Concorde Restolounge is a tiny gem in the city’s far south west. People often refer to the far southwest neighbourhoods of Calgary (Springbank, Patterson, Christie, the Slopes, Aspenstone, Westsprings) as the “boonies”. It’s true, these neighbourhoods are on the outreaches, and generally foodies need to journey into the core, Kensington or 17th avenue to get the trendy cuisine they crave. Well fear not foodies, there’s a new lounge in town.

Concorde has a very unassuming flat glass front with tinted windows. I spotted Concorde while shopping at the Blush Lane Organic market and decided to take my mother there for dinner. Although Concorde is small, bar seating, and about 10 tables, they make the most of their space. The ambiance is rich, dark and luxe, everything is shiny black or silver, with soft and deep white leather chairs.

For a small place Concorde has an excellent wine list, with lots of choices by the glass. I chose a glass of the Caymus Conundrum white blend ($15.00) that was served perfectly chilled. My mother was just as enamoured with her choice the Spy Hill Sauvignon Blanc ($9.00). We were quite happy to have chosen crisp whites as it became apparent that the a lot of the cuisine at Concorde featured our favourite food, seafood.

The service was excellent. We had a very polite and unobtrusive waiter and after we ordered the chef brought us out an amuse bouche. A perfectly cooked mussel was served with shavings of chilled Asian pear. The textures went extremely well together and it was light and delicious beginning to our meal.

For her entrée my mother ordered the Ocean’s Stack ($35.00). 3 large cannelloni stuffed with seafood, mushrooms and spinach, were topped with even more seafood, mussels and jumbo prawns. The seafood and pasta was perfectly cooked, but the sauce was a little on the bland side. It was a creamy lemon rose sauce that smelt delicious but unfortunately fell flat. Although even though the sauce needs a little more work, my mother still enjoyed the cannelloni.

I am a huge fan of mussels and fries and often can’t avoid ordering them should I spot them on a menu. Concorde’s mussels and fries ($17.00) were some of the best I have every had. Listed as an appetizer, this dish could easily feed 4 people or be a meal for two. I could barely finish them myself! The heaping stack of steamed mussels were served in a delicious lemon, herb and butter sauce, that was very light and didn’t over power the taste of the shellfish. The dish was severed with a spicy chipotle mayo that I wasted no time dipping the fantastic crispy fries into.

Totally satiated, my mother and I couldn’t even look at the dessert menu, but that didn’t stop us from having another glass of wine!

Although Concorde’s entrée prices can be a little on the steep side (rack of lamb $42.00 being the highest), this lounge has great value for money. With high quality ingredients, innovative and trendy cuisine, this is a heaven for the suburban foodie.