Each year, we ask Avenue readers to vote for their favourite restaurants in Calgary in our Best Restaurants readers’ choice ballot. These are some of their favourite places in the city.
Winner
River Café
River Café has been a Calgary staple for more than three decades. While the restaurant’s dining room offers a cozy dining option year-round, the patio overlooking Prince’s Island Park provides a beautiful dining experience in the spring and summer. No matter when you visit, beautifully plated seasonal dishes made with local ingredients await.
25 Prince’s Island, 403-261-7670, river-cafe.com, @rivercafeyyc
Runners-up
Major Tom
Reservations book up weeks in advance for this downtown restaurant, and it’s not hard to see why. Located 40 floors above Stephen Avenue, Major Tom offers spectacular views of the city during the day and evening. Have your pick of hors d’oeuvres like the potato doughnuts or the crab and shrimp roll before trying the restaurant’s beef program, which features Alberta and A5 Wagyu beef.
700 2 St. S.W. (40th floor), majortombar.ca, @themajortombar
Barbarella Bar
At Barbarella Bar, escape the daily hustle and bustle by indulging in coastal Italian cuisine. Delivering “sun-drenched food” directly to your table, Barbarella offers everything from small plates of 30-month aged prosciutto or crispy calamari to larger dishes such as pizza, pasta, roasted tiger shrimp and spicy coppa calzoni.
240 8 Ave. S.W., 403-888-1658, barbarellabar.ca, @thebarbarellabar
King Eddy
This restaurant and music venue has something for everyone, including delicious food, live concerts and a bit of Calgary history. Tuck into dishes like char siu barbecue pork sliders, a capricciosa flatbread, beef short rib, fried chicken and more, then stick around to catch one of the many live music performances that take place every week.
438 9 Ave. S.E., 403-829-6016, kingeddy.ca, @kingeddyyyc
FinePrint
Located in the former home of the Calgary Herald on Stephen Avenue, FinePrint offers a cool nod to Calgary’s storytelling history with your night out. Menu items like the Alberta bison tartare, lobster risotto and Brome Lake duck breast duo demonstrate the restaurant’s commitment to providing a delicious and sophisticated dining experience.
113 8 Ave. S.W., 403-475-5655, fineprintyyc.com, @fineprintyyc
Hy’s Steakhouse & Cocktail Bar
Hy’s has been a Calgary staple for 70 years. Step into the sophisticated dining room for a quintessential steakhouse experience featuring dishes like oysters Rockefeller, beef Wellington, Prime Grade steaks and more. Make your evening extra memorable by ordering one of the dishes that are prepared tableside, including the Caesar salad, steak tartare, steak Diane and bananas Foster.
Inside The Core, 8 Ave. and 3 St. S.W., 403-6633363, hyssteakhouse.com, @hyssteakhouse