Essence - Westin Calgary Restaurant - Calgary, AB

Essence - Westin Calgary
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Essence - Westin Calgary

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Address:
320 4th Ave S.W.
Calgary, AB T2P 2S6

Neighborhood:
Downtown

Getting there ›
Cuisine:
Contemporary American

Price: CAN$30 and under

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Essence - Westin Calgary Details

Dining Style: Casual Dining
Website: http://www.westincalgary.com/calgary-restaurants
Phone: (403) 508-5165
Hours of Operation: Lunch
Monday - Friday 11 AM - 2 PM

Breakfast
Monday - Friday 6:30 AM - 11 AM
Saturday - Sunday 6:30 AM - 2 PM
Payment Options: AMEX, MasterCard, Visa
Cuisine: Contemporary American
Executive Chef: Frederic Hoffmann
Dress Code: Business Casual
Accepts Walk-Ins: Yes
Additional Details: Beer, Cafe, Full Bar, Gluten-free Menu, Non-Smoking Restaurant, Takeout, Wine

Getting there

Cross Street: Third Street
Parking: Hotel Parking
Parking Details: Valet and underground parking available.

A word from Essence - Westin Calgary

A place to replenish. Whether sitting down for a business meeting or a special occasion, you’ll enjoy the fabulous menu with a focus on nutrition & which showcases Alberta's many flavors.

