Local Restaurant Thread

[curves2000]

For those who are willing to do a little drive and live in the Okotoks, High River or south Calgary area, Plaka Greek Taverna in Okotoks is excellent!! The owner is a close family friend and I have visited a few times in the last few weeks ever since the ring road opened.

Food has been excellent across the board, great value and portions, I recommend the roasted lamb but my dining partners have enjoyed their other dishes as well.

Service has been spot on, nice atmosphere inside and for the Calgary diners, a nice drive out as well !

As a Greek myself I can vouch for the food but I always tell people to go out of their comfort zone and order something other than a typical souvlaki

[Weitz]

Anyone been to Orchard? Checking that out this evening.

[InglewoodFan]

I'll throw in a recommendation for Major Tom, you can go crazy on the Wagyu but they have a pretty decent variety on their menu. Best meal I've had in the past couple of years. Plus the room/views are spectacular.

[Cecil Terwilliger]

Originally Posted by Cappy

Calgary's food scene isn't too stuffy, so most good places are fairly "approachable"

For tasting menus / high end, rouge and Teatro are the mainstays. Eight/Nupo is/are super good high end sushi with a tasting menu. Each one of those, be prepared to spend $300.00 on food.

Bridgette Bar and Ten Foot Henry for more vegetable focused dishes (still a ton of meat). Bridgette has a cooler vibe i would say.

Shokunin, Roy O's Kitchen, and Carino are excellent asian fusion type restaurants. Also Foreign Concept sort of fits in there as well. I recommend them all.

I personally like Vintage for steaks but Hy's has a good vibe during happy hour or friday nights. Also Chairman's down south - i didnt enjoy it as much food wise but the decor is interesting.

Too many to list really, but if you have a hankering for something, i/we will have suggestions.

Thanks! Sushi is not my bag, so that saves me $300.

I’ve been to Roy’s. In mission right? It was tasty. Except I didn’t know how to eat the soup. It had these slippery noodles that I couldn’t pick up with my chopsticks for the life of me. I struggled to even get them from the pot to my bowl. They kept slipping out of the ladle. I needed tongs or something, it was hilariously frustrating.

[InglewoodFan]

Originally Posted by Weitz

Anyone been to Orchard? Checking that out this evening.

No direct experience, but some friends checked it out in the past couple of weeks and their report back was decidedly meh. Beautiful space but they said the food was nothing special.

[Cecil Terwilliger]

I didn't plan on going tonight but I thought about supper, checked my fridge and it was empty so I walked over to Hy's.

TL;DR Went to Hy's, food was good but jerks around me and bad service kinda ruined it. Not likely to go back.


Sat in the lounge, they have a nice big TV which was great. Figured I'd hang out, eat some nice food and watch the flames game. Nice to go on a slow thursday too. Or so I thought, but more on that later.

I had the escargot, which was good but not great. They only give you two tiny little pieces of crunchy french bagguette. Not only that but it wasn't particularly flavourful. Honestly, I prefer it at the Keg with the nice soft bread they give you. I also found it was not very solid, all the little bulbs (or whatever they're called) were broken up into a miliion pieces. Made it tough to each with that tiny fork and the crunchy bread.

Had steak neptune for my entree. Hard to say no to that, it's one of my favourites. Steak was cooked perfectly, plenty of crab but I will say they were a little stingy with the asperagus. It was just two or three tiny, tiny little skinny pieces not longer than my pinky. It doesn't have to be overflowing but I honestly thought they forgot the asparagus until I was about half done my steak. That's beyond minor though. The important parts were good and better to skimp on teh asparagus than the crab or holandaise.

The roasted potatoes were delicious, maybe just a tad dry but nothing to complain about. Beans were beans. They were cooked well. Al dente, had a nice crunch without being raw. Overall very good entree.

The creme brulee was to die for. Best I can recall having in a long, long time. Maybe ever. #### I could have eaten like 5 of those babies if I wasn't so stuffed.

The service was excellent, atmosphere was good for the most part (but more on that in a minute). They had some jon tesh sounding piano going.

But if I'm being honest it was all kind of sullied, maybe even ruined, by several dbags around me. For one, a big group of obnoxious aholes took up a way too small table across the aisle (if I can call it that). This meant that the loudest jerkoff put his chair smack dab in the middle of the aisle. Annoying as hell for two reasons. One, that put this loud ####### closer to me than I wanted. Like two feet away. And second, it meant that every time a server walked by, which was constantly because it was the lane to the bar/kitchen, it meant they had to sneak by. I spent most of my evening expecting loud obnoxious dink to knock a server with a hot plate of food right onto me. But whatever, it's a lounge. The jon tesh piano drowned them out a bit and i was zoned in watching the game and enjoying my steak.

