ox bar de tapas

tonight. my friend and i stumbled into ox &angelaafter unsuccessful pursuits of other restaurants on a saturday night (all booked up). i'd wanted to come in here for a while, and i'm glad we came into ox &angelatonight!

our server was excellent; he continuously refilled our waters, had a good eye, and was very accomodating.

the food was great. i ordered esparragos (sp), $7 almonds , and theangela(cocktail). it was all delicious. the cocktail was fairly strong, and i think that added to our experience at ox & angela. the $7 for a handful of almonds was a bit excessively priced for the amount served...

all in all, my friend and i had a fine time here, and we will be back!

one of the few places that has culinary experts who really take pride in what they're doing. ox&angela offers an amazing blend of romance, culture, and contemporary aroma's to an evening.. it's a must try! i'm not sure if they planned it, but it seemed as though their timing of bringing out the tapas is dialled down to a science. the dishes are quite savoury, so have an appetite ready, and don't forget to try their signature cocktails - the ox andangela(i know, cliche) doesn't disappoint.

tess, alex, mike and jena go to ox andangelaand eat way to much.. i have a very boring job and i actually spent part of my day on the website, making a list of what i would be eating here, and boy i did not miss one thing on that list. first we had a few of the pinchos, just a few.. the delicias (persian dates stuffed with serrano, manchego, walnuts and pomegranate molasses) are my favorite! i would go to ox andangelajust for them! they are sweet and salty and tangy and just delicious. we also munched on the aceitunas (marinated olives) throughout our meal and they would make a perfect bar snack anywhere. the queso was just like a blue cheese and was bitter and creamy the way a stinky cheese should be. there's nothing like a potato pie and the tortilla espanola (potato omelette with red pepper, and sour cream) was great. it's a big slice so there's lots to share. the pan con tomate (basically a bruschetta) was a favorite with my friends, and was fresh and full of flavor.

next we had the tapas verduras. i thought it would be nice to have a fresh salad and the ensalada ( lettuce, walnuts, apple, manchego, and sherry vinegar) was a nice palette cleanser. the apples added a fresh crispness, but it was a little underwhelming and felt like something i've made at home. however, the esparragos (asparagus with manchego, truffle, fride egg and orange) was a huge hit. the perfectly cooked egg and the truffle was a perfect sauce for the asparagus and the orange gave it a nice hit of zing to brighten up all those rich ingredients. the champinones (mushroom toast with egg and truffle) was also rich and creamy with yet another perfectly cooked egg to soak everything together. (my friend and i took turns on breaking open the eggs, there is something very satisfying about that feeling) the boys loved the patatas bravas (crispy baby potatoes with pimenton ketchup and garlic aioli) and i'm sure would have ordered more if we didn't have a whole third course to get through. perfectly crispy on the outside and soft on the inside, like an upscale twist on french fries with ketchup and mayonaisse.

lastly we had the tapas pescados y carnes to seal the deal on our already full tummies. i love scallops so i usually order them anywhere i go. the veiras (scallops with potatoes and spanish chorizo) were good, but a little over cooked for me. my boyfriend loves meatballs and sausages and the albondigos (chicken and pork meatballs with spices, tomatoes and manchego) and the merguez (lamb sausage with apricot, sherry and mustard) were right up his alley. they were both meaty and had refreshing accompanyments to balance everything out. last but not least we had the pato asado (duck breast with pomegranate, mint and pistachio) was perfectly cooked and the tangy sauce made my mouth very happy.

wewf. just reliving that made me full all over again. it was a wonderful meal all around and tapas style is always fun. the restaurant is very nice and the staff are very knowledgable about the food. go.

great atmosphere - bad food. it took me a while to get to ox and angela. there are so many new places opening up in calgary that it is hard to keep track and find time to check them out in adition to going to my favs. well, i finally made it and i have to say that the service was excellent, drink and wine list was great. but, where it mattred the most i think that ox andangelahas failed. perhap that had a night off, but it is tough to find excuse for the meal i had last night. to be fair, appetizers were good. it is tough to mess up a spread of olives, chese and rosted almonds. most likely non of it was made in house (perhaps, almonds were ?!). on to the main course. i had chicken that was so tender, but its flavour and that of sauce that it was in was substituted with salt (lots of it). i feel like i had my annual intake of sodium last night. will not go back and will not recommend it to anyone.

ox &angelais located on calgary’s redmile and are doing well to treat drink making like an art because it satisfies. so if you are looking for a nice after work drink with someone at a place that takes drink making to the highest level then this is the pick for you.

