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
Native Tongues Taqueria
Native Tongues Taqueria is a go-to spot for tacos, but that’s not all you can get here — dishes like the salsa tasting, chilaquiles, cochinita pibil and hamburguesa are all equally satisfying. Save room for one of the restaurant’s popular glazed doughnuts for dessert. You can also choose from the wide selection of tequilas and mezcals, either in a classic margarita or in one of the crafted cocktails.
Three Calgary locations, nativetongues.ca, @nativetonguesyyc
Runners-up
Tacos Mexico Memorial
This Forest Lawn restaurant is known for its namesake dish: Mexican street-style tacos that come in 20 varieties. Guests can also enjoy more traditional Mexican dishes like sopa de tortilla and enchiladas verdes in the restaurant’s relaxed, low-key setting.
3725 Memorial Dr. S.E., 403-457-6117, tacosmexicoyyc.com, @tacosmexicomemorial
Fortuna’s Row
At this East Village restaurant, contemporary Latin American dining is the name of the game. Chef Mikko Tamarra’s menu highlights Central and South American cuisine from Peru to Mexico through shareable plates of poached halibut, charcoal porkbelly, potato gnocchi, grilled chicken al pastor and more. Can’t decide what to eat? Try the “let us feed you” option to let the kitchen decide. The boundary-pushing menu of cocktails also incorporates Latin ingredients, creating an all-encompassing culinary journey.
421 Riverfront Ave. S.E., 403-243-0069, fortunasrow.com, @fortunas.row
Añejo Restaurant
This Mission restaurant is a popular destination for Mexican fare, inspired by cuisine from the western Mexican state of Jalisco and Central Mexico. Start with the mezcal adobo mussels or the house salsa tasting for the table before diving in dishes like the pork carnitas or the scallop esquites. As one might expect given the restaurant’s name, Añejo also has one of the biggest tequila lists anywhere in Calgary with more than 200 options.
2116 4 St. S.W., 587-353-2656, anejo.ca, @anejorestaurant
