Jodi on 
Erin on 
Eric on 
Bill Evans on 
The Ironwood Stage and Grill is a perfectly sized venue for live music (mostly roots, blues, folk, country). It used to be in a Quonset hut which, while quaint, doesn’t compare to their new digs in the renovated Garry Theatre.
The place is fabulous: an intimate stage, comfortable tables with unobstructed views, and an awesome, friendly staff. Now add to that a kitchen that does stellar pub food.
I ordered the hearts of romaine salad ($9) as a starter and was warned by the server (“it’s not a Caesar salad”) that it’s gigantic and I should probably share it. He wasn’t kidding — it filled a dinner-sized plate. It was great with a creamy sundried tomato dressing, asiago cheese, olives and homemade garlic croutons.
I had the special pasta of the day, which was a lobster linguine for $16! I was soo happy that a) there was fresh lobster meat in it, and b) it wasn’t drowning in a rich cream sauce. Instead, it was tossed in some olive oil, a tiny bit of cream and capers.
Jason got the battered fresh halibut ($13 for one piece/$17 for two). The thick, meaty fish with a just-right batter was amazing — so tasty that the artichoke tartar sauce on the side wasn’t even touched.
There are five flatbreads on the menu, which I snubbed, because the term “flatbread” makes me think tiny pita bread with melted cheese and a sad clump of diced tomatoes on top. Boy, was I wrong. The couple next to us got a vegetarian flatbread which was a huge pizza with artichokes, grilled portobello, roasted red pepper, goat cheese and sundried tomato pesto. For $13, it fed both of them.
Other intriguing items I want to go back to try: lamb meatloaf with onions braised in beer and feta cheese, and chicken lasagna.
If you aren’t there for a concert, you can stay in the front lounge area and still order from the menu. Otherwise, you should make reservations for a table in the main room. Your cover charge will be added to your bill at the end of the night.
I can’t think of very many places in Calgary where you can get a great meal, great service AND sit and watch live music (and have drinks brought to you).
Ironwood Stage and Grill, 1229-9th Ave. SE, (403) 269-5581. Open for lunch and dinner.
The food looks wonderful! I haven’t been since probably 2007, and I really ought to. I interviewed their executive chef last week and he said he’s working on a new menu right now and they’re starting (or just started) Saturday/Sunday Brunch!
I went – our beer was warm and the hearts romaine salad was limp and old tasting. The halibut was really tasty – and our server was nice.
We attend a show last weekend and not much had changed with the menu since well before they vacated the old place down the street. So not sure how new the want to call the menu, daily or weekly specials are new and thankfully they have those. We attended many shows at the old Ironwood location, sometimes being a few times a week / month, and the menu was starting to look pretty mundane after a few visits.
The flatbreads are tasty to a certain degree as far as toppings / combinations go but they are far from a pizza. The dough still has quite a doughy consistancy and is more so heated through from the toppings than actually cooked and my flatbread was swarming with too much cheese to the ratio of other toppings and the bread, it wasn’t that appealing, enough to be sure I will never order another flatbread again.
We also had beer and we had a salad to share. The beer was the coldest I had ever had at the Ironwood ever, the old location was barely ever cool and never really tasted that good. Our salad showed up with the smallest bits of romaine so were chasing that around a large square plate, fairly annoying. The level of the service had changed and that was a positive thing to see.
Many of the specials flying out of the kitchen were looking a lot better. Asparagus is / was in season so most of the sides were just that so it’s nice to see the chef is cooking in season. A few of the vegetarian options have vanished off the menu and everything else is the same really, they added the bison meatball special to the menu now as a regular item.
We love to support live music and do so whenever possible. Patrick / Ironwood have filled the massive hole here in Calgary when others were closing down for good, and now having a larger better location they deserve all the rewards for tuffing it out. Ironwood would be just that little bit better if they changed up the menu a bit and focused on a few other issues.
We used to go to the Ironwood a lot. Have’nt for a long time. They should serve more “pub” food. Trying to be too fancy. When I watch music I enjoy burgers, nacho’s, pies, fish and chips!!!!!!!