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Home Tasting Room
Categories: Nightlife Bars Wine Bars Restaurants Tapas Bars Restaurants Canadian (New) Wine Bars, Tapas Bars, Canadian (New) [Edit]
110 8th Avenue SouthwestMain Fl
Calgary, AB T2P 1B3
(403) 262-8100
- Hours:
Mon-Thu 11 am - 10 pm
Fri 11 am - 11 pm
Sat 5 pm - 11 pm
- Good for Groups:
- Yes
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Parking:
- Street
- Attire:
- Dressy
- Price Range:
-
$$$
- Good for Kids:
- No
- Takes Reservations:
- Yes
- Delivery:
- No
- Take Away:
- Yes
- Waiter Service:
- Yes
- Outdoor Seating:
- No
- Good For:
- Lunch, Dinner
- Alcohol:
- Full Bar
- Smoking:
- No
- Noise Level:
- Average
- Has TV:
- No
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- Yes
20 reviews for Home Tasting Room
20 reviews in English
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Review from Miss J.
Calgary, AB
2/9/2012
I've been meaning to try Home Tasting Room since last summer, but just never had the chance.
This review would have received a 5 star if they had more allergy-specific foods (gluten-free bread and/or soy milk). As well, the waitresses could've tried to put smiles on their faces.
Other than that, the food was exceptional. I had the red snapper BLT (minus the bun). It may be a bit spicy for some, but I thought it was one of the best dishes I've had out in quite some time.
I now regret that I haven't dined here more often! -
Review from Linda C.
3.5 stars
Bison tartar is where it's at! Served with truffle crostini... it was the best thing we ordered that night! So just go for the bison tartar and a glass of wine hahah.
The rest of the food was just ok. small portions, higher prices, nothing stood out as special.... not even the foie-ffles... and I was looking forward to that too :( mini waffles weren't 'fresh' - they were room temp and floppy and the 'nectar' they had was wayyy too overpowering.
Totally open space on the inside with modern decor and open kitchen.
Was not too busy the night we went so it was a nice atmosphere to catch up with a friend. -
Review from Danelle W.
Calgary, AB
Home Tasting Room was a great experience. We headed over on a Friday night. Our reservation was at 6, I was running about a half hour late, but luckily it didn't get too busy until later so there was no problem. We decided in advance to sit at the bar, which ended up being a great choice. We really enjoyed watching them make the dishes (the cheese plate is very popular!)
We ordered a variety of dishes to share between the two of us. The ricotta & herb gnocchi was a no-brainer, we both love hummus so we dared try this one, which had horseradish in it as well, and we went for the beet salad, which seems to be a favourite for us lately.
They also started us off with a little taster - it had a pink apple on it, which was really neat. The wine was also great, although a little pricier than I'd usually go for.
Since the food was phenomenal, we knew we had to try dessert - we went for the chocolate peanut butter bar with marshmallow nougat. I wanted to lick the plate, it was that good.
I wavered between a 4 and 5 star for this restaurant, because it's a little on the high end for what I'd usually pay. But having started out the evening knowing it would be a pricier meal, and having enjoyed every bite, as well as the amazing service from the staff, I went with 5.
Oh, and the best part? My sister and I had been taking pictures and posting them to our respective social media channels all evening. As we got up to leave, the chef... no, wait... executive chef (!), called out "Nice pictures!"
:)Listed in: Downtown places, Five Star places
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Review from Jay Daniel B.
Calgary, AB
5/24/2012 1 Check-in Here
Wifey had the Tartar - and thinks its the best. I thought the scallops were better. Love is tough...
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Review from Philip U.
Calgary, AB
10/30/2011
Took friends of mine from Toronto here after a day of hiking in the mountains.
Had an absolutely fabulous meal with great wine, food and service.
The Foie gras on a waffle was over the top fantastic!
Highly recommend the restaurant. -
Review from Marc K.
9/7/2011 1 Check-in Here
The menu offers no surprises and the prices are as expected for a downtown restaurant.
The wait was a bit long for a lunch service where you have limited time only.
Food was ok - but again: if it was not downtown you would probably pay less for similar food. -
Review from Wendy P.
Since it opened, folks have been telling me to have my lunch over at the bar at Home Tasting Room. Yesterday I decided to take them up on their suggestion. As lovely an experience as it is at one of the tables, sitting at the countertop by the open kitchen makes for a different view of Home, and I like it!
