pigeonhole

came here tonight for girls dinner club tonight.  i decided on this place since it was rated the top new restaurant of 2015.  it is located right beside model milk, the one complaint i had about this place was the entrance is a pain in the butt.  there is no visible sign and everyone had trouble looking for the door.  the door is actually on the side by the cross fit gym.  they should have arrows on the front windows directing people, this is really inconvenient.  we had a smaller group of 5 tonight and we got sat right by the kitchen.  since it was all our first time there it was exciting watching the chefs prepare the food and seeing what looks good to try.  restaurant is family style based and they are smaller plates.  the waitress recommended 10-15 dishes to share.  one of my friends and i got 2 dishes each and we were satisfied while the other 3 girls ordered a bunch and shared.  i got the charredcabbagewith mimolette cheese and yummy jalapeno cream dressing.  it sounds so simple but it was delicious and i would recommend this to anybody.  the chicken liver mousse was rich and smooth but could less salty.  i asked for more bread to finish the rest of it the other girls raved about the osoyoss asparagus and the mayo sauce that came with it and the crunchy croutons. another dish that stood out was the 23 oz bone in short rib san choy bao for $58 big enough to share with 3 ppl- it came with lettuce wraps, roti, peanuts, cilantro.   the short rib was nicely marinaded and braised and was fall apart tender.   our waitress advised that the chef was not satisfied with the size of portion that we were given and made us an second portion to go with it.  so awesome! so much food already, the other dishes we ordered was: beef tartare, ricotta dumplings, deviled eggs, rabbit &bacon pate, salted cod, nori crumpets, pot de creme and earl grey madeleine.  too many to review each dish but wanted to highlight our favourites.  they have seasonal menus which change constantly to ensure they are serving the freshest ingredient with what is in season.  we all left full and content. i can see why there were top new restaurant last year.

wow. went for dinner with two friends. great place for sharing. started with the caviar. had the beet salad and roastedcabbagesalad. then the 24oz steak. best steak i’ve had in a very very long time. make a reservation.  apparernly the regulars have favourite spots at the bar.  we were told that we had two hours before the reservation arrive, they were great about just moving us down a few seats.  we were forwarned so was definately not an issue for us

this place is similar to so many other newer restaurants in the city. there are a litany of choices on the menu, but virtually none of them are appealing - we almost walked out after perusing the choices, but we foolishly decided to give a few dishes a try. the first three dishes we attempted to order, we were told they were all out of. so to start, we had the artisan sourdough bread which came out cold and was salty, it was nothing special. the keg serves way better bread and it's complimentary. next, chicken skewers which was the best dish we tried, yet bland. then came the charredcabbagewith what looked like grated cheddar atop, nasty. finally, pork slices which were very fatty, but not very tasty. perhaps the worst part were the extremely uncomfortable chairs on the patio digging into our backs. therefore, i can't even recommend this place for just drinks. these chefs designing weird menus need to go back to basics.

my friend and i decided to try pigeonhole for big taste this year. i'm so glad we did. the ambiance was nice and romantic. our server was awesome and helped us with excellent choices of food and wine for our meal. the grilledcabbagewas the best! i will be back the next time i'm in calgary.

i recently checked out pigeonhole's shared plate menu for summer feast and tried some of their most popular dishes, including the crowd-pleasing charredcabbagewith grated mimolette cheese and jalapeno cream. i highly recommend coming here for a large group, double dates, dinner with parents or really with anyone so you can try more dishes!

had an amazing dinner here tonight. the charredcabbagereally is as good as they say it is. service was fantastic! every plate was perfect and each dish had layers of flavour. can't wait to go back and try more dishes!!

well...just perfect...service, wine list...and food!!!!! thecabbagewere just amazing, thanks to the bartender you guided me perfectly i really enjoyed my diner. i ordered some vesper, and i have to say they were the best i had for a long time. 
i have been there many times, and i can't wait the next opportunity to get there.

loved it! you can't go wrong with just ordering blindly from the menu. their dishes are designed to be shared, so don't be surprised by the small portions. their marinated calamari tostada, charredcabbageand veal breast are must-try. don't skip through desserts, their housemade madeleines are delicious!

came in for dinner with high expectations. sort of let down, everything was good, nothing really spectacular. the bread for the tartare and chicken liver mousse was way too thick, overpowering what should be the stars. the tundra crudo was quite good.cabbagewas meh, parts were inedible they were so burnt. probably wouldn't be back.

worth a visit! award winning restaurant delivers!
chef: justin leboe and his team recently won prestigious air canada enroute magazine best new restaurant 2015

* overall: highly recommend. delicious! tasty tapas.
* reservations: yes!
* service: friendly, knowledgeable, and personable staff. attentive without being intrusive. helpful to offer suggestions on menu, pairings with wine, descriptions of items brought to the table. special thanks to hanna.
* decor: tables close together. a little tight in some places.. did lend itself to chatting with people at nearby tables. 

* menu: bite size appetizers to share. suggested 5 - 6 items for couple. $10-$15 per item.
* wine: great selection of organic wines. glass and bottle.
* favorites: charredcabbage(house specialty), salted cod crepes, ricotta dumplings, grass fed beef. delicious. 
calamari - unusual and tasty. good but would not order again.
* desserts - mmm! chocolate pot de creme. 

note:
noise: previous reviews mentioned quite noisy plus music. heads up was helpful.
wish list: decaffeinated coffee. mentioned to manager. if more people mention perhaps will add to menu
                 minor: hook in bathroom for purses.

a very enjoyable evening. highly recommend it.

one of the best tapas places i've been to, namely because they have really mastered the idea of simple, yet delicious food. it's almost like eating at your grandma's place, if she were a world renowned chef.

best plates we had were the charredcabbageand the ricotta dumplings. so simple, but very very complex flavours that were absolutely delicious. every dish was a hit, which is sometimes rare at tapas restaurants.

the only big downfall, for myself personally, is the price. because they are sharing plates, you only really get one or two bites of some truly delicious food (which leaves my tastebuds sad) for a price that would typically get you a full meal. however, the food is so exceptional i really didn't mind the price; well worth it once in a while.

servers were also very friendly. we arrived a little early for our reservation and our table wasn't yet ready. they asked us to wait at the bar and were extremely attentive, helping us order drinks and even food before we moved to the table. that way when we were seated, food streamed out pretty quickly. the staff were also well informed about their menus and had great suggestions.

can't wait to go back!

great food! we had thecabbagedish which i wouldn't have thought to order but was very good, lamb tartar, alberta morels and dumplings - all great! the caprese was meh but i feel like most caprese salads are....waiting for a new not so salad salad trend to come. the wine list is great too! definitely a place where you could just tell the staff to bring you whatever they feel like and you would be very happy!

we sat at the bar, it wasn't very busy at all but i'm guessing they are pacing the reservations and walk-ins while they are in the honeymoon phase. food was awesome, the charredcabbagewas great, so were the dumplings. loved how they re-used a lot of victorias decor (especially the tables!). our bartender was excellent, he made a lot of great wine suggestions and was very engaging.  the one negative would have to be the value, i thought for the amount of food, and alcohol (5oz pours) the final bill should not have been as much as it was.

great experience, will be back!