Cathedral Social Hall new haven for beer lovers
Cathedral Social Hall is a haven for beer lovers, with great food to boot
When the Freehouse fizzled, it left a lot of people wondering what would come next for a much-loved location — myself included.
I hoped someone would come along and open a place with great beer and good food, and preserve the city’s best patio for summer hangouts.
When I heard two former Molson reps had bought the Freehouse, and were sinking a ton of money into improving it, I crossed my fingers. During the six months they spent gutting the place, my fingers remained crossed.
When I caught onto chef Zach Boehm’s Instagram in June, I couldn’t wait to eat there.
And when they opened on July 6, the Cathedral Social Hall didn’t disappoint.
Matt Dean and Mike Tait may be new at this pub owner thing, but they’re doing a pretty bang-up job.
Bringing a beer hall to Regina seems overdue. Calgary has had Craft Beer Market since 2011 and National since 2012. Saskatoon has had Congress since 2013. There are beer halls in Edmonton, Vancouver, most major cities — but not Regina, until this.
“We felt like this location, this neighbourhood, this city deserved something like that, that was fresh, new, modern, but still a relaxed atmosphere,” says Dean.
Keg rooms are usually relegated to basements. At Cathedral Social Hall, they are part of the decor — a happy sight for beer lovers.
This is a beer hall, so why not have the main event up front? (Plus, having the taps so close to the keg room keeps the beer colder and fresher.)
Cathedral Social Hall has 30 taps, more than half of which feature creations by awesome Saskatchewan craft brewers. Six are rotating seasonals from the likes of Malty National, Rebellion and Black Bridge. Nokomis, Bushwakker, Great Western and District Brewing are also on the menu.
For the beer averse, there are cocktails — the Lucky Bastard Saskatoon berry whisky sour is a favourite. It’s why the name says social hall, not beer hall: Social is more inclusive.
Social also defines the room. It’s an upscale pub, with long tables and an open concept design. There are TVs, but they don’t dominate the room. There’s live music on Saturdays.
Then there’s the food. It’s pub comfort food kicked up a notch.
Boehm created the menu from scratch — which is how most of their food is made, too. That means right down to desserts: There’s housemade sponge toffee for the stout cake in a jar, and sous-chef Justin Craigen has been experimenting with beer marshmallows.
For the record, “Beer is totally pairable with dessert,” says Boehm, a restaurant cook since he was 17. “I wanted everything to pair really well with beer.”
His last gig being an Estevan fine dining restaurant (he left after the oil boom ended), this is a nice switch. It’s “more comfort food people could enjoy. Simple, really great food.”
(Speaking of comfort food, it doesn’t get much better than the bretzels and smoked cheddar beer dip. What’s more comfortable than sweet white bread and cheese?)
The walleye and chips is a top order, and a favourite of Dean and Boehm. The walleye is sourced from Flin Flon. Other ingredients come from as close to home as possible — vegetable providers include Moose Jaw’s Green Sister Gardens and Southey’s Martha’s Garden.
“Local supply to me, you know it’s fresh, you know it’s just down the street,” says Boehm.
The local food goes hand in hand with the local beer theme, says Dean. (Also, there is beer in some of the food — the daily soup, for example.)
Sixteen taps are devoted to local brewers. Ten others are Canadian made.
If there’s one complaint I’ve heard about the Cathedral Social Hall, it’s the price. Mains range from $15 to $19, and portions aren’t excessive.
“We want to offer a quality product,” says Dean, “and a lot of our food is fresh, made in-house, which costs a little bit more than if you’re just getting frozen food delivered all the time.”
If there’s one complaint I have about the Cathedral Social Hall, it’s the drink size. They’ve opted for 16-ounce glasses, over the usual 20-ounce pint.
But Dean’s reasoning makes sense: “We want to encourage not just having one pint in one style of beer, but maybe trying two or three different styles of beer when you’re here.”
Maybe the best vehicle for variety is the flight — four, five-ounce sample glasses.
Create your own, or trust their four varieties: The Dewdney (featuring the Warehouse District’s three breweries), the Canuck (Canadian classics), the Sasky (a few provincial faves) and the Staffer (staff favourites).
Find Cathedral Social Hall open daily at 2062 Albert St. In each Thursday’s Live To Eat, I’m talking to the people who make our city’s food scene so great. If you’ve eaten anything awesome in Regina lately, send me a note — I’d love to hear about it. amartin@postmedia.com twitter.com/LPAshleyM