AUTHOR BIO: New York–born Mia Brown began reviewing restaurants in college and kept at it while traveling for a government job. She’s partial to poutine without cheese curds and La Fin Du Monde.
When I married into a family from just outside Calgary, I thought I was marrying into the edge of nowhere—a city not quite in the prairies, not quite in the Rockies. On my first visit years ago I expected sleepy streets and steakhouse menus, but what I found instead was a city with a hum all its own. Calgary was alive, and each trip back since has given me more reasons to love it: the downtown towers, the riverside walks, and a food scene that never stops changing.
I come back often now for work, and I’ve found joy in keeping up with the restaurants here, always new, always buzzing, always reaching for something bigger. So when Michelin arrived in Canada in 2022 and skipped Calgary, I felt the sting. This city has places every bit as worthy as Toronto, Vancouver, and Montréal, and they deserve a mention. Which is why I set out to make this list of the restaurants in Calgary that should already be in the Guide.
Alloy Dining
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The room hums with the confidence of veteran restaurateurs, with chef-owners Uri Heilik and Rogelio Herrera folding Mediterranean and Latin instincts into Asian cues without ever raising their voice. You can order the Thai lobster salad knotted with green-tea soba, then chase it with truffle-slick gnocchi or Alberta beef tartare. The polished hospitality feels like an escape more than a meal.
What it deserves: Michelin Star
Bar Gigi
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This 20-seat spot run by chefs Sandro Chinea and Jaden Kanomata, with Kayla Blomquist orchestrating wine and service. The prawn toast arrives buttery, the cacio e pepe raviolini sheet surprises with its silky texture, and the charred cabbage skewers arrive with sesame vinaigrette and a bite of mustard. The vibe is intimate, electric, and beautifully small—everything feels personal, like you’re inside a chef’s house party.
What it deserves: Bib Gourmand
Bow Valley Ranche Restaurant
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Chef Antonio de Angelis cooks in a storybook setting inside Fish Creek Provincial Park where an engagement just might happen between courses. You can order the bison tenderloin or steelhead trout and let the Alberta pantry do the talking. The fireplaces, creaking floorboards, and hush of the park make it a time warp in the best way.
What it deserves: Michelin Recommended
Bridgette Bar
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The mid-century room has food to match, with rigatoni people post about, maple-BBQ trout that tastes like a campfire memory, and wagyu carpaccio for the table. The menu is built for snacking and lingering, which explains the reliable late-night thrum. The place is chef-driven without being precious, so you can come hungry and unhurried.
What it deserves: Bib Gourmand
Caesar’s Steak House
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Since 1972 this red-leather institution has done Alberta beef the old-school way, cut to order, aged at least 28 days, grilled over open flame, and paraded tableside like a victory lap. You can order a martini, a classic Caesar salad, and a rib-eye and let the ritual unfold. The restaurant even claims to be the home of the Caesar cocktail, which in Calgary counts as civic pride.
What it deserves: Michelin Recommended
Charbar
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Inside the historic Simmons Building, this Argentine-leaning grill leans into fire and smoke with empanadas, blistered provoleta with Sidewalk Citizen sourdough, and thick-cut steaks that kiss the flames. The rooftop patio stares out over the Bow River when the weather behaves. The whole experience feels equal parts riverside hang and serious asado.
What it deserves: Bib Gourmand
CHARCUT Roast House
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Connie DeSousa and John Jackson run a meat lover’s playground where the ethos is back-to-basics and big on flavor. You will find house-cured salumeria, handmade pastas, and attention-grabbers like a 32-ounce Alberta bistecca or rotisserie prime rib. The vibe feels part urban butcher shop and part downtown salon.
What it deserves: Michelin Recommended
Deane House
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A stately 1906 home at the confluence of the Bow and Elbow plays host to chef John Beddoes, who cooks the seasons with a light, confident hand. Past menus have included steelhead trout with birch-glazed celery root and prairie-bright vegetables handled like jewelry. It is the rare fine-dining room where history and modern cooking hold equal billing.
What it deserves: Michelin Star
FinePrint
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Downtown’s old Herald building hides a wood-and-iron jewel box where chef Francis Martinez rides a Josper charcoal oven like a race car. The sablefish has become a house signature, the steaks get that charcoal kiss, and cocktails arrive looking ready for their close-up. The place feels glossy but grounded, like Calgary business chic gone delicious.
What it deserves: Michelin Star
Major Tom
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The 40-floor views set the stage for prime rib with the swagger of a steakhouse classic and martinis that make conversations last an extra hour. Chef Josh Morin keeps the cooking clean and confident, with cheese toast to start, big meats to follow, and plenty in between. The room winks at mid-century without ever getting stuck there.
What it deserves: Michelin Star
Model Milk
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On 17th Avenue, the kitchen team led by chefs Merritt Gordon and Garrett Rotel keeps the restaurant’s shape-shifting menu honest and energetic. Calgary’s most famous burger, dripping with American cheese and bone-marrow sauce, remains the crowd-pleaser that anchors the fun. The space is lively, the music up a notch, and the plates dialed for sharing.
What it deserves: Michelin Star
River Café
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Prince’s Island Park is half the draw, but the other half is a kitchen now led by chef Kristen Livingston, who cooks a resolutely Canadian, hyper-seasonal script. The menu shifts with the rivers and ranches, moving from sablefish and duck one season to prairie grains and garden things the next. It is a Calgary original that keeps evolving.
What it deserves: Michelin Star
Rouge
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Set in the historic A.E. Cross House, Rouge grows much of dinner out back and lets chef de cuisine Dean Fast and co-owner and culinary director Paul Rogalski do the rest. The menus move with the garden, sometimes featuring steelhead or foraged ingredients, and the rooms feel like a country escape. It is Calgary fine dining with dirt under its fingernails.
What it deserves: Michelin Star
Teatro
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This downtown staple offers a cellar of more than 15,000 bottles and an Italian menu that respects tradition while bending the rules when it should. Chef Camilo Kobek keeps the kitchen precise and focused, and the group’s own olive oil from owner Dario Berloni’s groves shows up where it counts. The dining room delivers white-tablecloth energy but never tips into stiffness.
What it deserves: Michelin Star
Wilde on 27
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High above downtown in The Dorian, chef Joshua Dyer plates a refined, modern Canadian tasting menu that might include Fort Macleod bison with haskap and hazelnut. The dining room leans glamorous without getting fussy, and the cocktails match the view. Guests come early for the sunset and stay late for the last pour.
What it deserves: Michelin Star
