Black Pig Bistro

Very good. Great food, indifferent service (which I prefer — not there to form a new relationship). Owner operated, which I like. This is one of our favourites. Make a reservation, as it is busy. But the brunch seems not to crowded, which is nice.

Went here with my sister for the first time the other night and despite having a reservation we were seated at the bar/​counter, which isn’t really a preference for me. Overall, the service and the food was okay but nothing that stood out for me. I had the brisket burger and my sister had the risotto (the risotto that day was a vegetarian leak risotto). Food was decent but in my opinion I’d say it was over priced, especially compared to the portion sizes — $ 24 for a burger and some corn chips. Perhaps my own expectations were to high to start off with but I would recommend people try it out for themselves. For me, there was nothing particularly wrong with the meal or venue (the venue is actually quite small and cozy) but there was also nothing that made me want to come back.

The Black Pig is a nice little place in the heart of Bridgeland that offers a simple menu, with great natural light and ambiance. Service is kind, friendly, and genuine which is hard to say about most places.
Although the ingredients are very fresh in the food, you might walk away feeling like something was missing, and maybe even somewhat forgettable. Ultimately I think it’s that the dishes’ ingredients don’t combine in a way that makes every ingredient pop. In the dishes we tried, one ingredient over-​powered the rest to the detriment of the dish. The one thing I can say is the Jamon Imberico is something that everyone must taste. The sweet, woody, buttery ham placed on a very fresh yellow tomato baguette was truly amazing.
Give the place a try and form your own opinion. You may completely disagree with my opinions.

Black Pig Bistro: jamon iberico with tomato baguette ($ 26), pork dogs with salsa verde + roasted garlic aioli + house made buns ($ 15). Also ordered 4 jamon iberico croquettas ($ 12) and their Black Pig mascarpone risotto ($ 26). All in all, it was a pretty good experience. Food was okay, sadly nothing to be wow-​ed about. Food came out in pretty good time considering it was quite busy. The service given by our waiter (man with the glasses) was top notch!

Instant favorite.
Upon one visit this had earned a place amongst my favorite new restaurants in Calgary. I still dream (and salivate) about that signature pork and beans. Easily one of the best dishes in town. Only downside is I don’t know that I’ll ever be able to order anything else here. It’s just that good.
Go now, this swine is divine.

Myself and a date dined at the Black Pig on Jan 24^th. Had an excellent meal with decent service. I love that they have a small menu and only 3 mains. Why can’t more restaurant owners follow suit and see that a cluttered menu is unnecessary. The tartar, the portugese wine, the mussels, the risotto and fish main was all delish and seasoned well. Being a chef, the only thing i would have done different would have been to score the artic char’s skin to make it super crispy… theirs had no texture. But over all we enjoyed ourselves.

First off — Great décor and ambience. Reasonably nice and happy staff and a good Caesar salad (I would hope). Really enjoyed the evening up to the food.
After an hour, the appetizers came and we received about half of what most good restaurants would serve in Calgary. $ 9 brussel sprouts to share? If you don’t mind sharing 5. It was almost comical. The atmosphere was well overshadowed by the incredibly slow service and mediocrity of the food.
Oh yeah, thanks for the food poisoning! Loved the night over the toilet. Calgary has so many, many great establishments that I feel robbed of an evening. Perhaps I got my wish to loose a few pounds in the New Year.
Black Pig is most similar to Charcut, yet so horribly misses the mark. Pick Charcut and avoid the Pig.
P. S. Look at all the fancy pictures below. Nice little (and I mean little) dishes — each $ 15 to $ 30 a pop. Guess who is paying for the renovation bill. Seriously?

