $ 17. Other entrees were closer to $ 27.
Everyone at the table enjoyed their food. The service was fine, a tad slow sometimes but one of the employees would be walking around double checking service.
All in all I would recommend.

I have been coming to Pasquales for as long as I can remember (my aunt knows the owners.)
I haven’t been here since about 2008 but up to that point I have found the food to be very good. The prices have for the most part been pretty good as well. It is not cheap but I did not find it over the top expensive either.
I am finding it harder and harder to find a good restaurant that is fairly priced as well and the fact that there prices are good I consider a plus.
I have taken my ex girl friend here as well as a very good friend and they both seemed to like it.
The restaurant itself I find very cozy as well and the people here have always been warm and friendly.
I do not go to Italian restaurants a lot in Calgary but I would say Pasquales in one of the better ones in the city

Overall:
Do not attend this place on special occasion.
It is good if you are planning to break up with someone — plenty of room to throw knives — have never seen a crowd there.
Great for single tourists trying to kill time over good food in am «Italian true wannabe» until the nearby bars open.
Has to be great for newcomers from Europe — the same «I do not care attitude».
Setting: My daughter’s grad from High School.
Reasoning:
My child: «Mom, let’s just go have a dinner where the food is good and they don’t lock the doors on you until speeches are done». (as opposed to a banquet at Telus Center). And we had a special trip planned for her grad night, so just needed a good dinner before we left the city.
Food: The only good thing. Pretty fast for custom ordered. Awesome temperature (I ordered a selection of seafood on vegetables for an appetizer, it can be tricky — you still want your shrimp crispy sizzling yet the lettuce and lemon must be crispy cold). My baby’s b/​f (OMG, dont get me started on that one… Whatever made my girl’s day happy) ordered a medium/​well steak and it was served medium/​well and he would not shut up about how delicious it was. I am really not so much jealous Mother. My ever pickiest eater ordered some fancy chicken. And… she ate it all. My God, the first one, really.
Service: aaaa… ehhhh…
OK. I mean, my daughter is all dressed up in her custom ordered grad dress. The girl did not sleep the whole night. She was waiting for this day to make the Statement of Youth and Beauty and Achievement. The waitress could have at least inquired what the whole dress up was for. No. Not very smiley, either. Burger at MacDonalds is served with better attitude. Actually, no one makes you welcomed there. And the interior is shabby. The tablecloth had some poor bleach attempts evidence.
Pricing: GOOD. $ 110 for 3.

I was here last night with friends and my experience was absolutely fine. I agree with Laura R. in that I wouldn’t consider this an upscale restaurant, but it certainly has a nice interior, is cozy and you could go casually dressed and not feel out of place.
I had the white house wine, which I enjoyed. My spouse and I tried the stuffed mushroom caps, which were good. Not the best I’ve had and maybe a tad pricey, but they were filling and I’d order them again. My pasta dish was supposed to be penne with Italian sausage, chicken, peppers, etc. I substituted the penne for fettuccine and quite liked it. Not very spicy, but overall it had some good, mild flavors. In fact, several people in our party had substitutes with their meals and the server approved them all. He was nice enough to tell us that because the restaurant wasn’t too busy, they would accommodate our requests but we shouldn’t expect it on a busier night. Totally acceptable. Those who talked about their meal said they enjoyed it for the most part and the only two dislikes were that the mushroom caps my friend ate were not warm and my spouse thought his chicken was a bit tough.
I thought the service was friendly, decently paced and they even were attentive enough to continue filling our water glasses as we visited long after our meal was done.
Being that we were a party of 8, they automatically add 17% gratuity. There was an error in that the gratuity was added to the total bill after taxes, but we just paid accordingly.
I would not hesitate to go to Pasquales again.

Went for the first time tonight after seeing the billboard on 25^th and Macleod, we were starving and wanting to try something new. Expected an excellent menu and service based on the décor, you can tell they underwent a recent renovation. The server was sloppy but nice. Service was slow, bruschetta was on dinner rolls from Costco and a basic recipe, nothing amazing.
We waited 45 minutes for our entrees, one was a pasta dish and one was a fish dish. The pasta was so hot it had obviously been sitting under a heat lamp. The fish was cold and the garlic bread old and cold. We sent the fish back and by the time it came back the pasta was gone so we each ate on our own. Super over priced, 2 diet cokes, onion soup, bruschetta, pasta and fish entrees = $ 75.00.
Didn’t fix the bill or comp anything for the trouble. Won’t go back, if you haven’t been, don’t go.

