Prohibition Speakeasy Pub :: 11026 Jasper Avenue, Edmonton

On tap: wings, nachos, deep fried dill pickles and Creemore Springs draft beer

In attendance: Evan, W.M. & Kelly, visited in March 2009

Wing rundown: $10 for a pound of wings (8-10 per plate). Flavours limited to hot, salt & pepper and Thai chili. There seem to be no special wing nights or happy hour pricing.

Nacho libre: A plate of nachos is $10 and change. Chips topped heavily, but simply, with two cheeses, tomatoes, red onions and pickled jalapenos. Sides of sour cream and salsa.

Ambience: Music was played a bit too loudly for the mostly empty bar, a selection of alternative newish rock. Pretty black and red decor, with mostly booth seating.

Would not eat again, ever.

Prohibition is a stylish, loungey bar that drew the club in with a sign posted on their billboard advertising “Dill Pickle Chips.” I was not aware that Prohibition served any food, so this came as a surprise to me. We visited on a Thursday night and promptly ordered nachos, some wings and the pickles with pours of Creemore Springs.

Shortly after our order went in, the waitress informed us the kitchen was out of dill pickle chips. I was surprised to learn from the waitress that they came out as whole dill pickles (but we suspect they may be spears.) Every other rendition I have tried (sampled at Stripburger and BLT Burger in Las Vegas) came out as, well, chips. These little bites of sour dill pickle wrapped in fluffy batter can be as delicious as they sound, if you are a pickle lover. Perhaps I will return one day to try the dill pickles, as there are not many places in Edmonton that serve them.

Prohibition's hot wings

In place of the pickles, we ordered another flavour of wings. Overall, the wings were substandard, considering the price, and were lacking in the meat department. Evan referred to them as “…pterodactyl wings” and thought there was too much joint to gnaw on. They seemed to be hot and freshly cooked, yet they still managed to be soggy and cartilagenous and were not very good as they started to cool. Sauce distribution on the hot wings was a bit lighter than most places in town and lacked the kick these spicy morsels can have. The salt & pepper were crispy, and not overly salted, so they did not leave us parched or with the dreaded salty mouth corners. The wings came with pepper ranch dip, and were served on a bed of sad looking lettuce.

The nachos were promising; they came out smothered simply in two kinds of cheese, jalapenos, red onions and tomatoes. The cheese on top was melted on the whole chips, hiding the travesty below: confetti chips and unmelted shreds of cheese. There is little as difficult to eat as broken nacho chips with no cheese to bind them. A spoon is the only thing that helps in this situation, unless you do not mind eating straight out of your hand. A delicious heaping serving of unique garlicky salsa was alongside thick sour cream, but that did not offset the disappointment of broken chips.

With heady short-poured pints of beer, a lack of deep fried pickles, half-decent nachos and substandard full priced wings, the club will never return to Prohibition.

ADDITION: April 20, Prohibition has renovated to add two bocce ball lanes inside the bar. The bar seemed a bit busier with this new addition, so maybe they’ll have better turnover in the restaurant now. Seems to be attracting new people anyhow.

Read other Calorie Consumption Crew ratings.