Recommend a restaurant: Edmonton Edition

[adidas]

Looking for a special occasion restaurant, with preference given to Italian, French, Japanese, Mediterranean cuisine but I am open to other suggestions.

If there are places that serve exceptional sushi, I'd like to know about it. Tapas and Fusion style restaurants are also welcome.

In order of importance:
1. Clean
2. Food
3. Service
4. Decor

[Phihalo]

try this place, not exactly in edmonton, but only 20min drive to sherwood park. Think it suited your preference quite well :D

http://www.sumosumosushi.com/

[littledan]

Originally posted by adidas
Looking for a special occasion restaurant, with preference given to Italian, French, Japanese, Mediterranean cuisine but I am open to other suggestions.

If there are places that serve exceptional sushi, I'd like to know about it. Tapas and Fusion style restaurants are also welcome.

In order of importance:
1. Clean
2. Food
3. Service
4. Decor

Italian : Sicilian Pasta Kitchen - Jasper ave @ 112 ST - best is mussels in wine sauce and the cavatoni bolognese
Parlour - 103 Ave @ 108 St : this just opened by the century group of restaurants. brought their pizziolo from italy

French: The Marc - 100 Ave @ 107 St. Great steak frites and they have tartar etc

Japanese : Sumo Sumo is alright. mikado south edmonton common is pretty good (don't go downtown it is dirtier than miley cyrus) wasabi southside has good reviews.

A great restaurant that just opened is tavern 1903. its on jasper ave at 98 st. The old alberta hotel was rebuilt by gene dub and this restuarant has great atmosphere and terrific food.

Another great italian place is corso 32, but good luck getting a reso there LOL

[blainer]

Here's my thoughts on the Edmonton restaurant scene.

Can I ask what kind of occasion is this? A suggestion for a family dinner will be different than say a romantic dinner for two

XIX has been getting rave reviews (SW corner of the city).
Brand new restaurant, no specific style to the cuisine and decor is awesome. Not sure about service, but am going there this weekend.

Range Road is on the outskirt of DT, new as well. All farm to table ingredients with a fine dining atmosphere. Visiting for the first time on Weds will also follow up.

Sabor Divino (Italian) is awesome located in central DT. Clean, stylish, very good place to sit down at 7 and leave at 11 kind of deal. Pianist on the weekends

Packrat Louie (French) on whyte fills all of your requirements and the servers are all older and very good at what they do.

Sushi - Japonais Bistro - Sweet decor
Tapas - Tzin - Super romantic
Odd ball suggestion - The Melting Pot

Classic Edmonton choices - La ronde, The harvest room, and Zinc.

[B.Spilner]

Nelo's in St. Albert.

Small Italian restaurant. Great atmosphere and unbelievable food, get ready to wait 30 min after you order though, it will be a well worth it!

[adidas]

Fantastic suggestions so far guys, lots of restaurants to choose from.

Blanier, its a birthday dinner (for 2) prior to attending a concert.

[dj_rice]

For sushi, Japonais Bistro is pretty nice. Good recommendation from above. Good food and good decor. They have a "omikasi" lunch special. $20/person and they give you 8-10 small tapas plates of stuff.
Another good place I like is Shogun Sushi.

For lebanese food, give Park Allen a try.

[JustinL]

Izakaya Tomo: Great Authentic Japanese food on the south side.
http://www.urbanspoon.com/r/131/1686011/restaurant/Heritage-Calgary-Trail/Izakaya-Tomo-Edmonton

The Upper Crust is another one of my favorites. It's just north of Whyte ave on 109th Street.

http://www.urbanspoon.com/r/131/1349075/restaurant/University-Old-Strathcona/Upper-Crust-Cafe-Caterers-Edmonton

[swak]

I've been a big fan of the "sugar bowl" when I go up - fantastic beer menu, good meals, and well priced actually... Downside its really small - so best to go in the summer when the patios open (which dbl's the size of the restaurant).

... Oh, and their bread pudding is amazing!!

[Neil4Speed]

Sugar Bowl is great, their breakfast is aweseome. Edmonton has surprisingly a great food scene.

Packrat Louie is one of my favorites if your into finer dining.

[EM2FTL]

x100 for Corso 32 - best restaurant in the city.

Niche was good 6-8 months ago but the awesome chef has departed, not sure if it's still on the same level.

I tried Canteen last month, wasn't very impressed with it.

Wildflower Grill has a good rep but the food is kind of boring IMO.

Il Pasticcio (same ownership as Nellos) is great for heavier Italian as well.

