The Belvedere

Awesome spot. Great location, great atmosphere and good food. The lamb was fantastic and the service was very good. We had a bottle of wine that was corked and they quickly replaced it without question. Ill be back.

It was our last night in Canada and after checking Unilocal we decided to give Belvedere a try. It was early so there were plenty of tables. The owner was very friendly and spent quite a bit of time with us discussing the menu items and their cooking method. They use the Sous Vide method. We tried the fresh made sour dough bread with green onion butter, I had a filet mignon and my husband had lamb. We also shared a Caesar salad. The food was all delicious and it seems they put a little twist of extraordinary into everything. We were very happy with our choice.

My husband and I were here for the gourmet Big Taste dinner. We had been at the Belvedere before and although we did not recall a particularly spectacular dish from our previous experiences, food had always been decent. Hence, we were somewhat surprised and a bit disappointed in this year’s Big Taste set menu. The menu description sounded delightful online, but it fell short at dinner time. The «jumbo prawns» in the appetizer were really rather moderately sized shrimp, dredged in a thick sauce that caused the underlying bed of greens to become quite wilted. My husband had the brie, which was presented in a much better fashion. The second course-​I had the Caprese salad, which was ok, but nothing spectacular. My husband’s Carrot Ginger soup was nearly unpalatable as the spices in the soup did not seem to work well with the soup and it was quite a jarring experience; the wonton chip on the soup was an interesting addition, but it was VERY salty for some reason. The pasta course was again ok, not spectacular, but at least the pasta itself had a nice al dente texture. For the main entrée, my husband had the steak, which again, was seasoned with spices that did not seem to go well with the steak, and overly salted fingerling potatoes. My salmon, while it had a a nice crispy surface to it, was veering on the salty side. The dessert was decent, with a nice caramelized crust to the crème brulee and chunks of chocolate cheesecake inside the brulee. Overall, we were a bit surprised at our overall experience at the Belvedere, and unfortunately, do not think we would be returning any time soon.

Beautiful ambience and I was with a great company so had a great time here but this is not «fine» dining. It’s mediocre food plated well in a dim restaurant with cloth napkins. Plus my tummy hurt afterwards.
This is mediocre dining and knowledge of food for a fine dining price. I would suggest happy hour here though because the ambience is so beautiful. The restaurant is so beautiful and that’s why this place is getting three stars from me. Based on taste, service, food and value I would say two stars.
Nothing was outstanding in my opinion. We ordered the 5-​course gourmet menu for $ 65. Started with tiny prawns drenched in creamy sauce (that others liked) and some salad greens that you could get from Superstore. Nothing special. Nothing local. No chef-​like mingling of fantastic flavors.
The steak was tough and took a long time to chew. The nicest was the Caprese but it was measly even though the flavors were good.
The salmon was good, nothing to write home about. The service was fine, not exceptional in the least. My final bill came up to about $ 80 with tax n tip.

I am often surprised by the reviews in Calgary for restaurants. One place will have rave reviews and I’ll have an only OK experience with service and food. Other places like Belvedere seem to have a few bad reviews in a row, but it was just lovely! I brought my parents here who were visiting from out of town. The place was nearly empty which made me sad for the business, but was great for being able to hear each other. The food was delicious!!! My fiancé ordered short ribs, he said they were some of the best he’s ever had. My parents and I loved the beef tenderloin. The service was amazing. We even got a complimentary food sample when we first sat down. The ambiance was also amazing. Thanks for a great time!

Too expensive for what it was worth. The atmosphere was nice however the quality of the food really wasn’t great. And the dishes were expensive, around ~32 $. Some of the food was served too cold, the vegetables barely had taste.
Not worth your money.

We were a group of about 8 for lunch, on a break from a conference. The ambiance was really nice and the service was pleasant, but our lunch took about 2.5 hours and we weren’t even drinking, so it was just slow dining. I don’t want to say it was the service because our server was attentive, but maybe the kitchen was short staffed or maybe that’s just how they roll. Regardless, we had to forgo our post lunch conference session because of it. No one’s meal was «bad», although the people that ordered the burger were dissatisfied. It was essentially an undressed burger with an undressed salad on the side. Overall it was good, not great, but I think it would be a nice place for a romantic night out. For the price though, there are many other places I would dine at before returning here.

I rate their beef wellington a 4-​star because the garnish and the sauce weren’t mind-​blowing enough. I also had a hard time asking for ground pepper while most of the waiters were all busy taking care of the wine tasting event guests… However, my waitstaff might have noticed that I was being left alone, he offered me a small portion of their food pairing for the wines to taste and it was DELICIOUS!

I took my fiancé for dinner a couple of days ago and we had a horrible experience at Belvedere. The service was great and we had a waiter and the coat lady were both very polite, quick and responsive. However, the food itself was awful.
I ordered the Bison and my fiancé ordered the beef wellington. The bison was kind of bland, nothing to write home about and her wellington actually tasted quite nice.
But later that night my fiancée started to feel sick and shortly afterwards so did I. She vomited a little and I was kept up all night with severe diarrhea.
The only other meal we had that day was a vegetarian brunch at a friend’s house and nobody there got sick so we are pretty certain we got food poisoning from the Belvedere.
We were hoping to enjoy a nice meal and are thoroughly disappointed with what we actually got. If you are looking for a fancy meal that it is worth the money and will be well prepared, this is not the place I would recommend.

