The lounge area of The Provincial Kitchen & Bar.

After another recent successful escape room breakout (the streak lives on), Kirk and our friends wanted a bite to eat. We decided to reconvene at The Provincial Kitchen & Bar (4211 106 Street). New to the entire group, we walked in to find a very pub-like atmosphere.

To be fair, there is a very quiet, tiny, cozy looking dining area, complete with fireplace, to the right of the door. However, it was already full, so we headed over to the lounge area instead. The setup is interesting with a few larger raised booths towards the back. In the center of the space were two rows of tables lined up parallel with a giant projector screen on the opposite side of the room. We tucked ourselves into a corner next to the big screen. Thinking back, considering the loudspeakers blaring the sound from that weekend’s NFL game, it may not have been the ideal spot to sit. Otherwise, it was cozy enough.

Our server greeted us within a few minutes of settling in and she confirmed that, despite the hours listed on their website and even around the restaurant, their happy hour is available from open until 7:00 pm daily. The guys took advantage of the deals by ordering half-litre glasses of the Provincial Lager ($5 each) and I partook in six ounces of Riesling ($6). My girlfriend chose The Banger Cocktail, a vanilla citrus concoction, off of the regular menu ($10).

To eat, both men opted to try the Smoked Brisket on Cornbread ($17). I asked Kirk to sub out his house-cut fries for a bowl of the Roasted Cauliflower Soup ($2), so I could have it. Us ladies ordered our food exclusively from the happy hour menu, including her Tavi Supreme ($9) with added Taco Beef ($5) as well as split plates of the Pork Dry Ribs ($9) and 2 Donut Grilled Cheese ($9).

Pork Dry Ribs

The Pork Dry Ribs were standard pub fare. Nicely crisped seasoned pork loin rib ends. The problem is that they lacked a ton of meat on the bones. I don’t feel like I got much out of them, but they were definitely better with fresh squeezed lemon juice as it helped to cut through some of the grease and provided extra zest.

Tavi Supreme with Taco Beef

You may be wondering, what’s a Tavi Supreme? It’s essentially their take on nacho fries with house-cut potatoes, cheddar, pico de gallo, sour cream, salsa, green onions, and the taco beef. Quite tasty when everything was combined into a single bite. Nevertheless, it was nothing super special. Good for a hearty meal on a chilly day though.

Smoked Brisket on Cornbread

We were all impressed by the Smoked Brisket on Cornbread. If I’m being honest, the open-faced sandwich could have used a larger portion of shaved beef because more of that deliciousness should be shared. It was well-seasoned and incredibly flavourful. Not the most tender, yet thinly sliced, it was fine. The layer of melted Gruyère cheese and a healthy dose of caramelized onions added a slight salty-sweet balance offset by the rich Guinness BBQ sauce and earthy, bitter arugula. The cornbread was a great base, not too dense and moist enough to avoid crumbling.

Roasted Cauliflower Soup

I drank all of the Roasted Cauliflower Soup myself, and although it tasted okay, I wasn’t too keen on the texture. When the menu lists “cream” of cauliflower, I expect that it’s actually creamy. This was sort of watered down and still somewhat grainy from the pureed pieces of cauliflower florets. The bowl was topped off with fried potato strings (think Hickory Sticks), which, in concept, sounded good. Sadly, it didn’t really work here. Again, I think it came down to the consistency of the soup. Had it been thicker and creamier, the potato strings would have stayed crisp longer as opposed to the soggy mess that I found as soon as I dug into the bowl.

2 Donut Grilled Cheese

The final plate I sampled completely made up for the disappointing soup. Literally two halved donuts turned into grilled cheese sandwiches, these were the epitome of a simple comfort dish with a twist. The sugar from the honey glazed donuts married so well with the layers of savoury cheddar and bacon jam. If that wasn’t enough starch, it also came with a side of the house-cut fries. I didn’t need to eat them all, but the longer my plate sat in front of me, the more I snacked on them. They were blanched to a golden brown crisp on the outside while remaining light and fluffy on the inside.

Overall, The Provincial Kitchen & Bar surprised all four of us. While there were some minor misses, we didn’t necessarily expect the food to be as good as it was. Even though they’re probably terrible for my health, I’d revisit just for those grilled cheese donuts. I also have a feeling that their Connor McProv burger will be a star like the Oilers favourite himself. Time will only tell for me.