Carver's Steakhouse-Sheraton - Calgary

Went with a few colleagues for dinner - excellent steak. The service could have been better but still willing to come back again!

12 of us went for dinner and were not disappointed! The soups and salads were very good and fresh. All. In between courses the chef sent out a taste of shrimp cocktail then a tomato sorbet that was excellent. The entrees were excellent as were deserts. Not a cheap meal but worth the price. Service was excellent.

We had a lovely meal at Carvers on Saturday Feb 18, which turned sour at the end when we were presented with a bill reflecting an automatic 18% "gratuity" (which is a contradiction in terms: "gratuity" is defined as a gift, not as a management-imposed surcharge). I couldn't find anywhere on your printed menu or online menu any reference to an automatic surcharge (I can't use the word "gratuity", since we had no choice in the matter and the 18% was therefore not at our discretion). When you're not counting money, you might want to reflect on the optics of charging MORE for a large group than you charge for a smaller group. Clearly you value larger groups as candidates for exploitation rather than as a volume-based opportunity for revenue. Sheraton/Carvers has a chance to do something competitive, sensible, and not provocative by rethinking the whole matter of "gratuity", which is a gift to a server for service. Don't fool yourself into believing that it's a means by which you can pay less than you need to, to attractive quality staff. It costs no more to deliver a cheeseburger than a filet. Your 18% surcharge" is cheeseburger thinking. Your menu needs to:A) tell people there will be a surcharge if the group is above xx number of people. What is that number? What size of group triggers the automatic surcharge?B) you charged us 18% on the AFTER-TAX amount of the bill. Paying a surcharge on a tax? Shame on Carvers!My review on TripAdvisor will suggest in very strong terms that guests at the Sheraton should visit the Cattle Barron across the street for a comparable menu, and a "large-party" gratuity of only 15%. Their menu prepares the customer for this charge; yours doesn't.Our server was good, the food was good, the ambience was good. But the bill with the built-in, after-tax surcharge? Very disappointing.

I have been here many times over the years, but not since they changed their decor. Honestly I prefered the older style, and was quite taken aback when I saw the new decor. Although the restaurant lost the style and class it once had, the service and the food retained the highest standards, and ultimately that's what matters. My wife and I were there on Feburary 11 for our wedding anniversary, and Carver's staff made our special day even better. The food was incredible and the service was still the best.

We held our corporate dinner for about 40 employees here and were very pleased with the service and the meal. Junaid was very helpful with planning our event and ensured all details were covered so the meal and evening ran smoothly. Thank you Carvers!