Review Silver Inn Restaurant

David Monteith

Finally got around to trying the home of ginger beef. Was not disappointed at all. I would have to say they have the best batter - deep fried Chinese food that i have tried so far. I will firstly admit that there spicy squid is now my favorite beating out my old go to (golden moon) the squid was fried in a crisp fresh tasting batter and seasoned just right. The ginger beef was fried just right with a tangy yet mildly spicy sauce drizzled over it, very good. Also worth mentioning there take on Wor wonton. Using a beef broth really changes things, it was quite good, decent won tons too. I will for sure be going back in the future

Jayson Savage

There may be fancier places to have Chinese food. There are none better than this place in terms of delicious flavors of china. Legend says they invented ginger beef as it's known in western Canada. I think it's true. The true expression of the Chinese people living on a Canadian prairie. Hot and sour soup is LEGIT. Also don't sleep on the salt and pepper squid or the dumplings.

Malcolm Dedominicis

Wow where to start?! The perfect restaurant? Yes! The best dumplings I’ve ever had? Yes! Super sizzling rice? Yes! Awesome experience every time I’ve been? Double Yes!!!!!!

Thibault Dambrine

Silver Inn has been in business for a very long time, exactly where it is today. No doubt, like every other restaurant, they have been affected by the Covid crisis, but old classics have a way to never go out of style. The food is simple, authentic, tasty, fresh and quick to arrive at the table. The staff is friendly and ready and the location is convenient. The dining room is perhaps a bit old-fashioned looking, but in a way, this is also part of the experience. I have enjoyed every meal I had in this place, most of them shared with work colleagues. Invariably, when my colleagues and I go for lunch at the Silver Inn, a few tables are taken by [what appears to be] old regulars. They too, no doubt, keep coming back for that simple comfort & welcome. Keep doing what you do, Silver Inn!

Patricia Palmer-Wright

Have been going there for forty years! The best Chinese food in this entire city! Always good and totally consistent! Our favourite is Chicken with Broccoli in a very tasty garlic sauce!

grant I

Had a very nice birthday dinner here. Interior is a little dated and tvs are a distraction. Food was hot and great. They really do have excellent ginger beef.

Michael Sawa

Best Chinese food period. I’ve been going here for 40+ years and I’ve never found a place as good! I recommend it to anyone who wants delicious food with great flavour and quality.

Dan Smith

The Silver Inn is our favourite Chinese restaurant in all of Calgary. This is where ginger beef was invented, and it is still #1. Service is always great, food comes out fast and is delicious and large portions. Pricier than your typical Chinese fare, but you get what you pay for.

Tanya Tran

It’s true! This is the place that invented ginger beef! And it’s the best ginger beef I’ve ever had. The other items are good too but I must admit there are better Chinese restaurants. Staff here are friendly though.

Jeanna

Best Chinese Food in Calgary. Family style so works best if you have more people so you can try more dishes! Lemon Chicken and grilled Dumplings were fantastic!

Chris Matthew

First time here and it will be the last. Absolute no return and regret the one time experience. Not worthy of either the food or service. It's an old school (the bad type unfortunately) "Chinese" restaurant that does not deliver real Chinese food. Terrible service with cocky and unfriendly servers/owner. Price tags are outrageous for the terrible food they offer. Most dishes are prepared in that unauthentic over-powering sweet and sour red sauce base with lots of MSG that can make you sick throughout the day/night. Calgary is way past that fake Chinese food era with all the new and trendy eateries. For those who want real old school (the good type) Chinese food, head to Chinatown for Silver Dragon and forget about Silver Inn.

Peter Stott

ordered take-out last nite, everything tasted the same and too salty. lemon chicken was hard no lemon flavour, ginger beef salty and tasteless. spent 63.00 dollars for the worst take out ever. peter

Cboueyshank

Delicious food! Always so accommodating for children and those gluten intolerant. MSG free.. Always so accommodating for children and those who are gluten intolerant. The ginger beef is coated with corn starch and the dishes can be served without added soy sauce. They offer a bottle of soy sauce for those who wish to add. My family of 8 come annually for sure close to the birthday of my late spouse March 20. He discovered this restaurant that invented ginger beef and he loved the grilled pork dumplings. We often go other times.

