Restaurant review: Alloy (Calgary)

On my birthday, Friday, April 15, Rod and I decided to try Alloy on 42nd Ave SW (just off Macleod). Since it was only nine blocks from our house and the evening was bright, we decided to walk. Really, when we're in NYC we sometimes walk 15-20 blocks to a show and then dinner and back to our hotel, so this lovely stroll through Stanley Park wasn't too far at all.

The location of this restaurant still boggles us. It's flanked by the train tracks and a wood shop (not the Cedar Shoppe, but it's only about a block away!). The place was packed! I had often noticed on the drive home from work that the parking lot is full, no matter the night or the time. Around dinner hour Alloy draws a crowd.

The ambiance is lovely, very "me and Rod" as most of our friends (thanks to the Flegels and Duncansons for recommending!). We we seated along the wall in the main dining room (where a colleague of Rod's suggested he request a table). This pic shows the view from our table:

We each had a cocktail to start. For me it was a glass of Californian sparkling wine (sorry, can't remember the label, it was the same price as the Prosecco though, $10) and Rod had the "root beer float" which was so yummy! It was topped with house-made vanilla gelato instead of whip cream ;)

For appetizers we ordered the prosciutto pockets (roasted Asian pear and brie stuffed, with fig mustard spread and caramelized walnuts $15). They were good, very rich though. We also ordered the seared scallops (pistachio crusted with corn cream and yam crisps $18)  The scallops were AMAZING and by far one of the meal highlights in our opinion.

The extensive and high end wine list included two pages of "alloys" - red blends from all over the world. Having discovered blended reds while in Paso Robles last fall we poured over this section of the wine list in delight. In the end we settled on Novella Synergy (by Eos) from Paso Robles. A blend of 45% Zinfandel, 25% Petite Sirah, 18% Cabernet Sauvignon, 8% Syrah, 2% Cabernet Franc and 2% Sangiovese, we'd never had it before and it was very good :) 

Our mains were good, not outstanding though. I had the roast chicken with goat's cheese bread pudding, dried fig and port demi-glace ($26). The chicken was a little over cooked for me - just a tad dry. Rod had seared duck with pomegranate reduction sweet potato dumplings ($32). We're not sure if the sliced duck breast on his plate was from different breasts but the first piece was very tough and the second was succulent. Not sure what happened, they looked to be cooked identically...


We didn't order dessert and opted to enjoy the end of our wine. To my surprise the waiter delivered a special birthday dessert with a candle in celebration of my birthday. It was the chocolate trio (chocolate coffee cake, chocolate pâté and chocolate gelato). On the house for me but regularly $9.

So would we go back? For sure! Would I bring my family there or meet friends there? Totally.