Alloy

Food was pretty good but nothing that blew us away. Service was slow, sat for ten minutes after walking in with water and menus only. That set the tone and it didn’t get any better, he took so long after dropping off the dessert menus that we just decided to go home. We wouldn’t go back.

My husband and I went for dinner at Alloy on Friday, March 11. I usually do not write reviews but future diners should be warned. We had high hopes as we heard it was great. We had a reservation for 6:30pm. We were seated promptly by the hostess and it just went downhill from there. It took our waiter almost 15 minutes to take a drink order, we actually contemplated leaving (in hindsight, we should have). When he finally came over, it seemed as if we were an inconvenience by asking about wines etc. We ordered a bottle which took another 10 minutes to get to our table. We were given a specials menu which was not explained at all, even though we told our waiter this was our 1^st visit to Alloy. We ordered the pork belly appetizer, which was very good. We moved on to order our dinner, when I asked for his recommendation, he didn’t seem too sure or knowledgeable about the menu. I ordered the Beef Short Rib which he warned would take 20 minutes and my husband ordered a steak. While we were waiting… the waiter never checked on us… while the table next to us received top notch service from a different waiter… we heard from their table about the specials and wine selection. The restaurant was not busy — lots of empty tables. 20 minutes…30 minutes…40 minutes…50 minutes… an hour later… then our dinner arrived. While the short rib was very tasty, the steak was dry. Had the waiter actually checked on us, he would have known that. The service was so terrible that it overshadowed the experience completely. He never checked back to see how the food was, if we needed another drink or anything. We eat out a lot and normally have dessert. We couldn’t wait to pay the bill and get out of there. Not to mention there was a rowdy table doing shots in the corner, didn’t really seem to fit the ambiance of restaurant. That said, I thought I would contact the restaurant afterwards to tell them how awful our experience was. Well, that was a mistake. I sent an email through their online form. A person named Darren emailed me to ask if we could talk. I don’t know if he was a manager. He asked me to call on Tuesday or Wednesday of the following week, I called, he wasn’t there, I left a message with my number. He never called back. I emailed with my number, he replied and said he was there until the end of the day. I was unable to call him back that day. I emailed again to say when I was available, never heard back, no phone call, no email, no nothing. Now, it would seem to me Darren wasn’t really interested in hearing about our experience. I had refrained from writing about our experience online giving Alloy the benefit of the doubt thinking it was a one off bad experience. After dealing with Darren, I can see that customer service isn’t high on the priority list at Alloy. It’s a shame because the food was good. If our experience had of been handled properly, we would have returned. But not now. I highly doubt the owners would be proud of how this was handled considering what they say on their website about customer service. Don’t waste your money — there are plenty of restaurants in town with excellent food and top quality service. So disappointing.

Went here for dinner last thursday night, and although it was a week night, this place was decently busy. An unexpecting location, this place is definitly trendy, along with a trendy price tag. The two of us both had a starter, the butternut squash soup and the beet salad. I was disappoited with the salad as it had some overly sweet and thick cranberry reduction/​paste that just made the dish far too rich. We shared the steak tartar as an appy, which was a disappointly small portion. We both had the beef tenderloin for our main, the meat was cooked to perfection, but the lobster risotto and green beans that it can with were not that great. The service was ok, our waitress was a bit snippity and left our cleared dishes for quite a while before taking them away. All in all, I would say it was ok, but that’s about all, I won’t be returning.

