Originally, I use to go to this hotel to eat dinner every Valentines Day. We started it around 2006… but now I guess it has changed. In 2013, we went here as a tradition, and realized it’s now called Steels Cafe & Grill which means it’s different. There’s no more prime rib buffet!! I use to know a cook, training to be a chef here, so I would come here to see him. Now, he’s gone and everything is a little different. This restaurant is located on the main floor of the Executive Royal Hotel, across from their Front Desk. Reservations are usually not required, at least we always had the luck!
Once we sat down, we were presented with a menu. We knew immediately that times has changed, but gave the sit down thing a shot instead of our usual Prime Rib dinner. We ordered what we wanted and out came our drinks and some Dinner Rolls. They were dinner rolls, nothing good or bad about them!
But my husband and I ordered soup to start. I don’t actually remember who got ordered what but I remember eating both bowls up. I think I went for the Clam Chowder as it’s more my thing. I like creamy things – what can I say!? It was interesting, I remember it being very clam tasting (which is good) with some sand in the soup too. So, it’s real!?
The other bowl of soup we got was their Minestrone Soup which was good! It’s usually fool proof food, so it was good! I don’t remember anything out of the ordinary, and that’s a good thing on it’s own!
From there, we go straight into our dinner! I ordered their Grilled Wasabi Salmon which had some bok choy and rice. It was a light dinner and it was perfect as I remember we just got off the plane that evening and came straight here. It was a great meal despite of how it looks on my picture! I didn’t have the camera I got today at this time.
My meat eating husband ate 10oz New York Steak with some mashed potatoes and veggies! The steak wasn’t bad, but it’s no prime rib! The steak was pretty good, and I must say, the mashed potatoes stayed on the plate the way it looks. It was dry and kind of rubbery. Good thing the meat was satisfactory!
Overall, I think we miss our prime rib buffet for this special day. It just didn’t meet our expectations as it wasn’t what we were looking for. The food was decent and unfortunately it wasn’t the same as what we’re used to. We’ll search for a buffet and make a new tradition.
Steels Cafe & Grill – Executive Royal Hotel
2828 23 St NE
Calgary, AB
(403) 219-7484