| Restaurant | Rating | Type of Food | Style | Description | Information | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Main Dish |  | General | Takeout | The is a high–quality take out establishment with everything from soup and sandwiches to salads and main courses. Here is the perfect place to stop to pick up the lunch you were too rushed to make or the dinner you are to exhausted to prepare. There is also plenty of room to eat in. And keep in mind their brunches on weekends and full service fine dining on Saturday nights. Good vegetarian selection. | 903 General Ave. NE (1 Ave. NE and 8A St.) 266-DISH (3474) www | Daily 7:00 a.m. - 10:00 p.m. | |||||
| Manies Pizzeria and Greek Cuisine |  | Pizza / Greek | Informal | You can get pizza and Greek food here or look for some place better. Good vegetarian selection. | 811 - 17 Ave. SW 228-9207 | ||||||
| Marathon Ethiopian Restaurant | | Ethiopian | Informal | The food here is quite tasty, reminiscent of Indian cuisine but with its own particular blend of spices. The meal is usually eaten with one's hands from a large common serving dish using barley bread that looks, but thank goodness doesn't taste, like thin foam rubber. The staff were freindly, but seemed to disappear once the meal began. And the washrooms could use a little more attention. Good vegetarian selection. but note that males in the group will have to use the women's bathroom on the main floor. | 130 - 10 St. NW 283-6796 924- 17 Ave. SW 802-1580 | Tu to Su 11:00 a.m. - midnight M noon - midnight | |||||
| Margarita's Dishes | | Eastern European | Informal | This is a part of our great project of eating our way through the Calgary Farmer's Market. The food at this particular stand is a mixture of Ukrainian and German home cooking. (We always worry about home cooking as we have been in some homes where the cooking wasn't that enticing.) Here we got a split verdict. The cabbage rolls and sauerkraut were average; the schnitzel and latka's good. So we split at a 4. Good vegetarian selection. | Calgary' Farmers' Market (the old Currie Barracks) | ||||||
| Matador Pizza & Steak House | | Pizza / Steak | Informal | This is another of those restaurants that seem to have been around forever, and in this case, the longevity appears to be deserved. The setting is fresh and bright. The service is friendly, and the thin crust pizza is made with the freshest and tastiest of ingredients. The steak side of the menu we found rather ordinary, so the compromise was a "4" right on the category cusp. | 4625 Varsity Dr. NW (just north of Market Mall) 286-3133 | Su & Holidays 4:00 p.m. - 10 p.m. M 4:00 p.m. - 12:30 a.m. Tu to Sa 11:30 a.m. - 12:30 a.m. | |||||
| Mercato |  | Italian | Informal | Most people are eager to take advantage of the deli part of Mercato with its wide variety of Italian food from pasta to olives, from sandwiches to cheese. But don't forget the restaurant. The bread is made on site. The soups are hearty and tasty. The sauces are light but rich. In short, for not much more than you would pay for a heavy pasta special elsewhere in the area, you can come here and enjoy what you get thoroughly. Grant, however, is a little disturbed by the fact that there are no free coffee refills. The excuse is that this is slow drip coffee. "So?" Grant asks. Good vegetarian selection. | 2224 - 4 St. SW 263-5535 | ||||||
| The Metropolitan Grill |  | General | Informal | The "General" category is becoming crowded, especially in the downtown area, with "business" restaurants—places with an upscale feel catering to the oilpatch crowd with everything from gourmet burgers to AAA steak. The Metropolitan Grill leads these with a crisp business–like décore and high–quality dishes. One thing to note is that the lunch menu has a lot of quite reasonably–priced choices in the main section—things like hamburgers and sandwiches. However for some reason the chef forgets how to prepare these after 4 o'clock and that part of the menu is replaced by more expensive dishes, though the salad and pasta sections continue to give you delicious but more economical items for dinner. | 880 - 16 Ave. SW (Mount Royal Village) 802-2393 | 318 - 8 Ave. SW 263-5432 | |||||
| Milestone's Grill & Bar | | General | Informal | What we have here is an upscale Earl's with everything from hamburgers to pasta and steak to nachos—all with a certain sense of style and friendly service. Again though in this mix there are some hits and some misses. Reservations are recommended at peak times. Good vegetarian selection. www | 107 - 8 Ave. SE 410-9521 | Milestones South Centre 225-1150 | |||||
| Mmmarvelous Mmmuffins | Coffee | | Informal | Good, fresh muffins and coffee at reasonable prices served with great friendliness. This is really a place that remembers your name and preferences. Good vegetarian selection. Note: This is a site–specific review. The friendliness that surrounds this establishment is largely due to proprietor, Mike. | 751 - 3 St SW 403 233-7003 | ||||||
| Mimo Restaurant & Lounge | | Portuguese | Informal | Excellent, inexpensive, filling Portuguese food with friendly service. | #203 4904 - 17 Ave SE 235-3377 www | ||||||
| Mongolie Grill | | Mongolian | Buffet | A choose–what–you–like–and–they–cook–it–for–you restaurant with a good selection of meats, vegetables, noodles, sauces/condiments and friendly service. Soup, rice and wraps are included as a part of the meal; the cost is based on the weight of what you pick up. There is a 20% discount if you choose vegetarian. They do tend to be a little understaffed. Good vegetarian selection. | 1108 - 4 St. SW (SE corner of 11 Ave.) 262-7773 | 405 - 5005 Dalhousie Dr. NW 286-7779 | Su & Holidays 4 p.m. - 10 p.m. M to Th 11 a.m. - 10 p.m. Fr to Sa 11 a.m. - 11 p.m. | ||||
