Good restaurants in Calgary

[moncton golden flames]

Originally Posted by Flames Draft Watcher

Yellow Door Bistro in Hotel Arts is fairly new. Good food and interesting decor.

I'll second the Yellow Door. Most of the kitchen staff are good friends of mine mind you, but the food has always been great whenever I have been there. They also have a decent beer tap selection, only 6, but good beers.

[Enoch Root]

Just discovered this thread and read through it hoping to find some new suggestions. Thanks to all who have shared their experiences.

Shocked that River Café hasn't been mentioned - interesting 'wild' menu and a great patio. My #1 choice with out of town guests.

Bonterra was mentioned - a limited menu but generally a very good experience at a decent price. And as one poster mentioned, an incredible patio, you really feel like you're on vacation.

On the pizza discussion, Eddy's Nest is great.

Some other favourites: Living Room, Taste, Teatro

For casual dining, Phoenix Grill in Westhills is a pleasant surprise.

Question: does anyone know where 8th Avenue Diner moved to?

Another question: does anyone know of a good chili burger in town? Nothing better for a hangover but I haven't found a good one in Calgary yet.

[Enoch Root]

Been to Rouge a couple times and have experienced nothing to justify the hype so far. Will try again though.

Lounge Burger... meh. Before Flame games I prefer Vita e Bella. Again a limited menu but good service and a nice atmosphere.

[OldDutch]

Originally Posted by Enoch Root

Been to Rouge a couple times and have experienced nothing to justify the hype so far. Will try again though.

Lounge Burger... meh. Before Flame games I prefer Vita e Bella. Again a limited menu but good service and a nice atmosphere.

I'll make a suggestion, go to Avec. I love Rouge, but that maybe nostalgia more than anything else. Cassis is excellent, but at 20 seats is way too hard to reso.

Yellow Door I have only done lunch twice, both times were just ok.

Avec is best French Bistro in Calgary hands down. Especially lunch, best in town. Everything is reasonable price, and freshly made. Just excellent.

[Enoch Root]

Originally Posted by OldDutch

I'll make a suggestion, go to Avec. I love Rouge, but that maybe nostalgia more than anything else. Cassis is excellent, but at 20 seats is way too hard to reso.

Yellow Door I have only done lunch twice, both times were just ok.

Avec is best French Bistro in Calgary hands down. Especially lunch, best in town. Everything is reasonable price, and freshly made. Just excellent.

Haven't been to Avec - thanks. Forgot to mention Cassis as one of my faves

[calgarywinning]

Will second Avec. Also, think about Model Milk. Duck Three Ways. Mmmmmmmm....

[Dan02]

Going on a date with a crazy, I mean vegetarian tonight and was wondering if anyone has any recommendations. Coup would have been a easy choice since it's 2 blocks away from my apartment, however, it for some silly reason appears to be closed on mondays.

[Pagal4321]

Originally Posted by Dan02

Going on a date with a crazy, I mean vegetarian tonight and was wondering if anyone has any recommendations. Coup would have been a easy choice since it's 2 blocks away from my apartment, however, it for some silly reason appears to be closed on mondays.

Cafe Koi on 1st has some good crazy (vegetarian) items on their menu.

[East Coast Flame]

Originally Posted by Dan02

Going on a date with a crazy, I mean vegetarian tonight and was wondering if anyone has any recommendations. Coup would have been a easy choice since it's 2 blocks away from my apartment, however, it for some silly reason appears to be closed on mondays.

I have been to Cibo a couple times with my vegetarian friend and there are quite a few good dishes there.

[Boblobla]

Vegetarians taste funny.

[ah123]

Originally Posted by Dan02

Going on a date with a crazy, I mean vegetarian tonight and was wondering if anyone has any recommendations. Coup would have been a easy choice since it's 2 blocks away from my apartment, however, it for some silly reason appears to be closed on mondays.

