Visiting Calgary - BYOW Resto Recommendations?

[Manytimesworthwhile]

Hello,
I will be in Calgary for 1 week.
Can anyone recommend any quaint Restaurants? and BYOW?
Thank you for your responses,
have a good day

[seemac70]

Teatro...

No corkage Sunday nights. Chef's 3 course tasting menu 49 bucks a cover!

It's right on Olympic Plaza. It's one of the finer spots in town.

http://www.teatro-rest.com/stimulus.html

A few deals on the go. I like it, they have the guts to go after new guests, and reward regulars when time are a little tougher!

[pants]

very cool - i especially like the 50% off drinks and bottles during the week.

i've always wanted to try that place but I didn't know anyone with an expense account :)
now i'll have to check it out!

[lynnrb]

I would also try Mercato, my preference is going there for lunch. Bistro 2210 does a decent Sunday brunch (not sure if you are here on weekend) as does River Cafe which is a cafe on Prince's island Park (downtown Calgary) a pleasant walk from Eau Claire Market. Dinner I would choose Alloy but it depends on how you are getting around as it's a bit of a challenge without a car -- everything is pretty spread out in Calgary! Calgary not suffering much in this downturn so things like corkage still exist here as do some pretty high end prices. Je suis né à Montréal. Amusez-vous pendant que vous êtes ici.

[ennui]

Teatro also offers free corkage on Sundays, I've heard. I would suggest calling before you bring wine to any restaurant (except maybe St. Germain) just to confirm it is acceptable. A lot of restaurants do not allow corkage at all, even for a fee. Corkage fees usually go for $15-25 per bottle.

[Manytimesworthwhile]

wow, $!

[Manytimesworthwhile]

Hello Lynn,
I'm flying out to Calgary tomorrow (thursday night), I will be there for this upcoming weekend. My sister lives in the SouthWest area, and has a car, and is on vacation for the next week. Sunday brunch is a nice idea, I hadn't thought of it. Which resto offers a good brunch for a decent price?
thank you for the well wishes!

[John Manzo]

Southwest is huge, about a third of the city resides in SW- do you know what neighbourhood? We might give you walking distance recs or wine shops...

[Manytimesworthwhile]

Hi John,
Just called her, she says she lives southwest, downtown. 15th avenue southwest.
does this help?

[John Manzo]

Oh my yes- that would be just 2 short blocks north of 17th Avenue which has a ton of good restaurants- I mentioned Cilantro earlier, that's at 17th Ave just east of 4 St SW and it's a few doors east of The Wine Shop, a superb shop (according to my amateur-sommelier partner)... She should of course be as familiar with the area as I am :-)

[miss.foodie]

I personally really enjoy Diner Deluxe on Edmonton Trail. On weekends, there's usually quite the line up although it does move fairly quickly.. but count on waiting around 45 mins or so. The breakfast is pretty gourmet and prices are fairly reasonable.

www.dinerdeluxe.com

[pants]

lots of places will have corkage fees but - St. Germain in Hotel Arts has free corkage every day and a different set menu for $39 each night as well. Big Fish also has a free night but I forget which day it is...Sunday or Monday comes to mind...River Cafe has free corkage on sunday nights as well. http://www.localwineevents.com/Calgar... there are a couple others listed on the link that tell you what the corkage fees are - on that list PiqNiq, River Cafe and Farm might be good choices

[Manytimesworthwhile]

Thank you for the information.
Have you dined at the St. Germain in Hotel Arts? which of these resto do you recommend food wise?

[pants]

i have had the set menu at St Germain - it was really nice and no attitude about having our own wine (which i have experienced in the past). we called ahead to see what the meal was, went to our favorite wine store and asked for pairing help - went away with a couple beautiful bottles of wine and a great meal. i wish more places offered it!

[Manytimesworthwhile]

I'm sorry tohear that you've experienced attitude when bringing your own wine to a resto. Thats terrible! I will definately eat at St Germain when I get to Calgary!
:)

[John Manzo]

Well I'll be darned- I had no idea we had so much free corkage!

[John Manzo]

Quaint? Divino, Artisan Bistro, Chef's Table, Muse, Sugo, Capo, La Vita e Bella, Cilantro, Rasoi, The Lougheed House, Jacqueline Suzanne's Bistro, Aida's, Bistro 2210, An Ju, Noon BIstro... not sure which offer corkage but you might make some calls.

[Manytimesworthwhile]

Hi John,
thank you for providing so many suggestions!
I live in Montreal where around almost every corner there is a BYOW resto
;)
I heard that in other parts of the country, resto's can charge a "corkage fee" hope thats not the case in Calgary.
Thanks again,

[John Manzo]

You're very welcome!

Montreal doesn't charge for corkage???? That's like letting customers bring in their own food- that's nuts.

[Manytimesworthwhile]

Hello John,
no, Montreal BYOW Restos do not charge $ for corkage.
In Montreal, you can go into a resto with 10 ppl with10 bottles of wine, and only pay for the meal. The average price for a main dish at a BYOW resto is approx $10-$15. 1 Appetizer + main meal + sharing a dessert will cost less than $30 per person, and you have your own wine! The first time I heard "corking charge" term was in Toronto, I thought the concept was ridiculous!
:)