Situated in the Oliver neighborhood of Edmonton, Clementine is elegant, gorgeously designed, and full of stories. Chef Roger Létourneau, who also went to Belgium with fellow Edmontonian and Biera chef-owner Christine Sandford, complements a thoughtful cocktail menu with creative dishes featuring ingredients often fermented, smoked, pickled, or cultured. The mussels are marinated in manzanilla sherry with smoked brunost, fried potato, pickled shallots, and herbs. The tartine is served on sourdough rye bread with blue cheese butter and mushrooms marinated in celery vinegar. Even the potatoes, stacked high and covered with vanilla honey, are pickled. Expect to be enveloped in a space inspired by early 20th-century French Art Nouveau, regaled with stories of classic cocktails and delighted by pure, distilled flavor.

Rostizado

SUECH + BECK

Dani Braun, Chris Sills, and Edgar Gutierrez first bonded over fresh, authentic Mexican food when they opened Tres Carnales Taquería. Now the trio is going beyond their street-food-inspired Mexican hot spot to give locals an unexpected taste of modern Mexican cuisine. At Rostizado, a diverse array of Mexican food is culled from all 32 states of Mexico, and receives worthy homage with delightfully unexpected dishes like lobster and prawn molcajete (served in a stone bowl) and duck carnitas served on a bed of tamarind salsa. In the traditional way of Mexican rosticerias, the meat gets its flavor from being slow roasted on a rotisserie. The churros, served with salted pasilla milk chocolate and dulce de leche, are not to be missed, either. As if you didn’t already feel transported, you can wash it all down with high-flavor cocktails like ancho tejuino, made with tequila, muddled pineapple, cinnamon-spiced syrup, and fresh lemon juice.

Uccellino

SUECH + BECK

For years chef Daniel Costa, born and raised in Edmonton, has been turning heads with his Italian endeavors at Corso 32 and Bar Bricco. With Uccellino, however, he’s holding court on a grander scale: The space is as simple as the dishes, modern like the menu, but stunning, much like the presentation of each plate. The goal of this modern trattoria and stand-up bar is to transport guests to everyone’s favorite boot-shaped country, but with flavor-forward Italian food complemented by a wine list of strictly Italian wines. The menu features elevated takes on classic dishes such as tomato, ricotta, mint, and chili crostini; tonnarelli cacio e pepe; and ricotta gnocchi. Each is designed to highlight the ingredients, some imported from the motherland, and others produced locally.

Hungry yet? Start planning with seasonally direct flights with WestJet to devour all the local eats of Edmonton today.