Eat with ambiance: Calgary restaurants with great atmosphere
When you’re shelling out for a restaurant meal the quality of the food is obviously important, but so is the experience. Some restaurants just feel good. These Calgary spots offer both great meals and appealing atmosphere for an always-special dining experience. [Image: Bow Valley Ranche Restaurant]
Model Milk
307 17 Ave SW, Calgary, AB T2S 0A8In a building that was originally a creamery, Model Milk’s interior pays tribute to the room’s industrial roots with an exposed brick feature wall, some vintage touches and a cool multi-level design. The room is gorgeous, but the atmosphere is really heightened by the music – a turntable and vinyl collection on the mezzanine level provide a perfect soundtrack for fun dining.
Bonterra Restaurant Ltd
1016 8 St SW, Calgary, AB T2R 1K2Bonterra Trattoria is a lovely Italian-style dining room, and, in the warm months, the restaurant’s heart is in its back patio, which has the feel of a Tuscan oasis. With overhead vegetation hanging from the pergola, an outdoor fireplace and heaters that lengthen the eatery’s outdoor-dining season, there is no better place to enjoy a plate of pasta and a fine glass of wine, indoors or out.
Rouge
1240 8 Ave SE, Calgary, AB T2G 0M7Ensconced in a heritage home right on the Bow River, Rouge features atmosphere that’s a match for its spectacular food. The restaurant’s individual rooms make for homey, intimate meals. If the weather is nice, take a stroll through the secluded side-yard garden to cap off your meal.
Yellow Door Bistro
119 12 Ave SW, Calgary, AB T2R 0G8Hotel restaurants aren’t typically known for their atmosphere, but this eatery in Hotel Arts is a different beast. Decorated with distressed wood shutters and doors that create a dynamic feel in the large room, the atmosphere is quirky, cosmopolitan and relaxed all at the same time.
Bow Valley Ranche Restaurant
15979 Bow Bottom Trail SE, Calgary, AB T2J 7A7This restaurant in Fish Creek Provincial Park is housed in one of the city’s finest historical homes, a handsome ranch house formerly inhabited by Senator Patrick Burns. These days, it’s an elegant dining destination with romantic atmosphere and a big verandah that faces south onto the park.
Custom Kitchen
113-1803 60 St Se, Calgary, AB T2B 0M5With its black-and-white checkered floors, white subway-tiled walls and giant portrait of Serge Gainsbourg in the back, everything about Parc feels authentically French. With a menu featuring French mainstays like beef tartare, steak frites and cassoulet, the look of the place accentuates the spirit of the food.
Teatro
200 8 Ave SE, Calgary, AB T2G 0K7Housed in the grand Dominion Bank building (the wine cellar is in the old vault!) with high ceilings, white columns and smooth marble surfaces, Teatro is one of Calgary’s most elegant dining spaces. Pair your dinner reservation with a concert or a night at the theatre (Arts Commons is located directly across the street), and you’ve got yourself a dream date.
Ox Bar De Tapas
528 17 Ave SW, Calgary, AB T2S 0B1Originally conceived to have both a light and a dark side, Ox and Angela is split into two halves, both serving flavourful Spanish tapas. While each side does have a slightly unique vibe, they’re both decorated with bulls, hearts and Spanish-themed knickknacks that create a kitschy-chic effect.
Hy's Steakhouse
116-751 3 St SW, Calgary, AB T2P 4K8Although Hy’s current incarnation is relatively new, the room reflects the restaurant’s history in Calgary, where the small, upscale steakhouse chain was established in 1955. With dark wood, red velvet banquettes and tableside Caesar salad and flambé service, Hy’s old-school Mad Men-esque touches make it a luxurious blast from the past.
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