Foodspotting photos

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Diner Reviews

"The clam chowder and fish was very tasty. Service was quick and attentive. Room looks worn out and half empty, I almost got up and left to go to the Keg next door, since it was an embarrassing place to take Clients. However, as I said the food and service was really great."
Dined on 7/25/2014
"I visited for a business lunch. Attentive but not annoying service, great entree salads, not busy. Food was terrific, but the place looked like a hotel restaurant (it is). From the prices, one expects more, but it still was a great business lunch or breakfast place."
Dined on 7/17/2014
"The hostess had a hard time understanding that a business person would need their briefcase and asked on more than one occassion to leave the bag at coatcheck, then tuck it away at the table making it vertually inaccessible. (rolling briefcase)"
Dined on 7/16/2014
"Essence is the place you go when you can't get into the Keg or other lunch spot. However it is an excellent restarurant. What it lacks is any windows and the pub or Joey's type atmosphere most downtown folks are looking for at lunch. So on a sunny day most folks would rather be on the patio. However if you want a quiet place for a meeting or feel like excellent food and excellent service it is worth checking out. Essence excels at fine dining and service but lacks in lunchtime summer ambiance."
Dined on 5/28/2014
"Good breakfast buffet at a 'reasonable' price. Good breakfast selection with poached shrimp, smoked salmon, crepes omlets, eggs benny and so on. Mind you this was for Mothers day but I understand they have something similar on the weekends. Good service, quiet, and good food overall."
Dined on 5/11/2014
"Took my wife, daughter and mother to "Essence" for Mothers Day Brunch. It was buffet style with an "omelet station. All buffet items were fresh and replaced regularly. The staff did a wonderful job."
Dined on 5/11/2014
"Booked the Westin for Mother’s day brunch this year as I had family friends also going. Location was great, parking was a bit tough, but for a small gratuity the hotel will park your vehicle out front - or pay the $38. valet fee and have them valet the car completely. Food selection was good at the buffet, only think lacking was a pancake/waffle station...there was some red velvet pancakes in a warming tray - but unless you like red velvet that was your only selection. We all really enjoyed the omelet/egg station for fresh made eggs to order. I would say next year we will try something different, maybe with a larger selection of breakfast items. Overall for the size and price, great value and food was tasty."
Dined on 5/11/2014
"Essence is a hidden gem in my opinion. The food is excellent and fairly priced. The service was good, but not outstanding. The waiter was a little "off" that day. I have dined here before and the service was outstanding (different server). Both times I ahve been here the food has been amazing however. I would recommend this for a more quiet business lunch or lunch with a friend. Not great for groups as it is a bit quieter than the typical downtown scene. "
Dined on 5/2/2014
"I had the Kale salad. It was delicious. I liked that this is a quiet restuarant. So many are noisy. It was a great place to catch up with an old friend without all the noise. The other menu items looked very good. Looking forward to trying this again. "
Dined on 5/1/2014
"Always consistently great service and food. The noise level is low enough that it enables easy conversation."
Dined on 4/17/2014
"The menu looked incredible and things started off well with the complimentary bread, and then the appetizers were great. But the main course let me down and was nowhere near as good as the starters. I hope other people have better luck. the restaurant wasn't busy at all and that took away from potential atmosphere. the layout is fully open, so it feels less fancy because of the event layout look. "
Dined on 4/17/2014
"I've eaten at Essence many times and it has been fine. Unfortunately this time, the service was not very good. The service was very slow and the server completely messed up one of our meals ( there was three of us). Brought the wrong salad and didn't bring the side dish ordered (stir fried veggies). We had to talk to him a couple of times about the side dish and when he eventually did bring it, it was just a plate of regular veggies not a stir fry. By then it was almost 1:pm and we had to get back to work. We were never offered a discount or anything, he treated it like nothing happened. Disappointing."
Dined on 4/11/2014
"The staff at Essence are very friendly and courteous. I frequent Essence for lunches because the food is good and it is quiet -you can hear your guest and easily carry on a conversation. The staff get to know you and I always feel very well-served - the staff are terrific. My experience here just happens to be mostly at lunch and for business lunches, I do highly recommend it."
Dined on 3/28/2014
"I can always count on outstanding service and food at this restaurant. The noise level is comfortable, which facilitates easy conversation with table mates. My only critique of the restaurant is that I find the ambience of the decor to be somewhat cold and sterile."
Dined on 3/26/2014
"Did not even know this restaurant existed before I saw it listed for Big Taste. It is a Hotel restaurant and is only open for breakfast & lunch. It is quite dim as there are no windows. I read some other reviews about this and the menu being hard to read and they were correct. We started with the Potato & Leek soup which was very nice, could have been a little bit warmer than it was. Main course was the Boeuf a la Bourginonne which was very good. I could leave out the bone marrow. Our server was a gentleman and was very attentive. Now that I know this restaurant exists I might try their breakfast, but most likely will not return for lunch. Its just too pricy for a hotel restaurant lunch."
Dined on 3/14/2014
"I like this restaurant for lunch. The location is easily accessible by +15 (good in the winter), the food is good and the service is excellent. Dark lighting caused a problem during my last visit. We could not read the menu, which is printed in small, shaded font. The waitress was kind enough to recite a number of choices for us. We were not the only patrons having this problem. I will try this restaurant once more, but will insist on a table that is well lit."
