While they’ve been out of commission or inaccessible for the past couple of months, Calgarians will be happy to know that once they get back out there, begin dining and drinking again, the city has some of the best Canada has to offer.
Canada’s 100 Best have announced their list of the finest flavour purveyors in both the food and booze worlds across the country and there are many local haunts making the list.
Topping the list of restaurants is Toronto eatery Alo, which offers Japanese to French and North American” faire. That edged out Vancouver’s St. Lawrence, which specializes “classical French and traditional Québécois cuisines,” and at No. 3 is Montreal “culinary institution” Joe Beef.
Calgary faves soon follow, though, with Bar Von Der Fels coming in at No. 13 with their seafood-heavy menu courtesy chef Douglas King. Right behind in 14th spot is Darren MacLean’s Shokunin — the restaurant that launched the chef who would go on to appear in cooking show The Final Table before also opening Nupo and the very, very small dining experience Eight.
Other local digs getting their due are: Bridgette Bar at 35, Ten Foot Henry at 41, Foreign Concept and Pigeonhole at 50 and 51 respectively, Model Milk at 77, Lulu Bar at 79, Rouge at 95 and the beloved River Cafe tops things off in the 100 spot.
On the list of Canada’s 50 Best Bars, 1st Street S.W. cocktail confectionary Proof places at No. 5, while Hawthorn hits No. 37 and things are rounded out by Untitled Champagne Lounge in the 50th spot.
The rankings for the restaurants are “based on (Canada’s 100 Best) poll of our national panel of 103 judges, who each submitted a ranked list of their top ten dining experiences of 2019,” while the bars were ranked from the “top five bar experiences in 2019” that 51 judges from across the nation sounded off on.
Full lists for both can be found at https://canadas100best.com/.
