One18 Empire

last night mr. handsome and i took advantage of a thunderstorm free evening and ventured  downtown for dinner at one of calgary's top 10 new restaurants of 2016;  one18 empire.

located at 820 centre street se, one18 empire is a whiskey inspired bar & restaurant with a focus on locally produced food and communal style dining with shareable dishes.

the cocktails alone would make don draper proud and side note, drinking mad men style makes a girl feel fancy.

with a laid back comfortable setting, we took the approach of trying multiple dishes (just to ensure our palettes were satisfied) all of which were delicious.  my personal favourites belonged to the beef tartar w/ 63 degree egg, and the scallops w/ pork belly and creamy polenta.

here is a look at the beautifully presented and extremely tasty dishes we devoured.

cheers.

black walnut old fashioned |  bourbon, water, sugar cube, angostura & black walnut bitter

mussels |  white wine & garlic sauce

alberta beef tartar |  local black apron beef, house mustard & 63 degree egg

simple beet salad |  slow roasted beets, pistachio vinaigrette, goat cheese

herbed burrata |  organic heirloom cherry tomatoes, aged balsamic & house baguette

seared diver scallops | pork belly, creamy polenta, mustard jus