| Montana's Cookhouse Saloon |  | Steak | Informal | This is a main line just-what-you-would-expect steak house with the usual cowboy and logs overlay. And if it hadn't been for the crumbs on the table when we arrived on our last visit, the score may even have been higher. | 112 Crowfoot Terrace NW (Crowfoot Plaze) 241-9740 www | 2555 32 St. NE 735-9270 Calgary International Airport 221-1792 | 5622 Signal Hill Centre SW 217-1100  | ||||
| Moroccan Castle | | Moroccan | Informal | The atmosphere of a Moroccan hideaway surrounds you in your private eating space, but this restaurant doesn't do the details as well as The Sultan's Tent. For example, the water for hand washing isn't scented, and there is no bread provided, making eating properly with one's hands more difficult. We also found the dessert rather heavy. But we did appreciate the separate dining area for smokers. Good vegetarian selection. But stairs will limit your access to certain parts of the restaurant. | 217 - 19 Street NW 283-5452 www | ||||||
| Moti Mahal Restaurant | | East Indian | Informal | This bright, spacious restaurant offers a wide selection of well-prepared Kashmiri food, avoiding the bland spicing of hot dished that some other eateries use to pamper the western pallet. As with many East Indian restaurants, however, we do have some concern with the dish size vs. price ratio, and free fill ups on the coffee might be a good idea. Reservations Recommended. Good vegetarian selection. www | #201 1805 - 14 Street SW 228-9990 | Midnapore Mall (Macleod Tr & Midlake Blvd. S 201-7336 | |||||
| Moxie's | | General | Informal | With everything from burgers and sandwiches to pasta and pizza on the menu, restaurants like Moxie's are difficult to grade. Often one or two superb items are dragged down by numerous bland ones, or "home style" can mean you should just have stayed at home and made the sandwich yourself. However, we believe the Moxie's does do things well, and deserves a try if you want a wide variety of items from which to choose at reasonable prices. Good vegetarian selection. www | #13 3625 Shaganappi Tr. NW 288-2663 | Sandman Hotel Barlow & McKnight NE 291-4636 | West Hills 120 Stewart Gr. SW 246-0366 888- 7 Ave. SW 234-7507 1331 - 17 Ave. SW 228-1447 | Chinook Centre 6455 Macleod Tr. S 259-5742 10606 Southport Road. SW 225-9598 41 Shawville Blvd. SE 254-5100 | |||
| Mt. Everest's Kitchen | | Nepalese | Buffet | The food of Nepal takes the herbs and spices of India minus some of the heat and the noodles and cooking methods of China minus the chopsticks and gives us a most pleasant taste experience. The staff is definitely knowledgeable and friendly The buffet is small and unfortunately can be a bit cool if one does not arrive early. Good vegetarian selection. | 1448A - 17 St. SW 806-2337 | Noon buffet Closed Mondays | |||||
| Murrieta's West Coast Bar & Grill | | Grill | Informal | The old stone walls of the former Alberta Hotel site mixed with dark wood and a spectacular skylight give their Calgary location a feel of the old west. The food, however, is a bit more difficult to define. "West Coast" says sea food, and it is plentiful. The name has a ring of the old American southwest, and the appropriate spices are present. Although everything was well prepared, there was nothing we tried that really grabbed us. Reservations Recommended | #200 808 - 1 St. SW 269-7707 | 2nd Floor, 737 Main St. Canmore | |||||
| muse restaurant & lounge |  | Gourmet | Business Casual (though depending on your business, that could vary quite a bit) | There are two kinds of gourmet chefs. One pushed the envelope of flavour and ends up with a hit and miss menu; the other has the knack of finding unique, pleasing flavour almost every time. The muse staff fall into the successful part of that equation. From Oven Toasted Brussel Sprouts to Yukon Potato Lobster Lasagna there are pleasant surprises here for everyone. And the multi–level eye–pleasing setting adds visual flavour to the food savour. Reservations Recommended. Just ask for even more vegetarian selections. | 107 - 10A Street NW 670-6873 www | ||||||
| My Marvin's Deli | | Deli | Informal | My Marvin's was one of our favourite haunts when we first came to Calgary. Thus it was with great expectation that we visited its new incarnation on Fourth Street SW. There's a different Marvin, but the same recipes. The space is new and inviting. (Though all the glass makes window seats a little cool in winter.) And the menu has all the old deli favourites from matzo ball soup to cheese cake. Plus, there are now burgers and other sandwiches as well as the corned beef and smoked meat basics. And speaking of the meat, the owners of Carnegie's in New York—the gold standard for such establishments—have always lamented that the fat content has had to be altered with new eating habits. But they are also adamant that some fat has to be kept or the meat becomes dry. We are afraid that My Marvin's has crossed that line. And the cheese cake is not as good as what Riva Perlmutter's mother used to make. The food is fine and service friendly, but it's not quite up to deli–heaven standards. | 2303 4 Street SW 441-2012 | Daily 11:00 a.m. - 11:00 p.m. with an all day breakfast |
