Each year, we ask Avenue readers to vote for their favourite restaurants in Calgary in our Best Restaurants readers’ choice ballot. These are some of their favourite places in the city.
Winner
DOPO
As the successor to the beloved, now-closed D.O.P., DOPO has taken the reins as one of Calgary’s best Italian restaurants. In the basement dining room, modern Italian cuisine is at the forefront, with chef David Leeder creating fantastic dishes on an ever-changing menu, but you can always expect a variety of dishes like hand-rolled pastas or the famous pickled green tomatoes. Plan your visit as early as possible as tables book up weeks in advance.
10, 1907 34 Ave. S.W., 587-349-2656, dopoyyc.com, @dopoyyc
Runners-up
Luca Restaurant
This restaurant brings some swanky flair to Calgary’s dining scene. Featuring a menu of hand-made pastas, large family-style dishes like bistecca or bison osso buco and a huge wine selection, Luca is a great spot for an impressive night out. If you’re in the mood for something particularly special and extravagant, you won’t be disappointed with Luca’s seafood platter with oysters, prawns, lobster and more.
524 10 Ave. S.W., 403-261-1777, lucayyc.com, @lucayyc
Cardinale
Cardinale is an intimate, cozy and cool joint serving a concise and fresh menu of pastas, antipasti and other Italian dishes. It’s a great spot to dine whether you’re heading to the nearby Scotiabank Saddledome for an event afterwards or just looking for a tasty night out.
401 12 Ave. S.E., 403-264-6046, cardinale.ca, @cardinaleyyc
Mercato
This family-owned restaurant and market is a community staple in Calgary’s Mission and West Springs neighbourhoods. The restaurant’s menu is presented in the traditional format of antipasti (appetizers), primi (pastas and risottos), secondi (heavier meat dishes) and contorni (vegetables). It includes standout pasta dishes like pappardelle with wild boar and ribeye bolognese and the restaurant’s famous Fiorentina-style rib-eye steak that’s big enough for the whole table. Mercato started as an Italian market in 1974, and still sells pasta, breads, sauces and other items for an Italian feast at home.
2224 4 St. S.W., 403-263-5535, mercatogourmet.com, @mercato_mission; 873 85 St. S.W., 403-263-6996, mercatowest.com, @mercatowest
Villa Firenze
Family-operated since 1991, this Bridgeland restaurant still uses recipes passed down through generations. Try traditional dishes like minestrone, lasagna, pastas or the rack of lamb on your next night out with family or friends.
610 1 Ave. N.E., 403-264-4297, villafirenze.ca, @villafirenze
Buon Giorno
With nearly four decades in business, Buon Giorno is one of the most notable restaurants in Calgary’s Italian dining landscape. Guests know and love the homey vibes at this restaurant, with red-and-white checkered tablecloths and a vast menu of home-style Italian favourites.
1201 17 Ave. S.W., 403-244-5522, buongiornos.ca, @buongiornoyyc
Bonterra Trattoria
Located in the Beltline, this restaurant has been serving classic yet contemporary Italian fare like spaghetti carbonara and rigatoni amatriciana for more than 20 years. Be sure to try any of the excellent pasta dishes (made with locally sourced ingredients), or opt for something a little more modern like pork belly and octopus with nduja sugo and roast potato.
1016 8 St. S.W., 403-262-8480, bonterra.ca, @bonterracalgary
Teatro
A staple of Calgary’s fine-dining scene since 1993, Teatro is beloved for its local and seasonal Italian cuisine with Mediterranean flair. Teatro’s menu is full of contemporary preparations of Italian classics (elevated by the restaurant’s wood-fired grill), and all are complemented by an extensive wine menu — the restaurant’s award-winning bank vault-turned-wine cellar holds more than 10,000 bottles.
200 8 Ave. S.E., 403-290-1012, teatro.ca, @teatrorestaurant