Ten Calgary restaurants on top 100 list
Ten Calgary eateries made the 2020 edition of Canada’s 100 Best Restaurants list.
Bar Von Der Fels (13), Shokunin (14), Bridgette Bar (35), Ten Foot Henry (41), Foreign Concept (51), Pigeonhole (52), Model Milk (77), Lulu Bar (79), Rouge (95) and River Café (100) were named Thursday to the sixth annual list of the country’s top dining destinations. The annual publication showcases the best Canadian restaurants as selected by a team of 103 judges, including Calgary chef Darren Maclean, the executive chef and owner of Shokunin.
Lulu Bar, which opened last year, is the only new Calgary restaurant on this list.
The Canada’s 100 Best Restaurants publication, available on newsstands July 6, features reviews and photos from each restaurant on the list. This year, as a nod to the fact that every restaurant on the list had shut down during the COVID -19 pandemic, the reviews were shortened “to make space for updates on what restaurants are doing with takeout and pickup and any other initiatives to keep the lights on, rehire staff and keep suppliers busy,” the publication noted in a news release.
“We look forward to seeing staffing numbers continue to rise and we can hardly wait to get back to eating on-site — even if it’s behind a shield of Perspex, with empty tables to the left and right of us,” editor in chief Jacob Richler said in the news release.
Last year, nine Calgary restaurants — Shokunin (21), Model Milk (28), Pigeonhole (29), River Café (42), Ten Foot Henry (47), Bar Von Der Fels (58), Bridgette Bar (70), Calcutta Cricket Club (82) and Rouge (89) — made the list.
Bar Von Der Fels is the highest-ranked Calgary restaurant since Pigeonhole finished 10th in 2017. Model Milk was 12th in the inaugural rankings in 2015.