^All of those are downtown

[JustinL]

Another downtown mexican hipster joint I tried a couple months ago was Tres Carnales. Smaller portions; my wife and I needed 3 plates for the 2 of us. But we really enjoyed it.

http://www.urbanspoon.com/r/131/1604611/restaurant/Downtown/Tres-Carnales-Taqueria-Edmonton

[Strider]

Originally posted by littledan
A great restaurant that just opened is tavern 1903. its on jasper ave at 98 st. The old alberta hotel was rebuilt by gene dub and this restuarant has great atmosphere and terrific food.

+1

Kind of an interesting atmosphere... (in a good way).. There was lots of people dressed to the nines, and a few tables of hipsters wearing plaid and toques.

The food was amazing though.



Originally posted by JustinL
Another downtown mexican hipster joint I tried a couple months ago was Tres Carnales. Smaller portions; my wife and I needed 3 plates for the 2 of us. But we really enjoyed it.

This place is okay... not great. Definitely not what OP is after though.

[USED1]

One of my favourite places to go is Hardware Grill, it is also downtown. A little on the expensive side but well worth it.

[EM2FTL]

+2 for 1903 - it's actually run by the same people who do Hardware Grill (they're a half a block apart).

Also -1 for Tres Carnales (sorry Justin lol). Went there once and tried three dishes, the only decent one was the fish tacos. It's usually lined up out the door at lunch so it appeals to some people at least.

Right next door in Rice Howard Way is a little place called It's All Greek to Me - some of the best Greek in the city IMO.

[littledan]

RGE RD is really really good. mmmm. highly recommend. it's the old blue pear location. i think there is about 15-20 seats tops in the place.

Another challanger for best rest in the city is red ox inn.

[shakalaka]

Which one of these restaurants is a good suggestion for a romantic date/dinner?

[K3RMiTdot]

Originally posted by shakalaka
Which one of these restaurants is a good suggestion for a romantic date/dinner?

Corso 32

[JustinL]

Originally posted by EM2FTL

Also -1 for Tres Carnales (sorry Justin lol). Went there once and tried three dishes, the only decent one was the fish tacos. It's usually lined up out the door at lunch so it appeals to some people at least.

Fair enough. Variety is the spice of life.

[stealth]

For Mediterranian (Lebanese) go to Phoenicia. Very nice place and great food.

[EM2FTL]

Originally posted by blainer

Range Road is on the outskirt of DT, new as well. All farm to table ingredients with a fine dining atmosphere. Visiting for the first time on Weds will also follow up.


How was it?

[Supa Dexta]

Im in edm right now if anyone wants to take me out on a dry run before taking their wife or gf. :love: Im also available for breakfasts and lunches.

[blainer]

Originally posted by EM2FTL


How was it?



It was awesome, between my good friends and I. A few of us including myself say it was one of the best meals we have had at restaurant.

We all had the Road Trip which is a 6 course sampling of the menu. 2 appetizers, 3 entrees, and a dessert course. Opted for the wine pairing with every course and I strongly suggest you do so as well.

Definitely one of the more expensive meals you can find in Edmonton, and I highly recommend experiencing it once.

Quick Review
Food - 10/10 I personally enjoy doing a road trip style of dining at a high end restaurant because it lets the chef really demonstrate their skill and passion. Like I said earlier, incredible in terms of taste. All 6 of us 25 y/o men were by no means stuffed after the meal but, we didn't come here for value.
1st - Arugula and beet salad
2nd - Sweet potatoes with a walnut crust and a incredible mushroom ragout
3rd - Sablefish
4th - Beef
5th - Moose and Elk stips in baby potatoes (moose liver on a piece of toast as well)
6th - Brownie with creme fraiche
My favorites were the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th courses, never tasted food that good.

Service - 9/10 I have a hard time saying service was perfect, however its a small restaurant and you have your main server who does the presentation and description of your entree. You are basically looked after by all the front of house staff as waters were constantly filled and plates taken away promptly after everyone was complete (a pet peeve of mine). I don't remember our fellows name, however he was a young man with square glasses, very entertaining with his dish descriptions.

Decor - Very suiting for the name and type of restaurant. Tables are all thick solid farm tables with antler chandeliers above.

So the evening with $160 all in. Will not being running bac

[blainer]

Originally posted by blainer


So the evening with $160 all in. Will not being running bac

Sorry didn't finish the sentence.

Will not be running back, however will likely go back to this place in the summer do experience the chefs dishes with the ingredients available to him then.

[EM2FTL]

I tried to get in last night, the only res they had was for 5 or 530 though. Thanks for the review, ii'll be checking it out soon.

