Chorney-Booth: Elephant and Castle keeps the spirit of the Rose and Crown alive

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When the Rose and Crown, the much beloved old school pub that stood in a multi-room house on 4th Street S.W. just off of 17th Avenue, announced it was closing at the tail end of 2022 after a 37-year run, much of the city let out a collective groan. While Calgary is certainly teeming with modern contemporary restaurants, so many of our older — and weirder — restaurant spaces are disappearing to make way for shiny new builds. When word circulated that an Elephant and Castle would be moving into the space, many long-time Calgarians felt relieved the building wouldn’t be knocked down for condos but were perhaps a bit crestfallen to hear the space would be taken over by a chain.

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The good news is that while Elephant and Castle is a chain of pubs with three locations in Canada and five in the U.S. it is, surprisingly enough, a Calgary-based entity. The brand is operated by Franworks, a North American restaurant group started locally in Calgary in 2000 that also has Original Joe’s, State and Main, Anejo, and Blanco within its portfolio. Beyond that, this particular Elephant and Castle is a passion project for Franworks’ Derek Doke, co-owner of the new location. Even though Franworks acquired the Elephant and Castle brand in 2012, Doke was biding his time in bringing it back to Calgary (the last Elephant and Castle was in the lower level of TD Square, serving as a hangout for old-school corporate Calgarians), patiently waiting for the perfect space.

Well, there is no space more perfect than the old Rose and Crown. Across the brand, Elephant and Castles tend to set up shop in quirky historical buildings, but like many Calgarians of a certain age, Doke held a special place in his heart for this particular building, which started life as a private home but spent much of the 20th century as a funeral home before becoming a pub. When the Rose and Crown vacated, Doke knew the community wanted the venue to continue to sling pints. The Rose and Crown’s presence hasn’t been erased — it’s just evolved.

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“We found out this was available and loved the history — it’s a pretty iconic location,” Doke says. “We wanted to keep the spirit of the English pub.”

Elephant and Castle’s brand is hinged on that Englishness, as well as an emphasis on soccer, with the house’s various rooms themed to reflect different teams and plenty of TVs throughout the 198-seat building showing different games. There’s some new tile work and the place is cleaner and more sparkly, but the interior looks instantly familiar with many of the original fixtures and that central staircase still in place. The upstairs is particularly striking, with cozy nooks and crannies, a posh “library” room, and the opportunity to play darts or billiards.

While soccer (and on certain evenings, live music) is the focus, Elephant and Castle’s food is also worth a trip to the pub. There are British standards such as a (thankfully) very crispy fish and chips ($20) with malt vinegar always on the table, bangers and mash ($19.50), and a full section of savoury pies (17.50 to $19) with a flight option available ($14.50), and a weekends-only Sunday roast ($19). The menu doesn’t go exclusively with British authenticity though: you can still get North American fare like burgers ($19 to $20.50), wings ($17.50), and fish tacos ($16). Obviously, there is also a full bar menu with two dozen beers on tap, more in bottles and cans, cocktails, a surprisingly wide selection of wine, and a build-your-own gin and tonic option, featuring a long list of gin, specialty tonics, and garnishes for endless combinations.

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The new Elephant and Castle is located at 1503 4th St. S.W. and can be reached at 403-453-9472. For more information, visit elephantcastle.com.

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In other restaurant news, former Herald restaurant columnist John Gilchrist’s post-retirement TV project Cuisine of the Rockies is now streaming on Tubi. Produced by Calgary director Wendy Hill-Tout, the show finds Gilchrist travelling through the Rockies — from Jasper to Whitefish — and meeting with chefs to discuss what makes the cuisine of the mountains so magical. All in all, Gilchrist visited 20 restaurants for the eight episodes of the show, enjoying everything from elk short ribs to seafood chowder.

Tubi is a free and easy-to-access streaming service, but the producers expect Cuisine of the Rockies to also become available on other streamers soon.

Finally, it’s hard to believe that Hy’s return to Calgary with a location in the CORE shopping centre happened 10 years ago. The restaurant is celebrating the milestone with a special cocktail dubbed the Rocky Mountain Manhattan, a barrel-aged creation made with Alberta Distillers’ Reifel Rye. This beautifully composed spirit-forward cocktail is not only a delightful way to enjoy the rye, but throughout September a portion of each drink sold will be donated to the John Aisenstat Memorial Award, for hospitality and culinary students at SAIT, named after the son of Hy’s founder Hy Aisenstat, who tragically passed away in 2018.

Elizabeth Chorney-Booth can be reached at elizabooth@gmail.com. Follow her on Instagram at @elizabooth or sign up for her newsletter at hungrycalgary.substack.com.

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