University Club

Attended a wedding here. Need to get some air conditioning in the function room and the food could have been better.

Very nice place to have a meal, it is calm and they most meet the alumni and graduates of Dalhousie University..

Great pub atmosphere. Like spicy food? Try the pakora.

Great place, like a pub, more familiar place to Europeans I guess

In brief: expect to be mistreated. As someone who spent considerable time there at one point, and brought multiple people to the bar over the years, I've had a long time to consider this establishment and see its considerable bad sides. I went there because it was convenient, and the atmosphere was not the typical bar/pub, but it's not worth the grief. Over time (perhaps due to my being a regular, and a sense of familiarity with my presence) I was increasingly treated to rude/unfriendly behaviour from the staff: one example included being told mid-conversation to "Shut up" by a server in a way which my single companion described as being "out of nowhere", because the sound of my voice was disturbing someone studying in the bar. I was later told by management that the Club is a "unique environment [...] both a library and a bar". Ultimately, I was barred from the entire site by the manager for questioning her actions while in the Club, though the reasons explicitly given were, "Your appearance is intimidating" and "your voice is not appropriate for the space", making reference again to the Club's "unique" library nature. I also experienced harassment on multiple occasions from the manager/event coordinator in specific, both before and after being barred. One example, in particular, stands out: while arriving to the site as a groomsman at a wedding, I was accosted immediately upon entry, shouted at in front of the groom (who was then himself also rudely accosted on his wedding day), threatened with immediate expulsion, and given ultimatums which were not part of the original discussion with the bride/groom. It should be noted that in my case, the bride and groom had confirmed my presence with the management in advance, explicitly to avoid any mishaps or drama the day of: it was a completely unnecessary, overly-dramatic power-trip on the part of the staff, and was extremely obvious as such. I was further told explicitly by the manager that were I to discuss this threat of expulsion with any member of the wedding party, I would be immediately escorted off the premises by security. Ironically, this was all ostensibly to prevent stress for the wedding party, apparently failing to consider the care which had been taken to ensure my attendance beforehand, my being a member of said wedding party, and being the best friend of the groom. While this alone might somehow be excused, other members of the wedding party on both sides endured similar treatment from the management, in most cases when no alcohol had been consumed/during arrival and prep. *In every case, those who were accosted (myself excluded, but including the groom) were/are alumni of Dalhousie University, and members of the Club.* On another aspect of the same event: the site was not ready for the arrival of the wedding party, and the resulting panicked flurry of disorganization was abundantly clear. As a result of these factors, considerable stress was put on the wedding party. We tried very hard to recover from it, but it cast a shadow over the entire evening which should not have existed, and would not have otherwise occurred save for the behaviour of the staff. I will note that having spoken with former staff, the manager in particular appears likely to be the main issue; I've been told that multiple employees have cited her as the reason for quitting. It seems clear there are some deeper issues in terms of management-level oversight. This establishment does not value its customers, and has honestly become another poor representation of the university as a whole. Their treatment of clients is appalling, and only gets worse the more time you spend there, and the more complacent they become with seeing you as a result; this is not the sort of place where being a 'regular' is a good thing. Having worked in bars myself, I can only conclude that exceptionally poor management is the primary issue for this establishment. Suffice it to say, I do not recommend the University Club, either for general patronage or events.