Occasionally, travels take me to unique restaurants that I wouldn’t ordinarily get the opportunity to visit. My recent travels through Calgary had me passing through Nick’s Steakhouse and Pizza restaurant in the west end of Calgary. Nick’s Steakhouse and Pizza is a bit of a Calgary institution that has been in operation since 1979; almost 45 years. Stepping through it’s doors leads you to an era long past, in a retro experience that reminds you of decades past.

Restaurant Review: Nick’s Steakhouse and Pizza, Calgary, Alberta, Canada

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About Nick’s Steakhouse:

Nick’s Steakhouse and Pizza has been around for almost forever. It was founded in 1979 by Nick’s Petros.

Nick Petros was born in the small village of Kardiakafti, Greece. Nick immigrated to Canada at the age of 17, leaving his parents, five brothers, and three sisters behind. Having worked numerous jobs ranging from janitor to dishwasher, busboy, waiter, maitre’d, and even manager, he married Joan Baziuk in 1959 and together they raised three children: Kim, Tim, and Mark.

As indicated on the restaurant website, Nick spent years in the restaurant industry before he founded Nick’s Steakhouse & Pizza. With a collection of his mother’s homemade recipes combined with 25 years of on-the-job training, Nick’s grew a business that would survive 44 years.

After working tirelessly on the restaurant over the decades, Mark Petros and his wife Michelle purchased the business from Nick and Joan in 2000. This allowed Nick and Joan a proper retirement

Locating the Nick’s Restaurant:

Nick’s Steakhouse and Pizza restaurant is located directly across from the McMahon stadium (the home of the Calgary Stampeders CFL football team) and near the University of Calgary.

If you’re accessing the restaurant by vehicle, like I was, it’s fairly easy to get to from most areas of West Calgary. It was a short drive from the Four Points Sheraton Hotel and Suites Calgary West, where I was staying for the week.

The restaurant has free parking. If you are travelling by train, it is also walkable from the nearby Banff Trail LRT station.

On our visit, we didn’t have any issues locating the restaurant or getting free parking. This location is the only version of Nick’s Restaurant, so there are no other locations around Calgary.

Inside Nick’s Steakhouse and Pizza Restaurant:

Stepping into Nick’s Steakhouse and Pizza Restaurant is a step into a time capsule of another generation. As soon as you pass through its front doors, you step into another era of a simpler dining time.

The interior is set out with reds and colors that are reminiscent of an American steakhouse. With most casual dining restaurants competing with franchisees that typically have access to a heavy interior decorating budget, stepping into Nick’s was similar to travelling back to a simpler time.

It’s fair to say that the restaurant pays tribute to it’s sporting legacy with a large number of football sports memorabilia throughout the restaurant. Being located next to McMahon stadium, the restaurant has seen it’s fair share of visitors throughout the years. These have included past Canadian Prime Ministers, another sport celebrities.

Nick’s also has a small wall that’s represented it’s reach of Nick’s takeway Pizza boxes. Nick Petros has successfully created a legacy of Nick’s Restaurant branding that has passed from the Berlin Wall – Germany, to Guatemala, to Tokyo – Japan to Paris – France.

With both table and booth seating, there are comfortable spaces to sit at each part of the restaurant. On arriving to the restaurant, we were led over to the left side of the restaurant that contained the bar area. The bar area contained those elevated captain chair bar stools that were found in your parents basement; furniture from an era past.

The restaurant clientele consisted mostly of couples looking for a casual dining meal. Along with the usual couples, there were the occasional younger single diner having out at the bar enjoying a beer watching sports, or completing those dreaded university homework assignments.

On Nick’s Menu:

Nick’s menu was filled with traditional favourites consisting of the usual pizza and steakhouse items.

I started off with Malbec wine (9 oz) in an entertainingly themed glass.

MrsWT73 went for an Athenian Pizza. It was absolutely massive with fresh tomatoes , feta and black olives all over the top of it. The pizzas were priced a little on the steeper side at $27 CAD for this greek goodness. Despite this, it looked exceptionally tasty.

I ended up enjoying an 8 ounce sirloin steak, with all the fixings. This was priced at a reasonable $38 CAD with an included starter salad.

At Nick’s, the starter salad is presented as a crisp green salad with house dressing.

A delicious slice of golden brown garlic toast.

An a massive plate of sirloin, with creole butter, a baked potato on the side, and some steamed vegetables. The plate was absolutely overflowing with food. In terms of quantity during these distressed times, Nick’s Restaurant certainly made up for a generous portion.

The steak was well cooked at medium. The food quality was pretty good, but perhaps not what you might expect in some of the finest dining restaurants. Still, I wasn’t disappointed at all at the amount or at the quality of food. The generous portions certainly added to my impression of my visit.

The cheque was a reasonable $102 CAD. This is about “as expected” in these inflationary times.

My Thoughts on Visiting Nick’s Steakhouse and Pizza Restaurant:

Visiting Nick’s Steakhouse and Pizza Restaurant was like going back in time to a simpler generation. The interior decor was reminiscent of a place my family took us when looking for a family meal. The portions were generous and the service was friendly.

Perhaps one of the best celebrations is that Nick’s Steakhouse and Pizza Restaurant has been in operation for over 40 years. That’s the best hallmark of success right ther.

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If you have visited Nick’s Restaurant, do you agree with it being a legendary Calgary institution ?

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