Taste Restaurant

Recent trips to this restaurant have updated my rating in a positive way. New wait staff makes for a more pleasant experience. You no longer need to be a hipster for good service! Food is very very good (not unbelievable but good for the price). Great intimate atmosphere.

Probably the least known and most under rated restaurant in Calgary. My sister lives nearby, so after enough drives by I decided to give it a try one time. Maybe I’m bias because the first time I went there was on my first date with the special lady who I will eventually marry, but regardless, the food is phenomenal. The atmosphere is perfect. It’s a place that’s upscale, yet I feel completely comfortable going to while casually dressed. Service has always been wonderful and helpful. «A little funky, a little fresh», are the words the server used to describe the wine which we eventually ordered.
Everything is local and in house and yadda yadda, a little funky, a little fresh.
I’ve limited myself to only dining here a limited number of times per month and per year, in an effort to broaden my horizons. Otherwise I’d just eat here everyday because it’s perfect.

One of my favourite places to take friends when they came to Calgary! Such a quant restaurant with intimate seating. You are able to see the whole kitchen in action as they prepare your delicious dish. My favourites are the beet gnocchi and blueberry perogies for dessert! These dishes are tapas style to its great to share at least 3 among 2 people.

Excellent food service was fast. We were the only people in the restaurant. Any of the hashes were amazing and my kids loved the waffles. Can’t go wrong.

Took in a large group without reservations. Had some great food… never thought I’d like kale so much.

I had a lunch meeting in downtown Calgary and this little eatery is the one my client chose. Good choice!
It is a small space for great intimate conversations. I wouldn’t recommend many more than 6 people in your party.
The lunch menu is fantastic with a selection of soups, salads, sandwiches and some hot meals as well.
They have daily specials, which I highly recommend. I don’t recall what my sandwich was called, but it had in-​house cured meat and it was super delicious. My lunch companions were kicking themselves for not ordering the same thing.
They do have dessert offerings, but all of us were too full to indulge. Instead of mints or chocolates with your bill, you are presented with a mini-​cupcake which was also phenomenal.
Now I can’t wait until my next trip to Calgary so I can go back and visit again!

There’s a fight going on in my mouth as I make my way through Taste’s mac’n’cheese. (Pro tip: Only $ 10.50 and includes a side salad or soup. Great deal!).
One the one hand, the morsels I’m putting into my mouth are so savoury that I want to get it all in there as fast as I can. On the other, I want to eat it as slowly as I can to make it last. It’s a tug-​of-​war that may end in a draw… two bites devoured, one bite lovingly savoured.
Best cold spring day comfort food ever. And as always, a mini cupcake to finish off my meal and a stellar crew at Taste making it all possible.
Another tip: You can get the mac’n’cheese to go! Seriously filling. Go get some.

A little on the pricy side but their tapas style meals are delicious. Nice ambient atmosphere. Cosy. A little gem!

I frequent this place, so I’ve long been a fan but most recently I went with my mother most dear to enjoy their Big Taste dinner. Naturally, we ordered one of each. She had never been, so seeing someone new to Taste (and somewhat new to more trendy, different flavours and presenations) enjoy it so much added to the experience for me. She was initially skeptical of the foie gras and pork liver tart but happily ate half!
Their wine list is always top notch and the courses were perfectly portioned and delivered at a perfect pace.

We were there for Valentine’s Day so we had a limited tasting menu. That said, the food was delicious and creatively presented.
We lived the atmosphere and had a view of the small kitchen… which for me always adds a little fun.
The only critique is that the ventilation is inadequate to remove the build up of cooking odors.
We will go back.

Excellent.
Meat Tasting Board…5 stars. Quality cuts of cured beef tenderloin (forget the name) and chorizo. The mustard sauce is light and smooth… I’m not a big mustard fan so I enjoyed the lighter taste. The liver pâté was also quite light and airy… I prefer a heavier pâté but others will certainly enjoy this spread.
Mushroom tart…5 stars. The menu was recently updated, so I’m not sure if this was the exact name of the dish. Regardless, it was excellent. The pie crust was light and didn’t overwhelm the mushroom filling. The taste of the mushrooms was evident in every bite. Small slices of mushroom added texture to the smooth filling. Definitely a must try if you enjoy eating mushrooms.
Linguini Carbonara…5 stars. The linguini was lightly covered in a thick egg and parmesan sauce. The pancetta was finely chopped but you could taste it in every bite. Excellent! The peas were more of an afterthought but who cares, the pancetta is the star of the dish.
Short ribs…5 stars. The short ribs were fork tender. I would’ve prefered a bit more seasoning on the protein but it was still very good! The fruit chutney was amazing; light but flavorful.
Mini cupcakes…5 stars. Really good cupcakes! For being so tiny, they did an excellent job maintaining the moisture in the cake. They use a heavier cake mix which is fitting for this size cupcake (had it been regular size, it wouldn’t have been as enjoyable). The icing was sweet and loaded with flavor.
Looking forward to trying the rest of the menu. I’m just sorry I missed the bone marrow and pork belly! :(

This place has a great intimate vibe, awesome wine pairings and great staff. Good for business or personal, would recommend to anyone. In summer the patio fills up, great spot to sit.
Still sad that the gnocchi isn’t available for lunch anymore!

