Unfortunately the "Social Hour" price and sizing for beer is rather disingenuous. At most establishments, especially if a (smaller) size isn't specified, patrons can expect happy or "social" hour pricing on alcoholic beverages to deliver the same beverage at a reduced price (since "happy" or "social" hour generally coincides with a slowdown in business activity - for this pub it's 2 to 5 pm). The drink menu provided mentions 20 ounce pours for beer, but the "Social Hour" page does not mention the size of the beers (although sizes for wines - 6 and 9 ounces - are mentioned). For instance, the "Social Hour" Kozel is $8, but half the size of the "regular" Kozel, which I believe is less than $16. Why would anybody who isn't a teetotaler associate a "social hour" with a smaller beer? Are you even getting better value ordering drinks off of the "Social Hour" menu? Why even have a "Social Hour" menu at all if it's poorer value? At the very least, the smaller size of "Social Hour" beers should be specified on the "Social Hour" menu. I've been to Ireland and have partial Irish heritage, and I'd never associate a smaller beer with a "social" or "happy" hour. I equate a menu with smaller pours/portions to maybe a children's menu at a family diner, not a "social hour" at an Irish pub. I did raise these concerns with the manager on duty (first time I've had to ask for a manger in a restaurant in nearly five years - the last time was in September 2018 at a now-closed Perkins restaurant in Oak Creek, Wisconsin over raw potatoes) and the manager didn't seem to take my concerns or feedback very seriously. Doubt that I'll be back.
Price per person
$20–30
Food: 2
Service: 3
Atmosphere: 4

This place is similar to most of the downtown pubs you're liable to visit in the summertime, with plenty of outdoor seating and a comfy interior. The menu has plenty of options, some of which at least make an effort to appear Irish. The whisky menu is solid, as is the diverse selection of beers on tap. That said, I don't think there's any reason to recommend it over any other bar on Stephen Avenue, given that it doesn't have a lot besides its whisky menu to really set it apart. During our visit on August 26th, we had potato croquettes, a thai chicken salad, and the salmon board, along with a gin and tonic cocktail and some beer. It satisfied our appetites and it was pleasant sitting in the side room. It isn't a must-visit for us, but it was certainly good.
Food: 3
Service: 4
Atmosphere: 3

We had the most delicious meals this past Saturday for brunch. The sandwich was egg and bacon, and made with the freshest of ingredients, and the other meal was the shepherds pie. So nice to have home cooked style meals. The service was phenomenal, the coffee was freshly brewed and the atmosphere couldn't have been better. I brought a friend in for the first time, and they couldn't believe that Calgary had such a warm and inviting atmosphere in a restaurant. For me it was not my first nor my last visit, but it was such a delight to see the excitement in my friend who was so pleasantly surprised. Truly one of Calgary's gems.
Price per person
$10–20
Food: 5
Service: 5
Atmosphere: 5
Recommended dishes
Burger and Fries, Burger, Bread Pudding, Sticky Toffee Pudding

I am writing this review for the owners to see, the food and our server was good. I saw one of your servers treat some kids so badly, they were running around and the parents were controlling them, they were just taking some time to settle, it was warm and they were hungry, but this female server went on to scold the kids ( so surprised at the parents not saying anything to the sever, I would have lost it!) , not once but again and again even when they stopped running around, they were just being noisy, they are kids! I told the server that it was not right of her to behave that way with little children, to which she says sounds good! It just blew my mind seeing a human treat little humans like that! If you do not like kids, put a no minors sign outside the place!

"Just ok" comes to mind. Stopped here this evening for a few appetizers and drinks before a show. We ordered three appetizers between the two of us, which were advertised as "shareable." (Salmon cakes, deep fried brie, and scotch egg) However, the portion sizes left a lot to be desired. You're definitely better off paying for a full meal from this establishment. The appetizers tasted good but did not seem worth the price. $80 for a few appetizers and two drinks just seems a bit steep for the amount we received. Service was also ok; not bad, but not very personable either.
Price per person
$30–40
Food: 3
Service: 4
Atmosphere: 4

We held a private event at the James Joyce and it was spectacular from beginning to end. Great food, ambiance and TOP-KNOTCH service. We picked this venue because it is a favourite of ours and never disappoints. It is always our go-to pub at any time of the year. The space is perfect and so warm and welcoming. One of the best summer patios for people watching, a great menu, the best beers and superb staff. The best pub in YYC!
Price per person
$20–30
Food: 5
Service: 5
Atmosphere: 5
Recommended dishes
Irish Potato Boxty, Burger and Fries, Potato Nachos, Scotch Eggs

