River Cafe: Getting what we pay for, and then some

Brian and I had dinner at River Cafe on Friday evening (October 26).

River Cafe will always be a source of fond memories for me, because this was where I had dinner during my job interview here for my position at U of C, in late February, 2000. A couple of other interviewees had flown the coop (they had received offers elsewhere), so a slew of professors were champing at the bit for that one great perk in academia: The free “take the job candidate to dinner” night out. So what would normally see me and one or two professors at a decent restaurant (and these should always be nice places that “sell” the city- to me this is the whole point of the candidate dinners), our party had eight people. This took some pressure off me, since the professors could talk amongst themselves, and I got to enjoy a spectacular meal.

Since then we’ve been back many times. River Cafe is distinctive not only for its locally sourced (as much as possible), organic, seasonal ingredients and the magic that the kitchen performs with them, or its superb service; there are several restaurants of its calibre in Calgary, now. What’s really special is River Cafe’s setting. It’s in Prince’s Island Park, a downtown gem that’s the setting for the Folk Fest and the Canada Day celebrations, among other special things. It’s also serene and beautiful but adjacent to skyscrapers. A great urban green space. River Cafe is the only business on the island, and customers (and employees) have to walk there; there is no parking on the island. This is not a hardship, since the “walk” is as little as five minutes’ worth from the parkade at Eau Claire Market. It’s part of the experience and is devastatingly charming.

Not every meal I’ve had at the River Cafe has been perfect, but among them was what I have to nominate as the best meal I’ve ever had: a nine-course “fish and game tasting menu” with wine pairings–yes, nine wine pairings, plus prosecco to start, so TEN wines–that took four hours to work through. It was outstanding, least of all because it introduced me to the joy that oysters can be. Anyway, I am thrilled to report that Friday’s dinner was not only spectacular but also, and this is shocking to say for a pricey place like River Cafe, very good value. River Cafe is a very expensive restaurant, no getting around that. But the money was, as Brian likes to say, “on the plate.” Portions were generous but the quality was abundantly evident (and evidently abundant), and we left feeling satisfied on every level. And not hungry. At all.

You can check out the menu at the restaurant’s website link above. We had two each of the “one bites,” a nice inexpensive thing to bridge the gap between a minute amuse bouche and a larger appie. Ours were the shrimp with carrot mousse and the mushroom-potato “cannelloni” with strips of butternut squash as the “pasta.” These were the best imaginable way to set up the meal. Completely delicious.

Following a basket of house-baked bread (River Cafe does almost everything in-house, including curing their own bacon) we both enjoyed salads. Brian had the beet salad with red and gold beets from Highwood Crossing- not tiny scraps of heirloom babies, but nice big mouth-filling chunks. Magic. I had the butterleaf lettuce with radish and diced bacon and barley. It worked.

Mains were next; I had the tenderloin, reminiscing about my first taste of Alberta Beef at the job interview in 2000 (also the tenderloin, if memory serves), which came with an array of side: sweet potato puree, kale (which I cannot stand, but they managed to make it edible), roasted blue potatoes, and a yorkie stuffed with buffalo short ribs. It was a gourmand’s plate, a huge amount of beautifully-presented food, and every part was thoughtfully done; no arbitrary steamed veg or whatever. A masterpiece. Brian had risotto with pine mushrooms (which are rare and very expensive) and a brined and then pan-roasted pheasant. It was–sorry to use up this one–it was TO DIE FOR. This was a board special but please do look for it if you go to River Cafe. It was complex and almost overwhelmingly intense but comforting too. A treat.

Dessert: Brian had a strawberry pavlova that was perfectly competent but not my thing; I love plain raw strawberries but can’t stand them in any other manifestation. To the restaurant’s credit they managed to source Alberta strawberries. Yeah, I don’t get it either, but they were lovely. I had a pumpkin spiced cake with poached quince and house-made ice cream that was a sort of butter brickle, and this one ranks right up there with the warm gingerbread cake at Brava Bistro for pure buttery ecstasy.

We had in toto four “one bites,” two salads, two mains, two desserts and four glasses of wine, and the damage was $202 before a well-earned tip. It was worth every penny. I’ve paid more for less many times, and I’ve paid less for terrible food too many times.

I know people who’ve lived in Calgary for years and have never been to River Cafe. For shame. This is the one “can’t miss” dining experience if you’re visiting, and one place that every Calgarian should know, and know well.