[Mack10]

I like the revolving restaurant at the top of Chateau Lacombe hotel in downtown. Great live band playing soft jazz and good view of the whole city. Food is a bit expensive but definitely worth it.

[statick]

No shouts for Manor Bistro or Red Ox Inn, yet? Both of these places are quite good and meet your criteria. Normand's on Jasper is also solid.

I concur with what has been said about Corso 32 and Rge Rd. There are lots of great choices for dining in Edmonton.

Personally, I found XIX, La Ronde and Hardware Grill to be fairly mediocre. Tavern 1903 has a lot going for it, but the service good certainly have been better.

[ipeefreely]

Originally posted by statick
Normand's on Jasper is also solid.
X2

We go for my wife's birthday every year in November for the wild game menu!! :drool: The service can get a little slow when they fill up so we usually go early.

My pick... Bistro Praha (http://bistropraha.com/page/about/) on 101St downtown.

They do Czech and eastern European style dishes. They also have lots of other European beers that aren't on their menu (just ask! :thumbsup: ).

The Steak a la Tartare is excellent! :drool: The service can only be described as terrible but the food is so good we can't stop coming back! :rofl:

We'd go maybe once a month when my wife lived a block away but we only go maybe 2 or 3 times a year now... :cry:

[ipeefreely]

Originally posted by littledan
RGE RD is really really good. mmmm. highly recommend. it's the old blue pear location. i think there is about 15-20 seats tops in the place.

Another challanger for best rest in the city is red ox inn.
My wife and I only went to the Blue Pear once before it closed! :cry: I had to take half my food home there was so much (we did the five course and my wife did the wine pairing as well). Excellent food! :) We'll have to try out RGE RD after reading blainer's review! :thumbsup:

I've only been to the Red Ox Inn as kid so can't really remember how it was! :rofl: I've been meaning to try it out (again) but never get around to it! :facepalm:

Oh ya, one more... Louisiana Purchase (http://www.louisianapurchase.ca/) on 111St if you like Cajun food! :thumbsup:

[blainer]

Back with a tale from XIX.

The decor of the place is modern, clean, and simplistic. I like how there's basically a large glass pane into the kitchen from the dining room. We got a tour of the kitchen after the meal so can certainly say it's a clean kitchen.

Food - I would basically call it creative versions of the stuff you normally expect to see on a higher end menu. Appetizers were the crab cakes, tuna twist (highly recommend), scallops, and green salad. All quite tasty, I call them creative as I will use the crab cakes as an example. The 3 crab cakes had a sauce underneath each one, pea puree sauce on one side, brushetta on the other and a mix of the two under the center cake. Like I said all tasted very good. The scallops were cooked perfectly and tasted great with the cauliflower puree.
My entree was the tenderloin, they have a interesting way of cooking their meats which I've never hear of before. They cook the meat in a 63 degree bath and then simply finish it on the grill. My beef was perfectly med rare throughout and tasted great with the tomato ragout. The sea bass, lamb, and gnocchi were all cooked perfectly and tasted great, just no revolutionary flavours.

Service - The service was pretty good, our waiter knew the menu inside and out, explained how they cook the meat very well. He kept on top of our 8 person table. The fellow had a decent understanding of wine in general but didn't really provide much direction with their selection and suggest pairings to our food. We by no means cheap out on the wine and there was lots going around the table. As such the fellow was definitely going for the up-sell. Don't blame the guy as I used to serve, but would try to be more discreet about it. That's my only complaint. He was nice enough to get our cabs all lined up so he's a very good waiter, just needs to up his wine knowledge.

Prices are on par with the type of place I'd say, $20 appetizer and $40 entrees, the location is way out there in SW Edmonton by the Henday. Still recommend this to anyone looking for a solid meat meal

[BenC]

Every time I head up there I make sure to go to Pampas

It's a nice brazillian bbq. Really nice place and great food.

[statick]

Originally posted by ipeefreely

Oh ya, one more... Louisiana Purchase (http://www.louisianapurchase.ca/) on 111St if you like Cajun food! :thumbsup:

This place isn't bad, but I'd say Dadeo is a bit better, albeit a tad more casual. I haven't yet tried Packrat Louie, though.

[Weapon_R]

I'd recommend tasty tomato. An authentic Italian hole in the wall with excellent food IMO.

If you want to stay central I like Sicilian pasta kitchen.

[Supa Dexta]

Originally posted by blainer
My entree was the tenderloin, they have a interesting way of cooking their meats which I've never hear of before. They cook the meat in a 63 degree bath and then simply finish it on the grill.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sous-vide