I DIG pig… with this said it’s pretty much impossible to go wrong at Black Pig.
Denise and Larry together with their executive chef Alison (formerly executive chef at Cucinna (downtown on 8^th Avenue… a very fine location in its own right)) set about becoming Canada’s best new restaurant for 2014 — although shortlisted, I understand that they lost out to ‘Wolf in the Fog’ in Tofino, BC. Personally I’m thrilled because otherwise it would have been even more impossible to try and find a table.
Black Pig bills itself as an ‘Iberian Bistro’… think Iberico Ham — that is, PIG GOLD — if you’ve never tried it before, it’s worth the trip to give it a go — and other Spanish inspired small plates. Price wise Black Pig is a bit expensive but there’s NOTHING like it in the city and very well done.
The restaruant itself is fun, lively and cosmo. a bit on the smaller side (which completely lends itself to having 50 seat private parties…) and has nowhere to go but up. Truth be told they’re probably still feeling their wings but given the passion that all have for food and the biz I think they will soar as they develop their clientel, understand their space and kitchen, and continue to be inventive.
Things to have (!):
— The Iberian Ham (duh!)
— The ‘Pork and Beans’ — really it’s a slab of prochetta (think Italian pig prime rib if you’re not familiar with this cut) over a medley of sauteed beans
— The Mussels and Chorizo (wow!)
— The Steak Tartare — I’m usually very nervous about tartare because I have very high standards for this dish and I hate being disappointed… I’m glad I ordered it, easily one of the best versions I’ve ever had… it may have been the duck fat fried potatoe crisps that put it over the top
— Caesar Salad — the salad that clearly isn’t what you’re expecting — sort of a ‘deconstructed’ caesar — I’d eat it every day if I could
— An appetite — trust me, you’ll want to just keep eating

I went to Black Pig for a birthday dinner of a friend. I really enjoyed my food (I got the pork and beans) and I love the look of the room. Definitely a great place to visit for a great dinner or lunch.
Not a great spot for vegans as there is a LOT of pork. :)

This place is trendy, small plate dining at its best. The menu is diverse, interesting, and full of flavor. Although the prices are nothing to laugh at (and if you’re read some of my other reviews you know I can be a stickler for price), but you are REALLY getting what you pay for here. I stopped by just for a couple of small plates and nice glass of wine and I was delighted with my experience.
I ordered the small plate of olives. I was expecting nothing more a nice medley of olives presented nicely. Granted, the price was $ 8 so I was hoping for more than a just a couple olives on the plate with a cute garnish. I was happily surprised beause instead, I was present with this array of three different type of olives and olive spread each one more mouth watering than the next.
The second item I ordered was the serrano ham. Again, I expected a couple of nicely dressed slices of ham with a cute side salad that was three pieces of lettuce.
Boy was I wrong.
I was presented with this beautiful pressed ham mixture with a nice apple coleslaw surrounding the plate. I seriously could not stop eating it and was very disappointed when the meal was done.
I also ordered a lovely glass of prosecco to round out the dishes and enjoyed some great conversation at the bar. The only thing I would say is that the wine menu (by the glass) is a bit limited so if you really want to sample something different come with a group (or be prepared to drink a bottle yourself, no one is judging ^_​~).
The ambience is great for a date night or just a night out for some great conversations and great wine. The wait staff are friendly and attentive and know how to get the job without being too in your face. Really, this is a wonderful place to go and I definitely recommend that you check it out. Because of the price, I can definitely say i won’t go every day but I will go often enough.
Oh yeah, and there is a happy hour from 4 — 6 with $ 1 off wine I believe. It’s definitely a great place to come for an after-​work «wine» down.

We arrived late on a Saturday afternoon to a quiet restaurant and were seated right away. As we walked to our table I eyed the Jamon Iberico behind the bar and immediately fell in love with the décor. The light teal, white, and black contrasted against one another is one of my favourite colour combinations, and happens to be the colour scheme in my room. Bonus points!
With so many great options on the menu, my boyfriend eventually decided on the Serrano Ham & Cheese Sandwich ($ 15): smoked pepper aioli, manchego and fresh tomato on a baguette. The sandwich came out to the table with a side of housemade pickles that were a mix of sweet and sour, a little spicy, and deliciously crunchy. Black Pig Bistro has taken the classic ham and cheese sandwich and elevated it with the use of quality ingredients. The serrano ham combined with the manchego are delicate but give the sandwich an almost creamy consistency. Add in the tomato for texture, slap it inside a soft baguette with a crunchy crust, and you’ve got a pretty stellar sandwich. The sandwich was so easy to eat and was a great portion size for lunch.
As the self-​proclaimed glutton in our relationship, I chose to go with the three course lunch for $ 25. First up was a Tomato Tartar with a sherry vinaigrette over garlic croutons. I loved the presentation on this one since the top of the tomato acted as a lid to lift and reveal the tartar below. Inside the tomato was a bruschetta salad of sorts, well flavoured with salt and basil. The crunchy croutons were a great accompaniment as they were extra garlicky, and the vinaigrette added a tangy punch.
My main course was a Sous Vide Alberta Beef Sirloin with roasted shallots, pine nuts, kale and piquillo pepper sauce. When the dish was presented before me, all I could think was «wow!» Look at the colours on that plate and how beautiful our Alberta beef is. The sirloin was a perfect medium rare and lightly seasoned to allow the true flavour of the meat come through. I loved the mild kick of heat from the pepper sauce, and the lightly sauteed kale was tasty on its own or combined with the dish. The flavours were incredibly well balanced, and it wasn’t long before a fork from the opposite end of the table came to help me out.
The last course to my lunch was a Honey Yogurt Mousse with raspberries and pomegranate pearls. The mousse had the consistency of a thickened panna cotta, and it was nice and tart on its own. In combination with the honey and other accompaniments it was a perfect light finish to the meal.
Black Pig Bistro surely didn’t disappoint, and I was already thinking I needed to return for dinner on a subsequent trip. Lunch service was quick and our server was very attentive to our needs. If you’re in Calgary for lunch you should definitely consider stopping by for the $ 25 three course meal! You get delicious food and great bang for your buck!