Good appetizers & great desserts… The main entrée was very good as well… I had the halibut, and I really liked it…
The wine was very good as well, and the service was fine. But the best part was definitely the desserts… They were just delicious…

Had an amazing romantic meal! The service was great, the food was amazing! I have a serious dairy allergy and the kitchen went out of their way to ensure that my entire meal had no dairy but was still as wonderful as the regular dish.

I went to the Belvedere on with my aunts while I was visiting the city. The room is beautiful and the service was very polite and fast. I decided on a glass of red and the 9 oz tenderloin. The meat was perfectly cooked and drizzled in truffle oil. I really enjoyed my meal here, however the menu seemed a bit old fashioned and heavy to me. Everything had truffle oil and fois gras, which is wonderful, but I can just imagine what a well seasoned and talented chef could do if given the licence to switch it up a bit!

An under appreciated Calgary classic. While Calgarians are always quick to flock to the newest and trendiest place, the Belvedere consistently provides some of the best food in the city. The short ribs remain one of the specialties and are so tender and delicious. The first bottle of wine you bring may be opened with no corkage. The second bottle is $ 25.

I went with a med/​large group. Definitely make reservations regardless.
It’s located right on 8^th St along many great restaurants. Superb wine menu.
frois gras — huge plus — wow!
skip the oysters, you can do better in U. S
love the goat cheese salad. what a nice surprise to my palette.
I had the Chilean sea bass, and everything melted in my mouth.
I heard the wild boar was phenomenal.
Way too stuffed to try dessert.
great service!

Excellent!
We waited a long time before finally going to the Belvedere Restaurant as it is a more higher price range and our last experience with Belgo, which is also higher prized, was quite negative.
Not so here: we went here for lunch where they offer a special menu including a $ 25 three-​course-​meal which I chose. My company ordered fish.
The atmosphere here is fantastic. You are sitting in an old building which still has its inside charm preserved as the original structure is only slightly covered and the stone walls as well as the roof supporting structure is well preserved.
Both dishes were delicious and the three-​course-​meal is of a good size not to stuff you too much but enough so you don’t leave hungry.
The service was without a flaw: the server was very helpful explaining the different meals and we never run out of drinks or bread, which accompanied our meal.
As the price range is a bit higher this will not be the place to go every day but it will be top on our list for places to go for special occasions.
Thank you for this experience!

I was invited here for a private function to network with industry colleagues after work.
The event was the type that I prefer: thankfully not a sit-​down affair, it instead was mingling, cocktails, and roving appetizers.
The restaurant was closed to the public, so the table area remained unoccupied. Instead, the 50 or so attendees stayed within close proximity of the bar (of course).
For the type of event it was, I thought the venue was ideal.
As the sun set, the Belvedere became an intimate, appropriately lit space, where wine and spirits poured as freely as you wanted them to.
Waiters continuously scanned the room to top up wine glasses.
You wanted something else? Just ask a waiter or the bartender. I don’t think any spirit was off limits. I did consider a gin martini, or a single malt, but stayed the course with my Cabernet.
As much as the wine-​waiters roamed, so did the appetizer platters.
What impressed me was the quality of appetizers we were being served. Great variety and flavors.
With one I noticed the truffle oil, and appreciated the «spare no expense to impress» attitude of the chefs (though personally I can do without truffle oil).
This is in direct contrast to an event I attended 2 hours earlier, where we were being served deep fried anything for app’s. Spring rolls, tempura shrimp, and the like.
I highly recommend the Belvedere to host a smaller corporate mixer. Give them the budget, and they will NOT disappoint.
¹⁄₃₀

