While dining out Lauren and I always make it a point to share our food. Whether it’s just the two of us, or a group of friends, we feel that family style dining is always a better way to try new things and bring variety to the meal. Well what do you do when you want to eat family style but there’s only two of you? What if you could enjoy a collection of small entrees designed for sharing that went beyond the typical Spanish styled tapas? Well that’s exactly what you’ll find at Tango Bistro in Calgary.

Tango Bistro is located just south of downtown Calgary, in probably one of the most interesting restaurant design concepts I’ve ever seen. The building they are in originally started out as a restaurant and night club. Over time though it’s morphed into four unique restaurants catering to four entirely different cuisines. This sort of shared concept has seeped into the menu at Tango as well, producing an environment where there are few limits and creativity is abound. On top of the food, the design of the space is a fun mix of fresh and modern that lends itself to a comfortable dining experience.

Enough about the space though, what really stands out at Tango Bistro is the food.

When you first take a gander at the menu, you’re almost floored with the number of varieties and options available. Most choices are made from fresh and local ingredients, which means the menu is also constantly changing as the seasons change. This use of fresh ingredients allows Tango’s chef to get as creative as he’d like to be. I personally can’t go out for a tapas style meal without having at least one serving of ham. With that in mind we began our meal with a classic charcuterie board.

Once that hit the table we just went ahead and ordered a large variety of plates. Because they are all small plate style, they just kept hitting the table as they were made. This meant we were constantly inundated with hot fresh bites of scrumptious food. Each time we took a bite of something like a delicate lamb chop, we would turn and be presented with something that blew it out of the water like the wild boar bacon wrapped Alberta beef. The star of the show though, were the wonton crusted jumbo prawns and the giant seafood tower.

After packing in all those small plates it ended up being one big meal. The good news for us though, was that dessert was available in two different ways. You could either enjoy a small creation such as these cake shots or a shareable dessert like the sticky toffee bread pudding.

On top of all the fantastic food and warm atmosphere, Tango Bistro did something that impressed Lauren and I quite a bit. Tango Bistro participates in something called the mealshare plan. Basically, when specific items are ordered on the menu, all the proceeds from the dish go to a local food bank to feed the needy. To me, that’s impressive. It’s fantastic to see a restaurant giving back to the community. To date the program has contributed over 5000 meals. If you are looking for a great evening out, with fantastic food and a fun environment, Tango Bistro is the way to go.

If you enjoyed this post about Tango Bistro in Calgary, you might want to check out these other related posts.

Walking Through History at Heritage Park in Calgary

A Visit to Calgary’s Military Museums

It Takes a Village to Make a Great Beer

We’d be honored if you would subscribe to our newsletter or connect with us via social media on Facebook, twitter, +Kenin, tumblr, Pinterest, and YouTube!