Looking for where to eat in Calgary? In this food guide, I’m dishing out some of the best restaurants and places to eat in Calgary!
Calgary’s food scene is indeed growing with food trends and new restaurants increasing the diversity in cuisines.
In fact, 16 best restaurants in Calgary were listed in Canada’s 100 Best Restaurants.
For my trip to the Canadian Rockies, I decided to stay in Calgary for a few days to do a bit of food tripping!
And here are some of the best restaurants in Calgary that I found to give you an idea on where to eat and drink.
I liked the fact that most of the restaurants are local to Calgary which makes them extra special since you can’t find them in other places.
I can’t wait to see how the food scene continues to grow in the years to come!
Did you know? Alberta only has 5% sales tax from GST instead of the 13% HST.
When I visit a new destination as a Travelling Foodie, I try to get gauge the overall food scene by trying a range of cuisines in different areas and price points.
Deciding where to eat in Calgary was tough but someone’s got to do it.
In this food guide are 15 places I enjoyed which include some of the best restaurants, cafes and breweries in Calgary.
Travelling Foodie Tip: If you only have a short time in the city and want to food trip, the best area to visit in Calgary is 17th Avenue in downtown which is the street for foodies.
It has the most restaurants and bars along one street in Calgary.
Also Read: Top Restaurants in Toronto
Best Restaurants in Calgary
Here are the best places to eat and drink in Calgary.
The Lake House
Perched directly above Lake Bonavista with large glass windows overlooking the lake, The Lake House offers great food with awesome views!
Chef Thomas Neukom and Chef Gareth Colville offer a locally inspired menu with what they call “Rocky Mountain Cuisine”,
The rustic interior is very nice as well.
It’s intimately illuminated with ornate elk antler chandeliers and accessorized with a grand stone fireplace, a 130 square foot glass encased wine cellar, and a refurbished 21 foot bar from the 1800’s, previously housed in a mercantile shop in Montana.
This is definitely one of the best restaurants in Calgary.
I pretty much enjoyed everything we ordered here with
I was very surprised with the game meat they offer.
– Rocky Mountain Charcuterie Board ($21/small) – A Selection of Regionally & House Made Charcuterie, House Made Accompaniments & Rye Bread
– Lake House Fish Plank ($21/small) – Assortment of House Cured & Smoked Seafood & Fish, Marinated Olives, Pickled Red Onions, Citrus Crackers
For desserts, the Peanut Butter Chocolate Bar is a must-try, especially if you love peanut butter.
It has a nice mix of salty, bitter, and sweet!
I’m honestly not a fan of peanut butter in general, but I loved it!
If you’re looking for a more innovative dessert, go with the Lemon Sugar Churro Cake.
Website / Address: 747 Lake Bonavista Dr SE, Calgary, Alberta T2J 2M2
Accolades: Narcity’s 8 Calgary Restaurants With Breathtaking Views by Narcity, OpenTable’s 20 best neighbourhood gems in Calgary, Culinaire Magazine’s Alberta’s Finest Drinks List Awards, OpenTable’s 100 Most Romantic Restaurants in Canada 2017
Broken Plate Greek Restaurant
Located in Willow Park Village for 15 years, Broken Plate Greek Restaurant serves some legit Greek food by Chef Ervin Bushi who lived in Greece for 5 years to understand Greek culture, language
This is one of the hidden gem restaurants in the burbs of Calgary!
What are your go-to dishes for Greek food?
My typical go-to dishes for Greek food are saganaki, lamb souvlaki, lamb rack and calamari, and they all delivered here.
The calamari had the strong squid taste and a light crunch that I love.
The lamb rack is good to share as it is a big rack and very tender.
A definite must-order here is the saganaki which was highly addicting.
You’ll notice almost everyone in the restaurant ordering one.
I could’ve eaten one by myself!
Keep a lookout for their off-menu specials.
We had the certified Angus striploin special which was so good – perfectly cooked, consistently tender and flavourful!