We decided to try this place because it was on the list of restaurants participating with the Beakerhead festival.
First off I love the interior design of the restaurant. We didn’t have a reservation so we had to sit at the bar sitting which turn out to be great cause the chef was so nice and talkative. He is also very knowledgeable and passionate about the food.
The food itself was nothing short of amazing. I ordered the pork dogs as a meal and modern mocha for dessert. Best hot dog ever! The sausage and bun are apparently made in house.
I definitely look forward to our next visit.

What a pleasant surprise! It’s been a while since I’ve had an all-​around amazing dining experience, and Black Pig Bistro has delivered.
Love the atmosphere and décor of this restaurant in the charming neighbourhood of Bridgeland. The service was spot on: knowledgeable, prompt, attentive, and friendly.
The food… yum! We started off with the Green Salad, which comes with every kind of green fruit and veggie you can think of and topped with a creamy avocado dressing. Absolutely crisp and refreshing.
My boyfriend ordered the ribeye, which was cooked perfectly. Although it was heavily seasoned with a smokey flavour, it was still a good dish. I ordered the pork and beans. What a creative rendition! Instead of using the regular beans, again, they use every kind of bean you can imagine to compliment the flavourful pork. FYI it’s pork belly, so if you prefer leaner meat, then you may not like this dish.
Will I return? Yes!
Would I recommend it to my friends? Heck yeah!

I went here on Saturday June 7 for my girlfriends birthday celebration. The restaurant has great décor, very modern with its brick walls open and kitchen. We began our night with a appetizer to share, salt cod tortellini. The tortellini had great flavour and works well with the piquillo purée and kale chips for a little crunch. However, the portion for tortellini was a little smaller than I expected for $ 13 (4 pieces only). For my main course I chose the market pig, which was tenderloin wrapped in bacon with a pumpkin purée and hollandaise sauce. The beef was extremely tender and worked well with the hollandaise sauce. My girlfriend had the beef cheek risotto and was very heavy for a dish due to the heavy usage of mascarpone which overpowered the risotto. The beef cheek was very tender and broke apart easily. My girlfriend’s favorite part of the meal is always dessert. We had chose the rum tiramisu and the passionfruit panna cotta. The tiramisu was light and full of the rum flavour. The passionfruit panna cotta on the other hand was quite sour/​tarty and no sweet flavours to balance out the taste. Overall my experience at Black Pig Bistro was a positive one from the service to the food. The food was a mixed bag of delicious and okay tasting dishes. I would definitely go back in the near future to try some of the other dishes they had.

This place has great décor — white brick walls with a Tiffany blue in the bar area. We started with an all green salad which was all green — nothing too special but the lack of contrast in the colours made it less appetizing. We then had the pork and beans. Why not have pork at the black pig? The pork belly was incredible — now I like BBQ pork from Chinatown but this flavour and texture was just right. The kitchen gets the pork from spragg farms so it’s locally sourced and organic — probably why it is so tender. The beans were nice too, a good mixture of green and large white beans. But it was missing something like a dollop of potatoes.
I felt that black pig bistro has potential but for the price it could be better.