Heard a lot of good things about Buddha's Veggie Restaurant, I have never been there though. Another option would be to go to a place where you choose your own vegetables, meats and sauces and they cook it for you (e.g. Mongolie Grill, Open Sesame, Xan)

[AMG_G]

Originally Posted by Dan02

Going on a date with a crazy, I mean vegetarian tonight and was wondering if anyone has any recommendations. Coup would have been a easy choice since it's 2 blocks away from my apartment, however, it for some silly reason appears to be closed on mondays.

So if you're willing to go vegetarian for her but will she eat meat on your next date????? think about it!

[Dan02]

Well we already discussed that, no swallowing allowed.

Thanks for the great ideas. I'm really digging the cibo idea, unfortunately I'm not a chinese food fan so Buddhas veggie kinda isn't up my alley.

Apparently there is another veggie restuarant called Gratitude here in Calgary too. Unfortunately, also closed on Mondays as well as Tuesdays.

[troutman]

My vegan friend ridicules Gratitude. The poor reviews for bad service on Urban Spoon are legendary. It's like they are trying to be deliberately rude as some kind of Seinfeld schtick, but it is just annoying.

http://www.urbanspoon.com/r/15/14597...e-Cafe-Calgary


This place seems like a bizarre sociology experiment, trying to prove just how much degradation people will put up with just to be fed. The owner should be ashamed of herself.

[SHOGUN]

Monki for brunch is bomb. Be prepared for lineups though if you want a table.

[I-Hate-Hulse]

Originally Posted by troutman

My vegan friend ridicules Gratitude. The poor reviews for bad service on Urban Spoon are legendary. It's like they are trying to be deliberately rude as some kind of Seinfeld schtick, but it is just annoying.

LOL - those reviews (and the odd response) give it an "Amy's Baking Company-esque" feel to it..... I actually went to this place quite a few times when it first opened and it was decent for crazy...errr vegetarian. A pair of sisters opened it, and I used to work with one of the sisters. Looks like one of the sisters left, as a lot of the personal life coaching stuff is gone from the website. I recall she used to be manager when we were still going - clearly she held the place together.

Still waiting for Kensington to up it's game in non high end, non sushi, restaurants. There's a select few. Could use a lot more.

[Daradon]

Originally Posted by Enoch Root

Been to Rouge a couple times and have experienced nothing to justify the hype so far. Will try again though.

Lounge Burger... meh. Before Flame games I prefer Vita e Bella. Again a limited menu but good service and a nice atmosphere.

Loungeburger was great when it first opened, but it's gone downhill after the first year. They reduced their menu and the overall quality seemed to go down. Guess they were having problems with their margins.

[Daradon]

Originally Posted by ah123

Heard a lot of good things about Buddha's Veggie Restaurant, I have never been there though. Another option would be to go to a place where you choose your own vegetables, meats and sauces and they cook it for you (e.g. Mongolie Grill, Open Sesame, Xan)

Seconded. It's really good even if you enjoy meat. It's faux meat of course, but you'd be amazed at what they can do to make soy or tofu taste like pork or chicken. Beef still tastes a bit off though, a stronger flavor I guess, harder to nail down. Chicken is quite mild and hey, everything tastes like chicken!

Don't get me wrong, I love a steak, but if you're trying to impress someone or need a veggie option, meat eaters will probably enjoy it too.

EDIT: Actually I think I missed onions and garlic more than the meat. Apparently Buddhists don't eat onions or garlic. Bad for the humours or something. The story is on the menu, haha.

[Inglewood Jack]

why all the effort to find a vegetarian-specific restaurant? most decent joints have more than enough non-meat options to satisfy all except the most hardcore earth worshipper vegan freak.

I'm friends with a couple vegetarians and there's almost never been an issue picking any old (or new) restaurant. hell even chicken on the way has fries and cornballs that are relatively meat-free.

[CMPunk]

Originally Posted by Inglewood Jack

why all the effort to find a vegetarian-specific restaurant? most decent joints have more than enough non-meat options to satisfy all except the most hardcore earth worshipper vegan freak.

I'm friends with a couple vegetarians and there's almost never been an issue picking any old (or new) restaurant. hell even chicken on the way has fries and cornballs that are relatively meat-free.

Cause it's a date, he want's to impress her.....Chicken on the Way is more like a 3rd date