Mealtime entrees don’t get more comforting than a warm dish of freshly made pasta. Whether you’re celebrating a special occasion, taking the whole family for dinner or just grabbing some grub at a pub, here’s where to fill your belly with pasta dishes that will leave you happy and undoubtedly full. [Photo credit: iStock.com/kivoart]
With its exposed brick, cool warehouse-style digs and share-plates menu, this spot on the 17th Avenue Southwest strip has a laidback, welcoming vibe that makes you want to stay and eat and sip for hours. If pasta is what you’re feeling, you have your choice of nearly a dozen entrees, from manicotti to rigatoni with mozzarella and orecchiette with house-made sausage. When the sun is out, sit on the patio and pair your pasta with a cool glass of vino.
Check out this popular neighbourhood restaurant and sports bar on Wednesdays for two-for-one pasta night. Opt for delicious penne, ravioli, gnocchi, tortellini or the wonderfully creamy seafood pasta with mussels and calamari. On game nights, sit at the bar and watch sports on the big-screen while you slurp up your noodles and sauce.
If you ask anyone in the southwest community of Lakeview where they go for a pizza, pasta or a pint, chances are they’ll tell you it’s Bell Roma. This under-the-radar, Greek-Italian restaurant and bar is family-run and serves comfortably delicious old-school dishes. Choose from classics that include oven-baked spaghetti and lasagna as well as fettuccine carbonara. Extra cheese and sauce is an option you won’t regret choosing.
This California-meets-Southwest-style restaurant just off the intersection of Fourth Street and 17th Avenue Southwest is cozy with its warm wood colours and exposed beam ceilings. Take a seat in one of its two levels or on the vine-covered outdoor patio and tuck in to some delicious pasta. Try the black pepper linguine with sesame seeds and nutmeg or the lemon conchigliette with chorizo, scallops, lobster and snap peas.
Pronounced, “Cinquenta Cucina,” this bright, contemporary Italian restaurant in Inglewood focuses on fresh, organic ingredients. Grab a seat in view of the eatery’s mint-green-tiled open kitchen or on its outdoor patio. Try any of the handmade pasta dishes including the tagliatelle porcini with wild mushrooms slow cooked to perfection in tomato sauce. You’ll be thinking about this one for days after.
If it’s fine Italian dining you crave, head to Teatro on Stephen Avenue Walk. Located in the stately Dominion Bank Building, its brass doors, high ceilings and marble interior are a fit for its exceptional dishes. A great place for a special occasion or pre-theatre dinner (Theatre Calgary is located across the avenue), here seasonal pasta dishes include seafood lasagna with fresh lobster, scallops and prawns and mouthwatering wild boar cappelletti with butternut squash pureé.