With many Calgarians working from the comfort of their suburban homes in recent years, food and beverage outlets have been hit hard, especially downtown. Coupled with heavy inflation, it will take some time for Calgary’s great food and beverage scene to fully recover. However, there is reason for hope with exciting new openings such as restaurants Major Tom, DOP and Pat and Betty along with bars Shelter and Missy’s This That.

Below you will find my favorite food and drink experiences categorized by cocktails, beer, coffee and food.

Cocktails

Missy’s This That

If you know you know. Missy’s This That is Calgary’s industry darling thanks to the best value spirits and wine menu in Western Canada. Coupled with the positive energy of the staff, it’s no surprise that hospitality professionals love stopping by on their off days. Missy’s keeps things simple with an understated decor but executes food and drink to perfection. Well-balanced drinks, great wines, beers, and spirits and the best cheese plate in town. I suggest stopping by Missy’s during the day for its great natural lighting and a view of Calgary’s hip Mission neighborhood.

Shelter YYC

Shelter instantly became a fixture on my Calgary bar itinerary thanks to their delightfully friendly bar team of Paulina Arteaga Vazquez, Ryan San Diego and Aminah Malik. Shelter is a hidden bar that “exists for the weary urban traveler to step into a new world”. I wonder - did they build this bar for me? Shelter offers a mix of prohibition style classics and modern (and exquisite) signature drinks with pop up Tokyo Chopsticks doing dinner service from Tuesday to Saturday.. The interior is dark and moody, with a wall of gas masks behind the back bar and an impressive light fixture with over 5,000 individually hung bulbs, reminiscent of the legendary Operation Dagger in Singapore. Cocktails are anything but gloomy, with an emphasis on agave given head bartender Paulina’s Mexican roots.

Proof YYC

In terms of international fame, Proof is surely the most recognizable name on the Calgary bar scene. Although you may be fooled into thinking Proof is a whiskey bar with the dozens of barrel aged whiskey cocktails on display, they actually do a wide range of cocktails, from stirred and boozy classics to fun tiki style drinks.

Major Tom

Overlooking the downtown Calgary from the 40th floor of Stephen Avenue Place, Major Tom is one of Canada’s most talked about new openings. More restaurant that bar, Major Tom was awarded the best new restaurant in the 2022 edition of Canada's 100 Best Restaurants and best restaurant bar in 2023. The 1960s-inspired room with floor-to-ceiling windows was inspired by American novelist and bon vivant Truman Capote, known for his great mind and sense of humor, but also his ability to party hard.

The bar counter and back bar at Major Tom is stunning, and I enjoyed my well-balanced Manhattan (pictured below) and the Cocktail #41 with Los Siete Misterios mezcal, coffee liqueur, acid blend, Mole bitters and a cute Campari glass Jolly Rancher style garnish.

Cardinale

Cardinale is one of Calgary’s favorite Italian restaurant bars thanks to a fun staff, cool atmosphere, and the kitchen’s clever twists on Italian classics such as a carbonara with egg yolk, bone marrow and double smoked bacon. But given that I live in Italy, I opted instead for purely liquid experience at Cardinale. I loved the spicy and complex Born to Love Volcanos with jalapeno infused tequila reposado, Los Siete Misterios mezcal, casoni bitter, aperol, sage, sumac kiwi bitters, and jalapeno.

Cannibale

In the residential Bridgeland area is Cannibale, a classic neighborhood bar offering great Mexican food, well-made classic cocktails and a welcoming atmosphere with dope music. Bartender Andrew made me two outstanding drinks, and Old Pal and a Gold Rush. For dinner, I ordered the exquisite beef barbacoa tacos with Alberta AAA beef brisket, potato, avocado, feta, cilantro, Chimichurri sauce on a corn tortilla, Before or after you get your drink on, you can even get your hair and beard cut by their in-house barber.

Craft Beer

With a change in Alberta's restrictions on beer output for breweries, many new craft brewers have opened up this year. According to those in the know, the best ones are Cabin Brewing, Eighty Eight, Annex Ale Project and Vancouverite 33 Acres

Annex is in the Parkhill area of Calgary (SE). The hipster-friendly brewery is decorated in a minimalist style with a monolith-style backbar dominating the room. I tried 5 of the beers, with my favorites being their Metes and Bounds XPA, Bitter Division North American bitter and Sound and Fury IPA.