Watching the kitchen staff preparing food for later, heck, even watching them make my own meal-right down to the garnish, was fun to see. Although, I'm thankful for the sneeze guard between us ;). Tip: If you watch them cut potatoes long enough, they might just start talking to you!
Is it possible to admire your sandwich? I think yes. This time round, I ordered the Home Reuben. Thinly shaved slices of meat with homemade sauerkraut, and melted Swiss cheese between two toasted slices of bread. That was a worthy sandwich. The cup butternut squash soup was a nice addition. My meal at Home wasn't complete without a glass of their riesling and some apple cranberry crisp with vanilla ice cream and caramel sauce on top. The riesling is just a smidgen shy on the sweetness scale of being a dessert wine, but that's just the way i like it.
Somehow, I've lucked out with having Ryan as my server each time I've been in. He's attentive, and knows his stuff (my first time in he recommended the bison tartar... it's still right up there!).
I only wish my wallet could afford to eat here more often. That being said, my mouth and tummy thank me after each visit. And I do like the fact that I can order some of the wines as a 2 oz serving if I'm wanting to try them out, or just have a bit to sip with my food.
My other favourite part of the restaurant are the doors that are painted and hanging on the back wall. Have a look next time you're in, they're funky!Listed in: Five Star Calgary Reviews, Great date spots, A more intimate setting, Favourite spots, Stephen Avenue in Calgary
1 Previous Review: Show all »
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12/2/2010
Home is where the food tastes delicious. Home Tasting Room is where the food tastes delicious enough… Read more »
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Review from Sabahat N.
Calgary, AB
11/23/2011 1 Check-in Here
I was there for a friend's birthday dinner last night. The restaurant was almost empty, and I wondered why. Oh because its on Stephen Avenue and no one stays on Stephen Avenue after 5pm. What a shame.
Anyway, on to this restaurant. I loved our circular 5 person table. It made for perfect conversation! I ordered a glass of Viognier and the bison tartar. The Viognier was very good, I am happy to say. Nothing is worse than paying $10 per glass at a restaurant only to find you dont like it. My friend on my left had the duck with risotto. I tasted her risotto, and it was excellent. Creamy, and meaty-tasting. Great texture. The plating was great too. But my friend on the right who had the salmon, her plating was awesome. They put her salmon on this little wax-paper box and covered it with another wax-paper box. Very unique presentation! My bison tartare came and I dug in. A lot of tartares run the risk of being flat or one-note. Not so at Home Tasing Room! The tartare was fresh, tasty, and had tangy notes and texture coming through at all the right times. They definitely did the bison justice! It was served with crostinis slathered with truffle mayo. YUM!
I finished my tartare entree with a glass of Tempranillo, which I must add, was also fantastic.
The food was fantastic, but I wish the wine was a buck or two cheaper. I also wish there were more people in the restaurant, but that's not their fault, despite the great location.
I will totally go back and try more stuff from their menu!
22/30 -
Review from Chelsea K.
Calgary, AB
12/17/2010
Was here for an event, and had really high hopes based on the positive reviews.
On first glance at the menu, there was no draught beer, and the bottled options are not particularly exciting. Two glasses of wine cost $23, I've seen the same wines go for $2-4 less a glass at other restaurants.
Appetizers included a bland bruschetta on a piece of bread that tasted stale, and equally mediocre herbed cream cheese on a potato chip (pretty sure last time I had that particular hors d'œuvre was at a the end of a college party when we were really, really stoned. After a course like that, I was really surprised not to see "pan-fried pizza pops" or "three junior mints on a cream cheese bagel" as a followup).
The real killer was the oysters. I'm not at *all* sqeamish about my seafood, and I've eaten oysters all over North America including some pretty divey places. I've never had *anything* as awful as the oyster I was served at the Home Tasting Room. It was completely bland, aside from tons of salt and... to my delight.... sand. The seafood itself also tasted really off, and I felt ill for the rest of the evening.
I really hope my experience with the Home Tasting Room was a fluke and that their regular menu isn't as offensive. The service was great and the decor is comfortable, if not innovative. Maybe I just had a bad luck of the draw with my selection of appetizers, but three strikes in a row and a mouth full of sand is enough to keep me away from here for a very, very, long time. -
Review from Cathy D.
Calgary, AB
3/7/2011
I wanted to love Home Tasting Room. I really did. I am a big ol' fan of small plates/tapas and the room itself is good looking.
But something is missing.