For the May long weekend, Joe and I managed to nab Tuesday off to make it even sweeter. Heading towards Banff, we made a pit stop in Calgary for some lunch. I had previously weighed out the pros and cons of Calgary’s newest or trendiest restaurants and Black Pig Bistro made the cut for me to try. They are new to the Bridgeland area and photos of their opening and dinners have been popping up on my social media feeds. Looked absolutely delicious! So of course, I timed it all perfectly to arrive at our 11:30 reservation that Saturday.
The interior is absolutely gorgeous, attracting all females of the sorts to its Tiffany blue walls. I’m always a big fan of exposed bulbs as well and the dining area felt nice and airy. The restaurant was mostly empty, most preferring to wait in line for Shiki Menya’s ramen next door. I think Black Pig Bistro was designed and more suitable for dinner.
Our first plate was the reason why I even bothered to stop into Calgary on the way to Banff. The black Iberian pig lives mostly in southern Spain and some parts of Portugal and are bred and fed specific diets in order to get its smooth, rich taste of cured ham. As their menu states, the pigs feed on grass, olives, and acorns. Not only that, they’re divided into further categories depending on what they ate (i.e solely acorns, acorns and grains, only grains, etc). Think ducks and foie gras. Kobe beef. This is the king of all pigs.
For $ 24, the 48 month old Jamon Iberico was served with baguettes spread with a tomato rub. Joe wasn’t sure if I had gone completely crazy or if this was a once in a lifetime meal. A little bit of both. I had never tried it before and there’s a first time for everything, especially when it comes to food. The meat was fatty, well marbled, and buttery in texture. The bite was a little chewy when comparing to proscuitto or other cured hams that I’ve tried. Maybe one day I can do a direct comparison in order to notice the subtle differences. I don’t mind forking out the dough once in awhile though but proscuitto will be my kind of style for now. The baguettes were delicious in itself and when paired with the cuts, they were a little overpowering in taste. A fresh tomato rub can do that.
Post-​Iberico bites, we had our main dishes. Joe ordered the spicy cauliflower chitarra. All I had to tell him was that I had read a comment to the likes of «tastes like Korean pasta» and he was sold. It doesn’t take much to convince him to order a certain dish. Soup. Spicy. Korean. The chitarra (square version of spaghetti) was well done and had a nice texture. The sauce definitely had some heat to it but it was welcomed by its eater. I was super impressed by the thin slices of raw cauliflower garnish, just thin enough so it didn’t crumble. Bits of serrano ham were in the dish although larger chunks would have been more enjoyable in my opinion.
Figuring I would be reaching my quota of meat for the day from the jamon Iberico, I ordered the French onion grilled cheese. How could you not? It came out nice and crispy on the outside, with ooey-​gooey Appenzeller cheese, an aged Swiss cow’s milk variety, on the inside. Ohhh man, write that down for your next grilled cheese creation. It was stringy, stretchy, melty, I could go on but you get my drift. One of the best grilled cheeses I’ve ever had. Not to mention caramelized onions in the mix, a truffle jus to dip, and a side of housemade pickled vegetables. I could barely finish my lunch and considered packing it up to eat on the road, but you might as well consider that distracted driving. Food + Cindy + driving = accident.
Somehow my brain was on overdrive and was still thinking about dessert. Something light and refreshing to cut the fattiness of my lunch. I was dying for a tiramisu but that somehow didn’t match what I just described. Luckily, they were offering a housemade lemon sorbet that day. Perfect! Our server warned us that it was tart, although what she should have warned us was the sweetness! Not sure if it was the entire sorbet that was sweet, or if it was an additional drizzle of syrup over top, but it was more sweet than tart. Not as much ice content as other sorbets either. But it did the job, palate cleansed, refreshed, and ready to hit the road!
I would return to Black Pig Bistro for dinner perhaps, our lunch getting quite pricey. Calgary’s got a lot of fine eats though so it’d be hard for me to return any time soon. It’s strange that I don’t go down south nearly enough so every time I do, I always want to try something new! Definitely check it out though if you’re in town and try the Jamon Iberico, for the sake of saying you’ve tried the king of cured hams and to taste a delicious salty, fatty treat!

There was a fair bit I loved about my first visit here. And a few things I didn’t.
Location is great. I can walk to it but there is also lots of parking around there.
The food — menu is limited but everything I ate was fantastic. I tried the olive tapenade appie and had the beef cheek risotto as a main. Well plated and great flavours. All of my friends had great looking and tasting meals too. Dessert was also tasty. Everything was well portioned.
Décor: also nice — modern finishings, not pretentious but still trendy.
Service: friendly. Good recommendations, good follow up
So you might be wondering what the bad is? Well it took over an hour and a half for the food. The servers and managers kept updating us (good) but really the kitchen service was appallingly slow. That’s a really long time to wait for food. And it seemed to be every table was waiting about that long. Apologies were offered but nothing else.
The other issue was that the sun was absolutely blinding through the upper part of the windows on the west side. They have shades for the lower portions but it didn’t help. For about 30 minutes half our table was squinting and tying to duck to avoid the sun. Incidentally that was the same half hour in which out food showed up, making it tricky to eat. The servers came to check on our food enjoyment, saw us squinting painfully but said nothing. I actually had a headache by the time we left because it was so bright :(
I’d consider trying it again because the food was awesome. I am concerned about the service levels though. Hopefully it was just a bad night.

