A visit to Eight begins with a call placed from an ordinary white phone in the lobby of Alt Hotel. Guests are then led down a maintenance corridor to the gilded After Eight Parlour for a pre-dinner cocktail. After some snacks, they slip through a discreet door to a dramatic room fit with a striking bar made of Douglas fir, set with just four stools on each of the two perpendicular sides, every seat facing the kitchen. Eight stools and just one service four nights a week — a very hot ticket indeed.

Of Darren MacLean’s three restaurants, Eight is the most personal. While MacLean is known for his Japanese-inspired cooking, here his culinary preoccupation is with Canada’s polycultural identity. Indigenous traditions have an important role, but so do those of Calgary’s Chinese communities, along with influences ranging from South Asian to French. Each dish is delivered with an engaging backstory. MacLean’s enduring love of Japan might show up in a silky black truffle chawanmushi or dry-aged kamatoro (collar) of P.E.I. bluefin sauced with ponzu and topped with caviar, pine nuts, pickled shallot and black dashi foam. Alberta-grown vegetables have a moment in an aromatic Madras curry soup highlighting local carrots and beetroot, with a zing of coriander. In autumn, expect a sashimi of lightly brined elk heart dressed with light sesame oil, raw garlic and binchō-tan-charred shiso. The cooking is original and fiendishly complex, but the flavours always come through in harmony and with resounding clarity.

One of Canada’s most focused and considered dining experiences today.” Keegan Ferguson