Antonio’s Garlic Clove

This is one of the best and most under-​rated dining establishments in Calgary!
We discovered the Garlic Clove about 4 or 5 years ago and have become big fans.
The food is incredible, they have a great selection of wine, and the prices are very fair considering the quality of the food.
The service is always top notch from both the servers and the chef (could be Antonio himself but I really have no idea).
Perhaps best of all, it has a great atmosphere, with just enough of a romance factor for a first date (with breath mints of course!) and no pretentiousness whatsoever.
The only reason we don’t visit as often as we used to, is that we now live quite far away.
My only complaint is that they open so late in the day. Otherwise I’d be a regular at lunch as well!

Their no minors policy is only in effect when they feel like it. When we made a reservation and came in with my child. We were abruptly asked to leave the restaurant. We were fine with this as it was our mistake, and their policy. We respected it.
So we rescheduled, and came back a couple of days later. We were seated, our waitress was wonderful. And as we started to get comfortable, a table with a child about 7 years old was seated, and served next to us.
When asked why only we were asked to abide by their policy but others weren’t, our waitress informed us that it was only enforced when they (the restaurant, not her specifically) felt like it.
in terms of the food, its as good as always. After all we did come back (childless) after being asked to leave. We had the stinking steak (rare, and we very much recommend it), pork chops (very dry, do not bother) and garlic butter chicken (yumm!!)
So go if you don’t have kids, or do cause who knows maybe you’ll land on a night that it doesn’t particularly matter. If it’s all adults, the food is great!!!

When you walk into this place, you get the best welcoming from the aroma of food mingled with garlic.
We started with the steamed mussels in garlic cream sauce — which was AH-​MAHZING! We asked for more bread so we could soak up the sauce after scarfing down all the mussels.
Each of us ordered something different, which worked out perfectly because then we got to sample a little bit of everything. I had the Linguine Diavola (chicken and shrimp in a creamy peppercorn sauce), my boyfriend got the Stinking Steak, my girlfriend got
the Linguine Pescatore (seafood in tomato sauce) and her boyfriend got the feature which was a rack of lamb.
I’ve tried lamb multiple times and haven’t developed a liking to it, so I was hesitant to try some here but WOW! It was cooked perfectly and the brandied mushroom & wine reduction gave it such good flavoring — there wasn’t a game-​y aftertaste at all! So happy I tried it, now I have a different outlook on lamb :)
The servings were quite large, I managed to have leftovers for lunch and dinner the next day.
I really like this place, I’m glad I was able to try it again and have the same wonderful experience as my first time

When my girlfriend suggested Garlic Clove for a double date last weekend, I was pumped. Everyone that knows me knows I love garlic, as I cook with enough to kill the entire Twilight cast. She had been here before and really enjoyed it, and after checking out the menu online I was sold! We met for 7PM, parking was impossible to find but to be expected. Really cute, small little place (bathroom is the tiniest thing I’ve ever seen and the sink is a soup bowl), and the smell when you walk in — heavenly. We started with a bottle of wine, as well as the «Antonio’s Garlic Clove», which is bread baked with Brie & garlic, and the bowl of mussels, which were probably the best thing that’s ever been in my mouth (dipping the bread into the remaining sauce was the best part). I ordered the Linguine Pescatore for my main and it was HUGE! I had enough for two more dinner servings, which I happily enjoyed last night (don’t judge me). I also had a taste of everything else that was ordered, including the rack of lamb my boyfriend got, and honestly everything was perfection. Service was great, but the food was so good that I don’t even think I would have noticed if it wasn’t. Cant wait to go back!!!

When you’re the first people to be seated in the empty restaurant, you’d think they would give you a decent seat. Instead, the waitress seated us beside the cash register and beside the loud clanky sounds of the kitchen in the tightest space possible. The food here is good; no doubt. But Antonio’s Garlic Clove loses when it comes to service. One of the lows in Calgary.

The Garlic Clove has been in Mission for 10+ years! Its retro-​charm may not fit in with the newer restaurants in the neighbourhood, but I’m happy to see it is still around.
I was at the Clove last night for dinner with two girl friends. We shared the Four Cheese Garlic Bake to start. It has mozzarella, brie, parmesan, blue cheese, spinach and (of course) garlic, baked inside phyllo pastry. It was served on marinara sauce, with more garlic cloves mixed in. This appetizer was fantastic, you must order this if you love cheese! I ordered the Spaghetti with Brie, Apples, Bacon and Garlic, in a white wine sauce. My main was just okay. The sauce was too thin, and I couldn’t tell that it was made with wine. My dates each ordered a pork dish, and they were generally satisfied. The service is very good. Our server was attentive and polite.
Even though it doesn’t explicitly mention it on the menu, whole cloves of garlic are served with everything. My pasta had 20 to 30 cloves! I love garlic, but that was a bit much. The garlic would have been better if it was roasted longer, so that it gets that spreadable, buttery texture.

I went to the Garlic Clove back in December with a girlfriend of mine. It was so cute and cozy inside. We got a table at the back and welcomed by several people. I ordered the chicken parm and my friend ordered chicken arti. My meal was amazing! Full of flavor and not your typical chicken parm, it tasted fresh and unique. My friend was very happy with her meal as well. We also got a free drink because it was the owners birthday so that was a nice touch! It was a nice private table and the food came out in great time. I would go back for sure! A nice little treasure in Mission.

A — List. Highly Recommended. Dropped in on a Monday at around 6. Welcomed with a nice smile and a friendly «welcome.» Pretty genuine for a Monday night. Promptly seated, drinks appeared quickly, lots of time to make decisions around the menu. The waitress was superb — punctual, knowledgable, helpful, approachable. The meal was outstanding in every respect — we shared — 2 appetizers — prongy prawns ($ 15) & dumplings ($ 10) and a main — pork tenderloin ($ 26). The food was rich and satisfying and enough for two people. «Wow!» comes to mind. No one left feeling cheated. The space is small comparatively speaking, rich in design and feel, with an emphasis on a more intimate dining experience. The individual dining spaces are a bit tight but manageable. Of note, there are a large number of mirrors in strategic places to give the feel of a much larger space. Also, with this effect you can see the cooks expertly preparing your meal in the background (and they can see you). The gentlemens’ and ladies’ rooms (doesn’t matter which door you choose) are more like 757 lavatories, yet very nicely equipped. There is garlic in most everything, nothing was overpowering. This place is one of the best kept secrets in Calgary. Expen$ive.

This is an interesting place — kitchen occupies roughly a half of it, and only a rather smart design prevents the Clove from being a Cave…
Service is excellent. Efficient, polite, smooth. Everything around is clean. Again that fancy country-​style design is not bad at all.
But for the prices… Khm… Well, a-​ok would be just about right. Portions are not that big, I would even say they are small. Tasty, but not to dream about. Wine is terribly expensive for what’s offered.
We’ve been there two or three times, mostly because it was in the same block and we were sort of dropping in while passing by. Never a serious disappointment, nor something to brag about. A place. I won’t say «no» to it, neither will invite someone there specifically.

If you love garlic, then this is the place to go. This small but cozy resturant is about everything garlic. They have garlic beer! Yes Garlic beer! it is brewed by Big Rock brewery and infused with stinky stuff, but is it good!
Try the 4 cheese garlic bake if you want something truely fantastic and follow with the wobbly chops, pork chops smothered in, you guessed it, garlic.
For dessert we tried garlic ice cream. Sounds gross but man was it yummy.