Ate here yesterday for the first time. Overall, I’d say good but not great.
Then décor is nice… They have the contemporary rustic Spanish thing down. Nice lighting and the white painted brick was a great touch.
The service was pretty spotty. Our server seemed scattered and rushed. His pacing was off, he took our appetizer orders and then didn’t come back for the mains for quite some time. He forgot my wine until I reminded him and then charged us for four of the same cocktail instead of one without any apology when we pointed it out.
The drinks were average. My whiskey sour was pretty mediocre but my partner’s boulevar was good. The wine was nice.
As for the food, everything tasted good but nothing was really interesting or unexpected. The real stand out was the tomato Caesar salad with peeled tomatoes and fried capers. For the rest, the charcuterie plate lacked any real winners and the pork and beans was something you could make at home.
All in all, nothing was terrible but for the price, I probably won’t be back.

I really enjoyed it!
The atmosphere was nice, not too big not too small.
The ambience and décor was tasteful, modern and warm.
The servers were attentive and courteous
The food was delicious!
Recommend the olive tapenade, grilled ham and cheese and the tiramisu!

We originally headed to Bridgeland for sushi but saw that Black Pig Bistro was open for business and that there were some empty tables. We snagged a table and were surprised to find a friend of ours as one of the servers.
The Bistro is at once very elegant and comfortable with soft lighting and large windows. We were seated right away and asked if we would like drinks right away… I ordered the Black Pig Spritz and Hubby ordered a Pinot Noir. They didn’t have regular soda but my son was happy with the San Pellegrino as it is one of his favourites.
The menu was small and focused so we had quite a large discussion about which starters to order and who was to eat what. Eventually I just told them to order what they all wanted and not to worry. We all ended up well fed and were able to share around the table anyway as the portions are quite large.
I had the Salted Cod Tortellini and I thought it was pretty good. The pasta was cooked nicely and was of a good quality. I wasn’t as happy with the filling as it was a bit runny. The purée tasted a lot like the vegetable spread you get on Italian sandwiches (probably because it was a pepper purée…and I really thought the crispy kale chips were a great touch. Everything was well balanced and seasoned.
Hubby was really excited to find chicken liver parfait and had it all to himself (!). He could have maybe used a couple of more bread rounds to finish the whole jar off.
The winning dish of our round of starters were definitely the pork hot dogs. Mmmm… cute little buns and house made pork sausages with garlic aioli and manchengo. I’m really glad he was in a sharing mood and that we were all allowed a bite.
For our mains, Hubby and I both chose the Beef Cheek Risotto with saffron and tomato. The risotto was absolutely perfect. It was creamy with just the right amount of saffron. I loved the acidity from the tomatoes. Both hubby and I were a bit worried when the server set the plates down and we didn’t see one bit of beef cheek as we expected it to be perched atop the golden risotto. We had definitely worried for nothing as there was more than enough beef cheek hidden underneath.
Our son had the Pork and Beans. I was thinking of ordering it but thought it might be too heavy because I had a preconceived notion of what the dish was in my mind. It couldn’t have been more opposite to what I had expected. What a fantastic dish! My son, who is 13, probably said about 3 or 4 times how delicious it was. He loved the simple flavours, the olive oil, and the roasted porchetta. His only complaint was there weren’t enough of the broad beans. They are his favourite now. I can see that I’m going to have to have a go at this dish at home.
My daughter has a lighter appetite so she decided to go with two items off the starter list. She had the same tortellini as I did as well as the Green Salad. She is also very picky and was not a big fan of the herbs. I think she enjoyed the rest of the salad, especially the avocado dressing and green grapes. I had a bit of the salad and I will confirm it is a stunner!
We were very impressed with the service (it was first day after all!) and our food arrived in a timely manner.
I do have to say the pricing may be a bit steep, however one must keep in mind that location, ambiance, and surroundings should be taken into account when dining out. We left the restaurant too full to try one of the amazing desserts on menu so I will testify that the portions are definitely more than adequate.
I would visit again, maybe for lunch though it really is out of our way as we live in the deep south of the city. I have a feeling Black Pig Bistro is going to become a neighbourhood favourite.