Yesterday I put on my fancy pants and ventured out for a romantic lunch with the man at the elusive Belvedere. Located on Steven Ave, it is kinda hard to miss, their name is on a plaque on a wall, very European, and tres chic… We had no problem finding it once we spotted a young group of wasps, all decked out in their crisp white shirts and ties out on the patio. We ventured inside as there was a slight wind.
There was practically no one inside, just a table of 2 and us. I guess I could understand why, for lunch it is a pricey place. There was no host to greet us, in fact our waitress seated us and she was nice but found her kind of lacking in the personality department. She did her job and was professional so really I can’t complain.
Here is where Mr. Belvedere gets docked points. I checked out the menu on-​line prior to the visit and it is not reflected in the menu accurately in house, sorry, MINUS 0.5 POINTS for leading me on. It is very close but there was no coconut curry soup, which I really wanted to try, and no soft poached quail egg salad, something my hubby wanted to try. So we were a bit disappointed but we ordered the prawn salad instead. It was very good, not awesome but the warm contrast from the shrimp and the bitterness of the greens worked well together. Beware though, if you hate garlic, stay away!!!
I was also disappointed to see no chicken on the lunch menu, it is on the dinner menu but they won’t serve it at lunch, boooo. There were a couple of decent offerings but nothing really caught my interest so I opted for the tenderloin and hubby had the burger. The tenderloin was fantastic, I will give credit where credit is due, however they did not include the mushrooms that were listed on the description, asparagus was good but I really wanted shrooms! MINUS 0.5 STARS. I would have mentioned it to the waitress but we were running short on time and they do close at 2pm for lunch and didn’t want to wait for mushrooms while my steak got cold. Hubby said the burger was great but the fries were cold, and for $ 18 not something he would come back for (he didn’t like that it is topped with foie gras but made no issue about it after the fact).
I had a chance to look over the desert menu while we were finishing up our lunch and being a fan of both sticky toffee pudding and crème brûlée, we ordered both. I have to say they were both very generous in serving size but way underwhelming: (Sorry MINUS 0.5 STARS. The sticky toffee pudding was very heavy, almost too heavy and not enough sauce to moisten it up and no ice cream to counterbalance the stickiness of it, just a dollop of cream on top, so hubby never finished it and that is RARE! My crème brûlée really had potential, but there was so much crispy sugar on top that it interfered with the taste of the custard which for a crème brûlée was almost pudding like, too thick and I could swear that it must have been thickened with cornstarch as a shortcut to using pure cream and eggs which gives a creamier and more balanced custard. The custard itself had a strange sour taste, I assume it was the elderberry and totally ruined it for me. If they stuck to a classic vanilla custard and had a nice scoop of home made vanilla ice cream for the sticky toffee, these two deserts would have gone from mediocre to stellar.
The food was good and for an upscale restaurant, it is not overly pricey but also not some place you can regularly go to if you fancy it. Parking is somewhat an issue, being in the downtown core, I ended up parking in a private lot and dropping about $ 10 for 1.5 hours of fine dining. Bill came out to just under $ 100 and this is with no booze. Would I come back? Maybe. Is the Belvedere going to be something I rave to all my friends about? Well, put it this way, I am not going to bash Mr. Belvedere, it was very very good and I loved the old charm of the building it is tucked into, I just wish that after seeing the rave reviews from other Unilocalers, I was hoping that it would be my next favourite restaurant, unfortunately it didn’t quite make the cut for me
A solid 3.5 stars, I could have bumped you up to a 4 if you took care of the parking!

THE BEST FINE DINING IN CALGARY.
I had the pleasure of being treated to a dinner for four at Belvedere and was thoroughly impressed. A word of warning: Belvedere is not for the faint of wallet. You’re looking at roughly $ 200 per person, depending on the wine.
I savoured the Filet Mignon as my main course, accompanied by Foie Gras and it was OUTSTANDING! Belvedere is blessed to be one of the few restaurants in Canada to serve Canadian Prime Beef (the REAL good stuff, above AAA).
The wine list (or bible it’s more like) is incredible, but also financially humbling. I was treated to the 2003 Tom Eddy Cabernet and it send my taste buds soaring to the stratosphere with my Filet and Foie Gras.

My Husband and I recently went to The Belvedere for our Anniversary. There isn’t much I can say besides, unforgettable! I highly recommend a reservation and apparently they offer a complimentary parking service which you are supposed to ask about when booking.
The first time we ever went here was the night my Husband asked me to marry him, since then we have returned numerous times, usually going for our anniversary. We had a hard time finding the restaurant the first time we went because all there is only a small Belvedere sign on the side of the building. It almost had an exclusive feeling to it. The setting inside is very upscale but intimate. The lighting dim, with a skylight above the interior room. The main area seats approximately 30 people.
Their wine selection is extensive, they have affordable bottles and well as top dollar options. The servers are very knowledgeable in all aspects. The menu is always changing, the food always made from scratch. When we were there last, I had the best elk steak I have ever had, it melted in my mouth! The whole dish was good, the mashed turnip and raspberry brandy reduction. We shared a maple cheesecake for dessert, again rich and delicious! Every other time I have been here it has always been, like I said, unforgettable!
I have no doubt in my mind that The Belvedere is the place to go and spoil yourself with the most amazing food and wine! I will continue to find reasons to go back!

Wow! The Belvedere is such a wonderful restaurant. It was my first time being at The Belvedere today for a business lunch. The food served was top-​notch and with such formality and flair. Service was superb.
I had the Lamb Shoulder — so tender on a bed of delicately cooked white beans and green beans. My colleague had the Beef Tenderloin and he was in heaven when he had his first bite.
We opted for dessert: I had the Flourless Hazelnut Torte, warm and dripping with caramel sauce; the icecream, sauce and strawberry so pleasing with the palate and the eye. My colleage had the Chef’s Tasting of Chocolate — a platter of fine hand made chocolates and 2 scoops of different chocolate icecreams. He enjoyed his dessert a lot.
I will definitely go back to The Belvedere!