The menu isn't very...inspired. I liked some of the items, but overall I wasn't particularly impressed. Chips with cream cheese just didn't do it for me. And I too found the wine list a bit overpriced. My husband wasn't impressed with the beer selection either.
I tried Home twice and like I said, I really wanted to love it. Kinda like in high school when you get a date with one of the popular guys - but he turns out to be only so so.
I was looking for something more from this touted restaurant and I don't think it really delivered. -
Review from Spencer B.
Calgary, AB
12/17/2010
I really hope Home Tasting Room has some good money behind it, or can change it's menu overnight because after my experience last night I'm either going to wait for a new menu, or for it to close, before I go there again.
First sign something was wrong was no draught beer. At all. While this is a good way to cut costs, it doesn't inspire me to see no local micro brews supported in a place such as this.
Then there's the wine list: overpriced. As Angela pointed out, one glass is almost the price of a bottle in some cases.
The food was the biggest letdown of the evening.
Potato chips with herbed cream cheese? Seriously? That had better cost no more than $5 a plate.
The lamb meatballs were dry and over cooked.
The bruschetta might as well have come from Subway.
And the oyster was totally dry (as in nothing in the shell to help it slide down) and when it finally did slide out, I got a mouthful of sand.
Running quickly to the washroom to rinse my mouth out, I left.
With the whole "small plates" thing being in vogue right now, I can think of places in town that do a way better job then Home Tasting Room. -
Review from Bryan H.
Calgary, AB
3/7/2011
The place is owned by a friend-of-a-friend so we decided to head down and check out their evening fare.
They've certainly done well with the atmosphere of the place - it suits the name. Whoever completed the interior design did an amazing job.
I found the menu to be a tad underwhelming in terms of evening cuisine.
The winelist was quite uninspired, with some basic run-of-the-mill selections.
The server 's knowledge of the dinner menu was extremely limited. She was friendly enough, just had no clue as to the details of any menu item...I would suspect she was new and just had not sampled anything off the food nor drink menu at that point.
The beef tartar was fantastic, as were the scallops.
Given the location and potential of this restaurant, it could easily become a "5," with a few menu tweaks (i.e. don't serve potato chips with your $20 dip), and ensure your service staff has sampled the menu...it's the little things like that which have kept me from giving this place a higher rating.
All that being said, I've heard nothing but good about their lunch menu, which I would be willing to return to try. -
Review from Angela M.
Calgary, AB
12/17/2010
Dear Home Tasting Room,
I like Caesars with a kick. Like a steel-toed boot kick, Veronica Corningstone-style.
Your Caesars left me disappointed, dreaming of a time when hot sauce flew freely ... like two hours earlier at the Saddledome where I could do it myself.
One of your folks brought your wine list and boasted about the excellent selection. I saw a lot of offerings from Australia, which makes me thinks your tastes run a little bland, limited and unworldly.
I sure won't be paying $13 for a glass when I can head to the Liquor Box and get a whole bottle for $15.
[clink]
Cheeyahs!Listed in: Oh hell to the no 1
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Review from Bethany W.
Calgary, AB
3/4/2011
Home is beautiful! A friend and I went for dinner during Big Taste Calgary. We got seats at the kitchen-facing bar and enjoyed the sights, sounds and smells of the kitchen all night. The food is a work of art!
After a starter salad, we each enjoyed chicken served over barley, followed by dessert - carrot cake for me and creme brulee for her. Fantastic! Though, I have to say - they were cooking up some brownies and doughnuts in that kitchen that looked to die for!
Food may be a little pricey, but the portion sizes are good. Definitely a pleasure! -
Review from Tze T.
11/25/2010
Love this place. We were wandering down 8th Ave trying to decide on a place to eat and came across Home Tasting Room.
Initial impression when we went in was a nice atmosphere and great decor with awesome 'fireplaces' attached on the walls. We had a choice to sit at the bar, where you can see what the chefs are doing in the kitchen or at a table. We chose to sit by the bar, which I highly recommend if you have previously wondered if what you see on Hell's Kitchen is actually how it is in a professional kitchen. I will let you find out for yourself if it actually is!
Home Tasting Room is a bit like a tapas place where they have a selection of starters, dinner plates and large dinner plates. The waitress recommended 3 dinner plates to share between the two of us, which was a good amount if you're planning on having dessert.