good ox & angela, good.. i finally had the opportunity to try ox & angela. a close friend works for the restaurant and booked us a reservation for five this past weekend. i wasn't sure what to expect because i am not that familiar with spanish cuisine and was concerned not having a reference might make it difficult for me to review given my inexperience. this wasn't the case, it's easy to praise this exceptional addition to calgary's restaurant scene!

i was so impressed with the entire experience, from the aesthetic of the restaurant, the high energy clientele, and of course the beautifully presented, delicious food! we sampled many of the tapas items on the menu and shared a couple of entrees which included the duck and the paella mixta. the duck was probably the most perfectly cooked duck i have eaten in recent memory, the paella was also delicious though i did feel there wasn't enough protein in the dish. the price is a little high for certain aspects of the meal but in the end i felt that it was money well spent given how lovely our food was.

i would not necessarily recommend ox &angelaas a place for a quiet, romantic dinner as it is quite loud and made for a bit of a struggle to have a conversation without yelling (good thing i love yelling). i would however recommend it for a night out with friends!

i hope if you haven't paid a visit already you have the pleasure of doing so soon, you won't be disappointed!

tapas is one of my favorite ways to dine out.  i really enjoy being able to taste multiple dishes in one sitting.  ox andangeladidn't disappoint with the food.  we tried the kale salad, mushroom toast, meatballs and flank steak.  all were very tasty.  however, i have two negative points regarding service.  the first is with the order in which we were served.  we were brought two of our tapas plates before our drinks arrived.  when we mentioned this to the food runner he made sure to try and up-sell us on bread before checking on our drinks.  second, we had to ask for clean plates.  i have had tapas in spain and in turkey.... the wait staff just bring clean plates when necessary.  given the cost at ox and angela, i would think that this would be done without having to ask.  again, the food runner gave us a blank stare when we requested this.  i suppose, she doesn't know this was common in tapas restaurants.  possibly some training should be in order.  i won't be rushing back to ox andangelaany time soon.

had a great time at ox &angelaon friday night. definitely have to make a reservation!! and if it is cold out, ask to sit away from the door because it can get quite drafty. the food was incredible! we shared a few (quite a few) tapas plates between the four of us. it did work out to enough food, but would have been better to share between two instead of four! the portions are quite small, but delicious! next time i would love to try the paella for the table, which would be more of a meal! will definitely be back to try more dishes.

wow, i'm impressed by how much i like ox andangela- certainly wish i tried it sooner! my first experience was an impromptu trip for dinner. we ordered multiple tapas to share as the items on the spanish table menu didn't quite entice us. the roasted rainbow carrots were fabulous - the tahini, goat yogurt, and feta added just the right amounts of saltiness and tartness to the charred flavour of the carrots. of course, i also loved the famous patatas bravas. they were so crispy and the brava sauce and creamy alioli balanced each other perfectly. my favourite of the night was the mushrooms on sourdough toast with poached egg. the mushrooms were fragrant of truffles and the house-made sourdough bread was delicious. i would have ordered more sourdough if i wasn't so full from everything else! my dining partner's favourite dish was the fried chicken. the chicken was rich and succulent, but the acidity of the orange glaze cut through it. 
we returned to ox andangelaover the weekend and indulged in the brunch table. the sautéed mushroom eggs benedict with truffle hollandaise and the olive oil dark chocolate pancakes with dulce de leche were my favourite items from the menu. overall, exceptional food quality and great service in a beautiful dining room. can't wait to go back!

ox &angelacaters to everything i love about dinning out - intimate atmosphere, sharable meals and quality creations. i have gone out in larger groups, but recommend this place for date nights or other one-on-one occasions, as it has the perfect ambiance for a late night romantic bite.

the dishes change or are replaced somewhat frequently which i love. the quality is always there and i like to try new things. i would avoid the pre-set menu that servers occasionally suggest for groups, as i much prefer to have control over the items selected, but to each their own!

the bovine must be a significant contributor to a business to receive top billing over poor angela. the ox could be a dude i guess. there are celebrities named after stones, liquid fuel, and money, so why not. ox &angela(which could be compressed to o&a…but i never will) is a spanish tapas restaurant balancing the knife of edge of what defines tapas. don’t get me wrong, it’s good, and my crystal ball foretells an extremely positive review, but i adhere to the tradition demanding a tapas restaurant list dozens upon dozens of options for people to pull from. i’ve been to some with literally sixty options.

