Restaurant Review: Campio Brewing Co.

CAMPIO BREWING CO.

10257 105th Street | campiobrewingco.com

Instagram: @campiobrewing

Co-Diners: The E.A.T Crew

The brewpub has certainly been seeing its time in the sun for several years now with the popularity of microbreweries reaching its peak. Edmonton is no different than anywhere else in the fact that our restaurantscape has been dotted with more and more local breweries - which is cool and all - but the part that has caught my attention is the elevation and refinement that has also evolved. Gone are the days when the average pub is slinging a beer in your general direction and calling it a day. Now there are chefs involved, complete dining programs, and entire concepts. It's more than just a boozy good time (but it's also still that). One of the standouts in this game is Campio Brewing Co., which first opened its doors in 2018 and have since expanded to a second location. In a previous life the original restaurant operated as Characters Fine Dining for twenty some years, which is why the space might feel familiar. (I remember dining at Characters in my 20s and believing that it was the height of luxury.) Voted Best Brewpub 2025 by EDify Magazine, Campio has positioned itself as a reliable standby when it comes to beers and eats Downtown, and they ain't slowing down anytime soon. I visited on a Monday evening, only half realizing that it was also an Oilers home game night. At only a seven minute walk away from Rogers Place, you can be sure that the place will be positively packed with jersey-wearing fans, the majority of which who are grabbing a bite before gametime. This was absolutely the case during my visit, and while it was crowded there's something about the buzz of a hockey night that feels pretty special. Peering through the sea of blue and orange in the main dining area, it was clear that tables were at a premium. I had no idea that there was additional seating downstairs but quickly learned as the hostess lead the way down the stairs. The basement appears to be the brewery itself, lined with fermentation tanks and wooden aging barrels. The picnic-style tables are communal. While it's not as nice as upstairs and certainly feels like an overflow area, it is kind of neat to be sitting where all of the brewery magic happens. (Think of when you try to go camping but the campground is already full, so they just stick you in a big empty field with the rest of the extras.) The main upstairs dining area is expansive, rich in wood, and feels historic. You'll find exposed brick and the same epic wooden pillars that exist in many of the old buildings downtown. But the best table in the entire restaurant? That would be the elevator shaft room - now converted into a small dining area. The elevator buttons are still on the wall! Our server was super personable and friendly, genuinely seeming like she was having a good time. Campio is obviously known for their 16 rotating craft beers on draft brewed right in the restaurant itself. They also sell their beer in cans (covered in beautiful artwork) which can be found in liquor stores everywhere, as well as offsale at the brewery itself. My husband is a big fan of their seasonal Once in Oaxaca (a prickly pear horchata sour). I, myself, am not much of a beer drinker so I was pleased to find a list of house cocktails to choose from - way more my jam. The Iced Edmonton Fog ($14.50) sounded really delicious and fun. (They also make beer cocktails!)

Baileys, Cointreau, Amaretto, walnut bitters, earl grey tea.

The flavour profile of this drink is right up my alley! The combination of almond, walnut and earl grey sounds cozy and delicious! However, I found that I wanted even more flavour from each sip. The beverage tasted quite watered down and could've been more full-bodied. It did remind me a lot of a paralyzer though, which I was not mad at. The main concept at Campio is to fuse Edmonton’s blue-collar nature and artistic flair into one, serving up whimsy and quality with diverse offerings. I do think that this shows a clear understanding of the clientele in this city and it points toward Campio's success. The menu is fresh, playful, and approachable, offering the kind of food that people actually want to eat in a brewpub today. They've got Fried Pepperoni ($9.00) on the snacks part of the menu and I'm not one to refuse!

With honey mustard.

A Halifax stable, Edmonton and this Maritime city seem to have a lot in common when it comes to cuisine (RE: the donair). Sliced paper-thin, each ruby-hued round is crispy like a chip. You could easily toss about 20 of these into your mouth and barely notice. I liked the tangy honey mustard to dip into. This dish is like the best part of a pizza without all of the unnecessary rest of it. I'd happily start my meal with these every time! For the main event Campio offers two types of choices; you can opt for a handheld (I've had their Korean Fried Chicken Sandwich before and that tall stack is a good time!) or you can order a Detroit deep dish pizza (which I feel is kinda their "signature thing.") Detroit-style pizza really blew up around the beginning of the decade and I don't think that anyone is completely over it yet. With eight pies to choose from at Campio, there's something for everyone. But The Big MacDavid ($28.00) seemed like an obvious choice, especially on a game night.

Ground chuck, chopped pickles, iceberg lettuce, sesame seeds, secret sauce.

The pizza arrived served in a metal tin sheet, as is customary with Detroit-style. The first thing that I looked for right away were the crispy, caramelized edges - CHECK! Those corner pieces are the most coveted of all! Each pizza is cut into six slices and they're hefty. I can usually only eat two slices at most because each slice eats like an entire meal. Biting in, I certainly appreciated the perfect cook on this pizza. The outside edge was a perfectly ideal crispiness while the inside was full of gooey cheese. In case it wasn't obvious, this pizza is a play on the McDonald's Big Mac. There was a time not long ago when everyone was making Big Mac food and it was pretty wild but I also loved it. This pizza executed the trend well by including the right ingredients to capture the correct flavour profile; ground beef, pickles, lettuce, and the special Thousand Island-esque sauce. I found that the pickles were chopped so fine that they almost disappeared and I wished that there had been a larger pickle presence. Similarly with the secret sauce, I could have used a lot more to really capitalize on that quintessential flavour. I liked the added touch of sesame seeds, just like the top of a hamburger bun. My one other issue is that while the corner pieces are the absolute best, the pizza toppings didn't really stretch right into the corners as well as I think they should have. Wanting to bring some health to the table (although, I will say that the pizza did have a ton of lettuce on it) I also ordered the Arugula Apple Salad ($18.00).

Arugula & mixed greens, roasted red apples, crumbled feta, smoked spiced pecans, pickled onions, roasted citrus vinaigrette.

This big salad was actually very enjoyable! I found it to be well-dressed throughout, which is the main thing that I seek in a restaurant salad. I want every single leaf to be full of flavour! The roasted red apples sounded like a really cool ingredient but I honestly barely noticed them. Again, I think that they were just chopped too small to have an impact. My favourite part of this salad were the smoked spiced pecans! These were so interesting and exciting! Each pecan was totally infused with a bold, smoky flavour, making them very unique. I couldn't refuse the Quarter Pound Cookie ($7.00) but I probably should have.

Warm salted brown butter chocolate chip and Skor, baked fresh daily.

OK no one can be upset about a warm, gooey, melty cookie. That's a given. But this was just a cookie. For $7. It was kinda big but it wasn't that big. And there was Skor in it?? I would've expected more crunchy bits if that was the case and I really don't remember there being any. I did like the hint of salt used, which created a wonderfully delicious salty-sweet combination. Campio Brewing Co. has accomplished a lot since their opening and they have solidified themselves as a go-to brewpub that offers a lot more beyond beer. In the summertime their entire parking lot comes alive as a huge patio space and they also serve brunch on weekends. Campio is also a member of a family of brewpubs with locations in Calgary, Banff, and Jasper. (My personal favourite is Jasper's The Maligne Range - I make an effort to eat there every time that I'm in town!) Hockey game or not, Campio is a dependable meeting place where everyone is guaranteed to have a great time.