Cassis Bistro — Restaurant in Calgary

I was here as part of a staff dinner, WE won't say from where. 😌

I just want to say off the bat that I know French cuisine isn't typically vegan friendly; in fact it hardly is.

Yes, I'm vegan.

So when I was told that as the vegan of our near 20 group of people that I'd be taken care of, I was highly anticipating what could be done to accommodate me within the realm of the not-so-vegan friendly French cuisine.

Given my past experiences at non-vegan establishments and especially ones that have limited to no real options on their own menus, I tempered my expectations to be realistic. I set the bar low. Then I looked up the reviews of this place and nudged the bar an inch higher.

I expected at least 1 salad, and I expected smaller or "more considered" portion sizes, which I actually appreciate when the food is done well.

Everyone else chose from a pre-set menu of 4 courses with multiple options for each except the starter soup.

Me being the vegan couldn't have anything as it was on that menu, but I gave it a look to get an idea of what the kitchen has to offer in terms of ingredients being used and seeing what kind of things they are making there that I imagine any experienced chef would be able to switch up to accommodate.

I was told by the lovely service staff that I would also be getting 4 courses, but there were obviously no options for me. I expected and accepted that, it's actually understandable being the only vegan of that many in a group (to a degree).

However, what I also expected, given I was the only one, and that I'm aware of the space being booked in advance for us with them being aware of incoming dietary restrictions and allergies, was some form of authentic effort or imagination? Maybe a bit of innovative thinking?

I'll explain by example.

The courses:

Course 1 - The Beet Salad

This was actually an option on the set menu for the rest of the party, but it included goat cheese. I thought maybe they would replace the goat cheese with something else, but they just removed it. So instead of substituting a flavour that added dimension to the dish, it just left the dish feeling a bit, lacking. It was still... Fine, as a starter, but it didn't get me excited for what was to come.

Course 2 - The House Salad

My second salad. It involved leafy greens with other vegetables to round it out, like tomatoes, and asparagus. The dressing consisted of what seemed like olive oil or an incredibly mild vinaigrette that made me desire some form of seasoning (even simply some fresh cracked pepper and more present and intentional herbs) to liven it up and add a bit more variety in the texture.

At this point I've become underwhelmed because on the set menu I know I saw balsamic vinaigrette, which would have helped this quite a bit. Instead, it felt slapped together like a last second after thought with whatever was on hand in that very moment, as if someone in the kitchen drew a short straw to deal with "the guy with the plant based diet".

I received glances from coworkers at my second salad, and one next to me tried convincing me that maybe this is all so I can be really wowed by the main course. I chose to believe them and tried to stay positive.

Course 3 - Roasted (Sauteed?) Vegetables

Now, when this main course came out I had questions. Not only did it also seem lacking in flavour, like it needed salt to assist the vegetables in expressing their full potential (and I'm not a guy who likes too much salt, but understands its importance), it also just felt super uninspired, especially coming out next to the rest of the main courses around me. It may have had a light mushroom sauce in there somewhere, but it was genuinely difficult to tell. Our own chef at the table agreed it could use salt, and also referred to it as a warm salad, but overall it felt like an inconsiderate, one note side dish. Salad 3, perhaps?

Course 4 - Sorbet

Cool. I can't believe it's not salad.

Maybe I should have known better and kept my expectations lower as the vegan going into a French restaurant?

I raced home to my...

We enjoyed a really wonderful night out at Cassis for our first wedding anniversary.

We ordered the mussels (sharing plate), foie gras, beef tartare (sharing plate), fish of the day (halibut with lobster bisque), and steak frites. Everything was delicious.

The beef tartare was probably the best I have had. The presentation (with the egg yolk in the shell to pour on top) was lovely. Flavours were perfect and the crispy chips were nice and light after having bread out on the table. The very French style with the great Alberta beef was just so so good. The side salad was refreshing as we ordered a lot of meat.

Foie gras was interesting because it was served on a gingerbread flavoured cracker. Tried pairing it also with the table bread.

I'm always iffy about ordering Halibut in restaurants as it isn't always done well (often too dry or too wet). They cooked it perfectly, and the pairing of lobster bisque as a sauce went really well with such a light fish.

Our waiter was from Touslouse. He clearly loved food and helped us think about the items we were choosing between going together. He helped us pick out a delicious red wine that went well with both the steak frites and halibut mains.

Another waiter made the most hilarious "that is to die for" face when he heard us discussing desserts, and we chose the creme brulee based on this. Best creme brulee I have had.

We had such a good night. The pacing of the food and the drinks was perfect.

We started with a French 75 and a...

We went for dinner here with my sister and her husband, and I definitely have to say it's one of the best meals I've had in a while.

We ordered the beef tartare and scallop ceviche to start. They were absolutely divine - the scallops were fresh with just the right amount of citrus. The beef tartare was amazing (we appreciate this so much more after being in London for the last few months, I can confirm that London beef is nowhere near as good as Alberta beef!).

For our mains my hubby and I got the mussels and frites - I was told the bread here was delicious and to get it in place of the fries, but our waiter was super nice and said I could have both 😂😂 - I honestly love it when they tell me this! I don't even think he charged us for the bread! Everything tasted super fresh!

Despite being super full, I ordered two desserts - creme brulee and the nougat with a passion fruit coulis. I'm so glad I made that the decision. They were both excellent. The creme brulee was super creamy and eggy. The nougat was a surprise as it wasn't too sweet. It had a nice soft and chewy texture with some crunch to it from the added nuts. The passion fruit sauce was the perfect addition.

I'd definitely recommend this place, and I'm sure we will be back as well! We also had some fun filming through...