It was my second visit to Alloy, this time for the Valentines day menu. My husband had asked the restaurant to surprise me with some beautiful orchids and hydrangias on our table, which were arranged so artfully that I just had to send a photo to my friend who is a floral artist. I caught a few gents glancing over, who seemed to be thinking «hm. that guy thought of everything!»
We were given a tuna tar tar amuse bouche, which was so flavourful and nice. It definitely amused my bouche, I would have ordered a whole plate of it, had that been an option!
The Valentine’s day 2016 menu:
There was a special pink girly cocktail, which sounded right up my alley, but I enjoy mixing cocktails at home and could probably make that any time, so tonight my husband and I shared a bottle of wine; a Syrah and Grenache blend that was fruit-​forward and a bit bold.
Textures of carrot to start, which was surprisingly divine! We were advised to begin with the sorbet, and move to the purée, then roasted tri-​colour carrot slices and a crisp carrot chip. Moving gradually through the different textures from cold to warm to hot which was an interesting sensation.
Next came a to die for Truffle and Cauliflower Risotto which came cooked perfectly and in a decent sized portion.
Lobster two ways, was lobster filling in a yummy (all be it petite) nero crêpe (blackened with ink from cuddle-​fish) and three small lobster tail pieces about the size of shrimp.
Bison strip loin served rare (so perfectly flavorful and juicy) with brussel-​sprouts. My only complaint was that I had hoped to have a larger portion of at least this course if not others as well. I expected that with five courses most would be tiny portions, but every portion was fairly small… even compared to other fine dining five course meals that I have had in the past few months.
For desert a Flourless Chocolate Cake with hazelnut gelato and pistachio meringue. So delish!
Whenever there is a set Valentine’s day menu at a restaurant, I get excited. Yes, it’s easier for the staff, but it’s also something different from what you could get any other day!
Our server was of course very busy but others would deliver our next course on time, and he would come by to add a special comment about this course. He was charismatic and funny, yet not overly familiar, and offered just the right amount of attention, without feeling intrusive at all. (Although, with a 5 course meal you expect to be interrupted, but I still say he was great).
The staff are always so willing to take a photo of you and your date. It’s understood that if you are here, you are likely celebrating something special and you will want a photo to remember the experience.
The restaurant does have a small parking lot, but it is located just off of MacLeod Trail SE, in a bit of an industrial type area. They do have a patio which looks like it would be lovely in the summer time.

We went here Friday night for our anniversary. It was fantastic service. The Wine & food were spectacular I can’t say enough good things about the food. I had a hard time deciding what to have.
We will definitely go back and try more things from the menu
So glad we found this restaurant

Went here for a friends wedding dinner. The food was amazing ! I strong recommend this restaurant for a nice dinner with your partner as it has a romantic feel. The deserts were just as good as the main course.

Alloy was ok… but just ok. A friend and I make a point eating at all the nice/​trendy restaurant and Alloy was middle of the pack in all categories.
My pork Belly appetizer was fantastic… a really delicious dish. My friend had the scallops and they were not great. I don’t see them on the menu anymore and we went a while ago. So maybe they knew they had a weakness there and removed it. We went a month or two ago, so possible.
For dinner the waitress specifically pointed out I could take any item that was available on the chefs tasting menu and turn it into a full sized meal. I decided to do that with the duck breast but when it came it was quite small, I asked and sure enough I got the tasting menu sized portion… to fix this they just brought another tasting size plate and called it a meal — it came out immediately… I mean my second dish was at the table in under a minute… which is good but also means that the food is not being cooked to order in any way… the plates looked identical… and it gave the whole meal an assembly line feel rather than a hand crafted for me special feel. If I had shelled out the $$ for the «Chef’s tasting menu» and got that level of effort I would have been upset. The Alloy chefs should go to the living room and try the chef’s tasting menu and see how its done. If the duck was delicious it would have been ok, but it was no Murrieta’s duck breast. I don’t recall what my friend had but I recall both of us kind of shrugging… it was ok, not mind blowing… in my world mind blowing is 5 stars, shrugging okay is 3.

Had an outstanding holiday lunch here with a group of 10. I was excited to try this restaurant so my expectations were high — and they were exceeded!
Once inside you forget the rather obscure location; McLeod Trail and fine dining are often not used in the same sentence. Interesting interior space, much larger than one would expect. The restaurant side has a variety of large curved booths, along with tables. The bar side is really very spacious with its own set of 4-​tops and other seating. There is also a massive patio which I will have to return in the spring to visit; it is surrounded by a high fence so you won’t be able to gaze over the train tracks, wood lots, or tire shops nearby (yay!).
Food: butternut squash soup with goat cheese was a really nice winter dish. Just enough to be a great appetizer; thick and hearty and a bit sweet. Short-​rib sandwich on a pretzel bun was even better; although I’m a bit «over» the pretzel bun fad, the salty crunch went really well with the slightly sweet braised beef. I think a small side salad came too, which I enjoyed, but I can’t remember it over the thought of the beef. Fries are also an option for the traditionalists out there.
Companions swooned over the lobster fettuccine, which looked to have very generous amounts of lobster and cream. Not my thing but if it’s yours it was highly recommended. Chicken schnitzel was also popular at our table.
Not a single person had room for desert which tells you that these are generous lunch portions. (We had appetizers to start: the hummus, shrimp, and pork belly were widely enjoyed).
Recommended and I’m looking forward to coming back for a lazy dinner to sample a cocktail and the wine list.

