Restaurant Review: 1918 Tap and Table

We love walking. Well mostly I love it, but luckily for me, my husband doesn’t mind it and finds it a nice way to past the time. Especially when we’re away on vacation. Walking is a great way to see the city. However, we don’t walk nearly as much as we should in Calgary since we have cars and Calgary has always been known as a ‘car city’. You wouldn’t be able to get anywhere or anything if you didn’t have a car. But luckily for us we live in an area that’s sort of walkable. We could walk to Kensington which is just down the hill or to Amato Gelato just down 19th street. Over the summer, there was a new restaurant that opened right by 19th street and Kensington Rd! I was pretty excited to check it out and was so glad that I got to do so a couple times as a guest of the restaurant. If you haven’t guessed, I’m talking about 1918 Tap and Table. The best part about dining at this place? Aside from the fact that it’s close, I love how we’re literally giving back and helping support our veterans. All the proceeds from the restaurant goes towards the Canadian Legion!

Atmosphere: Beautiful dining space with big bright floor to ceiling windows that truly highlight the amazing contemporary room. A great location for dinner, drinks or even to host a special event. Definitely not your parent’s legion. =)

Price Range: Mid $10s - $20+

Food & Wine: After their soft opening, I was super excited to be back and check out their lunch selections. To start off our meal we were introduced to some of their appetizers such as the Brined Wings, Hand Cut Organic Fries and the Flatbread made with salami, spinach, mozzarella and basil oil. They were tasty starters and everybody enjoyed them. You can’t go wrong with wings and fries!

We also got to try some of their cocktails and I opted for the No Way Frose, a blended frozen rose wine cocktail with strawberry simple syrup. You can’t go wrong with rose and I’m loving this new frozen rose trend. 1918 does it right by not making it overly too sweet with the simply syrup so you can still taste the essence of the wine. It dangerous stuff because I can probably drink like a dozen of these.

Luckily, they were about to serve the mains and it drew my attention away from that delicious frose cocktail. My main was the Seared Salmon with a white bean puree, wilted spinach, summer squash in a tomato broth with fresh herbs. The salmon was cooked nicely, perfect sear on the outside without drying out the fish itself. The broth was a nice touch and made it a relatively lighter dish, perfect for lunch. The suggested pairing for the dish was the Vina Mayu Sauvignon Blanc, a nice crisp white that doesn’t over power the delicate flavours of the fish but instead enhanced the flavours of the tomatoes and white bean puree.

For dessert, I had the Chocolate Truffle Cake served with Saskatoon Coulis. Since my main was a bit lighter I decided to indulge a bit for dessert. The cake was velvety smooth and would definitely hit the spot for any chocolate lover. It very decadent and a decent size, so it would even be perfect for sharing.

My Pick: Seared Salmon

Overall: The meal was really good and not something you would think is served at the Canadian Legion. I was pleasantly surprised plus, I still can’t get over how beautiful the space is, perfect for a wedding reception or even to host a birthday party! And you don’t even need to cater in the food! So now there’s even more motivation for my husband to walk with me because now we can walk down to 1918 to grab a bite AND we’re supporting our veterans so what’s not to love?!

1918 Tap and Table
1918 Kensington Road NW
Calgary, AB
(403) 209-1918
Website: 1918tapandtable.com