I may be a bit biased; I’ve been coming to Pasquales for at least 15 years, since the days of ordering chicken fingers and caesar salad. The food is excellent and the service is warm and friendly. I prefer lighter flavors, and sometimes I find the food at other Italian restaurants a bit over-​seasoned and too buttery. The Penne Basilico at Pasquales is my favorite pasta in the city, the sauce is nice and light and the pasta is always done perfectly.
I wouldn’t necessarily classify Pasquales as upscale. The crowd in the restaurant is varied, you would feel comfortable dressed-​up or dressed-​down.

Pasquales is an overpriced pseudo-​Italian eatery that caters to an unsuspecting crowd that bought in to the «Let Me Spoil You!» billboard a few miles back.
The food was mediocre. Underdone penne pasta in a tomato sauce that managed to be both sour and bland at the same time. The waitress was okay, but looked worn out and barely cracked a smile the entire time.
We ran in to Pasquale himself on our way out the door, sitting at a table surrounded by newspapers. We tried to say hello, but dude refused to give us anything but a sneer and his backside. Which makes me think that the smile on his billboard has to have been photoshopped. Pasquale is incapable.

Pasquales Pasquales… as Lindsay K said it serves up-​scale Italian food to an up-​scale crowd. I however cannot honestly count myself as part of an up-​scale crowd. But I tried this place anyway and went in with an open mind and an empty stomach.
My fiancée and myself wanted to go to Open Sesame across the parking lot, but figured it would be too busy and thought meh might as well try Pasquales.
There is nothing fancy or unique about the décor, it feels and looks ‘old worldly’…thats about the best way to describe it. The waitresses and hostess were friendly.
When we received the menu, we were a bit overwhelmed by the sheer volume of different recipes that were on the menu. We expected to see maybe 10 different recipes, because it is an up scale restaurant.
The food was amazing, super delicious. My fiancée had the lamb and super soft… or rather tender and delicious. Just mouth watering, even thinking about it now is making my mouth water. I had noodles shrimp, calamari and clams/​mussels. Really really good.
If the décor was a little bit more colourful or would stand out a bit. I would definitely rate it higher. I would recommend this restaurant if you want to experience an up-​scale restaurant.

Pasquales serves an up-​scale Italian menu to an up-​scale crowd. It seems as though this place is very fancy inside, and that you should actually dress up when you go there. I like looking nice for a nice meal.
They don’t lie when they say they serve fine Italian cuisine. I can’t complain about the food I’ve eaten here. I find that with a lot of Italian restaurants the amount of garlic can be very overpowering, but this was not the case at Pasquales. It was actually quite a delicious meal!
I will say that it’s a bit expensive. You’re looking at upward of $ 20 per person, if you’re having dinner here. This isn’t that bad when you consider the ambiance, food quality and general excellence of the meal. The staff were all great and very knowledgeable about the meal, including the in-​house pasta they make.
I really enjoyed my time at Pasquales and will definitely try to convince my boyfriend to take me back for a nice evening. It was extremely romantic!

Not sure why I’ve read good reviews for this place… I went to Pasquales for a business lunch a couple of weeks ago. We had dry ribs and bruschetta to start. The dry ribs were ok… the bruschetta was really underwhelming as the flavours didn’t really stand out. I could have made similar bruschetta myself at home. For the main entrée, I ordered the seafood fettuccine. What attracted me to this on the menu was the supposedly fresh house made pasta and sauce. The seafood fettuccine came in a rose sauce. When I saw it on the menu, I was immediately attracted to the rose sauce as I had fond memories of the rose sauce from Mercato here in Calgary.
When my pasta came, I was really disappointed. The rose sauce wasn’t all that flavourful… and certainly no where near the flavours of the rose from Mercato. The pasta and seafood were ok. The shrimp were baby cocktail shrimp. I would have expected better quality and taste at Pasquales. I could have easily mistaken this dish of pasta as something that came from a place like Chianti’s or Fiore’s… ie. it was more like a $ 10 – 12 dish of pasta. not one from the $ 17 – 19 range.
I looked over a the entrees that my dining companions had. And they didn’t look all that appealing either.
All in all, I really feel that Pasquales is overpriced for what you get, especially quality-​wise. While there was nothing really wrong with my pasta. it was by far not exceptional either. The restaurant had really nice décor. but I don’t go to restaurants just for the décor. I go there for the food.