We were at a charity BBQ near by and could have done with with another dog each but supplies were dwindling and crowds were getting tenser and we decided to make a break for it and head to Taste near by as i’ve heard from some other elites that it’s small bites and very good. Given that we had eaten but were still hungry, small plates was rather ideal I thought.
Our table ordered:
white bean dip
warm olives
mango salad rolls
pork belly (I didn’t eat)
seared scallops (i didn’t eat)
blueberry perogies
coconut panacotta
As a vegetarian, I skipped two and it seems there were the table’s highlights. Which leaves me — not sure what I thought.
the mango salad rolls were a let down — I didn’t taste the mango at all and they were falling apart. 2 rolls cost $ 10. I got 3 rolls for $ 5.75 from my work’s convienience store and I think I like them better.
White bean dip was delicious and I loved the panbread toasties. This was my favorite of the meal.
warm olives were OK and not bad for $ 5 but it was a lot of olives to sit there and eat. I don’t think I’d fancy that again without a larger group.
The panacotta was good and I’m not a fan of coconut or pineapple so that’s impressive.
The blueberry perogies were kind of like turnovers that taco time offered at one point. They were good but reminded me of fast food and thus cost too much.
Overall I was a bit disappointed for my share of the $ 120 bill but I seemed to be the only one of our three. Considering I went from kinda still hungry after eating to satisfied but not stuffed… I’m really not super happy about the cost to taste and satisfaction factor. Although I’d visit taste again for another go, only one of my dishes was something i’d reorder.

The wine is really good… But the tapas are just ok… I think my expectations were not met … However, I cannot say it was not good… I was just expecting something really good. The services was not bad, and the ambience was nice…

I have been waiting for the opportunity to go and to try Taste but always either had some other plan come up or the idea of not being able to make reservations made me want to go elsewhere that I could secure a table.
Well, after work one cold Monday we decided to go for an early dinner and I must say I was very pleased! I absolutely love tapa style meals, it is my favorite — you get to try a numerous different flavors and items and can never get bored of a dish since they are usually smaller. Taste’s menu did not disappoint with this aspect!
When we arrived we were the only couple inside and it was nice, very quaint space. Our main server was very attentive and always knew when to come over and top off our water and replenish our drinks.
We ordered the featured cheeseboard, elk carpaccio and the beet salad. All was very fresh, and delicious. I also found that the portions were a perfect size, we didn’t feel overly full or still hungry.
Our server was well-​informed about the wine they serve; I probed about wine qualities that I like and he was able to suggest to me exactly which ones I wanted.
I was delighted with our time here and can’t wait to go back!

Wow my taste buds are blown away! This place is awesome. There is limited seating but gives a more intimate setting. But definitely a bit on the hipster side. The staff was very friendly upon our arrival.
We started off with the pretzel bitz which come with their homemade mustard. A nice surprise to taste some horseradish in there so tasty!
We then shared the Mac ‘n cheese and the beef dip. I’ve never had a more scrumptious beef dip then the one at taste. I highly recommend it to everyone. The Mac ‘n cheese was also mouth-​watering with a generous amount if bread crumbs on top and a very creamy cheese sauce.
Just go your taste buds will thank you!

Oh this restaurant is so amazing, I absolutely adore it! I wish more restaurants were like this! Taste is another tiny little restaurant in downtown but boy is it worth it. The food is divine, there were many great plates to share throughout our meal and we enjoyed delicious wine on the patio. I’d definitely come back to Taste in a heartbeat. The staff were great, giving us great recommendations when it came to food!
Taste would make a great date night or a lovely place to have drinks after work with your girlfriends. It’s pretty tiny so make sure you don’t miss it as you walk by. Taste tastes great!

On occasion Taste Calgary randomly holds Taco or no Taco night. I first heard this on my FB feed when I saw couple of friends talking about it. THanks Shannon and Maria H!
I looked forward to this pop taquiera the moment I laid eyes on their obscure but enticing website. Dear Calgary restaurants, do you wanna draw me into your mystery event without having me question your prices, location, and availability? Post a picture of a luchador in your background.
Taco or no Taco Lucha or no… scrap that MORE Lucha?
We stumbled around downtown YYC wait for the hour to hit 4pm. The señorita grumped about how no one eats dinner at 4pm, but I insisted «SILENCIO! I must have these tacos»
They were worth it… sort of…
I have the tendency to be over excited about everything but out of the three tacos I had: Brisket, Veal, and Seafood, well it was about a 2 out of 3 stars. Their Brisket and Veal were succulent and packed with flavour. I read up on Taste’s tweets and those babies were worth cooking for hours. THe shrimp head however wasn’t what I thought it would be like. The seafood fixins were delicious but I struggled to eat the shrimp head. Maybe it was meant to have been fried to crispy oblivion but I sat there chewing the shells for a long time: S.
But I say that with love. I can’t wait for Taco or no taco to come again. Because everything else was amazing. Their margaritas were spot on refreshing and the señorita was buzzed… err…pleased. And their churros, good lord I’ve never had anything that delicious.
I’m sure I’ll visit Taste again. I often hear it from the mouths of reputable people who know a lot about food, but very little about luchadors. But that’s just how life rolls the dice.

Taste for the love of food, Taste for the need to imbibe with outstanding cocktails, Taste to procure a culinary journey with a good friend, Taste to prime you up for a night of rip, roaring, rodeo fun!
These were all elements of my adventure with the Team at Taste! The husband and wife duo who work the small room with the extraordinary head chef, were an excellent foray for me, into the quaint culinary highs of small space eating in Calgary. Next time you are wandering around the 1^st Street area, definitely duck in and see if there is a seat available. Oh, and make sure to order the chirizo meatballs… I think I dreamt about them last night!

Excellent beet salad with pecans and goat cheese and micro greens
Had the lunch special risotto, wild boar and cranberrys YUM
Hard to find but worth the search, find the arts hotel and it is around the corner