Vero Bistro: Inside the modern Mediterranean restaurant in Calgary

Vero Bistro is one of the best places to eat in the community of Kensington.

It can be easily missed because it is very small and attached businesses on either side of it. There’s also so mucin competition for where to dine in the area. We’re here to tell you — you need to put Vero Bistro on your list of places to go.

The second you walk in from its 10th Street entrance, it feels like you’ve exited Calgary and entered 1990 New York. It’s nostalgic and never cheesy, and it pulls off this dark decor because the service, drinks, ambience, and food are all incredible.

It’s a restaurant that has fun. It takes inspiration from the cuisine of France, Italy, and Spain, with the owners making trips often to learn and be inspired by flavours and techniques. It isn’t stuffy or pretentious here, even though the food is fine dining with flare. The dishes are as worthy of an Instagram post as they are on a “best food of the year” list.

It could very well be one of the best restaurants in YYC.

Dished recently had the opportunity to sit inside the intimate space and try many of the most popular dishes that had our jaws on the floor when they came to the table.

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We started some fantastic appetizers, like the smoked olives and Cinco Jotas ham from Jabugo, Spain. It was so nutty tasting because it was 100% Iberico, free range, and acorn-fed.

Dished Calgary

Next up are some other starters that included a playful twist table showstopper, a tasty classic presented in a fun way, and a well-known French dish done perfectly.

We had the duck pate that came skewered, cold, and wrapped in sweet cotton candy. Sounds weird but it was delicious. We also had the black truffle arancini with fontina cheese brought out in a cigar box, and the escargot sautéed in garlic, shallots, and cognac and then baked with parmesan herb butter and served with baguette.

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The signature dish here, although there seems to be many, is this lobster bisque served with a massive chunk of lobster claw meat and topped with a pastry crust.

Dished Calgary

As for the mains, we had vegetarian pasta, meat, fries, and one of the best massive food platters you’ll find in YYC.

The pasta is a bucatini cacio e pepe made with truffle pecorino romano DOP and crack black pepper. It’s a classic dish made the right way, and the playful aspect comes from the crispy-edged cheese bowl it comes in.

We also had the grilled black Angus beef tenderloin served with herb butter sauce, parmesan frites, and lemon aioli. Sometimes steaks can be tough, overcooked, sinewy, etc… but this one was incredible. Every bite was a hint that this is one of the best places for steak in YYC.

Lastly, we tried the massive lobster platter and it was the hit of the night. Besides lobster tails, this thing is served with mussels, clams, prawns, scallops, two kinds of seasonal fish, calamari, and a mound of pasta aglio e olio.

Dished Calgary

The next time you’re looking for decadent dishes that taste delicious and are made with high-quality ingredients, consider this spot. You usually need to hop on a plane for a menu with this kind of quality and even then — it’s probably not this captivating.

Vero Bistro

Address: 209 10th Street NW, Calgary, Calgary

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