Sugarbowl needs no introduction. With an insane amount of likes on Urbanspoon (over 2,300!) and the most blog posts I’ve seen for Edmonton, I guess it’s my turn to chime in.
But first, guess whose never been to Sugarbowl? ME.
I tend to avoid places filled with man buns and brunch fanatics so that’s pretty much why I haven’t hit up this uber popular student hot spot until now.
It was my friend’s birthday so we braved the Friday crowds and attempted to get in. Be prepared to wait. Our group had to for an hour and half. Insanity! I can say with 100% confidence that there’s no place in Edmonton I would ever wait that long for a spot. It also doesn’t help that Sugarbowl has the smallest entrance foyer to wait around in but hey, at least there’s heat lamps outside? Here’s some advice – either get there early or don’t go with a group bigger than four and you’ll (probably) have a chance.
There were seven of us so everyone ordered a dish or two to eat. Exception was my friend and I, we ordered three to share. Hashtag winning. Nonetheless, my friend was in food comatose after that. Lucky I didn’t order the daily soup (carrot ginger), haha. There were a lot of dishes but I’ll only go through the ones I have pictures of and that I tasted.
Flights of beer ($18.00 for 6 samples) – two of my buddies ordered this and they were able to try a bunch of different beer flavours. Cool way to sample more beers if that’s your thing! A bit pricey though.
Sir Perry pear cider ($8.00) – the pear taste is subtle but this cider grew on me the more I drank it.
Charcuterie platter ($14.00)
Cured meat, artisan cheese and olives. Comes out on an elongated, fancy wooden board. There were three different types of meat and five cheeses along with a couple pieces of pita bread. Nice starter to share with friends.
Chicken and waffles ($14.00)
Buttermilk, spice marinated chicken breast, waffles and a maple butter dipping sauce. One of my buddies recommended me this dish, he is in la la love land with it, so I knew I had to try it. For me, it didn’t live up to the hype. The waffle and chicken didn’t have that “no one touch my chicken and waffles, it’s all mine” factor to it. The waffles weren’t light and fluffy. The chicken was a bit chewy and I didn’t get much from their spice marinade. It was decent but I wanted mind blowing.
Wild sockeye salmon linguine ($14.00)
Shallot, garlic cream sauce and parmesan. This was my favourite of the three dishes we ordered. The salmon was cooked perfectly and the linguine was al dente with a rich, creamy texture.
Red coconut curry laksa ($16.00)
PEI mussels, tiger prawns, and mushrooms. Don’t expect a real curry laksa but for what it’s worth, it was decent. The prawns were tasty but there wasn’t a hint of spice to the dish. Comes with linguine noodles as well, which I wasn’t expecting. But it’s what my friend was craving so I guess it hit the spot for her.
Mac n’ cheese ($12.00) – pretty good bang for your buck. The mac n’ cheese is massive and you could easily share this between two people.
Bread pudding ($6.00) – the desserts were huge! This bread pudding had a bunch of raisins inside of it.
Banana cream pie ($6.00) – I don’t normally like banana cream pie but this was the winner of the two desserts. Light, creamy goodness. We could have licked the bowl clean (it may have happened).
Maybe Sugarbowl is better for brunch and lunch. They have $10.00 daily lunch specials with a beer – not to shabby. For us, dinner was good but when you factor in the whole evening and the wait, I can’t see myself going anytime soon. Sorry Sugarbowl, sugar you later.
Sugarbowl
http://thesugarbowl.org/
10922 – 88 Avenue
Edmonton, AB
(780) 433-8369
CHERRY BOB-OMBS 