Who’s Behind It
Chef/Owner Darren MacLean
The Dish to Eat
Whatever you’re served!
With eight seats, up to 20 courses, a high-profile chef, a $300+ price tag and a race to snag reservations as they’re released throughout the year, it would be easy to dismiss Eight as unattainable. But, a night at chef Darren MacLean’s table is welcoming, interactive and educational, while also being undeniably delicious. The restaurant is shrouded in mystery — guests are not permitted to take photos once ushered into the secret space in the East Village Alt Hotel — which, while part of the fun, has left Eight somewhat misunderstood by the uninitiated.
For example, unlike its cousins Nupo and Shokunin, Eight is not primarily rooted in MacLean’s ongoing passion for Japanese food. The concept here, in terms of ingredients, inspiration and, most importantly, storytelling, is earnestly Canadian. There may be some Japanese-inspired dishes, but the focus is Canada as a whole. MacLean’s meditations on Canada’s culinary identity delivered from the pulpit of his open kitchen are both personal and cerebral. Each story is spun into a creative and superbly executed dish that may be inspired by anything from the curry soup served by an Indo-Canadian neighbour when MacLean was growing up to a dry-aged duck with XO sauce made in loving homage to Canada’s Chinese restaurants — all with ingredients pulled from the restaurant’s farm or meticulously sourced.
Any night at Eight is an event for the handful of lucky diners, but MacLean is constantly pushing Calgary’s culinary scene further with collaborations featuring some of the world’s top chefs through the Cultural Chef Exchange, among other special events.
Last fall, he extended the experience with After Eight, a jewel box of a speakeasy, even tinier and more secluded than Eight itself. The new bar was recently recognized by the editors of the 50 Best Bars list in the global 11 Fabulous New Bars to Try in 2025 article. Diners now enter the restaurant through the back door via the speakeasy, increasing the wonder quotient of an already magical dining experience.
631 Confluence Way S.E., eightcdn.ca, @eight_cdn
