Restaurant Review: Pigeonhole

 

Air Canada has recently released their Best New Restaurants list for 2015 and I was excited to hear that Pigeonhole from Calgary made it on the prestigious list. Opening up earlier this year, Pigeonhole is a great new restaurant addition to 17th Ave perfect for those who love tapa styled dishes coupled with some great wine!

Atmosphere: Modern dining area coupled with an old school flare reminiscent of a grand British tea room.

Food & Wine: With so many amazing dishes on the menu it was hard to pick and choose what we wanted to try. Luckily some of my friends had already been and insisted that we order the Nori Crumpets. It looks like a simple dish however the flavours truly blow you away. The butter is the star due to the blast of shrimp flavour when you bite in to it. The dish is decadent without being overwhelming and was probably one of my favorites that night.

We also order the Chicken Liver Mousse served with blueberry and toasted sourdough. The mousse itself was creamy and smooth with a rich depth of flavour. The blueberry was a great accompaniment. It was a really good portion size as well and would be perfect for sharing.

A light and fresh plate was the Sustainable BC Tuna Crudo with lots of whipped yogurt, cucumber and crunchy puffed rice. It was a well-rounded dish, the crunchy puffed rice complimenting the soft tuna and the tangy yogurt with refreshing cucumber. I would highly recommend this to someone looking for a healthier alternative.

Next we also tried the Charred Cabbage and Ricotta Dumplings. Both dishes that sound intriguing but not what you’d expect. The cabbage had a nice smoky flavour from the charring and I really enjoyed the jalapeno cream that was served with it. It’s a simple dish that was definitely elevated. The ricotta dumplings themselves were soft and chewy like little pillows. I the flavours of the chilis and crème fraiche and thought it was a well executed dish.

 

We couldn’t leave without having dessert and since we couldn’t decide between the Banana Pecan Trifle or the Warm Madelines, decided to order both. The trifle was delightful served in an old English teacup with layers of calvados (), crème fraiche and pecan shortbread with lots of caramel drizzled on top. I didn’t think it was overly too sweet and enjoyed the crunch from the shortbread since most trifles can be more like a pudding in texture. I really enjoyed the combination of the flavours and would definitely order it again. The madelines were brown butter flavoured that day. They were perfect, served fresh and made to order. You really can’t go wrong with fluffy madelines especially when they taste extra buttery.

I suggest you try the dessert with a nice white wine such as the Tantalus Riesling! But if that's not your style, they've also got a nice wine list available if you're looking for something different, be sure to ask the server for their recommendations.

My Picks: Nori Crumpets, Tuna Crudo, Banana Pecan Trifle

Overall: The food served at Pigeonhole makes it one of my new favorites in town and I’m glad I’m not the only one that thinks so. Congrats to them for being one of Air Canada enRoute’s Best New Restaurants and I can’t wait to see what they cook up next, but please never remove the nori crumpets!

Pigeonhole
306 17th Avenue SW
Calgary, AB
(403) 452.4694
Website: pigeonholeyyc.com