Exotic! What a night out! We’ve been there for lunch and for dinner. Great imaginative menu, well prepared. Attended by very professional servers. Great wine list. kudos to Alloy for doing it so well.

Great wine, service, presentation, and atmosphere/​décor, but our dishes were bland and underwhelming. We shared the Lobster Risotto for our appetizer. The risotto had huge pieces of claw meat, but the risotto was bland and slightly undercooked. I had the Pacific Halibut for my entrée. The halibut was cooked perfectly, the tomatillo salsa verde that accompanied the dish was delicious, but the langoustine fritters were completely over salted. My girlfriend had the Blue Crab Cakes, which, unfortunately, were heavily breaded overwhelming the crab meat. I had a glass of the Viognier, which was delicious and my date had the Hot Mess, which she found equally delicious. Overall a positive experience, but we were a little disappointed with the food.

Finally had an opportunity to head back to Alloy and this time for dinner. We were there a little earlier so the restaurant was quiet but filed up pretty quickly with a diverse group of people.
I just love this restaurant and cant praise their food enough — especially now that I have tried the tasting menu which changes all the time. 7 courses for $ 85 each, you can also do a wine pairing with that but forget how much it was as we had a cocktail to start (amazing and delicious they both were) and then a bottle of wine. They have a large selection of wine so was happy to have some helpful recommends from the waitress.
Our waitress also mentioned that their tasting menu is a chance for each of the different chefs in the kitchen to shine. They all have an opportunity to craft one of the dishes per menu so that everyone has a chance to showcase their talents and ideas. Love the inclusion of that as many kitchens don’t operate like that.
1^st. amuse bouche of the day which was a date wrapped in prosciutto with 2 different sauces on the plate. Holy man what a taste sensation! so glad I didn’t make this one bite just so that it lasted longer and I could get all the sauce
2^nd. seared king salmon with this delightful salad-​ish topping of citrus, fennel and herb sauce. Delicious.
3^rd. large portion of seared tuna with togarashi aioli, miso vinigrette and picked ginger, with edemame peas and rocket. Honestly meal could have stopped there. My mouth still waters thinking of it!
4^th. thin cut portion of wagu chuck flat steak with chimichurri and jalapeño emulsion — overall not my favourite but anything that came after that tuna was never going to compete.
5^th. Sorbetto to clean the palate — real surprise here as it was liquid and served in a shot glad. Pomegranate flavour and super sweet. Think the sweetness was a bit might but also quite a surprise. Did a surprisingly good job as a palate cleanser considering the sweetness though.
6^th. Striploin with a drumbui glaze, topped with thin sliced mushrooms and served on duck fat mashed potatoes. that mash! That gravy! Everything was sooooo good!
7^th. coconut panna cotta, fresh berries and a rose water syrup (so thats what you do with rose water?) — was a really nice taste difference with the coconut but more of a pudding than pana cotta as it was quite runny. Still super tasty thought.
Would I go back? Every day if someone else paid. This restaurant is great for date night as well as a mini celebration with some friends. The patio outside in the little garden is great in summer and the inside is beautiful. If you have never been — Go or get someone to take you!

Probably 4.5
Just went to a wedding party at Alloy. Haven’t been here for three years but is still as tasty as ever.
Tuna appetizer was really tasty as was the short ribs. Made the short ribs that we had at Bocce the other night seem so much more ordinary in comparison. Salmon was great. Chocolate cake dessert was divine.