Anne. This was a Very sad experience. Really was looking forward to this. Ordered the fish and chips .The fish was BEAUTIFUL and hot. The home cut fries tasted like they were old and had been reheated and then served cold again to my husband and I. Now the waitress never came and asked how our meal was .Never ate our fries. When she came to give us the bill. I told her that if she would of came earlier I would have told her and had my fries replaced. She did nothing but give us the bill. I don't think that Anne or Gerard would have done that
Food: 1
Service: 1
Atmosphere: 5

The server was extremely rude. I shared a fish and chips and simples of beers with my husband. When the server came to ask how was our food she left the tablet while I was about to talk. Maybe they were understaffed but same thing happened 2 more times, while my friend asked for a cup of water and I said "same … please" she left the table again before I could finish my first word. The fish and chips were over cooked and the coldslaw tasted fermented. I will not go there again, even if the foods is good, I do not want to be treat like trash and disregarded.

I came here on a Sunday Afternoon for some lunch on the patio and I would definitely do it again! I had never been here before and it exceeded my expectations. Its got a nice Irish pub feel to it, especially because the two servers working were both Irish! It doesn't get any more authentic than that. I think too often people only give a 5 or a 1 star rating, either they like it or not. I try not to be so black and white but this place is no doubt a 5 star restaurant. I had the soup of the day, delicious and the power salad which was also very good.

Great atmosphere - old world pub feeling without being pretentious. Very nice selection of beers. I'm not usually a fan of pub fare, but i enjoyed their food. I had the blackened chicken power bowl which was yummy, although a little heavy handed with the dressing for my taste. My companion was vegan and they were able to make a vegan option for him very easily.
Service
Dine in
Meal type
Lunch
Price per person
$20–30
Food: 5
Service: 5
Atmosphere: 5
Recommendation for vegetarians
Highly recommend

Was visiting Calgary with a friend, thought we’d explore downtown on a Sunday morning and came across this amazing pub for breakfast. Laura our server was amazing, so friendly, here from Ireland and was great talking with her. The food was beyond delicious and atmosphere unique and homey. I’ll definitely be back! Would love to try it on an evening with a few drinks. Thanks for the great experience James Joyce!
Price per person
$20–30
Food: 5
Service: 5
Atmosphere: 5

Nice little bar downtown that serves the standards. It advertises itself as an Irish pub and there’s lots of interesting items to check out inside. However the food to me doesn’t feel particularly unique and it’s tastes like standard bar fare - which is alright since I expect to eat this sorta stuff at a bar anyway. Good service and great atmosphere but cannot say the food is anything special compared to any other bars on Stephen’s ave.
Food: 4
Service: 4
Atmosphere: 4

Great food, great location, great service, great ambiance. we sat outside on the patio on a beautiful day and enjoyed the great location on Steven’s Street. We really enjoyed the experience at this restaurant and would definitely recommend this restaurant. It is clean and well lit as is the washroom. The decor is great. My wife and son also enjoyed their meal. It was a great experience. I would definitely recommend this restaurant.

Overpriced and mediocre at best. My partner and I stopped by for dinner and ordered the Chicken Curry & Shepherd's Pie. The curry was passable but not great, the Shepherd's Pie was barely edible (nearly the entire meal was left on the plate). Those two meals along with a pint of Guinness and a pint of Harp ran us $79.47 with tax & tip. What a joke!
Price per person
$30–40
Food: 2
Service: 3
Atmosphere: 3

Really good burgers and fries. Had the cider which was nice and refreshing. Had a berry crumble as dessert and that was pretty good too, even though I would have liked a more traditional crumble. The location is amazing, especially a little later at night (we ate there at around 8-9 PM when the sky was getting darker and the lights were turning on)
Service
Dine in
Meal type
Dinner
Price per person
$20–30

Always love coming here. Great selection of European beers on tap…they even have Innis & Gunn which is hard to find on tap in YYC. Food is always delicious. I had the fish and chips and it’s the best in town. Also service is always friendly and attentive. There really isn’t a bad thing to say when you have all this plus a sunny patio to people watch from!
Food: 5
Service: 5
Atmosphere: 5

Beautiful space and Atmosphere definitely a place to visit and try. The service was wonderful as well and best location downtown calgary on Steven Ave Plus the food was amazing with good tast and style I was impressed for the first time for the portion u get for the money and selection. I highly recommend
Service
Dine in
Meal type
Dinner

