If you missed these new Calgary eateries, now's the time to try them
We're halfway through 2025 and, while the explosion in new restaurants has slowed somewhat, we thought we'd summarize some worth trying. Our food writer, Elizabeth Chorney-Booth, has covered all of them, so this is just a sample of some of her picks. Keep watching these pages weekly to see what else she uncovers for the second half of the year.
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The first option is temporary, so make sure to make tracks to Love Damian. A pop-up in the Meat and Bread sandwich shop. The food is relatively unfussy northern Italian fare, created in homage to Kyle Opel's family background and time spent eating and enjoying life in the province of Parma.
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The menu is intentionally small – there's only so much Opel and his one other chef can do behind the sandwich counter, so simplicity is key, but every dish packs flavour and finesse. Start with 18-hour fermented focaccia, impossibly crisp on the top and light as air in the middle, with a choice of dip ($6). There's a traditional family recipe for handmade anolini pasta, stuffed with braised beef and swimming in a fragrant chicken broth ($22), heirloom carrots laid over a bed of housemade ricotta and spiced up with hot honey and Calabrian chilies ($19), beef and pork two-sheet lasagna brilliantly designed so that every piece is like a crispy corner piece ($28) and a perfectly cooked piece of cod with Swiss chard, potatoes, and grapes ($38).
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We're headed into a new era of craft distilleries here in Calgary. The latest is the ambitious True Wild Distilling, a grand facility located in a beautifully renovated 1911 historic electrical substation building.
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Unfortunately, none will be available for at least half a decade. True Wild's Bryce Parsons wants to ensure he only puts the label on the best of the best, which means a five or six-year wait.
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In the interim, they're showcasing True Wild's dedication to luxury and quality with a surprisingly excellent new on-site restaurant.
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While the facility certainly fits the bill when it comes to looking like a stately den for well-heeled imbibers, it's the food that seals the deal here. For appetizers, there's an outstanding beef tartare covered by a haystack of fried potatoes ($24), lengths of bone marrow paired with malted barley sourdough toast ($22), and both raw and baked oysters ($4/$8 each, respectively). The entrees, unsurprisingly, skew towards large-format meats, with choices like a formidable half-kilo dry-aged sirloin ($90), a lamb shoulder chop with charred pickled carrots ($42) or grilled rainbow trout with spiced brown butter emulsion ($40). Yes, there are vegetables: the smoked cauliflower with garlic dressing and soy whip ($18) is just as good as anything from the meat section.
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