Done Like Dinner

Found our place. We recently moved to the area and stumbled upon this place. Service was just ok but they made up for it with the food. The ginger beef is the best I've ever had (and I come from Lethbridge where they have the best Chinese IMO). We also had the dumplings, broccoli and chicken in garlic sauce and mixed vegetables. Everything was fresh and delicious. Will be going back again!

Sandy Stevenson

Went there tonight. Delicious food. Great service. We'd happily go back again.

Slimpics

I'm sad to say it, but this is another established Calgary favourite that has gone down hill... nothing like it used to be. At least our server was friendly and attentive, but the other staff I saw looked frumpy and unhappy to be there, even the fellow who took our money. Awful noodles, and no thin noodles or chow mein entreés. Must be a sale on carrots this week, and I hate carrots. Very expensive entreés for what you get, and EVERYTHING was swimming in oil. The taste of oil overpowered the flavour of the sauces. They've definitely gone from an A+ to a D+ .

Sgowsell

SImple Honest Service. My family and I have been going to the Silver Inn on a regular basis for more than 20 years. We have seen the ownership change within the same family, but the food and menu remained the same. Best dumplings I have ever had. Food is consistently top notch, prices fair, and service is always good. Teresa and Kwan are wonderful people trying to make an honest living. I hope to frequent this place for another 20 years.

Kevin Kettler

The BEST Peking Style in Calgary!!!. I love Chinese Food and I love Silver Inn!! It is the BEST Peking style Chinese in all of Calgary. I have been to all the 'top recommended' Chinese restaurants in Calgary and when it comes to Peking style, Silver Inn is the absolute BEST. I highly recommend Sizzling Rice with Prawns, Ginger Beef (the original in Calgary), 3 kinds of meat in Garlic Sauce, Beef with Black Bean and MOST of all Salt and Pepper Squid!! There are two dishes that stand out from ALL the other restaurants I have tried, it is the SALT and PEPPER SQUID and GINGER BEEF. Please note that the original Ginger Beef came from Silver Inn as reported by a University of Calgary Professor who sought out where Ginger Beef started in Calgary. It is MUCH better than all other imitations out there from other restaurants. It is less sweet with more flavor and the beef is more tender. I highly recommend it. ENJOY Silver Inn, it is clearly the BEST Peking style Chinese Food in Calgary. AND remember that they also serve more conventional Chinese which is VERY good as well.

Jessica

Best Place in Town.. I have been going to the Silver Inn for 15 years and it is my favourite place to dine.The owners are very nice and always come out to chat with my family and I.The dumplings, ginger beef,sizzling rice,Chinese broccoli and Shanghai noodles are all to die for.I recommend this to everybody.It really is a lovely place full of lovely people and fantastic food.Keep up the good work! i'll be back soon!

Cowtown Foodie

Not the same any more.. Our family has been a patron here for many years. The last time we came, the service seems to be lacking and the food is only mediocre. They must have changed recipes or the chef. It's too bad because there are so many other great Chinese restaurants to choose from now.

Tonya Saurugger

Best Ginger Beef I've ever had. Sizzling rice was great and the dumpling are to die for. First time here would definitely come back over and over again

A

Disappointed. After reading good reviews, we decided to try this Chinese spot (delivery), and ordered 6 different dishes. Sorry to say...We just threw the entire order away!! When it arrived, the smell of fish was overpowering. Dish after dish we opened, just to find a big greasy mess. The broccoli appeared to be made from a frozen package, the cashew chicken was unrecognizable, and the dumplings were tough, at best. We kept the rice. Won't be ordering again; what a waste of $100 (and we're still hungry)

Jamis

I agree with previous poster. We have been using SilverInn takeout for years the last three times it got worse each time. Last night $60 later and most was inedible. Won't be going back. House special rice greasy and soaked in some type of dark sauce. Noodles appeared to be linquine ??? Three tiny pieces of meat in three type meat Schewan (?) Noodles War wonton flavorless and soggy. Bean sprouts instead of cabbage. Sorry folks another lost customer.

Bren

Disappointing. We have been eating at the Silver Inn for many years, but during the past year or so, something has happened. The food has gone from excellent to okay to inedible. The vegetables - which used to be varied and fresh - consist now of little else except onions. The sauces are sticky and tasteless. The meat is overcooked, tough and dry. And the service is surly. We mourn the loss of our favourite place for Chinese food, but we just can't bring ourselves to return.