COFFEE

David Kim Coffee/Butter Block Bakery and Cafe

After starting his career in Korea in 2010, David Kim eventually moved to Canada in 2012 and eventually was hired at Phil & Sebastian in 2012. From there, David started to compete in national and international barista competitions, which inspired him to open his own roastery and coffee shop in Calgary in 2019. Dubbed David Kim Coffee, his roastery was housed together with Eight Ounce, which stocks everything a modern barista can dream of.

David has now moved to a new location at 908 17 Ave SW, partnering with Butter Block Bakery.

Phil & Sebastian coffee roasters / Sidewalk citizen bakery (Simmons Building)

In the beautiful and historic Simmons building, you can find great baked goods from Sidewalk Citizen and excellent coffee from Phil and Sebastian, Alberta's best known specialty roaster. For now, Phil and Sebastian only offer batch brew and espresso, but they plan to soon install their high output automated pourover setup. At Sidewalk Citizen, try any of their sandwiches - the recipes are very peculiar but are usually delicious. Their grilled cheese sandwich, lightly coated with sweet honey is worth the trip alone.

Luke’s Drugmart

At first glance, Luke’s Drug Mart is a records - specialty coffee - soft serve ice cream hipster’s Disneyland. But roam around a bit more to realize that Luke’s is actually a fully-functional drug mart. The Bridgeland business has been family-owned since 1951, making it Calgary’s oldest pharmacy.

FOOD

PURE STREET FOOD

Lam Pham’s Pure Street Food is a contemporary take on casual Vietnamese dishes. Although the dark and plain interior isn’t the most welcoming environment, Pure Vietnamese food will blow your mind. Located at First Street Market, the highlight of the menu is the beef pho with sliced beef, brisket, beef ball, tendon and spicy sate broth. It is the best pho I’ve ever tried thanks to its savory broth. If you can’t eat pho every day, there is always the No. 4 Hu Tieu Mi Kho noodle bowl with char siu pork ground pork, and a crispy pork spring rolls. It’s a drug!

Other great stalls at First Street include Saffron Street (Indian) and Pasta La Mano (Italian with a focus on first courses with handmade pasta).

Pat and Betty

Pat & Betty is a European-style bistro with comfort food inspired by the founders’ mothers, Pat and Betty. This restaurant is ideal for groups and features indulgent food, an impressive wine list and second to none hospitality. Do not miss Nya’s favorite Mezzi Rigatoni with vodka sauce, burrata, chili oil, and fresh basil.

Lonely Mouth

Lonely Mouth is one of my favorite eateries on the overly commercial 17th ave. This Japanese inspired bar serves a variety of dishes but specializes in freshly pulled house-made udon, dumplings and hand rolls. Don’t miss their tasty fresh udon with includes dash, scallion, togarashi, yuzu zest and tempura kasu, the perfect winter comfort food. If you are lucky enough to visit in the summer or possibly during a winter chinook, Lonely Mouth also has a cold udon option. Wash everything down with one of their 50+ sakes on hand or a mizuwari (Japanese whisky and water served on ice). If you’re looking for something Instagram friendly, try their Lonely Mouth sour with shochu, Midori, yuzu, lemon and egg white.

Hayden Block Smoke and Whiskey

For some outstanding Texas BBQ in lively, Kensington neighborhood check out Hayden Block Smoke and Whiskey. The signatures at Hayden are brisket, pork spare ribs and beef short rib. As a side, the green beans are a healthy yet tasty option. Not surprisingly, there is also an impressive selection of whisky (Canadian, Scottish, Irish, American, Japanese) at Hayden, with their american whiskies being the most interesting. Their smoked old fashioned is the most popular cocktail on the menu - for my palate I preferred it with Michter’s rye and half the amount of sugar syrup. For those who prefer staying near 17th ave, there is Comery Block, which offers the Tennessee rendition of BBQ.