| Just as water is retrieved from a well below the ground, Calgary’s nightlife sometimes has to access its supply of libations at subterranean levels. The new lounge Well inhabits part of the basement floor of the Devenish building on 17th Avenue S.W.
In fact, it looks more like a bunker than a well, with its austere minimalist interior – exposed brick, slate flooring, dark leather banquettes and square light boxes mounted onto square tables. Here, it's up to the music and the crowd to impose an attitude, to create an atmosphere, onto this blank slate each night.
The intimate space is dark – darker than sultry dark, but eventually your eyes do adjust, allowing you to see the other people in the room and the food and drink on the table. You’ll also notice a handful of black-and-white photographs of famous chess games and, among the pictures of Bobby Fischer and Garry Kasparov, you’ll see that the lounge’s three owners have been superimposed onto a historic match. They are Todd Corbett and Brent Boeckx, both formerly of Mortal Coil, and Shane Fraser, who has worked at Mercury, the Drum and Monkey, and other happening bars in the city.
As promised, the well is full, serving up a number of martinis and cocktails ($8). In addition to such traditional favourites as the cosmopolitan, Caesar, Manhattan, mojito and screwdriver, you’ll discover the Moscow mule (vodka, ginger beer and lime juice), gimlet (vodka, triple sec and lime juice), walk in the vineyards (vodka and white grape juice) and fond affections (cranberry vodka, amaretto, lime juice and cranberry juice.)
The lounge also features the menu of its neighbouring restaurant, Kyoto 17. There’s a big selection of dishes, such as salads, hot and cold appetizers, rice bowls, tempura, noodles, teriyaki and sushi and sashimi combinations. For starters, we ordered the soft shell crab ($8.90), which is fried to a crisp and served with a lemon ponzu sauce.
Because an unmovable light occupies the centre of the small table, we were concerned how the larger sushi dish was going to fit. Surprisingly, there was room for it on the side of the table, but space is an issue if you’re going to order a few dishes at the same time. The sushi and sashimi combination ($17.90) was fresh but overall the quality was just satisfactory. The presentation lacked any sort of artistry and the rice easily came apart.
While Well doesn’t offer any different sort of experience, it does have an intimate vibe – it feels like you’re chilling out at your friend’s pad. And it must be doing something right because, on a Wednesday night, the place was buzzing, with more people arriving at 10 p.m. for the DJ’s first set. Owner Boeckx spins Monday nights and various DJs play house, funk and hip hop Tuesday through Saturday.
Well is open from 5 p.m. to 2 a.m. daily and is located on the lower level of the Devenish Centre, at 908 - 17 Ave. S.W. (enter from 16th Avenue). Phone: 228-1006. |
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