As Calgarians approach the hostess desk here they will hopefully notice something that inexplicably—and inexcusably—they have not laid eyes on thereabouts in living memory: hefty cuts of porterhouse and the like, dry-aging on racks in a glass-fronted meat locker.

But this new restaurant from the Charcut team aims to do much more than wean the locals off cheap, Cryovac aged beef. The business spreads over three floors of a repurposed old Calgary mattress factory called the Simmons building— including a glorious rooftop patio that looks out over the Bow River that winds past below.

Its culinary aim is to present an authentic transplant of Argentina’s glorious cuisine—and ageing aside, the serious effort hinges on a formidable array of genuine wood-fired grills, or parrillas. But, before beef meets grill, you absolutely must begin with an exquisite ceviche, brimming over with firm weathervane scallops, sweet plump shrimp, crisp corn, red onion—and bona fide tigre de leche. The salad of charred shredded Napa cabbage with mint is also not be missed—nor the clam pie, a sort of pizzafoccacia hybrid topped with chimichurri.

Then it’s time to choose between the beautiful, deep Stilton notes of the melt-in-your-mouth ultra-dry aged T-bone, or the different, more succulent, fine-fibred pleasures of a steak carved from grass-fed Texas longhorn from local 7K ranch. Maybe just have both.HOURSMonday to Wednesday
11:30 AM until 10:00 PM

Thursday, Friday
11:30 AM until 12:00 AM

Saturday
10:00 AM until 12:00 AM

Sunday
10:00 AM until 10:00 PM

Charcut’s precocious offspring plays with fire to create gorgeous pizza, juicy fowl and the best gaucho burger north of the border. – LIV VORS

Delicious Argentinean grilled meats, Canadian-style, and the best patio in Calgary. – ROSEMARY BACOVSKY

Click here for more Calgary restaurants from Canada’s 100 Best list.