Most Exclusive Restaurant in Calgary

[Vulcan]

Originally Posted by P-Diddy

La Chaumiere is the most exclusive from my experience, Fine Dining for sure. Went there before an Aerosmith concert and was dressed for the concert, jeans and shirt. Needless to say, I was totally underdressed and somewhat embarassed. Oh well...

There you go, La Chaumiere gave you a seat without having to get a sportscoat as some pretenders insist you do. La Chaumiere just intimidates with their atmosphere.

[Bean]

Just my two cents but the 2 best restaurants in town are
1) Buchanan's
2) Oceana (just moved to where La Caille used to be?)

The only problem with these places is that it may not be pretentious (sp?) enough as per your question...I've always had great service and food there regardless of what we are wearing.

If anybody is popping any specific questions, I'd say to go check out Oceana first.

Cheers,

[kermitology]

Abruzzo's. It's on the SE corner of 4th Ave and 8th Street downtown. WONDERFUL Italian food.

[Claeren]

I have not yet tried Oceana - but that is one horrible name...

I have dined at every other place mentioned (and am shocked by some being suggested as our 'best') and after much consideration based on your criteria the best 'WELL ROUNDED' option IMO is:

Divino's. Long local history, good and always changing menu, great location, great wine list, etc. AND Brad Pitt apparently likes it?!

Capo (although in Ingelwood and kind of small - but with Calgary's currently hottest chef), River Cafe (If your gal doesn't mind a 300m walk in the cold/snow in her heels), and Theatro (ambiance and location help it despite food that is a step behind some of the best) come in 2nd-4th.

Buchanan's (Steakhouses are not currently my interest for fine dining but some old-schoolers seem to think that is the only genre of Calgary fine dining...), La Chaumiere (not into French houty-touty-ness) and Rouge (All the way in Ingelwood...) are other interesting options.

I very much prefer places like Muse, Saint Germain and The Livingroom over places like Belgo, Chicago Chophouse, or Wildwood - but i don't think ANY of them make the cut based on the stated criteria. Suburban location also basically disqualifies any choice - including Bears Den which is okay but far from great.

A number of the smaller places mentioned are FANTASTIC but are just too small or 'family-friendly' or 'old-school/family-owned' feeling to be the SINGLE pick. They are the types of places locals go all the time but lack that initial marquee 'umph' you need from ambiance and/or location and/or exclusivity, etc...


Claeren.

[killer_carlson]

Wellingtons has great food but it isn't where you go to really impress. I would rank it near the top of a "hidden restaraunt gems" category along with Gnocchi's pasta house (if that even still exists).

When I took someone out and really wanted to impress my best success was always the place at the top of the Calgary Tower. It's a rotating restaraunt that gives you a view of the entire city. Yes, some buildings do obstruct the view but I went to a similar place in Edmonton a couple of weeks ago and seeing it at night in winter really is an impressive sight with all the lights. The Calgary Tower is a much more impressive spot than the one in Edmonton,

plus if you're looking for expensive you have to pay to come up in the elevator.

[guzzy]

The Rouge in Inglewood is amazing. I went there just before xmas and my bill was $160 without liquor. I was half cut when I arrived so I switched to water when I got there. The chef there is considered, by many, to be the best in Alberta. It is all local meats and in the summer they grow there own fresh herbs, berries and garnishes. Mostly french inspired cuisine

[Antithesis]

Originally Posted by Sylvanfan

So did I get this right....the type of food, and the quality isn't important. But the fact that the place is expensive and makes you look high class is?

Just asking.

... that's one of the points I got out of this as well!

My wife and I have stopped gong to steakhouses because we generally find that we can prepare a meal that isn't significantly different from what we'd experience at a steakhouse.

A few years ago my friend and I went to Wildwood. It was a good time and the food was excellent.

[Flames in 07]

Fuze in Banff.

[calf]

doesn't the Highwood at SAIT have a ridiculously long waiting list? Not sure about expensive, but I hear good things about it

[Claeren]

Originally Posted by calf

doesn't the Highwood at SAIT have a ridiculously long waiting list? Not sure about expensive, but I hear good things about it

I think that is a 'quality v. price' thing as much as it is about being a great restaurant. It is a ~$60/plate(?) type place for like $35/plate.





Claeren.

[habernac]

La Dolce Vita is awesome. Osteria de Medici in Kensington definitely meets your criteria.

I've been watching the old Japanese Village and Hy's buildings get knocked down the last few weeks, they're building another office tower there.

[Shazam]

Originally Posted by fotze

Exactly, that place is one of the mysteries of the universe. How the hell it stays in business is beyond me. I think they get their steaks at Safeway. SAFEWAY! Ketchup is a necessity there.

Here's your rumour du jour: A few days before Chicago Chophouse's opening day, their refrigeration system broke and all their meat went rancid. So they had one of the busboys go to Safeway and buy meat. So indeed, they were serving Safeway meat that day.

HOW THE HELL DOES PIED PICKLE STAY IN BUSINESS? Calgarians are so forgiving culinarily (is that a word). Vile plain ****

Lunch. Strictly lunch. Their food is edible and their service is fast. That's all you need to do downtown to stay afloat.

[Shazam]

I so wanna go to that new Japanese Village. I love that place. Little pricey, but it's great Japanese teppanyaki and it doesn't seem like it, but it's actually a massive portion.

[Hart50]

Exclusive and Expensive are rather odd criteria for picking a restaurant but if you want a list of some of the best restaurants in town I would suggest the following in no particular order:

Divino
Capo
The Belevedere
River Cafe
Rouge
Muse

BTW, IMHO Catch, Teatro and La Chaumiere are way overrated.

[Shazam]

Teatro overrated? I rather enjoy that place. Mind you, I can see where you're coming from. Every so often they have a menu that isn't quite up to par.

[moon]

Either I have been away from CAlgary too long or lived there when I was too young to go to nice restuarants because I haven't heard of 75% of these restuarants.

Surprised to hear the praise for the River Cafe. I thought it was awful. Nice atmosphere but the food wasn't good and I had to eat when I got home because I barely got any food with my meal.

[Hart50]

Originally Posted by Shazam

Teatro overrated? I rather enjoy that place. Mind you, I can see where you're coming from. Every so often they have a menu that isn't quite up to par.

The last time I was there we waited an hour between our appi's and entrees with no apologies from the staff and I swore I would never go back. If a restaurant insists on charging high prices they'd better deliver the goods.

[Shazam]

Originally Posted by Hart50

The last time I was there we waited an hour between our appi's and entrees with no apologies from the staff and I swore I would never go back. If a restaurant insists on charging high prices they'd better deliver the goods.

Doesn't surprise me. When it's busy there, the food service slows down to a crawl.

[89Flames]

River Cafe on Prince's Island Park is consistently chosen as Calgary's best. http://www.river-cafe.com/index.php

Capo http://www.caporestaurant.ca/mainpage.htm

Velvet at The Grand 608 - 1 Street S.W., 244-8400 http://www.crmr.com/velvet/

Rimroock or Oakroom at the Palliser Hotel are beautiful but Sunday brunch is the best. http://www.fairmont.com/palliser/

Rouge http://www.rougecalgary.com/main/index.php

Panorama Dining Room at the Calgary Tower http://www.calgarytower.com/Panorama_Dining_Room.html

Raw Bar at the Hotel Arts www.hotelarts.ca

[Hack&Lube]

I've only been to the River Cafe and Murrieta's.

The River Cafe is amazing but I've only been there for lunch when I wasn't paying.