The Eden: Inside Calgary's blue collar bistro
The Eden, a “blue collar” bistro located in the heart of Inglewood, is one of the most underrated restaurants in Calgary.
This spot for live music and French food without the pretension has a friendly neighbourhood vibe filled with regular locals and those in the know.
The family-owned restaurant launched in 2017, is open from Wednesday to Sunday, and has a menu featuring some of the coolest dishes you’ll find in YYC.
It’s hands-down one of the coolest and best dining experiences in YYC.
Dished recently had the opportunity to check out the Inglewood restaurant, try out a few of the creative dishes, and listen to some live jazz while doing so.
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What feels so different about this French restaurant is that every dish is prepared authentically but feels FUN.
We started with the raclette, a creamy and smooth cheese that melts wonderfully. It’s often served warm and scraped onto a plate with a knife, but this one comes sizzling on a plate with bresaola, shallot butter, pickled onions, and a baguette.
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The tartare, made from beef flank, is one of the best in the city. Seasoned with capers, red onion, tabasco, and dijon, it’s tasty but makes the meat the star. It’s a fine line and the kitchen team here hit it perfectly… but that’s just the start. It’s covered in comtĂ© cheese, and instead of crackers or crisps, it’s served on a stack of paillasson duck fat fries.
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A few of the other starters guests can order include a blue crab salad, Navajo fry bread, and oysters with all of the fixings, to name a few. One appetizer we couldn’t pass up trying was the extremely decadent capriccio made from A5 Japanese wagyu, topped with idiazabal basque cheese, pine nuts, fried capers, and sauce tonnato.
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All of the food here is made by talented chefs who are obviously encouraged to experiment and excited to have a little fun while they do it. It’s a menu with no categories — just order what you want for the table.
As for the mains, we thought about getting the sablefish, the fresh ground chuck burger, or the panko-crusted schnitzel with foie gras jager sauce, but we couldn’t get it all so we went for two others: the lamb saddle and the Gigli pasta.
The lamb was massive, served with marouli salad, roasted potato, and lamb jus, while the pasta was prepared with squid, shrimp, scallops, and nduja in a white wine sauce.
Dished Calgary
Dished Calgary
The next time you’re feeling like you’re out of great spots to visit in YYC, or you just need a fantastic dining idea, visit this spot immediately.
The Eden
Address: 1219 9th Avenue SE, Calgary
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