For almost 10 years, Cannibale was a long-standing favourite in Bridgeland’s restaurant scene — a place where neighbourhood locals could stop for a great cocktail and a delicious bite to eat, and even get a haircut at the attached barbershop.
But for co-owners Shayne Perrin and Mike Hope, it was time to switch things up. “It was really good to us for 10 years, but it just felt like it was time for a change. And we heard for a long time that people in the neighbourhood were saying, ‘We need a neighbourhood bar,’” says Perrin.
According to Perrin and Hope, there was a mystique around Cannibale. The people that got it, got it. But there were plenty of others who walked past because they thought it was just a barbershop or a fancy speakeasy, and not a place they could visit after work in sweatpants for a drink.
Small Bar changes that narrative. The space recently underwent a renovation and redesign by local interior design firm Way of Normal. They got rid of the barbershop and tore down walls to create more of an open space, while still nodding to Cannibale through details like the bar top, the barber pole and the old cast iron Cannibale sign downstairs by the washrooms. The result is a more inviting neighbourhood space that still offers the same level of high quality food and drinks that Cannibale was known for.
With a more relaxed vibe, Small Bar now offers a more extended drink program. The menu is less heavy on the cocktails (but still includes some of the prohibition-era classics that Cannibale was known for) and now includes an expanded list of craft beers and wines. It also features Small Bar’s take on the classic “beer and a shot” deal, like a combo of Fernet Branca and Hidden Dragon Salted Black Lager or Pabst Blue Ribbon and a shot of tequila.
For food, the menu is classic bar fare done with impeccable care, featuring dishes like mussels and fries, a shrimp cocktail with jumbo tiger prawns, slow-roasted chicken wings with Alabama white sauce and a super-classic double cheeseburger.
“We want people who loved Cannibale to come in and feel what it was like [before],” says Perrin. “But we wanted to bring down the walls, literally and figuratively.”
831 1 Ave. N.E., 403-454-5808, smallbarbridgeland.ca