Alloy is officially my new favorite restaurant in Calgary! It offers perfectly balanced meals with an incredible array of flavors. Everything is perfectly cooked — the beef and chicken were tender and flavorful — and the sides provided the perfect accompaniment to make the dishes really shine. If you’re looking for an impressive wine list, high quality ingredients, upscale dishes and fine flavors this is the restaurant for you! I personally highly recommend the chicken supreme (it has a delicious cherry chili sauce) and the flourless chocolate cake for dessert.

My husband and I took our son and his girlfriend, both chefs, for supper here in early April, 2015. The food was spectacular and the service was attentive and knowledgeable. Two of us are gluten free and our server was well versed with the menu options for us, and even consulted the chef to clarify those options. The hummus and bread that was delivered to our table as we awaited our appetisers was not gluten free, of course, but the server brought out a second plate with crudités instead of bread; a lovely touch. We were also pleased with the sommelier’s recommendations for dessert wines to accompany our last course.
We will definitely be returning here next time we are in Calgary.

Love the ambience & the food is amazing! Can’t wait to go back!

Alloy is a great break from the usual «meat and potato» forward options Calgary has. Not only does the food differ, with mostly light fusion options, but the room is light and airy as well. No frickin’ Edison bulbs here!
I would recommend checking out the patio when the weather permits; it’s complete with a water feature.
The cocktail list is delicious and not solely whiskey-​forward for us unbearded people who refuse to wear suspenders or plaid. (Nothing against whiskey really, in fact, I quite enjoy scotch)
The service is always great with high attention to detail, and tons of product knowledge. And one of my favourite features is it’s proximity to the train; it’s worth the effortless trip for all the Downtown Devotees or Seventeenth Nuts.

We highly recommend Alloy!
I Love this restaurant. It is probably my favourite restaurant in Calgary. It is tucked away just past the C-​train tracks off of 42^nd and McLeod. It has a great ambiance and the staff is always friendly and fast.
The food is always fantastic and priced well. We have never had a bad meal here, ever. In fact we have had many meals that have completely changed the way we think about food. Among our favourites are the tuna tartar, anything with gnocchi, and any of the duck entrees. The menu is rotational, so you have new meals to choose from several times a year. Overall, it would be difficult to make a better choice!

I think I had very high expectations with this restaurant after all the reviews and recommendations from friends… Even when it was not bad, It was nothing special, as I thought it should be… The ceviche is just ok, a little plain for my taste, and too much tomatoes… The duck foie gras and the duck sausages were great. The lamb was good too…
The service definitely should be better… The main dishes took a long time in arriving. And they were just ok… Not terrible but nothing outstanding… The pheasant was not special at all… The pork was not bad and the ribs just ok… I don’t think I will go back here…

Solid restaurant, I came on my last night in Calgary because it was right next door to my hotel. I really wanted to try Model Milk but was still closed due to the flooding downtown.
Came here on a Wednesday around 7pm and the place was pretty full so I was excited to try this place out.
They bring out pita bread with hummus and olives to start which was more refreshing than just a loaf of bread. If the pita was warm it would have been a lot better.
I started my night off with a cocktail (Stagecoach) it was very tasty, a good stiff cocktail. I then started off with the wagyu beef with quail egg which was good but not great. The wagyu came out more raw than rare (which I don’t mind). However, the fat was more raw as opposed to marbled in the meat which caused parts of the fat to be too chewy instead of melting like butter. My main course was the pork which was actually very delicious. It was a thick cut, bone in, and was still juicy and flavorful. There was a little bit of fat on some of the edges which fitted nicely with the meat.
Overall I would say this was a pretty solid meal, I definitely would have given it 5 stars if each dish were slightly less expensive (maybe like $ 2-​$ 3 less).

4* for rack of lamb app
2* for tuna ceviche (which wasn’t even a ceviche but more of a tartare… no acid whatsoever — and soooo bland).
I wanted the lobster tempura, i didn’t see it on the menu
nice décor and atmosphere.
old office environment that’s been transformed.
Menu is pretty basic for entrees… pheasant, beef, pork, fish…
Service was Excellent!