Restaurant Review: NOtaBLE

Mussels and Frites
Nothing beats hanging out with family sometimes. They always seem to understand the order of things and let’s admit it, its fun to know who’s doing what and where and when (trust me I have a big enough extended family to truly get lost on who’s where and why). Family fills you in on the goods you’ve missed and reminds you of all the great times of the past. Therefore nothing beats getting together and chatting over some great food and what better place then the new restaurant in town NOtaBLE, owned by Chef Michael Noble and blogged about by his daughter, ah family!

Chicken Ravioli
Atmosphere: Sleek and contemporary, but definitely more on the cozy and warm side. Plenty of space for larger groups or just ask for the table in the corner for that romantic dinner.

Price: $10s - $30s

Food and Wine: When you first look through the menu you’ll notice that it’s divided in to many different sections like all other restaurants, but upon closer inspection you’ll notice that the divisions are more so due to the different tasting selections versus appetizer, entrée and dessert (which is on a menu all by itself anyhow). We decided on the tasters menu since there was a couple of us, we figured why not try to power through a couple of different dishes, tapas style.

Flatbread with Tzatziki
Starting with the Wood Fire-Grilled Bread with Garlic Confit and Tzatziki, the bread was nice and garlicky while staying chewy which I really enjoyed but the tzatziki was a little runnier than what I’m use to; since I’m more accustomed to Greek tzatziki made with thick Greek yogurt.
Next we had the Tombo Tuna Tartare served with Ratatouille, which was a great combination. Scooping up a bit of tuna along side the well seasoned ratatouille balanced both of the elements and created a great flavour and texture combination. The Ravioli of Confit Chicken was brought out by the mushrooms. Chicken always seems to go well with mushrooms, especially served with a nice cream based sauce. I did quite enjoy the Mussels and Frites. The mussels were mediocre since the white wine sauce was a little under seasoned but the frites were nice and crispy and I from my posts before, people know that I enjoy my crunchy fries.

It was hard not to be tempted to try one of the mains while I was there we also ordered the Halibut with Panang Curry. It was interesting to eat halibut in a curry sauce, since curries usually conjure up the thoughts of chicken, beef or legumes. The sauce was nicely spicy with a hint of coconut, which didn’t overpower the delicate fish.

Panang Halibut
There were good choices of reds and whites plus some house specialty cocktails from the bar. We decided on the Albert Bichot Pinot Noir, which was a nice pairing to some of our lighter dishes but still rounded out the flavours of the confit and cream dishes. Most of the bottles on the wine list are from California, so if you like that region of wine, this is the place to be.

After taking a quick peek at the dessert menu, which consisted of your usual suspects (crème brulee, cheesecake, chocolate cake), we decided to save it for another time, which I’m sure won’t be too far away.

My Pick: Tombo Tuna Tartare with Ratatouille

Tuna Tartare with Ratatouille
Overall: The location is different and fresh, like the food, all from acclaimed Chef Michael Noble, who is very well known across Canada and it’s nice to see the support of his family by his side through it all.

NOtaBLE
4611 Bowness Road NW
Calgary, AB
(403) 288-4372

NOtaBLE on Urbanspoon

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