Phil’s Restaurants

Februray 1, 9:320am-Was looking forward to breakfast here for the last week. My client and I often enjoy our outing to this Phil’s location. We decided to try the Eggs Benedict this time and were sorely disappointed in what was served. It looked OK when it arrived except that the hollandaise sauce was a light colour. Well, I’m pretty sure that the sauce came from a mix, it was clear to white in colour and no taste to speak of. My clients couldn’t finish hers because she was put off. The hash browns were good and the coffee was good, service was fine but I couldn’t leave much of a tip after leaving three quarters of the food on the plate.

Waited 15 minutes for service, that’s letting km them know what we wanted. Not until I yelled «anyone home?» Only five people in restaurant and we were there before the other three people yet we were the last to be serviced. We ordered then waited another 20 minutes for our food while the other three people were eating. I asked three times about our order. They said it was the frozen hamburger paddy that was taken time to thaw & cook. I requested that they serve our breakfast then the hamburger later. Still I said if it’s not here in five minutes we are going; then, the manager comes over very upset. I asked her if she had a problem with me being there as she was very defensive. Asking if we had a problem with their service. Is being said our food immediately came out; however, my niece found s plastic string in her scrambled eggs and our young friend found small pieces of hair in his French fries. Our young friend told me about the hair in his fries after we left the restaurant.
I really think reading views on Unilocal would’ve helped me make my decision not to go there. As I thought it was just me that felt their service was terrible. I told the manager I normally go to Phil’s on elbow & glenmore. Even with a full house their service is fast & friendly & not confrontational.
NEVER GOING BACK

Kinda gross. Came in for Eggs Benedict. Eggs seemed to have been poached way ahead of time. Muffins were hardly toasted. Hollandaise sauce was clearly a powdered mix.
The waitress was not very friendly and I got to hear her arguing with the other staff in our section as well as see her scowl at me.
For the price this was simply poor service. I will not be back.

Hmmm, this is an update to my previous glowing review, which I beleive is still visible on this page. I must confess, that after coming to this location for over 30 years, I doubt very much we’ll be returning again anytime soon. Reason being, the recent scaled down portions. I should point out that I’m very familiar with the menu, and portion size;
It’s understandable that over a period of time a restaurant will have to raise/​adjust their prices accordingly. But what Phil’s has done recently is adjusted their portion size (making certain things smaller), while keeping the prices the same. But who’s to say that won’t go up as well?!
We recently ordered the pancakes…5 per order. They used to be quite large… maybe 6″ in diameter. Now they’re half that size, but cost the same. We also ordered the Canadian Pea Meal Bacon breakfast, which used to contain 3 large slices of ham/​bacon. Now these slices are pathetically puny, just slightly larger than a table spoon!
When I asked our server about this, she said Phil’s reduced the portion size of many items because the minimum wage went up! What kind of an excuse is that?
Bad (stupid?) business strategy Phil’s…you just lost us as customers.

Great atmposphere. Had an English breakfast and enjoyed it.

This place has been here for at least 25 years. I always go there when I want a nice simple wholesome meal. The breakfast are really good, really good. This is not a fancy schmancy place but it is very good food and the service is very good too.
If you want simple and good this is the place to go
How could this place being business for over 25 years without being good?

Skummy at best, walk in, hostess doesn’t say a word wile she seats you, no hi, or good morning or server will be right with you… Nothing! Then the server comes, takes our drink order, leaves, comes back, takes our food order, comes back with food, pleasant enough I suppose, go to put cream in my coffee, every creamer in the bowl had nasty dark sticky stuff all over them, never mind I no longer want cream in my coffee… Picking away at my very bitter over cooked almost sharp tasting eggs Benny, I look up and there is our hostess, standing in the doorway to the kitchen absent mindedly picking at her lips and inside her mouth then walks back into the kitchen, nasty! Glad she wasn’t handling our food! Throughout the remainder of out visit she had her hands in and around her mouth! Coming from a serving industry in my youth I know that hostesses still handle enough for that to be unacceptable, the menu’s for one, just think… She picks her mouth (maybe a cold sore?) then grabs your menu and you grab you menu… Gross, the back of the WHITE till monitor was grey with dirty finger prints, think about that… She touches the monitor. Dirty as it is, then puts her fingers in her mouth. No sense of sanitary at all. That is all!

