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View Full Version : Review: Q Haute Cuisine



xolemonteaox
09-18-2012, 03:20 PM
Q Haute Cuisine
100 La Caille place S.W, Calgary, AB
(403) 262-5554

Food Rating: 9/10
Ambience: 7.5/10
Service: 9/10

I know many people may have heard of Q or have been here before, but with the recent request from people about fine dining places or Q itself, I thought it would be nice to do a review and have some pictures (I do apologize for the pictures, I was at a window seat and the sun was setting)! I prefer the dark, woody look before the renovation than the white, modern look they have now. It doesn’t look as elegant or romantic as it used to.
I’ve been here numerous of times and have not been let down. This is by far my favorite fine dining place. The last time I visited Q was at the end of June. We had the 7 course + wine pairing.

Started off with a palate cleanser; beet Juice and beet mousse. It was unique, but I didn’t like it. Not much of a beet person.
http://imageshack.us/a/img717/8431/p1000272n.jpg
We then had a number of finger food. The first one was a cracker with very light cheese, salmon and garnish. The cracker was very light and crumbly, the salmon wasn’t too salty. I don’t remember what the second item was…sorry. Lastly, it was again, cheese. I’m a cheese lover, so I adored the third dish, but it may be too much cheese if you don’t like cheese as much as it was quite a mouthful.
http://imageshack.us/a/img9/2734/p1000277u.jpghttp://imageshack.us/a/img88/2249/p1000278n.jpghttp://imageshack.us/a/img9/7004/p1000279j.jpg
The soup was very thick and creamy. The sausage and the soup complimented each other quite well. The pate alone isn’t as rich as the other ones I’ve had, which was good. With the garnishes (the balsamic, the cream on the side), it enhances the flavor of the pate. I really liked the risotto. It was really rich; you can taste the truffle oil, the creamy-ness, the mushroom. The texture was perfect, it wasn’t mushy nor was it undercooked.
http://imageshack.us/a/img201/1575/p1000282j.jpghttp://imageshack.us/a/img339/2738/p1000283hr.jpghttp://img834.imageshack.us/img834/5554/p1000285n.jpg

The salmon was very unique, it had a foam on the top, a jelly layer, and then the salmon. The salmon was very moist and easy to cut. Everything complimented each other very well. The foam surprisingly had a lot of flavor to it and it brings out the flavor of the salmon.
http://imageshack.us/a/img145/6257/p1000286.jpg

This wasn’t that memorable, I just remember that it was really hard to eat as the ice cream was really tough and it kept rolling around.
http://imageshack.us/a/img696/5374/p1000288j.jpg

Our main course was a Squab. It was very moist and juicy. Never had a squab before, but I find it a little tougher to cut. Overall, the dish was quite delicious.
http://imageshack.us/a/img26/3778/p1000289r.jpg

Before the dessert was served, we were offered a kitchen tour. The kitchen was SPOTLESS, it was so clean. They showed us how they cook the fish to keep the moisture, in a vacuum sealed bag and boil it. We were offered "dessert lollipops" near the end of the tour.

The dessert was really unique. The chef comes out with liquid nitrogen and he puts whipped cream into it. The texture of the whip cream was really weird, never had anything like it. It was a little pasty but it’s so creamy. This dish was quite heavy as it was nearly a fist-size ball of whip cream. The chocolate dessert was really dark and rich. It wasn’t overly bitter, but the cream inside the chocolate tamed the bitterness.
http://img831.imageshack.us/img831/6033/p1000302x.jpghttp://imageshack.us/a/img140/2316/p1000307e.jpg

I wish I remember what the first one and the last one…but I don’t…sorry…
I do remember that they weren’t too sweet, it was a nice end to a rich and heavy night.
http://imageshack.us/a/img88/6772/p1000313a.jpghttp://imageshack.us/a/img818/8002/p1000314g.jpghttp://imageshack.us/a/img211/7761/p1000315j.jpg

The 7 course tasting menu is $125 per person + $75 per person for the wine pairing. When you go to Q, it's also for the experience in addition to the great food! Just a heads up, if you are doing wine pairing, 7-8 glasses of wine might wipe out your lady friend (as you can see the wine on the table), which may be a good or bad thing ;)
http://imageshack.us/a/img809/130/p1000317t.jpg

natty54
09-18-2012, 03:45 PM
Great place! I loved it when I went there!

Even better if you get the costco voucher :P

http://www.costco.ca/newurl.product.10349456.html

rage2
09-18-2012, 03:49 PM
I was there a few weeks ago. It's the old La Caille On The Bow. I would've given it a 6 for food. Some of the dishes were pretentious for the sake of pretentiousness, and tasted bland. The dessert was amazing though.

On the bright side, La Caille used to be pretty damn expensive, but now called Q, the price was very fair for a high end restaurant.

Just wished the food was better. The place is dead too compared to the old days.

Type_S1
09-18-2012, 04:00 PM
Looks like crap for the price you paid.

AzNxHyDrA
09-18-2012, 04:12 PM
I was just there recently and had relatively the same courses you did.

For your last three pictures, the first one is their take on a PB & J sandwich.

The last one is called "after eight" I think. It was just layers of mint & chocolate.

xolemonteaox
09-18-2012, 04:13 PM
Originally posted by rage2
I would've given it a 6 for food. Some of the dishes were pretentious for the sake of pretentiousness, and tasted bland. The dessert was amazing though. That's very unfortunate to hear...maybe I just got lucky the times I was there.



Originally posted by Type_S1
Looks like crap for the price you paid. Pictures don’t do justice to exemplify the entire experience.

CanmoreOrLess
09-18-2012, 04:24 PM
Last time I ate at one of those places, my brother said, "Looks like we need to swing by McD's on the way home. I'm starving".

bignerd
09-18-2012, 05:08 PM
LaCaille on the Bow has never been the same since they built those condos...

I can remember going there for Christmas dinners in the late '80s and it was good.

Went back once around 2000 and remember the glasses were all dirty, had to send a drink back. Wasn't impressed and haven't been back. For those prices and the review, I think there are probably better places to eat in this city.

Graham_A_M
09-18-2012, 09:59 PM
Hmm, too bad. Looks somewhat decent, but $200/person for the food & wine is a bit much, considering how insanely small the "courses" are.
I was looking forward to trying it out, but I know even after spending that much, Im going to leave quite hungry.
Besides I can think of a lot better places, then to blow $125 eating here, and leave hungry and unsatisfied. :nut:

I'll have to scratch this place off the "to-do" list entirely.

Thanks for the review regardless though.

lilmira
09-18-2012, 10:13 PM
I went there twice about two years ago. Both times were good.
Portion wise, it's on par with typical french cuisine. After an appi, a main and a dessert, I'm quite full. The view is awesome, atmosphere is quite good for dates, lady friend was happy. :dunno:

CompletelyNumb
09-28-2012, 12:40 AM
So roughly $35 per course. Looking at what you recieved, even with the wine and "experience", all I can think is "facepalm". No offense intended for you, moreso the restaurant.

I agree with above, I would leave hungry no doubt.

Good review though, like all the pics actually. How were the wine pairings anyways? Remember any of them?

theken
09-28-2012, 01:06 AM
Here is where I would spend $400
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