Their brunch menu is pretty good, I loved the scotch egg. It’s a good amount of food although I wish it came with a bit of carbs. I had to order some hash brown potatoes as a side and that with the egg was a little too much for me. But overall, the fries and hash browns were delicious. I would come again.
Service
Dine in
Meal type
Brunch

Had a nice dinner here. Food was lovely and the service was great. Really dig how the older aspects of the building weren't covered up, like the amazing original tile floors and dining rooms and fireplaces. Woukd go back any day.
Price per person
$10–20
Food: 5
Service: 5
Atmosphere: 5
Recommended dishes
Irish Stew

Decent bar with lots of beer selection on tap. Quirky decor makes for a great vibe. Food was decent but nothing to rave about. Service more questionable. They took quite awhile to come to our table even though they were very quiet (2 other tables). Asked the server to add a bill together and she asked that we do the math for her which we found odd.

One of my favorite pubs in downtown. Wonderful, friendly and helpful servers, amazing food (my favorites are hamburger with brie cheese and bacon, fish and chips and Sheppards pie). The atmosphere is amazing when they have live music or on summer in the patio. Love it!
Service
Dine in
Meal type
Lunch
Price per person
$20–30

Fantastic restaurant! The service was second to none. Outdoor seating lovely on a spring night. Would love to visit in the winter time because the interior Decor is so authentic. Menu excellent. Wish there were a few more traditional Irish dishes on the menu but we had a wonderful evening.
Food: 4
Service: 5
Atmosphere: 5

Visited the restaurant on Saturday afternoon during their happy hour. The cocktails in happy hour seemes promising but did not live upto the expectations. The food was priced at 7$ but the quantity was unbelievably less and too salty. We might visit again to try the regular priced menu items.
Service
Dine in
Meal type
Brunch

Popped in prior to attending Sleuth at the Vertigo Theater. We took up the special theater menu- 3 courses @$30. We'll worth it. Good food Good service. Moosehead Lager on tap!
Price per person
$90–100
Food: 5
Service: 5
Atmosphere: 5
Recommended dishes
Sheppard's Pie, Fish, Sticky Toffee Pudding

We ordered 3-4 dishes and our server didn’t know anything about it when we asked him about the ingredients. The taste was so bad and it was really expensive. First and last for me to try Irish dishes.
Price per person
$100+
Food: 1
Service: 1
Atmosphere: 4
Recommended dishes
Burger, Salad

Just your standard pub. Nice patio seating on Stephen Avenue. We were craving bangers and mash but it wasn't available at the time. The food could have been better. Both the Chicken Curry and Sheppard pie we got were really salty for some reason.
Service
Dine in
Meal type
Lunch
Price per person
$20–30

If you are looking for a place to stop by to warm up and enjoy a wonderful dessert this is the place to go. Their bread pudding and other desserts are fabulous! They also have seats along one wall with a small heated vent at your back for those cold winter days. Perfect for comfort food and good company.

Lovely service and amazing food. But by far the best part was the lovely atmosphere. Bustling space with friendly patrons and it was absolutely gorgeous! If you are on Steven Ave for the brunch it's almost a crime to not go. Only issue is its a bit pricy but that's kinda expected on Steven Ave though.

We managed to get lunch on this great patio before the rain came. The food was great and the service was fantastic, we will be back. I had the fish and chips and my buddy had one of the vegan salads. Very nice!
Price per person
$20–30
Food: 5
Service: 5
Atmosphere: 5

Nice Barman. Decent selection of beer. Was looking forward to a nice chicken curry & chips. Unfortunately there was 4 wee pieces of chicken and the bulk of the meal was onions & the ratty chip rejects. Pity.
Price per person
$20–30
Food: 1
Service: 4
Atmosphere: 3

Excellent traditional Irish pub in downtown Calgary, the choice of draft beer, is like no where I’ve seen before!! My food was top class, my server was fun, prompt and a very happy person! Exactly what I needed, when missing home like I was today!! Well done James Joyce, you made my day.

Pretty good service but the food was only average. We had fish &chips but to be honest they weren’t particularly appetizing. Fish was over done and the chips very dry and not very nice. Personally based on this meal I wouldn’t return. For $50 for two there’s better on Stephen Ave. More

The beer in here is just awesome. The staff’s pretty good in service. If you come to Downtown, you should really try out this one. The price for a draught beer (Guinness) and onion rings was around $24
Service
Dine in
Meal type
Dinner
Price per person
$20–30

We came in out of the cold and had some wonderful chicken curry and fish and chips. Atmosphere is great! We came here last year and returned again this year.
Price per person
$30–40
Food: 5
Service: 5
Atmosphere: 5
Recommended dishes

First time in this unique diamond in the rough. We ordered decently priced food and it was incredible. The burgers needed nothing they were close to perfect in texture. The service and ambiance is far above par. Very kind and inviting. Well done all. We will be back.