Butterislife

Food was great. My daughter and I arrived on New Years Eve with no reservations. First time patrons, so the owner was a little "miffed" that we arrived and were looking for a table. However, after she pulled a face, she did find a table for us. We ordered Sizzling Rice, Salt & Pepper wings, Satay Beef and Ginger Beef - AWESOME. The food was great, better than expected. The services was just okay but I think we will be back and hope that the service will be better when the staff are less stressed. Veggies were super fresh, crispy and the sauces were really tasty!

Punkindrublic

The best in town. I have ordered from here for years and years. They are always consistent and always tastes great. You absolutely have to try the Cashew chicken in a yellow bean sauce and there Ginger beef (as they are the originators of western ginger beef). Their Ginger beef is not your typical ginger beef you get from other chinese restaurants in town. It is a little spicy and is red in color. I am telling you that you will not be disappointed, I promise you.

Ecuacan

Great food!. This was our first visit to the Silver Inn and we loved it. Yes, the place is a little dreary, but it added to the charm. It felt like stepping back in time, but in a good way. No, the serving staff wasn't overly friendly, but the food more than made up for it. The Ginger Beef had great flavour, wasn't overcooked and wasn't overly coated. It was the best we've ever had. We also had the MooShu Shrimp. Could have just eaten that. Definitely recommend this place for good Chinese.

The Truthful Critique

A Pleasant Surprise!. I can't remember how many negative reviews I've written that have started with "after hearing praise about this place from various sources". Well, let me say that this is the exception! After hearing praise about this place from various sources, I decided to give it a try. This was the place that created ginger beef in Calgary, and being a Chinese food lover I just had to give it a try! It is a very quaint restaurant, similar to how other Chinese restaurants look, and the staff were quick and courteous. The food came out remarkably quickly which was a nice touch, and the quality was quite surprising! The dishes were very flavourful and didn't drip grease like lots of other Chinese disasters I've experienced. The food tasted very fresh and delicious, and the ginger beef was probably the best I've ever had. It was just the right texture with the meat being not too tough and not too soft, and the sauce had a nice sweetness to it along with a nice touch of spice. As I said, some of the best ginger beef in Calgary and I would strongly advise you give this dish a try! To conclude, I would definitely recommend this place to anybody looking for a Chinese restaurant a little better quality than the average, and the ginger beef is a must! You should not be disappointed!

Killian Simpson

This restaruant has been a family Favorite for three generations. The food is perfect and the service is amazing. I have never had better Chinese food.

Whine 'n Dine

Gideon and Louisa opened up the Silver Inn maybe 40 years ago on 4th Ave SW. No chicken chow mein, chicken chop suei, & chicken fried rice for them. Instead they went our on a limb and conjured up something totally different. Wow, Sechuan cuisine, including one of their own creations. Their Ginger Beef soon became responsible for long lines outside the door, even on cold winter days. This is a well appointed restaurant with superb food.

SurlyProf

Suprised. Way better than we expected. We were concerned that this might be the equivalent of the Mall Buffet but were very impressed. Delivery was amazingly fast and the depth of the flavors were far beyond the expectation and price range. Will definitely try again. FYI: You might want to ask for extra spice as the spicy dishes needed a bit of kick.

Jeff Green

Terrific Ginger Beef. It's some of the best Chinese food in town! The owners are really friendly. Really great place!

El Critico

The Original Ginger Beef. I am not kiddin, this guys have been credited with the invention of Ginger Beef. The Silver in is a true Calgary institution, this is a place where you go to enjoy a nice relaxing meal, good service at a reasonable price. You'll find the food has been carefully prepared, with an excellent balance of flavours. I've been going to the Silver in for over 10 years and it never disppoints. This has to be in the top-three chinese restaurants in Calgary. I give it a 9/10.

M.McGrath

If you prefer authentic, stay downtown. The blue hairs en masse should've been the first indication. Although, I must say I never did try the Ginger beef, the dish Silver Inn is renown for.

The Celiac Tourist

From the outside, it looks like the typical old neighborhood Chinese place. A little run down, but that usually leads me to hope that they spend more time on the food, and less time on appearances. We were seated very quickly and had our drink orders taken right away; Coke for him and water for me.

Review Silver Inn Restaurant - Calgary