tapas must be difficult for a restaurant to offer given the number of options required. you have to support a large enough staff to handle the orders, or else freeze everything beforehand, a horrid idea leading my preference to limited tapas over a menu offering the world stuck in an ice age. that being said, a successful restaurant in a town like calgary shouldn’t have that problem. ox &angelaoffers less than thirty options that can be classed as actual tapas. not bad, could be more, but far beyond some of the insults to the name i’ve been to. a local business in my hometown only features tapas in title only, renaming the appetizers page. a disgrace. ox &angelais birthed from mary’s womb in comparison. however, to enjoy the full experience, the suggestion is to order the “the spanish table”, which is, let’s be honest, actually a chef’s menu—a set list of small plates (about ten). at $45 per person, such a menu is a remarkable deal. i’ve spent triple that on some tasting menus.

the décor is charming, with a wall splitting the establishment. i love restaurants that do this—it increases intimacy, but more importantly, it greatly decreases sound pollution. i’ve been in colossal restaurants where one cannot hear friends across a table. ox &angelatakes it one step further by altering the décor in each half, leading me to think one side is the ox while the other side is the angela. i would wager i was on theangelaside…it looked more feminine.

there were three of us that day, a day where the the spanish table was $10 off. given its two person minimum, it became the obvious choice. each course was shared, and of course, it had to open with olives, followed by persian dates wrapped with serrano ham and stuffed with manchego cheese, walnuts, and coated in pomegranate molasses. sharing that plate was dry cured spanish serrano ham. then came the (apparently) famous croquettes with salt cod, potato allioli (not a spelling mistake, the spaniards add an “l”) and chili oil. so far, so good. what was elaborately described as toasted pan rustica with crushed tomatoes, garlic, and extra virgin olive oil was really a mouthful for bruschetta. after that was a personal favorite, albacore tuna with tomato relish and crispy capers. it remained a favorite for about three minutes, followed by something that shouldn’t have been amazing but was--ensalada escalivada--charred marinated vegetables, whipped goat cheese, and anchovies. yes, anchovies. after which, we had a butter lettuce salad with toasted walnuts, apple, manchego cheese, and a sherry vinaigrette.

bored yet? not i. patatas bravas--crispy fried baby potatoes, something i’m going to replicate the first chance i get. it was followed by the only course i was not a fan of--grilled spring onions on romesco sauce. but redemption came moments with grilled hanger steak with browned mushrooms, olorosso sherry butter, and pickled onions. we had room for dessert, so while one of us had the flan, the rest had churros in chocolate sauce.

by the way, i just love saying flan. flan, flan, flan.

along with drinks, the bill came to around $150, pretty much a bargain in my book. ox &angelais a legitimate score. the food is fantastic, sublime and astounding. i immediately wanted to return. however, i would not order the “the spanish table” again, as that menu is fixed. i would spice it up with other options, or better still, challenge the chef (whose name is listed on menu) to create something entirely original. given the selection, i bet he would take up the task. ox &angelamakes virtually no mistakes and knocks everything else out of the park.

flan, flan, flan…

food: 5/5

service: 5/5

presentation: 5/5

value: 5/5

recommendation: 5/5

i’ve been to ox &angelaa few times before in the past, and some highlights of past meals were the sangria, paella, croquettes, pan fried duck breast, and seared albacore tuna. after my last visit being over a year ago, i decided to return with a few friends who have never tried ox &angelafor big taste yyc. overall, our experience was pretty good, the food was delicious (a tad on the heavy side) and our server was really nice. the restaurant was fairly noisy and loud, so we had difficulty hearing each other and ended up shouting to carry our conversation.

one restaurant i could not miss was ox andangelaon our calgary trip. it was a few block away from our hotel and we love spanish food. i really wish we had more spanish restaurants in vancouver. m and i came on a weekday dinner around 6:30 pm to give their spanish dishes a try. the interior is nice and there are 2 dining areas. they serve a spanish table set menu with 10 dishes that are shared family style for $45 per person. m and i were tempted to get it but we heard so much about the paella that we went to go without the set menu.

we came to ox andangelafor a week day dinner during our calgary vacation. we got the paella, zfc and mediterranean salad. all the dishes were delicious. i would come back again on my next trip.

i've tried ox &angelatwice, and the first visit was less than impressive but i gave it a second visit and was pleasantly surprised.

we ordered lots of small dishes to share. everything was sooo good! i recommend the baked goat cheese if you love cheese like me, it's delicious.

the paella takes 20min to cook so if you know that's what you want, i would order it as soon as possible. the paella was what i tried both the first and second time, and i did not enjoy how salty it was the first time. i asked them to put in no salt at all on my second visit, and it came out still a little saltier than a normal dish. perhaps it's because of all the seafood inside the dish? i have no idea.

anyway, other than the paella, everything else is great here, including the sangria. definitely a must if you are on 17th and looking for a good meal. i gave it a 4.0 because the restaurant feels kind of cramped and is extremely loud. not a good place for an intimate date for sure. also, make resos! the place is usually pretty booked.