model milk

worth the trip from edmonton!. i was apprehensive about going because of the negative reviews on urbanspoon and because of the menu descriptions - which really do not do the food justice! i was more than pleasantly surprised! saturday night, the place was packed but we (table for 2) were seated right away - without a reservation. therestaurantitself is beautiful and simple in decor, the staff, from the hostess to the wait-staff to the chefs were knowledgeable, approachable and friendly. i can't rave about he food enough! we shared 3 "small plates" and the hamburger, a few drinks, and we were stuffed solid! the food was really amazing - there is no other word for it. highly recommend the fricassee of calamari. the menu does change, so we'll be coming back repeatedly!

we pulled up to therestaurantand it was a little nondescript. just a plain brick front building with the entrance that had a bust of a cow above it. it was a little chilly that day and therestaurantopens promptly at five. i was happy when we were admitted in as it was so nice and warm. the inside has a nice feeling to it, high ceilings, brick walls, rustic. i was quite excited and the mood of the group was high. we were seated upstairs, let me tell you….the seating is a little cozy (a.k.a tight). the music was set at a good level and it didn’t take long for our server to come over to take our drink order. i had the mm gin & tonic (plymouth gin, house made tonic, fresh lime and agnostura bitters)…i’ve had a love affair with g&t going on 15 years now and this drink reaffirmed that love. the rest of the party were quite happy with their drinks as well.

our favoriterestaurantin calgary. we have been to model milk more than a 1/2 dozen times, either the 2 of us or with a large group. every single time, we had very attentive service and therestauranthas been extremely accommodating with food allergies and modifying dishes where they could. if they couldn't be modified - they let us know at the time of ordering and always have come up with great alternatives. sure, they get busy and sometimes the food takes a bit longer - it's not mcdonald's for gosh sakes! the menu is always interesting and the sunday night dinners are fabulous. by the way, why would somebody complain if they got free oysters? if you don't eat oysters, just thank them and say no thanks.

model milk was ranked one of the best restaurants in all of canada, so i knew i had to give it a shot when i made my way through calgary. the place is not the overly fancyrestaurantwhere you have to dress up. i loved the atmosphere as it had a pretty modern rustic feel with some kick ass music playing as well (mostly hendrix with some zeppelin).

i am a bit surprised at the low rating of thisrestaurantso i am writing this review to boost the rating.  i rarely give ratings higher than a 4 (go ahead and look through my reviews ;)), but i felt compelled here.  the menu and style is similar to bridgette bar.  the focus is on unique plating, quality ingredients, and an incredibly dynamic menu that changes so fast it will make your head spin; the intention of course to stick to the seasonality of the ingredients. the result is some amazingly creative dishes with beautiful and unique flavor profiles; if you want traditional, go elsewhere. my partner and i always come here for birthdays and special events. the service is amazing and we are never disappointed. my only criticism is that it is a little on the pricey side, but only barely considering the quality..

model milk is easily one of my favourite restaurants in the city. the ambience is cool, i'm a huge fan of sharing small plates in a group to try a little of everything. the food was wonderful and the drinks were great but what set this place apart for me was the amazing service.
we ventured out to model milk to celebrate one of my good friend's engagement as kind of an undercover stagette. she's a low key girl and they still managed to deliver and make her feel special without embarrassing her or drawing too much attention. our server brought us a complimentary round of champagne and an appetizer, and explained the concept of therestaurantwell. he made some stellar recommendations and was extremely attentive without being intrusive. i look forward to returning!

really love this place. it is a bit pricey but totally worth it. the only thing i would recommend thisrestaurantis to upsize their meal quantity.

a very underwhelming experience. i went into thisrestaurantwith high expectations having read reviews and expecting an amazing food experience. there was nothing stellar about the food, and it tasted like it was new cooks given free rein to create flavour profiles without actually tasting what they are cooking. table of three, appetizer, three mains, beef, pork, and a burger; for the price that was being paid, the food experience was disappointing and forgettable. slow kitchen staff cooking mediocre food, with the server telling us while waiting for our food; because the food is cooked fresh it is taken longer to bring out. there are far better restaurants in the city and for the same price the customer will get a great food experience. save your money, model milk is not worth the price and the food is not worth the wait.

this had been a long anticipatedrestaurantfor me!  i had heard so many great things and had very high expectations.

the food was good, but nothing that blew my socks off like i expected.  it was interesting because i tried dishes that i have never even heard of before.  my favourite part of this place was definitely the atmosphere. as i saw workers change out records to play a new song, it brought a smile to my face.  it definitely has a more romantic feel, especially sitting in the upper area, the lighting is dim, less hustle and bustle and the lowered ceilings.

i would love to say i'd be back, but the price is too high for the food i received, and have many more amazing restaurants to check off my list first!

food was really great. fun options and unique variety. easy to share with a small group and service was wonderful. among 3 people we shared 2 small appetizers and one entree and split a bottle of med priced wine we split the bill and i still ended up paying over $85. eighty isn't that much but when you consider the portion you get when it is split 3 ways. i understand thisrestaurantis higher end in food quality and well recommended, but the prices could come down slightly, just so more people could enjoy it. i would love to return and sure i will in the future. thanks for the great experience.

