CALGARY: Lunching at Brasserie Kensington

I had to pick a lunch restaurant with co-workers last week and I struggled to come up with something fairly easy to access, to park and with good food. We were literally getting together from 4 corners of the city so Kensington became the destination of choice (that probably didn't meet the easy to park criteria but close enough!). After not living in Calgary for 4 years, I wasn't really sure what was good, so I turned to OpenTable for ideas. After some availability searching on OpenTable and then menu browsing, I settled on Brasserie - I can never resist a French bistro!

Brasserie is simple, bright restaurant overlooking Kensington Road. As I had seen online, there were plenty of delicious sounding options on the menu from salads, sandwiches, to house specialties. In the end, we each opted to try a different dish: Cobb Salad (with crab cakes!), breaded cod sandwich (was gigantic!), croque madame and croque moniseur. I had the croque madame because I like the fried egg on top of my Gruyere and ham grilled sandwich! It came with a nice healthy salad, but you can opt for soup or fries. Lunch was very good all around, and it looked like other patrons were enjoying themselves too - I should mention we might have been the only table not indulging in lunch-time champagne! It's not much for decor and style, but Brasserie was a great choice for our lunch get-together. The bustling crowd in the small restaurant made it a bit loud for conversing but it was part of the open and lively atmosphere. I'll have to go back and try the poutine - all fries done in duck fat :) I also recommend getting to Kensington early as parking can be tough right close to noon, but if you're lucky, you might snag parking right in front!

Brasserie

1131 Kensington Rd NW (upstairs)

403-457-4148 (reservations available on OpenTable)

brasseriekensington.com