LaBrezza Ristorante — Restaurant in Calgary

So we walk into the restaurant, which we've been to before and had an amazing delicious experience, hence the return. This time, I looked around and thought, oh no, they've lost our reservation, because every table in sight was full! She then comes and says, come this way...I was like, oh good there's a back room in this little house I didn't know about...Ummm NO. We were wielded past the bar into an unwelcoming narrow staircase which led into their dungeon, I mean basement! This should not be an option for dining! At first we were cramped into the front little table which was being used for storage service and then they set up another table for us to move to. It was by, what should be a charming basement fireplace, but the smell of gas leaking from it did nothing for me or my head after an hour! The room was tiny and noisy as they crammed 16 of us down there at tables. The food: The starter was fine, a Caprese which did not have bocconcini as stated but sliced Italian mozzarella. You cannot mess up this simple classic salad. Sadly for the mains we both ordered the same dish, which last time my BF ordered and it was amazing. This time? Oh god! It was difficult to eat; it arrived tepid and worse flavourless! Both the pasta (over cooked and broken) & chicken! I asked for parmigiano (which I'm not sure where they get it from, but it's not real parmigiano!) and covered everything with it and doused it in pepper! I left the pasta and half the chicken and decided to at least take the chicken home to my cat. He enjoyed it! The sauce on the pasta was literally canned crushed tomatoes...blah; not exactly fine dining or culinary art! Sadly the chicken had the same sauce and no seasoning at all. It felt like they ran out of sauce and quickly had to open a can of crushed tomatoes to make do. The waiter was here and there and seemed on a mental vacation. I finally had to ask another table if I could borrow their salt shaker. No comment. I felt rather ill after this experience. We cut our losses and didn't take dessert or cappuccini for fear! It was such a painfully awful experience it's actually funny. How can a place fall so quickly after only a few months?!?!?! Needless to say, we'll...

Disappointing Although the owner came to apologize

1. We were told to be done within an hour since we didn't have a reservation. When we left, the place wasn't even 1/3 full
2. We ordered a meal that we saw on the online menu that they apparently don't make and don't update their online menu. They agreed to make it for us, very nice we thought, but it came out cold and under cooked. We were told that the kitchen staff were probably overwhelmed and didn't know how to make a meatball sandwich. They reheated it but it took another 20 min
3. The beer came out with a lime resting on top which the server pushed into the bottle with his bare hand in front of us. When we complained, the owner apologized but the server said " that's how we do it, we wash and what did we expect- for him to use tongs?" Very argumentative and rude. He said that we should be thankful that he sat us without a reservation.
4. The server never came back to our table (until he brought the bill), another person brought our food and the owner came when we complained. The server said that he "didn't want to bother us"
5. We ordered nachos with a meat sauce and it came with sausage. We would have had it changed but our server never came back. The nachos were actually good, however cold as well. We were told by the owner that the kitchen staff probably made the mistake because no one ever orders it with meat sauce and maybe they didn't have any. The rude server said it wasn't his fault because he put the order in correctly. Maybe if he would have come back he would have known the mistake.
6. The owner was very apologetic and took off the sandwich from the bill. She said that people need to be more kind and understanding during the pandemic. She has "cried more this year than since her husband died".

While I definitely sympathize, this is a business we were trying to support. We were paying for our meal and good service in which every aspect was incorrect with rudeness on top of a very disappointing meal. We will never be back and this will be a story shared with many. Having to pay for excuses, inappropriate TMI from the owner, inept service, incorrect meals and unsanitary handling was a hard...

OOOF! What do I even say?

I wish I had taken more photos. The one I took does not do justice to the immaculate flavour bombs my mouth experienced tonight.

Dare we start with the bruschetta and calamari?! Yes, please! We shall.

Er, ma gerd, .. What the heck was that? I am without words for how simply perfect this dish was.

The bruschetta is full of aromatics, such as fresh herbs and tomatoes. I especially enjoyed the garlic and tiny bits of jalapeno.

That brings us to the oh-so-fluffy and light bread with perfectly crusted edges. Sop that glorious cloud into that juicy bruschetta and take a bite of heaven.

I have eaten calamari at every Italian restaurant I have attended. It was one of my mother's favourite appetizers. But NEVER have I ever had calamari like this, from the slightly crispy outer crust to the super soft but not chewy centre. OH EM GEE!! Pinch me! I could eat this every day. Honestly, that little crispy outer crust was everything. And the perfect sauce. Mmmm 🤤🤤🤤

Now for my main: Linguini Scoglio Napoli. What can I say? Besides, it was simply divine. Each mouthful had the perfect amount of sauce. I dislike things overseasoned or sauced, and this meal was perfectly perfect. The seafood was perfectly cooked, perfectly seasoned, and very appealing to the eyes. The texture of everything was on point. I am not sure I have ever devoured a dish so quickly. Lol.

If that wasn't enough, there was Angelina—our hostess with the mostess!!! Wow! What a delight she is. It almost felt like we were at families for dinner—more than a restaurant.

This place is definitely worth every penny. I highly recommend La Brezza to any foodie, especially if Italian cuisine is as close to your heart as it is to mine.

Thank you, Maurizio, for the lovely experience!!...