D.O.P. | Calgary’s Best Restaurants 2024

With its comforting Italian fare and warm, intimate dining room, it’s no surprise diners fill every seat in D.O.P. night after night.

D.O.P. team members Michelle Dunn (left) and Priya Kaila share a tajarin pomodoro guanciale. Photo by Jared Sych.

Who’s Behind It
Owner/General Manager Tony Migliarese.

What’s on the Menu
Family-style Italian antipasti, pasta and large-format entrees.

Why We Love This Place
Family has always been the cornerstone of the much-loved D.O.P. Owner Tony Migilarese drew inspiration from his late restaurateur father when creating his intimately sized Italian restaurant (still in its Beltline location for now, though a relocation is in the works for the early fall of this year).

Young Tony once questioned his parents: “Why don’t we feed the people what we eat?” He was referring specifically to the pickled green tomatoes his grandmother made, but even more so to the feeling of family that he associated with his grandmother’s cooking. This sense of family is present at D.O.P. , where staff greet oft-returning regulars by pouring a glass of their favourite wine as they seat them — no questions needed. Mama Migliarese worked with the kitchen team to bring family favourites to the menu alongside more modern preparations like the now Insta-famous giant raviolo and weekly feature pastas.

The tight quarters mean that sometimes previously unacquainted fellow diners end the night feeling more like family, celebrating successes or, in some cases, commiserating misfortune over an amaro Old Fashioned (or two).

It’s this warmth, comfort and familiarity that makes dinner at D.O.P. wholly fulfilling, and it is that fulfilment that fills every seat in the House of Migliarese, night after night.

1005A 1 St. S.W., 587-349-2656, dopyyc.com, @dopyyc

 

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This article appears in the March 2024 issue of Avenue Calgary.

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