model milk was high on the list for places in calgary for me to try after hearing the rave reviews and seeing all the media attention. i came in with high expectations and all around was satisfied. therestauranthas a great design and atmosphere. i love the packed feeling and busy clammer of the kitchen. then the fabulous atmosphere of model milk was broken by the rushed "i don't have time for you" servers. after being seated the menu had my full attention. not sure if it was just the time of year, but the menu seemed to be lacking any appetizing vegetarian dishes. there was a "porridge with wild mushrooms" but the description was unappetizing. i did order nearly every other  vegetarian dish they did have in lieu of a "large plate" meal. the food was great no other way about it. presentation and taste were fabulous. 

at the end of the night i had a great meal that for the most part made up for the general attitude of the staff that night. i will gladly be back again soon.

my husband and i went to model milk to celebrate his upcoming birthday on a busy saturday night.  apart from trying their big taste experience, this was the first time we had been into the actual model milk restaurant.  the bustlingrestaurantexuded a hip vibe with its interesting decor and bright atmosphere.  our server, j.f., was very attentive, and even though it was very busy and he had a multitude of tables in his section, he spent the time to check on us in a timely fashion and enthusiastically explained menu items to us.  the night started off with a couple of drinks which were quite strong, but had smooth taste.  puffed gouda cheezies came next, and i must say, these were fantastic; light, airy and cheesy without any greasiness.  there were too many appies that we wanted to try, so we ordered three: the stuffed chicken wings, calamari, and the milk fed veal sweetbreads.  the stuffed wings had good flavor and were nice and juicy.  the calamari was nicely done, not overcooked, with vibrant colours to the dish.  the sweetbreads were interesting, and i particularly enjoyed the fresh peas in the dish.  for our main, we shared the nashville fried chicken and waffles, which was quite an impressive dish, to say the least.  the waffles were fluffy, not what i had in mind when i thought of waffles, in terms of picturing a waffle, but were enjoyable.  my husband enjoyed the chicken, was was well cooked while maintaining its juiciness, but i found the batter to be slighly salty for my tastes.  the accompanying coleslaw side was a welcome contrast to the chicken.  our absolute favorite part of the evening was the dessert (yes, we had to save room for it!).  we shared the peanut butter ice cream sandwich and i am still thinking about how yummy it was!  the cookies were tender and chewy, and the peanut butter ice cream was decadent and packed a whollop of peanut butter flavor, without being too rich.  the dark chocolate ganache was chocolatey and smooth.   i would highly recommend this dessert to peanut butter lovers and i cannot wait to go back to have this dessert again!  overall, this was a wonderful night for us, and we thank all the staff and management at model milk for making it all possible.

a very nice friend of mine wanted to take me out for my birthday. we decided to give model milk a try since neither of us has been there yet. we went on a friday before 6 pm, and it wasn't quite busy yet. this place was easy to spot as there was a cow head above the door. model milk is named after the building. therestaurantlooked small on the outside, but once we step in towards to back, it opened up. it reminded me of the tardis - bigger on the inside :) (yes, i'm a total geek.) 

the decor is modern and bright. i like how there is an open kitchen in the back and is between the two floors of the restaurant. the wait staff here are all really nice and have good recommendations. they explained all the dishes as it arrives at the table. all the servers here had a hipster style vibe going. we actually made the mistake of thinking the guy holding the door for us had worked there. he was dressed pretty nice - white shirt and black pants. it was a good thing my friend and i dressed causally.

we went on a monday night right after work and therestaurantwas understandably empty. the staff were friendly and attentive and smelled of arts majors and new-age spirituality.

when we weren’t ogling their trippy mandala-print leggings and 4 inch gauges, we had the opportunity to check out the rest of the restaurant.

the concept of model milk is ingenious. remodel a historic dairy building on hipster 17th avenue, source local ingredients and serve creative dishes. it's a winning formula that makes it top the list of best restaurants in calgary over and over again. 

my friend and i decided to drop by to check out what all the fuss was about. the atmosphere inside was very eclectic and we admired the decor of the restaurant. we had a very witty server and it's not very often you get someone who actually enjoys assisting you with the menu. our server noted that the menu had been revised 185 times since therestaurantopened in 2011. it's neat to know that the owners and chefs are constantly spinning new dishes and trying new things.  

we decided to get some smaller plates and split a larger plate so we could try a little bit of everything on the menu. the air-puffed gouda cheezies were delectable! they resembled chinese shrimp chips but with a light cheesy undertone to them. very creative. next up came the bison tartare with seed bread. i thought that the tartare combined with the seed bread provided a good mix of textures and flavours. the tartare was rich and seasoned well. meanwhile, we also opted for the calamari. now this isn't your typical batter-coated fried squid. it's simply squid without the batter, edamame, guanciale, pimenton and garlic croutons. it almost felt like we were eating the batter and squid separately since the croutons gave it some crunch. i would say that this dish was a little out of my comfort zone. 

for our large plate, we went with the burger. now the idea of cheese curds on a burger sounded rather odd to us. but let me tell you that we definitely made the right decision. the melted curds alongside pure beef tasted like heaven! i would definitely rate this as one of the best gourmet burgers i've ever had.  

meanwhile on the dessert end of things, the peanut butter cookie ice cream sandwich sounded too good to be true. this one did not disappoint. the crunchy warm peanut butter cookie served as the perfect contrast with the cool and light ice cream. the size was also perfect for sharing. 

i was very fond of my experience at model milk. it's not often you find arestaurantthat lives up to its online claims! with awesome service, great-tasting dishes and a menu that keeps on changing, you can bet that i'll be back to try their newest creations!