Dined on 3/7/2014
"I hosted a business lunch for 6 which turned out to be 8. The staff where very accomodating, food was good and the restaurant was quiet."
Dined on 2/28/2014
"Went here for lunch with a coworker on a Thursday afternoon. Our server was very polite upon greeting us and our food came quickly. I ordered the green tea salmon medium rare but it was prepared more like medium well. Otherwise, my lunch was good - I would give it a 7/10. We ended up waiting quite a long time for our bill after we had finished eating. I believe this was a product of the restaurant being quite busy and our server attending to many tables."
Dined on 2/27/2014
"I appreciate "gluten free" items noted on the menu."
Dined on 2/7/2014
"Interesting menu (especially for a hotel restaurant), well prepared food and good service. We had the crab cakes and potstickers as an appetizer, both were quite good, but not exceptional. As a main, I had the fried chicken. The chicken was tender and very good, the fries and coleslaw were average. My colleague had the short ribs, which were a very large portion. Overall the portions were large, so bring an appetite! The price point was my biggest objection; it's pretty high for what you get, given other lunch options downtown."
Dined on 2/5/2014
"This is a relatively quiet spot for a business lunch. Never that busy and great food & service."
Dined on 2/3/2014
"Great for a business lunch where you need to have a conversation, Food is always very good, as is the service. Never let's me down."
Dined on 1/30/2014
"Although we beat the lunch "rush" and got our order in before noon (and the restaurant was empty), it took 25 minutes for the first meal to come out, and 45 minutes for the second meal. After 5 minutes they came back and put the first meal under the heat lamp. Although apologetic (up to the manager level) it was very disappointing given how rushed we were for time. An offer of a dessert on the house does not help when already late. Everyone there seems pleasant enough and they are trying hard, but far from getting things right."
Dined on 1/27/2014
"Table was close to another team I work with so if that could have been avoided; however I realize unless reservation is made for both under the company name you woud not know this."
Dined on 1/10/2014
"The service was great and the food did not disappoint."
Dined on 1/9/2014
"The food was great, the service not so - had to track down the server to get our order and then get our bill. And it was not that busy."
Dined on 12/19/2013
"I suppose it has to do with the season - but it was very noisy busy in the resturant. Our waitress was run off her feet and the service (very poor) showed it. I think we asked her 3-4 times for our bill before we actually got it."
Dined on 12/18/2013
"I went to Essence with a friend for a Christmas lunch. The food was excellent and the service was great. The staff are very attentive and the atmosphere is relaxing. Great place to go for lunch."
Dined on 12/17/2013
"5 of us arrived at the restaurant prior to the majority of their lunch time crowd. The service was slow (waited for at least 10 minutes for someone to let us know what the special was and take our order. Lunch was fairly quick to arrive which surprised us because by the time we were able to place our order, most of the tables were full. The restauant is one big open room with nothing to absorb sound so it was really noisy."
Dined on 12/17/2013
"Had lunch with four people on a quiet day. The food was good but nothing that we ate seemed to be of particular note. The service was also good, not pushy nor absent. Overall, good place for a uneventful lunch but wouldn't recommend it for anything else."
Dined on 12/13/2013
"Our server was a bit stressed and impatient - must have been an off day as he has been there for many years. It had been a while since I had brought a guest to Essence, the menu had changed and I had a few questions. After three, I was scared to ask any more. Not a good feeling as a guest. The front end was a bit rough as well. The Hostess seemed confused about how to communicate table numbers to the lady seating patrons and had difficulty accepting incoming guests. The lady seating patrons was unphased by this and remained pleasant and professional."
Dined on 12/12/2013
"Food very good, great place to take a group and be able to talk and be heard. Service was fine. Everything came out at an appropriate time. Plate presentation very good."
Dined on 12/12/2013
"Service was terrible - EXTREMELY slow and there were issues with splitting our bill. In the end one person had to pay the bill because their machine couldn't accomodate multiple payees. I'm not sure I'd go back again."
Dined on 12/11/2013
"There is a vast variety of great dishes on this menu for everyone - even for people like me with a gluten intolerance! The green-tea infused salmon is a personal favorite. A little pricey, but the quality of the food and service is worth it."
Dined on 12/6/2013
"As always, one can expect the best from any westin employee. Our server was wonderfully attentive and charming. A real gem."
Dined on 11/21/2013
"We always receive good service and the food is great. Convenient location and never disappointing."
Dined on 11/6/2013
"Essence has a pretty good menu with usually interesting daily specials. The fare isn't exotic but usually features local ingredients. The food is prepared well and presented attractively. Service is prompt and the room isn't so noisy that you can't have a conversation (which I find to be a problem with many downtown lunch spots). One of the appetizers was missed this time so I've docked service a bit. It also tends to be a bit pricey -- about $30/person for lunch, including tip with no liquor. For the first time, the restaurant called me to confirm the OpenTable reservation. I'm not sure why, as it wasn't full."
Dined on 10/23/2013
"This is my favorite place for lunch. Again I was not disappointed - great food, even greater service - thanks for making my day"
Dined on 10/16/2013
"I had the tomato soup that was on the menu and thought it was pricey @ $10 per bowl for about 1 cup."
Dined on 10/16/2013
"Service was efficient and fast, which is good for a downtown lunch crowd. There are some healthy selections on the menu which is noce, but the hotel restaurant prices are very high. At lunch the salmon was $36.00. Good but not that good."
Dined on 10/16/2013

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