We had the Crab Ravioli, Bison Tartar and Scallops with Bacon. The chef Geoff Rogers started us off by serving a 'Surf and Turf' amuse-bouche himself. It was a prawn cream sauce with a slice of pork belly, and it was fantastic. The belly wasn't too fatty but enough to melt in your mouth and it went well with the sauce. The food was excellent with the bison tartar being my favourite among the three.
Since we were watching all the dishes being made, I have to say the duck and lamb dishes both look amazing! I will definitely have to try it the next time I go back.
I recommend trying this place! Awesome food with a really relaxed and low key atmosphere. -
Review from Jane M.
7/12/2011
My boyfriend went to junior high with the executive chef here and though they never really kept in touch, we were excited to try it out on our first trip back to Calgary since it opened. Luckily, we managed to kill two birds with one stone and hit up Home Tasting Room for something to eat after Stampede.
I have to admit, I was afraid of going here. The menu looks a liiiiitle pretentious and anyone who knows me knows I probably just bought a box of easy mac and all I want to do is go home and eat it. Alone. So I don't have to share. However, I think the atmosphere of this place can be summed up by the appetizer I got. I was really, really sick the entire week. By the time Saturday night rolled around, I was just beginning to be able to taste stuff again. I ordered a cream of tomato soup because I didn't really feel like eating but I wanted to feel loved (unhealthy emotional attachment to food? CHECK!). What came was a bowl of cream of tomato soup with a little disc of parmesan crisp and a healthy dose of lavender oil. It was perfection. It was just tomato soup but LAVENDER oil, you guys, LAVENDER. It was like a hug from the inside. Imagine taking a lavender scented bath when you've got the worst cold. Now imagine that lavender bath being in your mouth and then your belly. With bread. The lavender made the soup feel fancy (and it's tomato soup, so the jump to fancy is a long one) but it was comfort food, and that's what I got from this place. Fancy but comfy.
I can't wait to go back and eat here again and actually order some food. Though I didn't go too mad, I did get a chance to try the flat bread (with prosciutto, basil ricotta, roast red peppers and wild arugula) and it was insanely good. That and the raspberry and white chocolate creme brulee (I was sick, not dead). Minus one star because I don't think I can give it a five star without a least one proper visit. And another for lunch. Because being thorough is important. And tasty.
Oh, and in case anyone is interested (humour me!), I woke up CURED the next day. Lavender tomato soup and white chocolate and raspberry creme brulee -- the cure for the common but debilitating cold. -
Review from Reginald T.
Calgary, AB
12/31/2010 1 Check-in Here
If you're looking for a quaint, cozy atmosphere to relax and chat with friends over wine and appetizers, then Home Tasting Room is a good option.
All of their food is sourced from sustainable providers, locally where possible. They smoke their own bacon in house as well, which is always a nice thing.
The problem with all of that is that the menu items tend to skew to the high side. Dinner entrees average around $25 and glasses of wine around $12-15. The Tasting Plates, while perfect for sharing and are very tasty, are a little pricey for the portion sizes you get.
But don't get me wrong, the food is top-notch and what you're really paying for is the warm and friendly atmosphere.
There's no free wi-fi from what I could tell, but there were a few hotspots in the area that you could access from their location when last I was there.
Definitely not everyone's cup of tea, but if you're in the mood for a place that's cozy, warm, and quaint to chat with friends, Home Tasting Room is perfect.
If you're starving and looking for a bite to eat, unless you have deep pockets, you may find better value elsewhere. -
Review from Joannie T.
Calgary, AB
1/25/2011
This is a true Home Tasting Room, the name says it all.
A freind invited me out for my birthday and we were pleased by the small 'sample' wines.
We sampled various dishes because that is what we do when we're out, try new things.
Our favourite was the Bison Tartare, a wonderful surprise with extra toast when we asked.
I did have an oyster and it was fresh, slippery and delicious, just as a fresh oyster shoudl be.
The true heritage decor was impressive because of it's age and simplicity.
We found the staff wonderful and the manager was open to suggestion.
Of course if you want a lot of food and a glass of draft to wash it down with, there are plenty of restaurant chains and pubs around that will be a much better choice than Home Tasting Room.
Tasting is what it's all about at the Home Tasting room. So Taste Away! -
Review from Tye S.
Toronto, ON
11/17/2010
Great atmosphere, good service. Try the scallops!
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Review from Stacey P.
Calgary, AB
12/30/2010 1 Check-in Here
Fabulous atmosphere and staff. Wine selection was well recommended. Portions not large, but reflected the intent of the restaurant - to try as many of the delicious creations as you want!