They also have Daily Happy Hour from 3-6PM with drink and appetizer specials.
Website / Address: 10816 Macleod Trail SE #590, Calgary, Alberta T2J 5N8
Bill’s Peking House
Another hidden gem in the burbs for Chinese food is Bill’s Peking House, serving Chinese food since 1988!
When I told my friends I had so-so dim sum at the popular Silver Dragon, they took me to Bill’s Peking House as one of the best dim sum restaurants in Calgary.
The must-order here is the steamed shrimp and scallop dumpling, which is rare to find even in Toronto.
It’s like an open sleeved har gaw topped with scallop and roe.
Four pockets of heaven!
Their e-fu noodles (Yi Mein) are simple but so delicious as well.
One thing about Calgary’s dim sum scene is it’s super pricey!
Dim sum prices tend to start at $4 and go as high as $7.
My cousin and I spent a total of $60+ for two people.
They don’t really have the Dim Sum Happy Hour that Torontonians are used to that offers dim sum at around $2.50-$3.50 before 11am.
Website / Address: 380 Canyon Meadows Dr SE, Calgary, Alberta T2J 7C3
Accolades: Daily Hive’s 9 must-try Chinese restaurants in Calgary
Sushi Bar Zipang
Opened since 2004, Sushi Bar Zipang offers an extensive selection of sushi and sashimi with fish from Japan, East Coast
Owner Chef Naoya Umino learned from Chef Hiro Hyakutake of Sushi Hiro.
Did you know? Sushi Bar Zipang is No. 1 in TripAdvisor for Japanese Restaurants in Calgary.
Be sure to sit at the sushi bar where you can watch the sushi chefs, including Chef Naoya himself, in action.
Chef Naoya is very friendly and, on my visit, I noticed most customers are regulars who had built a rapport with the chefs already.
You can’t go wrong with their seasonal fishes for something interesting and guaranteed fresh including Kinmedai/Alfonsino, Isaki/Grunt
It’s a great place to get your sushi fix.
Pricing is reasonable and the fishes are sliced bigger than normal so you are getting more.
For hot food, the grilled black cod is a must!
It’s grilled to perfection that the cod is flavourful and tender, not mushy nor falling apart.
Website / Address: 1010 1 Ave NE, Calgary, Alberta T2E 4K1
Accolades: Foursquare’s 15 Best Places for Sushi in Calgary, Culture Trip’s Best Sushi Spots In Calgary, Avenue Magazine’s Best Sushi Restaurants
Also Read: Zen Japanese Restaurant, Best Sushi in Toronto
Shiki Menya
Calgary is known for being cold so a nice bowl of ramen really hits the spot.
Ask locals where to eat ramen in Calgary and, for sure, they’ll say Shiki Manya.
Shiki Manya serves fresh in-house noodles and soups made from scratch using pork from local farms.
I highly recommend Shiki Menya, which is one of the best restaurants in Calgary for ramen.
Did you know? Shiki Menya means “four seasons noodle house” in Japanese.
This small ramen joint run by father-son team of Tsukasa and Koki Aihara is only open for lunch and serves only 150 bowls of ramen per day so make sure you come early to beat the line!
When you arrive, put your name down on the waitlist pad on top of the chair outside the door right away.
Since it’s ramen, turnover is quite fast but I still had to wait 30 minutes to get a seat.
The
A
I loved the texture of the in-house noodles.
The 2 pcs of char siu was well marbled and tender, and had an amazing taste!
It also came with a perfectly cooked half egg.
Website / Address: 827 1 Ave NE, Calgary, Alberta T2E 0C3
Accolades: FLARE’s Best Ramen Restaurants in Calgary, Foursquare’s 15 Best Places for Noodle Soup in Calgary, Narcity’s Best Of YYC: This Is The Noodle Spot You Need To Try In Calgary If You Freaking Love Ramen, Daily Hive’s 14 slurp-worthy Calgary ramen bowls on Instagram
Bike and Brew
A unique concept created by two local bike guys, Bike and Brew is Calgary’s original caffeinated Bicycle and Repair shop to bring the communities of cycling and coffee together.
