Vin Room, Calgary
Not just a boozey haunt, Vin Room has a club feel. True, you can knock back bottles, buy you can also become a member, tracking your purchases, learning about the purple stuff, and writing reviews. Furthermore, you can customize a wish list of intriguing wines. For the less dedicated imbiber, the dining room on the main floor is perfect for dinner and by-the-glass drinking while the upstairs, funky lounge is an accessible hang. Courtesy of Chef Kai Salimaki (formerly of Eight, Catch, and Tangerine Supper Club), the menu focuses on regional cooking sourced from local providers. The food veers toward small, share-ready plates like Smoked Duck and Asparagus Terrine and Oyster Rockefeller. At lunch, there are a few more entrée-sized dishes like Short Rib Shepherds Pie and an AAA Strip loin, yet the emphasis remains on the wine. 2310-4th Street SW, Calgary, AB, 403-457-5522 …Full Story



Voya, Vancouver
Located in the chic Loden Hotel, Voya has a regal feel that conjures 17th Century England. Expert mixologist, Jay Jones (previously of West) stacked the cocktail list with old favourites such as Sazerac, while adding his own touches like the Something Pink cocktail (a flavourful combination of Maker’s Mark, watermelon, lime, and peach). General Manager Robert Herman's wine list utilizes hard-to-source local bottles and some of his favourite labels from around the globe. Chef Marc-Andre Choquette (formerly of Lumière) runs the kitchen. His dishes focus on fresh local ingredients, somewhat simply prepared, but with flavours that suggest an ineffable complexity. Mini sliders of beef, tuna and shrimp seem to be the popular choice while other small tapas-like plates abound. We recommend the warm leek and endive salad topped with creamy hazelnut dressing, which comes with little stacks of flavourful herbs and mini-croutons. The baked gnocchi is layered with ricotta, eggplant and a tart tomato sauce. It's perfect for a cold night. 1177 Melville Street, Vancouver, BC
604-669-5060 …Full Story



Winebar Kensington, Calgary
For a place with "wine" in the moniker, the list here is surprisingly short; however, it is well-edited. The Kensington-area joint has fifty or sixty wines by the bottle and thirty by the glass, including ever-fashionable sparkling wines and sweet dessert wines. The owners (who also own nearby Muse) stay away from big-name purveyors, instead championing smaller wineries. Like all chic restaurants, the menu will change seasonally. Expect warming reds during cold weather and refreshing whites during the summer heat. While the focus is, of course, on the potables, there is a decent, if short, menu. Comprised largely of small plates (what?), Chef Cam Dobranski's menu aims to compliment the libations. 1131 Kensington Rd. NW, Calgary, AB, 403-457-1144 …Full Story