Dinner and outdoor opera in Calgary
Calgary Opera’s Opera in the Village takes place in an open-air tent on the East Village RiverWalk on August 13, 14, 20, 21, 2016. Performances of Hansel and Gretel and Archiebaldo! begin at 1 pm and 7 pm, respectively. Purchase tickets early, and pair the evening affair with reservations at one of the following nearby eateries. Photo by Trudie Lee: Lynne McMurtry and Tracy Dahl in Candide.
Charbar Restaurant Inc
618 Confluence Way Se, Calgary AB T2G 0G1Situated in the magically transformed Simmons Building in East Village, Charbar is the beams-and-brick offspring of the wildly popular Charcut and a cooperative cuisine venture that also features Sidewalk Citizen and Phil & Sebastian café spaces. Linger over ceviche, Argentine-inspired asado barbecue dishes and fugazza-style, deep-dish pizza. The opera is steps away once you’ve consumed your fill.
The Nash Restaurant & Off Cut Bar
925 11 St SE, Calgary AB T2G 0R4The National Hotel is an Inglewood landmark that had fallen into disrepair. After sitting empty for years, the tan-brick building has been elegantly refurbished. It’s central occupant is The Nash, sister restaurant to the highly acclaimed Notable. Playfully upscale, its dinner menu features wood-fired rotisserie meats and West Coast seafood dishes. It also features one of the city’s coolest cocktail lounges.
Rouge
1240 8 Ave SE, Calgary AB T2G 0M7Serving local ingredients prepared with French flair, Rouge is one of the country’s most acclaimed restaurants. It is also located in Inglewood just a few blocks east of the Opera in the Village tent. Take a table within its beautifully preserved heritage-home digs or on its garden-side patio for meals so good they ought to be immortalized in song.
Bookers BBQ Grill & Crabshack
316 3rd St SE, Calgary AB T2G 2S4Walking distance from the opera grounds, Bookers serves house-smoked barbecue and seafood dishes that may just make you burst into song. Thursday is Caribbean jerk chicken night and the Sunday special is all-you-can-eat crab and ribs. Noisy, fun and family friendly, this converted brick warehouse is a chic grub shack compatible with crowd-pleasing opera excitement.
You & Me Restaurant Ltd
201-233 Centre St Sw, Calgary AB T2G 2B7Recently renovated, this popular Chinatown restaurant is located just a short walk from the East Village. Its evening menu features Cantonese and other regional Chinese dishes. These include sharable selections such as sizzling chicken hot pot, mango-sauce pork chop, palace-style chicken and salt and pepper prawns.
Kabuku Restaurant
103-414 3 St SW, Calgary AB T2P 1R2Given that Japan is the setting of the evening’s opera, sushi is a thematically appropriate pre-event meal. Located in the northeast corner of downtown Calgary, pleasant Kabuku serves artful, contemporary sushi pieces, rolls and sashimi. Japanese entrees include steak, salmon and cod dishes as well as sharable sushi assortments. Also try the volcano salmon or chicken.
Sakana Grill
MN-116 2 Ave SW, Calgary AB T2P 0B9A Japanese restaurant located in Chinatown, Sakana Grill is walking distance from the East Village. On the seafood side, ride a love boat stacked with sushi and sashimi, or go for sushi and sashimi by the piece as well as a rainbow array of contemporary sushi rolls. Or, treat yourself to a grilled entree such as teriyaki salmon, chicken or steak.
500 Cucina
1003 9 Avenue SE, Calgary AB T2G 0S6Immediately adjacent to the East Village in Inglewood, 500 Cucina in the sexy Atlantic Avenue Art Block serves lovingly crafted Italian pizza, pasta and mains. Former food truckers Genarro Silvestri and Rocco Bartolotti have settled into a cheerful and airy permanent space complete with an open kitchen, its own pretty little coffee bar and a live-music area handsomely decorated with a selection of bottled wines.