I randomly stumbled upon this gem when I was walking from Sushi Bar Zipang to Shiki Menya, and thought it was too cool not to check out.
I love businesses that strive to support local.
At Bike and Brew, their offerings are all from locally owned and operated businesses, including:
- Roasted beans from Fratello Coffee Roasters
- Freshly baked pastries from Corbeaux Bakehouse
- Sandwiches from Peppino Gourmet Foods.
Website / Address: 921 1 Ave NE, Calgary, Alberta T2E 2L3
Calcutta Cricket Club
My most memorable meal during the trip was at Calcutta Cricket Club.
Since I’m generally not into brunch, it says a lot when a restaurant gets me excited about it.
Calcutta Cricket Club and Chef Rene Bhullar definitely did just that!
The interior is very unique too compared to traditional Indian restaurants.
The design is described as “1960’s Indian social club meets The Golden Girls”.
I was impressed with their Indian take on traditional brunch bringing amazing Indian
Though I’ve been to India, I have not been to West Bengal and look forward to visiting to see if it would have similar aesthetics.
Calcutta Cricket Club is one restaurant I wish we had something similar in Toronto.
It’s definitely one of the best restaurants in Calgary.
Their Chips & Curry was an exciting take on poutine, using curry instead of gravy, and a poached egg instead of curds to denote brunch.
You can’t help but keep smothering the fries with the fenogreek curry.
It’s great for sharing too.
You must ask about their Featured Benny.
I had their pork keema benedict with coconut-based malai curry on naan with peas and side salad.
It had a bit of spice and a lot of deliciousness.
A must-try if you see it on the menu again!
Even their cocktails are Indian fusion!
The brunch pineapple mimosa had star anise and cardamom to give that spicy kick.
Website / Address: 340 17 Ave SW, Calgary, Alberta T2S 0A8
Accolades: No. 70 in Canada’s Best 100 Restaurants 2018, Avenue Magazine’s 25 Best Restaurants in Calgary, CBC’s best 20 new restaurants in and around Calgary, Avenue Magazine’s Best Indian Restaurants in Calgary, Best of Calgary’s Best New Restaurant 2018
Also Read: 4 Day Trip in Kerala, India
Bridgette Bar
Bridgette Bar is a chef-driven bar located in a 1922 brick building in Calgary’s Design District.
Did you know? Bridgette Bar draws inspiration from French model and actress, Bridgette Bardot.
Chef JP Pedhirney menu specializing on wood-fired cuisine as seen from the open kitchen showing wood-burning grill and a wood-and-gas pizza oven.
Therefore, you’ll definitely want to try their wood-fired dishes.
But first, make sure to start with some delicious french fries with garlic aioli.
It was so good even my friend’s 3-year-old wanted seconds!
Top picks at Bridgette Bar were the Grilled Octopus, Lamb Sausage, Wood Roasted Half Duck and Pici All’Amatriciana!
The duck was perfectly cooked medium
It was actually my first time trying Pici All’Amatriciana, which is a thick hand-rolled pasta like a fat spaghetti with udon bite.
Noodle lovers would love this!
To end on a sweet note, be sure to get the Banana Fosters Cream Pie which has a mix of sweet, salty, creamy and crunchy all-in-one. Yum!
Website / Address: 739 10 Ave SW, Calgary, Alberta T2R 0B3
Accolades: No. 71 in Canada’s Best 100 Restaurants 2018, OpenTable’s 100 Best Restaurants in Canada, Avenue Magazine’s 25 Best Restaurants in Calgary, Eater’s The 18 Essential Calgary Restaurants, Where.ca’s Calgary’s Best Restaurants 2017
Made By Marcus
I scream, you scream, we all scream for ice cream!
One of the best places to eat ice cream in Calgary is Made By Marcus literally by Marcus Purtzki who graduated with a bachelor’s degree in food science and nutrition.