I'm in town for a conference and there is a stretch of restaurants close to my hotel and I stopped in for a glass of wine and the Salmon cakes. Overall pretty good. Nice patio.
Service
Dine in
Meal type
Other
Price per person
$20–30

Popped in cuz the wife had a TRU alumni meeting. Turned out your alcohol engineer was also an alumni.great night. I'm Norwegian by heritage but was more than happy being Irish for a couple hours. The bar mathematician was awesome. I will be back

The pumpkin lentil soup was delish and so was the sandwich that went with the soup. It had baked pork loin in garlic baguette, fried apple slices, smoked Gouda, a delicious mustard dressing and caramelizad onions. Great combination. For $23

While it was Calgary stampede weekend we went for breakfast and the restaurant was pretty quiet. Reviews were great at this place. Unfortunately our service was really poor. It took forever to get our order in then with the modification I

Went there on a Sunday for brunch and was quite pleased with how authentic this place was .,I had the burger and beer combo and the taste was pretty good and a very good deal. The burger was overloaded with bbq sauce which soaked through

We stopped in for some appys and were blown away! Our server was Patrick, he was super attentive and very helpful!
Price per person
$30–40
Food: 5
Service: 5
Atmosphere: 5
Recommended dishes
Scotch Eggs

My wife and I stopped in for a drink and a snack. She had the Aperol Spritz and I had a pint of the Innis & Gunn. Great service, great location! Was fun to sit and watch all the different type of people downtown for Stampede!

Great meal and service; I just love their scotch eggs, Bangers and mash are great and I couldn’t finish the Thai salad! Believe me I usually can !! Best Pub downtown, no TV’s because it’s a pub!! At least I didn’t notice any

Went here with the boys for one of their birthdays. The atmosphere, food, and staff were absolutely phenomenal! Cannot wait to come again.
Price per person
$40–50
Food: 5
Service: 5
Atmosphere: 5

Great service and a tasty Czech Dark lager on tap. Fish and chips was good but fish portions a little small. Overall a good experience.
Price per person
$30–40
Food: 4
Service: 5
Atmosphere: 5

Food was good, service was good but was not served proper silverware, had to chase the server to get it. Drinks were nice.
Price per person
$70–80
Food: 5
Service: 4
Atmosphere: 5

Went back in 2014, had the best burger I’ve had in my life! Don’t know if anything has changed, but I will return to taste that lamb burger if it still exists.
Service
Dine in
Meal type
Dinner

Thank you so much to the staff! You were fantastic to the people evacuated from the Fairmont Palliser last week. Very friendly and accommodating. Drinks were great!
Service: 5
Atmosphere: 5

Not a lot of beer selection for a pub, but decent food menu. They have a ot more than pub food (guess this is why they have restaurant in the name). Great location, nice staff More

James Joyce Irish Pub & Restaurant in Calgary has a charming vintage atmosphere with a nice interior. Located in the Stephen Ave Walk area, it's a convenient spot to visit.

Lovely environment with good vibes. The food is superb. The staffs are very friendly.
Price per person
$30–40
Food: 5
Service: 5
Atmosphere: 5

Good food and also a nice selection of beers. Nachos - with waffle fries were delicious. Make sure you get some gravy with your burger and fries - it’s devine!

First time at this Pub and all I can say is, Amazing! The food and service were fabulous, good Irish home cooking. You have to give this place a try.

Nice little Irish pub. Good choice of beers on tap. Excellent service and great atmosphere.
Service: 5
Atmosphere: 5

The food was very underwhelming. You would think an Irish pub can make a good shepherd's pie... Service was ok (a bit slow). More

Good hot Irish pub meal. Had the Shepard's pie pictured. It was great.
Food: 5
Service: 5
Atmosphere: 5

Had a happy hour stay in a patio with friends. Can’t deny to adore the antique look of the interior .love it More

Fun on the outside patio. Service was ok, but they didn't bring us some items we asked for. Energetic crowd. More

Excellent food. A notch above standard pub food. It can be very crowded.
Price per person…
More

The food and service were excellent! Great food for a pub. I love Irish pubs with gourmet bar food.