ExtraSlow
10-17-2010, 08:14 PM
Restaurant Name: Chef’s Table
Location: Kensington Riverside Inn - 1126 Memorial Drive NW Calgary
Food rating 5/5
Ambiance 5/5
Service 5/5
Value
- Supper - Not rated – See comments
- Breakfast 5/5
My wife and I celebrated our wedding anniversary with a night, and two meals at the Kensington Riverside Inn this past weekend. For the supper, we had pre-arranged to have the chef’s “tasting menu” a five course set menu. We chose to go with the suggested wine pairings as well, a half glass with each course. We started off with a cocktail each, and as we were enjoying those, an amuse bouche arrived, a tiny little beef tarlet. The five courses were; seared tuna on cucumber, risotto, halibut, lamb shank and braised pear. for full menu, see the menu link at the bottom of this post. The food was amazing, and the wine excellently complimented each dish. They served a Pinot noir with the risotto, which is not normally my favourite. As a pairing, they perfectly complimented each other. I had a little wine left over after I was finished the risotto, and I wasn’t a fan of it at all. Which goes to show how well they were paired, that even a wine I wasn’t fond of by itself could be totally transformed by the dish it accompanies.
This is the kind of place where it’s small food on a large plate, but after five courses, we were both excellently full. The dining room is small, only ten tables or so, all with a view into the kitchen. Service was flawless, with each of the staff members stopping by whenever anything was needed, and never interrupting when we were in conversation, or busy with our dishes. I’ve been to restaurants were the servers are almost too attentive, which can be somewhat oppressive. This was the kind of effortless service that really distinguishes true service professionals
For supper, I’m not rating value. Let’s face it, this is expensive, even by 89coupe standards. The bill for two, with cocktails, tasting menu and wine pairings was about three hundred bucks, before tip. For me, this is the kind of meal I’ll be buying once every couple of years, for the most special of occasions. For me, a meal like this isn’t really bought on “value.” Some of the beyond ballers might be eating this every night, who knows.
The next morning, we had breakfast. Wife had the daily omelette, and I had smoked salmon eggs benedict. Both came with fruit and hashed potatoes. The food was absolutely top notch and service was exactly as good as the night before. With tea and juice, the bill was $41 plus tip, which I felt was very reasonable for that quality. As a bonus, we got $40 breakfast voucher with our room, so breakfast was nearly free.
This hotel is now owned by the Hotel Arts Group, if that matters to you.
Kensington Riverside Inn - Chef's Table Linky (http://www.kensingtonriversideinn.com/chefs-table/about-chefs-table.html)
Menus (http://www.kensingtonriversideinn.com/chefs-table/the-menus.html)
Location: Kensington Riverside Inn - 1126 Memorial Drive NW Calgary
Food rating 5/5
Ambiance 5/5
Service 5/5
Value
- Supper - Not rated – See comments
- Breakfast 5/5
My wife and I celebrated our wedding anniversary with a night, and two meals at the Kensington Riverside Inn this past weekend. For the supper, we had pre-arranged to have the chef’s “tasting menu” a five course set menu. We chose to go with the suggested wine pairings as well, a half glass with each course. We started off with a cocktail each, and as we were enjoying those, an amuse bouche arrived, a tiny little beef tarlet. The five courses were; seared tuna on cucumber, risotto, halibut, lamb shank and braised pear. for full menu, see the menu link at the bottom of this post. The food was amazing, and the wine excellently complimented each dish. They served a Pinot noir with the risotto, which is not normally my favourite. As a pairing, they perfectly complimented each other. I had a little wine left over after I was finished the risotto, and I wasn’t a fan of it at all. Which goes to show how well they were paired, that even a wine I wasn’t fond of by itself could be totally transformed by the dish it accompanies.
This is the kind of place where it’s small food on a large plate, but after five courses, we were both excellently full. The dining room is small, only ten tables or so, all with a view into the kitchen. Service was flawless, with each of the staff members stopping by whenever anything was needed, and never interrupting when we were in conversation, or busy with our dishes. I’ve been to restaurants were the servers are almost too attentive, which can be somewhat oppressive. This was the kind of effortless service that really distinguishes true service professionals
For supper, I’m not rating value. Let’s face it, this is expensive, even by 89coupe standards. The bill for two, with cocktails, tasting menu and wine pairings was about three hundred bucks, before tip. For me, this is the kind of meal I’ll be buying once every couple of years, for the most special of occasions. For me, a meal like this isn’t really bought on “value.” Some of the beyond ballers might be eating this every night, who knows.
The next morning, we had breakfast. Wife had the daily omelette, and I had smoked salmon eggs benedict. Both came with fruit and hashed potatoes. The food was absolutely top notch and service was exactly as good as the night before. With tea and juice, the bill was $41 plus tip, which I felt was very reasonable for that quality. As a bonus, we got $40 breakfast voucher with our room, so breakfast was nearly free.
This hotel is now owned by the Hotel Arts Group, if that matters to you.
Kensington Riverside Inn - Chef's Table Linky (http://www.kensingtonriversideinn.com/chefs-table/about-chefs-table.html)
Menus (http://www.kensingtonriversideinn.com/chefs-table/the-menus.html)