But then some super loud ####### comes in and recognizes the two women next to me. This ####head proceeds to come sit right next to me on the big long bench so he can yell at his lady friends. Some middle aged wasted on a thursday at 7pm loser sits right down on my damn jacket (and it's a nice jacket, I just bought it!). I had to repeatedly ask him to sit up so I could remove it from under his fat ####ing ass. He seemed more annoyed than anything and didn't apologize. I practically had to yank it out from under him. Not to mention getting up in my personal space while I'm eating (plus COVID) I was fantasizing about punching this drunk ass loser. Finally after yelling in my ear (despite facing the other direction) for 20 minutes, he went and drank with his buddy that he showed up with.

To be clear, I'm not expecting a quiet serene evening with classical music playing when I'm in the lounge. I quite liked the nice din that made the place seem more alive. Eating in silence is depressing. This was purely about crappy people who don't respect personal space or the people around them. It just made the atmosphere unpleasant and low rent. I'd expect more class at the Den on a Thursday.

But then the cherry on top. So my server was excellent, super friendly and attentive so this isn't on him. Halfway through the 3rd period, after I'd sat there since about 5 mins left in the 1st watching the game, the hostess comes over and just changes the frggin channel. No hesitation, doesn't ask if I'm cool if she turns (it was 4-0), just turns the channel in the middle of the goddamn flames game. I wasn't even the only one watching.

I tried to get her attention without yelling but she completely ignored me, intentionally, and then walked away. I was tempted to tip appropriately but it wasn't my server's fault.

I don't know if Calgary just has a higher percentage of dbags or if Hy's attracts them but when I'm eating a $70 ####ing steak, I like to feel like I'm not sitting at Rips on wing night next to a bunch of obnoxiously loud drunken #######s.

But that's not their fault they attract some low class clientele, maybe that's just downtown Calgary on a Thursday. It is their fault for turning the channel in the middle of a hockey game showing the hometown team that I've been watching for 2 friggin hours.

Anyways, rant over. It just really sucks that dbags and bad service tainted such a tasty meal. So yeah, lesson learned. Don't go to Hy's on a Thursday. Or maybe ever if that's their target customer.

Overall I'd give the food an 8/10. Value a 6.5/10. Atmosphere 1/10. Bad enough I won't be in a hurry to ever go back with all the food options in Calgary (and considering how infrequently I eat out), no matter how good the creme brulee was.

[Amethyst]

Originally Posted by Cecil Terwilliger

Despite living here for 20 years, I’ve basically never eaten at any nice Calgary restaurants. Or anywhere for that matter.

My new goal is to try some.

Can I get a top 10? Top 5? Price is irrelevant, only concerned with quality. They don’t have to be expensive, but it’s ok if they are.

Menu suggestions are welcome, possibly necessary. It would be accurate to say I’ve never eaten in a fancy 5 course restaurant or anywhere that had any sort of avant garde approach (if that’s even acceptable terminology).

Feel free to suggest different regions/countries but worth noting that Italian is not a priority (grew up in an Italian family) but is still welcome.

My first stop is for steak. Hy’s or Vintage? Or somewhere else? Belt line preferred so I don’t have to drive.

After that, it’s wide open. Suggest away.

Of the ones mentioned in the Avenue article, I also like: Alloy, Foreign Concept, and Rouge. The others I haven't been to. I would also add Vero Bistro (Kensington), Charcut (downtown), and charbar (same owners, in East Village).

Workshop (downtown) used to be my favourite, but sadly it is no more. I heard the chef behind that was supposed to be opening a new place at some point. Anyone know?

[DownInFlames]

I’m sorry to hear you had a bad experience, Cecil. I’ll forward this to their management. Changing the channel during a Flames game is not cool at all.

Originally Posted by Amethyst

Workshop (downtown) used to be my favourite, but sadly it is no more. I heard the chef behind that was supposed to be opening a new place at some point. Anyone know?

This is his new place. Hopefully it opens soon.

http://kamacalgary.com/

[Cecil Terwilliger]

I was a little riled up but in hindsight it maybe wasn't as bad an experience as I made it out to be. The food was super good (albeit maybe a bit pricey for my normal eat out but that was the intention). I just needed to vent a bit. I despise rude people, especially loud and drunk rude people. No fault at all of the establishment. Just back luck probably. Especially since I had the mindset it would be a quiet thursday.

The Flames game thing is not cool though I will say, although I suspect one of the newly seated tables in the lounge requested TNF and they obliged. I just wish they would have waited 5 more minutes or asked first. It was 4-0, I, or we since I wasn't the only one watching, almost certainly would have said it was cool if someone was into TNF that much. Flames game was out of hand at that point about halfway thru the 3rd.

[Weitz]

Originally Posted by InglewoodFan

No direct experience, but some friends checked it out in the past couple of weeks and their report back was decidedly meh. Beautiful space but they said the food was nothing special.

I actually quite liked the food. I would say its a bit over priced but was really good. The ambiance and restaurant is quite beautiful.

I did hear about the meh food from some others before going so was pleasantly surprised.

