Sabor: Inside the Portuguese and Spanish restaurant in Edmonton
Sabor, from the same team behind all of the low-key great Bodega spots around the city, is a fantastic dining experience.
Influenced by (mostly) Spanish and Portuguese cuisine, this restaurant has an impressively long list of well-crafted tapas and family-style large plates. It’s impossible to get through it all in one sitting, which makes it a great spot to go with a group and to keep revisiting.
Located right in the heart of downtown, Sabor seems to be packed every night, in a beautifully decorated room with loud music, enthusiastic conversation, and theĀ flavours of Iberian coastal cuisine wafting through the air.
Dished recently had the pleasure of sitting in the vibrant spot with multiple levels and multiple rooms. No matter where you sit, you feel in the middle of the action, with old-school professional and friendly service inside a modern and chic setting.
We tried so many of the dishes on the menu and there were definitely some highlights (besides the fantastic wine bottles we ordered, of which there are so many great labels to choose from).
We started with fried bread. The menu here actually has several different kinds of rustic baguette with so many add-ons, such as truffle butter, sardine pate, eggplant curry pate, or sundried tomato pesto, to name a few.
We ordered several tapas, starting with the perfectly cooked scallops on a bed of cucumber, avocado, and green onion salsa. Next, we had the potato bravos and grilled vegetables served in a clay pot.
Dished Edmonton
Dished Edmonton
We also had a trio of plates: grilled piri piri prawns (mixed greens, pimento aioli), bacon-wrapped dates (manchego cheese, quince, and balsamic reduction), and grilled Spanish octopus (black olive tapenade).
Dished Edmonton
Each one was bursting with flavour, entirely unique from the one before it, and just enough food to satisfy but also continue to enjoy all of the other dishes on the table.
As for the larger dishes, we made the hard decision to choose just three. First was the individually roasted lamb chops served with eggplant curry puree, grilled vegetables, mint, and parsley oil. The second was a AAA beef filet with a red wine jus. Lastly, we had the pork chop in a wonderfully seasoned bed of foraged mushrooms.
Dished Edmonton
The big dish of the night was the massive bowl of lobster risotto, one of the signature dishes here at Sabor. There were generous amounts of lobster throughout the seasoned risotto that was both creamy and al dente.
Dished Edmonton
We didn’t get a dessert… we got three of them: the cheesecake, the creme brĆ»lĆ©e, and a tiramisu. None of them were too sweet, but a perfect nightcap for the end of the meal.
Dished Edmonton
All of the dishes were as fun to try as they were enjoyable to taste. We were so full by the end of it and we didn’t even get to the charcuterie, soup, salad, or pasta options. There are three different paellas, family-style platters, and more than 30 a la carte options that allow guests to really make the exact dining experience that they want for themselves.
The ambiance is authentic and so is the food.
Christian Mena and Adelino Oliveira opened this spot in 2008 and have together created, and continue to evolve, what might be the best dining experience YEG has to offer.
It doesn’t matter if you need the perfect date idea, a setting for a group to eat and mingle, or just need a great meal before walking to the hockey game, Sabor is one excellent choice for any occasion.
Sabor
Address: 10220 103rd Street NW #109, Edmonton