Kama — Restaurant in Calgary

I've never written a Google review for a restaurant in Calgary before. But I felt compelled to do so after my visit to Kama. I know that everyone involved in building/creating the menu/working at this restaurant must have worked hard. But I was so excited to try this beautifully-designed and mediterranean-inspired menu, and was supremely disappointed.

The service: I arrived earlier than my friends, and nobody came to say hi or offer any water. Unfortunately, our server was less than friendly. One pasta dish came, which was largely inedible; we informed her politely and was met with silence and a glare. She whisked our dish away; no apology, offer to replace it, nor any info if she'd take it off the bill. Not only until the bill came and we were paying, did she try to start any sort of conversation and finally let us know that she had taken the pasta off our final bill. I've been a young server before and always try to treat waitstaff with courtesy, but we weren't granted the same courtesy in return. Her attitude made our dinner a bit awkward and unpleasant. I'll also add that a gentleman, perhaps the manager or owner, did check in on us (before we received the pasta) to ask if we were enjoying our food and the evening, which was nice.

The food: I understand that it's only mediterranean "inspired"—I really wanted to like the food—but the dishes (that we tried anyway) weren't great. The pasta as mentioned above, was inedible; the gnocchi was undercooked, had the texture of Elmer's glue paste, and the tomatoes were loaded with explosions of salt. The "crispy pork belly with piquillo honey" looked/tasted like a sadder version of sweet and sour pork. The handmade bread was okay, but could've been better. For a mediterranean restaurant, it'd be nice to see some more unique dishes. I'm really not wanting to be critical for the sake of it, but hope this feedback is helpful.

The decor/ambience was well-designed and beautiful, but the space was kind of loud. Can be a bit difficult to find parking in the area. Overall, it's a nice space and I'm happy to see the Beltline thriving, but probably...

Due to my detail oriented personality, I always focus on the details which are not easily noticeable in restaurants I pick.

I would like to start with the guest welcoming area. You are welcomed with a modest but very welcoming space with hint of what is waiting for you on the restaurant. The hostess gathers you nicely and hangs your coat in the cloakroom. It is a very nice touch. This shows the level of hospitality in an upscale restaurant.

When you step into the restaurant you feel that you are transported to a Mediterranean region with dim lighting having a perfect illumination power, the blue used on the walls has a touch of grey which perfectly aligns with the black - traditional motives that accompany you at your table where you can sit on a comfortable light coloured sofa which faces at the bar located in the entrance of the restaurant supported by authentic tiled flooring.

As to dining experience, our server was very knowledgeable. Her engagement with us had a very levelled conversation density with a great smile and upscale recommendations.

We started our dining experience with cocktails - Mykonos Nights and Radical Chic which were superbly tasty and provided nice entry to the appetizers and snacks. We tried chickpea crackers accompanied by pea hummus which was delight. However, I would prefer the crackers a bit warmed up but this is my preference.

Snacks and the main dish arctic char were well balanced in the light of complex spice structure of each dish which was, in my opinion, very clever and phenomenal.

We finished our dining with a house-recommended Italian Vermouth which had a nice body that paired with the pear-fig dessert perfectly.

From a perspective of a person who likes and appreciates attention to the details and service quality in a fine dining environment, this restaurant has it all. Great interior design, spectacular service and palate enriching menu which I heard is changing seasonally.

Note: The menu selection has a great transitional elements contributed by the countries like Turkiye , Morocco, Greece, Italy.

Thank you very much for the...

My boyfriend and I ate here on a spontaneous dinner date after work and LOVE IT! The food, the vibes, the service - it all was wonderful! For reference, this is shared dish place so it’s perfect for people who like to try a little bit of everything and share! It also has very reasonable prices so we ended up getting a good amount of food for 2 people to leave full, happy, and in bliss for around less than $40 per person.

Our waiter, Jonathan, was an incredible host. Very attentive, informative, and added to the friendly and welcoming vibe.

For food, we decided to go with the halloumi and octopus balls to start. The octopus balls was great but the halloumi was 10/10 - GET IT, just get it. The pomegranate and arugula was the perfect touch to the halloumi and it was the perfect start.

We were debating between 3 small dishes asked Jonathan to surprise us with a dish out of our choices: crab and salt cod, beef with couscous, and the gnocchi with pesto.

We were pleasantly surprised to see the gnocchi being the dish that was chosen - and it was incredible (as seen in the photo). Personally, I am not usually a fan of gnocchi but this was soooo good! The gnocchi was not too soft or mushy but rather had a nice soft inner side. The pesto had a wonderful creaminess to it. The best part I would say is the tomatoes - I DIDNT EVEN THINK IT WAS A TOMATO! It was delicious! And I hate tomatoes but it was SOOO GOOD! If they made an appetizer just of the tomatoes, i would get 5!

Midway through eating the gnocchi, we decided to order another dish rather than saving room for dessert. Again, we asked Jonathan to surprise us with another item from our 3 top choices. We were given the beef with couscous - which was very delicious as well. Personally, the gnocchi was my favorite out of the small plates.

Despite not getting dessert, I would highly recommend the cookies that is served with the coffee and ice cream. I had gone here before and also had a wonderful experience but at the bar and had tried the cookies - it was...