Adding gourmet ingredients to a meal makes a commonplace activity feel special, much like brushing your teeth with a sparkler or withdrawing money from an ATM while holding it at gunpoint. Engage in exceptional eating with today’s deal: $25 gets you $50 toward upscale dinner and drinks at Chef’s Table in the Kensington Riverside Inn. Air Canada’s enRoute Magazine named Chef’s Table one of Canada’s top 10 new restaurants when it opened in 2008.

An evening at Chef’s Table begins with seating in a 40-spot dining room that overlooks Gold Medal Plate award-winning chef Duncan Ly’s open kitchen. Locally sourced, seasonal ingredients dance across the menu, creating an ever-changing lineup of stylishly presented sustenance. After eyes cease salivating, appease ocular emotion by noshing on the house-made ricotta gnocchi appetizer ($16), freestyling in a citrusy-savoury sea of lemon brown butter, dotted with toasted hazelnuts, fried sage, and fresh herbs. Entrees include sous vide free-range chicken ($31), covered in a paper-thin coat of prosciutto with a steaming duck confit cassoulet, and a fluffy tuft of Russian blue potato puree provides the support for a red wine- and soy-braised bison short rib ($39) to reach its true potential for helping others. Those seeking a plant-based pick opt for an array of toasted walnuts, mascarpone and grana padano cheeses, truffle butter, and micro greens suspended weightlessly in the buttercup risotto ($26). A multi-course tasting menu treats flighty tongues, and the restaurant’s own wine cellar offers another upscale highlight.

Inside Chef’s Table’s intimate dining room, diners drape their hinges over Italian leather chairs set before a white-clothed table. Estate grey walls and low lighting create an atmosphere dim enough to set a romantic mood, yet bright enough to read open books on the faces of first dates. Reservations are required and can be made online.

Reviews

Metro Calgary favourably reviewed Chef’s Table, and Where magazine gave it their Best Hotel Dining award in both 2009 and 2010. TripAdvisors give Chef’s Table an average of 3.5 owl eyes, and 79 per cent of UrbanSpooners like the restaurant.

• Splurging on a special meal is worth every penny when food, service and atmosphere flawlessly combine for a magical evening. – Andree Lau, Chef’s Table, Metro Calgary
• Well spaced service, perfect food and atmosphere that drips with class. Highly recomend! [sic] – MitchCalgary, TripAdvisor