Charbar

Asado on the River

3.5 of 5

Charbar lives in the restored Simmons Building on the Bow River in East Village, sixteen thousand square feet of exposed brick, old beams and vaulted ceilings, with a rooftop patio that looks out on the river and, on a clear day, the mountains. Few dining rooms in Calgary start with this much going for them.

Connie DeSousa and John Jackson, the pair behind CHARCUT, built it around a custom Argentine wood-fired grill and the art of asado. The beef is Alberta and dry-aged hard, and it is the reason to come. Chef Jessica Pelland runs a menu that pulls from Argentina, Spain and Italy and leans on prairie and ocean ingredients. There is a raw bar of Ocean Wise seafood. From the start the menu gave vegetables real space too, with baked empanadas and a sourdough fugazza with provoleta, and the house partners with Sidewalk Citizen Bakery and Phil & Sebastian, so the bread and coffee are in good hands.

Reviews run hot and cold on service when the place is slammed, and a room this size will have rough nights. Do not let that keep you from the grill. Go on a summer weeknight when the roof is open and the crowd is thinner, order the dry-aged steak for the table, and watch the river go by.

Order this: Dry-aged Alberta steak off the asado grill, something from the raw bar, empanadas, sourdough fugazza with provoleta
The damage: $$$
Go: A summer weeknight when the rooftop is open and the rush is lighter
Find it: 618 Confluence Way SE (Simmons Building), Calgary, AB T2G 0G1