This small batch handcrafted ice creamery offers ice cream, sundaes, soft serve, ice cream cakes.
Travelling Foodie Tip: You can actually get two flavours in their single scoop!
They are very known for having some of the most interesting
Aside from the classic flavours, about a half dozen seasonally changing flavours make people line up to try them because once they run out, they’re out.
Now you know where to eat ice cream in Calgary!
Website / Address: 1013 17 Ave SW #121, Calgary, Alberta T2T 0A7
Accolades: Avenue Magazine’s 12 Ice Cream Shops in Calgary, FLARE’s Coolest Ice Cream Shops in Calgary, Narcity’s Best Ice Cream Spots In Calgary, Chatelaine’s Best Ice Cream Shops Across Canada, Gusto TV’s The best places in Canada to get the ultimate
Una Pizza + Wine
Opened by husband and wife Kelly Black and Jayme MacFayden after their pizza experiences from trips to San Francisco, UNA Pizza + Wine serves Californian inspired, thin-crust pizza on stone deck ovens.
I really enjoyed their thin crust pizza which was crispy on the bottom and chewy in the middle.
I tried the Beltline Pizza because I found the use of maple syrup as sauce was quite interesting.
Travelling Foodie Tip: If you find the pizza sweet, I found adding chili oil helped neutralize it.
Website / Address: 618 17 Ave SW, Calgary, Alberta T2S 0B4
Accolades: Avenue Magazine’s 25 Best Restaurants in Calgary, Narcity’s 43 Bucket List Restaurants Every True Calgarian Needs To Try, Avenue Magazine’s Best Pizza in Calgary, Best Of Calgary’s Best Pizza 2018
Native Tongues Taqueria
Perhaps the most popular Mexican restaurant in Calgary and No. 1 in TripAdvisor for it is Native Tongues Taqueria.
This rustic cantina taqueria offers a fun casual dining atmosphere with a bar program centered around Mezcal, a Mexican spirit made from agave.
As the name implies, Native Tongues primarily focuses on tacos having street style versions of individual servings, but also Mercado style (family style) version called Tacos Al Carbon which are grilled over chacoal.
The tortillas are all homemade.
Owner Chef Cody Willis uses a process called nixtamalization in the corn for their tortillas.
Did you know? In nixtamalization, the corn (white, heirloom Bolita corn from Mexico for Native Tongues Taqueria) is soaked and cooked in an alkaline solution,
Website / Address: 235 12 Ave SW, Calgary, Alberta T2R 1H7
Accolades: Avenue Magazine’s 25 Best Restaurants in Calgary, Eater’s The 18 Essential Calgary Restaurants, Narcity’s 43 Bucket List Restaurants Every True Calgarian Needs To Try, Avenue Magazine’s Best Mexican Restaurants in Calgary, Best of Calgary’s Best of Mexican 2018
Philosafy Coffee
For a coffee break from food tripping along 17th Avenue, go to Philosafy.
I love the name of the cafe, a play on words from philosophy, and philosophers who hang out in cafes to think.
Even their locally roasted custom blend is called Socrates Espresso, which is a blend from Colombia, Costa Rica and Ethiopia.
The atmosphere is very cozy with wide-open windows, gold accents and 100-year-old reclaimed wood.
It has the perfect coffee shop vibes to coffice, which I did during my visit.
Website / Address: 632 17 Ave SW, Calgary, Alberta T2S 0B4
Accolades: Narcity’s Best of YYC: 9 Cute Calgary Coffee Shops You Should Go To At Least Once In Your Life, Daily Hive’s 14 best coffee shops in Calgary for studying and working, FLARE’s Best Coffee Shops in Calgary
Also Read: Anchor Coffee House in Windsor, Ontario
Alforno Bakery & Cafe
Situated in the heart of Eau Claire, Alforno Bakery & Cafe is one of the best places to eat in Calgary for freshly baked goods while having a nice cup of coffee.
