Bridgette Bar

Very good cocktail and appetizer menu at Happy Hour. Would love to return for dinner.

This is a great restaurant and definitely one of the best restaurants in Calgary. I am going to judge it harshly based on other nice restaurants of this caliber, which there are few of in Calgary. This is a 4 star restaurant compared to other great restaurants, not compared to some of my other 5 star reviews. Important to note that this is a chain restaurant with 3 locations. The service is basically perfect, and a little bit impersonal, which I actually prefer. The atmosphere and décor have clearly been created by architects and interior designers. Both the service and atmosphere are by the book, which works very well and is hard to criticize. I wouldnt call either personal or unique though. The menu is "shared plates", which I think is fun. The cuisine style is a little muddled. Many of the dishes are pulled from different cuisines and heavily influenced by Israeli cuisine. We had the hummus chips (Israeli), burrata cheese (Italian), eggplant fries (Israeli), spiced beet salad (Israeli), and the wood grilled beef strip steak (French/Canadian). The chef obviously put a tremendous amount of effort into building the menu. All the food was prepared well and seasoned properly. The level of flavour in the food is geared towards the western palate, which is a choice they made to make the food more appealing to a broader customer base. For instance, the harissa used in the eggplant fries was a 1/10 spiciness. For this reason, I would recommend this restaurant for a first date or a special occasion. I would not recommend this restaurant for a true foodie or someone that appreciates unique or culturally accurate cuisine. I believe this position is accurately reflected in many of the other 5 star reviews, which describe the food as "good" or "yummy". If you have an inexperienced palate, you will be awed by some of the flavour combinations. If you are more experienced or nuanced, you will be a little disappointed by the muted spices and seasonings.

Absolutely outstanding experience yesterday for our date night! Arrived during happy hour so we got half price drinks until 5 when the dinner menu started. We enjoyed every single dish! The tuna crudo, grilled carrots, and steak were top notch! Best steak we’ve ever had in a restaurant to be honest! Also the service was above and beyond! Ben was incredible and knew the menu through and through, he didn’t skip a beat when it came to suggestions for the best meal ever! We will absolutely be back and recommend everyone to try out this gem!

Dropped in for a drink and a snack - very nice staff, great ambiance, and a very good menu!

Food and service were great. I found it a little loud.

One of Calgary's best restaurants. Never disappoints.