[Slava]

Originally Posted by curves2000

For those who are willing to do a little drive and live in the Okotoks, High River or south Calgary area, Plaka Greek Taverna in Okotoks is excellent!! The owner is a close family friend and I have visited a few times in the last few weeks ever since the ring road opened.

Food has been excellent across the board, great value and portions, I recommend the roasted lamb but my dining partners have enjoyed their other dishes as well.

Service has been spot on, nice atmosphere inside and for the Calgary diners, a nice drive out as well !

As a Greek myself I can vouch for the food but I always tell people to go out of their comfort zone and order something other than a typical souvlaki

Is that the same restaurant that used to be in Shawnessy by Canadian Tire? If so, I've eaten there and the food was really good. This is probably going to sound obvious as soon as I mention it, but the fried cheese (which has a greek name of some kind) was excellent!

[Hack&Lube]

The last time I was at Hy's it was also a middling experience, the NY Strip was quick fibrous and chewy and overall it seemed like the same quality you could get a Kegs or Joeys.

Surprisingly, I've had a bunch of decent food at the restaurant inside Nordstroms. Their menu is seasonal, lots of bistro type faire.

Major Tom's was a great experience. Great food, great service, great views, and everybody in the place seemed to be having a good time and a higher echelon on guests. I held open the door for some guy coming in behind me and he was already lit up and bought drinks for the whole table. Turned out he was the lawyer for one of the owners.

[Inglewood Jack]

Longview Steakhouse is absolutely worth the 1 hour drive. if you don't feel like driving home, book a room and you will also get one of the best breakfasts of your entire life.

[Cappy]

Originally Posted by Cecil Terwilliger

Thanks! Sushi is not my bag, so that saves me $300.

I’ve been to Roy’s. In mission right? It was tasty. Except I didn’t know how to eat the soup. It had these slippery noodles that I couldn’t pick up with my chopsticks for the life of me. I struggled to even get them from the pot to my bowl. They kept slipping out of the ladle. I needed tongs or something, it was hilariously frustrating.

For Roys, my go to is brussel sprouts, oxtail tortellin, and wings or sliders, and go from there.

[curves2000]

Originally Posted by Slava

Is that the same restaurant that used to be in Shawnessy by Canadian Tire? If so, I've eaten there and the food was really good. This is probably going to sound obvious as soon as I mention it, but the fried cheese (which has a greek name of some kind) was excellent!

Yes it is in the sense it's the same name, menu etc. Different ownership and there has been some partner changes etc.

I can't speak to the quality of the food at the Calgary location as I haven't eaten there in a long time.

The Okotoks location though is spot on and the owner, a friend, is very active on a daily basis so that helps with quality control and operations etc. I haven't visited much recently but with the new ring road, it's only 30 minutes for me.

The cheese dish you are referring to is called Saganaki. The name of the actual cheese its self is called Kefalotiri and is a classic Greek table cheese. Very versatile cheese that can be used as a table cheese, for grating over pasta, soups or salads like a parm, for melting over sandwiches etc.

Shameless business plug, come visit my family at Kalamata Grocery in Calgary for it and we will look after you. Tell them the nephew sent ya from the hockey site.

[Macman]

I went and tried a popular smoke house recently and it was kind of disappointing. From what I ordered described on the menu and what I got was underwhelming and I left there still hungry, small portion and big price. Why not give your customers a bigger side of fries for example.

Don't think I'll be going back there. This is now like the third or 4th place I've gone to that people hype about and it's not that great. Sometimes you can give a benefit of a doubt and give them a second try but I'm not sure I will. It wasn't just the food either, just the overall experience including ambience and service.

[Cecil Terwilliger]

I tried the BBQ place in Mission right across from the safeway and felt the same way. It was $15 for one tiny little strip of meat. Would have to order 3 to satisfy my meat craving. The sides were decent enough.

Especially the bacon wrapped corn on the cob. It was the best corn on the cob I've ever eaten and was only $6 I think. That was tasty and good value.

[Cappy]

Originally Posted by Cecil Terwilliger

Hy's story.

I would agree that Hy's gets some real D-bags in their on certain nights; however, that is also the case in vintage sometimes too.

I guess if you are going to the lounge with buddies on a weeknight to have $70 steaks you have money and are probably obnoxious.

[troutman]

Originally Posted by Cecil Terwilliger

Especially the bacon wrapped corn on the cob. It was the best corn on the cob I've ever eaten and was only $6 I think. That was tasty and good value.

The Palomino should sue them for plagiarism!

[Cecil Terwilliger]

Originally Posted by Cappy

I would agree that Hy's gets some real D-bags in their on certain nights; however, that is also the case in vintage sometimes too.

I guess if you are going to the lounge with buddies on a weeknight to have $70 steaks you have money and are probably obnoxious.

I think the obnoxious guy beside me bragged about his $30 glass of wine about 20 times. I wanted to go over and dump it out.