This hybrid cafe, bakery
Alforno Bakery & Cafe is a perfect meeting spot as it has all kinds of seating from the restaurant dining, to cafe high chairs to a bar area, and a big outdoor patio seating.
I tried the mocha hazelnut cake, which was not overly sweet and had the stuff I like: dark chocolate, hazelnut and coffee.
Website / Address: 222 7 St SW, Calgary, Alberta T2P 0E4
Accolades: Eater’s The 18 Essential Calgary Restaurants, Daily Hive’s 14 best coffee shops in Calgary for studying and working
Phil & Sebastian Coffee Roasters
If you’re a coffeeholic in Canada, you’ve probably heard of Phil & Sebastian Coffee since it’s one of the most popular coffee beans in Canada.
Even the coffee we had at Restaurant Pearl Morissette in Ontario was theirs.
Since it’s distinctly Alberta and Calgary, Phil & Sebastian Coffee Roasters is definitely one of the best cafes to visit in Calgary.
I highly recommend going to the beautiful historic Simmons Building location.
This is not only their headquarters but also a training lab, cafe and roasting facility where you can see their custom-built 45kg coffee roaster designed by Phil.
The building overlooks the Bow River and is shared along with Charbar (and Alley Burger) and Sidewalk Citizen Bakery.
Website / Address: 618 Confluence Way SE, Calgary, Alberta T2G 0G1
Accolades: Narcity’s Best of YYC: 9 Cute Calgary Coffee Shops You Should Go To At Least Once In Your Life, Daily Hive’s 14 best coffee shops in Calgary for studying and working, Foursquare’s 15 Best Places for Coffee in Calgary, FLARE’s Best Coffee Shops in Calgary
Cold Garden Beverage Company
If you’re looking for where to drink in Calgary to enjoy beer, and especially craft beer, check out Cold Garden Beverage Company.
This microbrewery in
Cold Garden’s approximately 2,000 square feet tasting room has pool noodles, random couches with blankets, and a big funky pineapple-shaped disco ball.
They offer about 10 beers on tap, and you can do 5oz samples for just $1.50!
Be sure to try some of the eccentric flavours like The All-Nighter Vanilla Cappuccino Porter, I Believe In A Thing Called Lager, Easy Come Easy Gose, and Cakeface.
I Believe In A Thing Called Lager is a black tea lager that has a strong tea taste.
And I was particularly mindblown by Cakeface because it really tasted like a birthday cake!
If you’re feeling daring, try the Easy Come Easy Gose which is a mix of mango and green cardamom.
Website / Address: 1100 11 St SE, Calgary, Alberta T2G 4T3
Accolades: Narcity’s Best of YYC: 17 Calgary Craft Breweries To Bring The Gang This Summer, Foursquare’s 15 Best Places for Beer and Craft Beer in Calgary, Avenue Magazine’s 2018 Alberta Beer Awards Winners for Canadian Cereal Ale, Farmhouse Ale, IPA and Stout
Where To Stay in Calgary on Your Food Trip
Looking for where to stay in Calgary for checking out best restaurants? Here are some of the best hotels in Calgary that I’ve found.
I’ve included Booking.com and Agoda links so you can check for pricing and availability.
- Hotel Fairmont Palliser (Booking.com / Agoda)
- Hotel Le Germain Calgary (Booking.com / Agoda)
- Delta Hotels by Marriott Calgary Downtown (Booking.com / Agoda)
- Hyatt Regency Calgary (Booking.com / Agoda)
- Calgary Marriott Downtown Hotel (Booking.com / Agoda)
- Best Western Plus Suites Downtown Calgary (Booking.com / Agoda)
MAP: Best Calgary Restaurants
Here’s a map of all the best restaurants in Calgary covered in this food guide.
Hope this food guide gives you an idea on where to eat and drink in Calgary!
I’m always looking to add more places to eat and drink in Calgary for my next visit.
Please let me know what you find are the best restaurants in Calgary including fine dining, fast food, cafes and bars.