Bottle House executive chef Hans Puccinelli preps a fresh salad with grilled pear.

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BottleHouse Beer Parlour

Though its location at the corner of 10th Street N.W. and Memorial Drive seems to be cursed, Bottle House Beer Parlour has a lot going for it. The long, narrow building parallels the Bow River, and with Julio’s Bario — the margaritas-and-Monterey-Jack Mexican party palace across the street — brackets one end of the Kensington promenade. There’s even a parking lot in the back.

Can Bottle House make magic where others in that location have tried and failed? Having sampled its food and ample beer list, I certainly hope so. The place is immediately likeable, with a wood and stone interior reminding one of better restaurants and bistros in Canmore and Banff. Its Rocky Mountain Canadiana theme is played lightly, though with conviction. While it’s decorated with items like a vintage Trans-Canada Highway sign, the drink menu highlights Canuck beverages in maple-leaf red and local meat and produce appears on the menu. Bottle House has a similar rustic charm to the new Boxwood in Central Memorial Park. And though it has a small dining room in back, it’s foremost a sports bar, featuring TSN and others on several flat-screen TVs.

The beer menu runs the spectrum from beer-like tap water (Bud Light Lime, $5.25) to thick, dark Cannery Brewing Company Blackberry Porter ($10.50), but is strong on regional and Canadian craft brews by the likes of Wild Rose, Paddock Wood, Yukon and Unibrou. The major national brewers are also well represented. Opting for Can Con, I ordered a bottle of Rutting Elk Red amber ale ($5.25) by Grizzly Paw Brewing Company. A dark, brassy ale, it turned out to be a good fit with my meal.

Despite the sports angle, the food menu is free of the usual potato skins, teriyaki wings and jalapeno poppers that have made the term “pub grub” the cuisine equivalent of clinical depression. While pub favourites do appear, they’ve been at least somewhat spun. Take Skinners Brown Ale fish and chips ($13.95), made with a Wild Rose beer, and mini bison burgers (regular $9.95, four for $6.75 on Mondays) for example.

As my appetizer, I went with the crab cake trio ($9.95) made with Canadian rock crab and garnished with avocado quenelle and house salsa. The cakes, though pretty fair, were overdone — a little too much deep-fry time. The avocado dressing was what you might expect with this dish and it wasn’t the best pairing. However, the dollop of signature salsa cleverly hidden under each cake to avoid sogging did make a great pairing.

The so-so crab cakes, with their groovy salsa, pointed the way to a bang-up entrée: tallarin verde ($13.95), a traditional Peruvian spaghetti pesto dish. Served with triangles of nicely crisp grilled flatbread, the dish was hearty. Mixed into the perfectly cooked pasta were sweet, moist sliced onion and dark mushrooms. The cream sauce was made with puréed spinach, basil and garlic. The colour was great and its creaminess — aided by a shot of Parmesan cheese — was rich with a lovely consistency.

My guest ordered the artisan ciabatta clubhouse ($13.95) with garden salad and apple-balsamic dressing. I’d rather see grainier bread than the sandwich’s triangle-cut white ciabatta, however, my dinner pal complimented its taste and freshness. As for the sandwich’s content, the herb-marinated chicken was moist and the smoked bacon, well, being smoked bacon, it’s hard to argue with. The sauce, claimed my friend, “tastes like that spread from the ’70s.” I don’t know about that, but it was a good sandwich, with a proper salad to boot. The fresh mixed greens showed attention to detail. They were accompanied by a skewered tomato, pickle and onion and topped with finely diced green pepper, tomato and shredded carrot. The sweet dressing played well with the club’s salty bacon.

Though sports bars don’t typically offer either great booze selections or delicious food, Bottle House has both. And for the televised sport-averse, the dining area is flat-screen-football free. With all bases covered, this place might just make it after all.