Fonda Fora — Restaurant in Calgary

Great Atmosphere and Drinks, Food Has Room for Improvement

Rating: 3.5 stars

I recently visited a local restaurant and wanted to share my experience. Overall, I had a pleasant time with fantastic drinks and a vibrant atmosphere. However, I believe there is untapped potential when it comes to the food. With a few adjustments, the meals could have been truly exceptional.

Let's start with the positives. The tinga tacos were decent, but unfortunately, the tortilla didn't complement the flavors as well as it could have. It's a shame because the filling had a good taste, but the tortilla detracted from the overall enjoyment. I would suggest working on finding a better tortilla option that enhances the flavors of the tinga.

Moving on, the Tijuana ensalada was a refreshing and delicious dish. It had a great balance of flavors, although I was disappointed that the blackberries were initially forgotten. However, the staff quickly rectified the situation by bringing them promptly, which I appreciated. It's always a good sign when the staff is attentive and responsive to customer needs.

Next up was the tiradito de salmon. Visually, the dish looked lovely, and I could see the potential for greatness. However, the main issue was that it was overly salty, which affected the overall enjoyment. Adding a sweeter sauce, such as a mango sauce, could have elevated the dish and provided a better balance of flavors. It's a missed opportunity, as the salmon and other components seemed to be of good quality.

In conclusion, this restaurant has a lot going for it, thanks to its fantastic atmosphere and excellent drink selection. However, there is room for improvement when it comes to the food. By addressing issues like the tortilla in the tinga tacos, ensuring all ingredients are present in dishes like the Tijuana ensalada, and refining the flavor balance in the tiradito de salmon, this place has the potential to offer truly exceptional dining experiences. I hope the restaurant takes this constructive feedback into account and continues to strive for...

Had lunch here, table of 6. We had made a reservation in advance and arrived before noon. The restaurant had a wonderful atmosphere and was maybe at 60% capacity, not too busy.

We were quickly seated. After a few minutes, we had our drink order taken. Things went downhill from there.

We waited quite some time for our drink order to arrive. We needed a little more time to decide on food. The server disappeared and didn't come back. We grew tired of waiting and had to flag someone down because we had a 1pm meeting to get back to. We told the server on placing our order that we had a limited time to be here since we'd already been waiting quite a while, however there was still a reasonable amount of time for food to be made and served, especially since 2 people ordered salad and the rest ordered from the appetizer menu.

After taking our order, we waited and waited. We flagged someone down again when we couldn't wait anymore and asked them to just box up our food. Then the waiting continued. It was over a half hour between ordering and getting the boxed up food. An hour total from arrival to getting food. And even then, we had to leave someone behind to pay the bill as they were still waiting.

When we got back to the office, some said their food was good, but one person had raw chicken in theirs and the caesar salad was described as "four wilted leaves". I cannot comment on how my food tasted because I wasn't able to try it until after the meeting, at which point it was a cold, soggy mess.

Deeply disappointed in this place. Had been looking forward to eating here after seeing the positive reviews. If the restaurant had been busy with people, I would understand the delays. However, with our simple food order, two empty tables next to us, and it being no where near capacity, this was unacceptable.

Won't ever come here again, and suggest only coming here if you have a couple hours of...

Would 100% recommend!! Such a refreshing change of menu and scenery for a Calgary restaurant. Not like any other "Mexican" restaurant I've been too.

FOOD: What a talented chef. I can't wait to go back and try more of the menu with a larger group. Every single thing we ordered was amazing. So amazing that we dug in before I could get a picture so only got one. In order of my favourite it was, Pescado Zarandeado (first time eating barramundi fish and WOW it was so delicious. Plated beautifullly for a whole fish. Looked like the Mexican flag with its salsa on it), frutas con Chile y limon(I will try to make this at home - one of the best salads I've ever had), shrimp ceviche(such a refreshing/delicate yet complex plate of flavor), guacamole tostadas(amazing as expected), tetela(I was new to this but not sure what to expect but super tasty sauce), Pollo Rostizado (so juicy and excellent flavor but nothing special. Good for kids and picky eaters though. Wonderful in a tortilla with rice and salsa).

DRINK: I had to drive and this drink menu tempted me to keys please home it was so amazing. I usually only can find a couple cocktails I enjoy on a menu but I would drink most of this menu. I had the honey Margherita (the way tequila should be treated. Best authentic Marg I've ever had), and the Lee trevino (twist on a Arnold Palmer. The cold tea with lemon was so fresh and so tasty)

EXPERIENCE: I can't get over the ambiance and amazing tasteful decor and great music. Took me on vacation for a night and didn't feel like I was in Calgary. Even though the restaurant is new, the staff were very kind and seemed super happy and were very helpful and couldn't wait to tell us every detail of the dish. One server forgot what one of the salsas was and made the effort to figure it out and come all the way back and gave us extra chips. Tons of free street...