I’ve been to two different Phil’s locations in Calgary and I have to say that they are VERY different. I like the decent, cheap breakfast foods and that’s all I go for.
The location on the #1 highway is never a downer — fast service, organized, pleasant staff, consistent. So naturally, I expected this location on 14^th Street to be the same. Nope.
I went in after the usual lunch rush because I wanted some quiet time to eat and collect myself. When I walked in, there was one elderly man drinking coffee… and me. Perfect. Sort of. It took a solid 15 minutes for the server to acknowledge my existence and take my order. I didn’t expect much from the meal, but I swear the eggs benny are better at the other location. And it arrived almost cold. Fine, whatever. I eat my meal in peace and finish up, realizing that I haven’t seen the waitress since she poured my first cup of coffee (the only cup, sitting empty now for some time). She was gone.
I waited TWENTY MINUTES for her to return from audibly gossiping with the kitchen staff so I could pay my bill and get to my meeting. Did I mention I was the only customer in there that was dining? I have never been so tempted to dine and dash in my life. When she finally appeared, she rang me through while talking very very rudely to someone on the phone («Whaaaat? Are you stupid, he hasn’t worked here for 3 years… What? Oh. What do you want me to do about it?»). How do people like this have jobs? She must have been into her 50s at least, and she should know better than to be so unprofessional.
This location would get one star if it weren’t for the other location that I like so much. I will never return the the 14^th Street location. Disappointing.

Phils on 14^th, a blue collar restaurant catering to families and the hungover denizens of the Calgary core! Each group looking at one another stating to their friends «glad we’re not them»
This is a restaurant review so I should talk about the food right? They seem to get my eggs right about 75% of the time which is better than some places. I really do enjoy the Traditional Mixed Grill… I mean if I am going to go out and eat pork you might as well serve it up 3 ways! Sometimes I cheat on the mix grill and go with the pancakes… buttermilk please. I enjoy the pot of coffee at my table and its usually strong as all hell but it is on the pricey side. I sometimes bring a Starbucks from down the way and they don’t seem to mind.
All and all an average little place to grab a decent bite with service that is usually prompt. A great place to build a base for an early morning round of golf or checking the Sunday morning NFL lines before heading off to make a proline.

I have yet to be disappointed by any of the food here. That said, there’s not really anything supremely special or unique that they do here that has me eager to come back. It’s ok.
One thing I really like that they do is when you order a coffee, they give you a whole carafe for the table to use. I think it’s a great idea, because then the only time you have to flag down a waitress for refills is for the carafe (which, if there is only 2 of you, takes a while to get through).

Okay — so, I’ve been back to Phil’s a couple of times and my review has changed slightly. Service has been consistent — the server must have been experiencing an «off» day when I went the first time. Although, they never seem to fill my water glass. Food has been good — not amazing but definitely better during my first round. I’ve always been lucky in getting a table — seem to come just after or before the rushes.
So, all in all, Phil’s is an alright place to visit, but not generally #1 on my list.
(18÷30)

Phil’s is that breakfast place that you go to when all the other breakfast places are full on Sunday morning; and you’ll still wait in line, but not for as long.
Phil’s is that classic «I’ve-gone-there-since-I-was-a-kid» place and has a giant menu complete with mini belgian waffles, pancakes, those chunky hashbrowns everyone likes and crispy bacon.
There are a few things that stick out about Phils that I think are important:
— The fruit bowl is surprisingly good, it’s not just full of melons and grapes but has strawberries and kiwis too
— The Chubbies are gross. Both in name and in taste.
— If you order coffee, they put a carafe of hot coffee on your table, brilliant
— They have a mega-​cheap Li’l appetites menu with meals for the «I’m not that hungry» person in the group
— The hollandaise is a might bit greasy, get it on the side
— Phil’s is good at the classics, fried eggs, bacon, hash browns, toast, pancakes, omelets so stick to the basics here
If you don’t want to wait for 300 hours while tired, hungry and (probably) hungover for breakfast, go to Phil’s. You’ll get down-​to-​earth food at a reasonable price served quickly and efficiently.
T.

Phil’s and I have had a long, satisfying relationship. My family would be on the road a lot and we relied on Phil’s as one of the chains we could afford to stop at.
These days I choose Phil’s because of the standard fare, good service and reliable prices. In fact, I’ve started choosing Phil’s because of the non-​greasy, tasty healthier options! Their chicken chubbies are lean and flavourful, their buckwheat pancakes are good and eggs are always cooked correctly.

This is a place that I enjoy for sit down breakfast food. They have a standard menu of eggs with this and that. They also serve waffles and pancakes. I like having breakfast with my father here because they leave an entire pot of coffee at the table if you order coffee. A great place to relax, have a good breakfast and enjoy some conversation. The prices are very reasonable. I especially like the potato pancakes. When I order them I ask them to hold the apple sauce and give me gravy (which they charge for understandably). I haven’t tried anything other than breakfast here.