JAROblue

They’re closed for good now, but at least I got to say goodbye.
When Wendy mentioned on Twitter that JAROblue was closing up shop, I was sad and bewildered. Great reviews, lovely staff, good food (that I had gotten to sample previously at an Elite event) and better cocktails. Why close?
But, staff seemed to be in good spirits, even though I arrived late and ordered something that had just been taken away due to an order mix-​up. I didn’t know! You could’ve left it, and I would’ve happily inhaled it in a post-​workout frenzy that was later witnessed by everyone at the table. What, you were expecting a lady after I’m forced to do mountain climbers and traveling pushups? Sorry, you are getting a bottomless pit with no shame. It was delicious, by the way.
What no one else seemed to witness, as Arc whom was sitting on my left was conversating with Wendy, and Crystal on my right was deeply engrossed in her drink and Danelle across from us; was the horribly creepy Jersey Shore reject that walked in behind a group and decided that flashing me his flabby areola, was a perfectly acceptable, casual mating call. Five minutes later, someone that had walked in with him agreed, as she decided to accept his tongue in her throat. Not enough bullflower martinis in the world to erase that image from my brainmeats, and now you don’t make them anymore because you are closed.
:’(
:’(
:’(

I just went here for tapas and wine and it was fabulous. It was such a chic, sophisticated atmosphere and I really enjoyed that even though they were so busy I didn’t feel rushed. I asked the server to recommend wines with the appetizers and she was very knowelgable. I can’t wait to go again.
As well Unilocal, stop filtering my higher star ratings. It makes me furious!

JAROblue is a culinary gem in Calgary, always worth the visit.
The espresso martini is my favourite, but Travis at the bar is a genius and always ready for a challenge. If he recommends something, try it!
The food is simply amazing. The chef has an uncanny grasp of how to bring flavours together in unique and subtle ways that will have you closing your eyes to savour every bite.
The Yorkshires, amazing. Lamb tortellini, brilliant. Whatever you choose you’re promised a great meal.
Sadly they are closing their doors on May 19^th. Get in while you can, it may be quite some time before we see another restaurant of this quality!

It would be an understatement to call JAROblue good, great, or even amazing. The number of unique, mouth-​blowing dishes on the menu is a refreshing change from the standard Calgarian fine-​dining fare. And while JB does the standards (and does them well), their chef also seeks out new frontiers in food. And that journey is not simply about deviation; it is about innovation. It’s about exploring the local flavors and ingredients and turning them into something… other. Something elevated.
My 2 favorites:
#1 Smoked Swordfish Ceviche — this dish is my favorite dish in Calgary. The complexity, umami, and deliciousness of the smoky, tangy fish sitting atop a crunchy crostini amid a dab of chipotle aioli simply cannot be beat. I love it so much I once ordered THREE plates in one sitting.
#2 Frosted Petit Tenders — A nod to Asian flavors, this dish is essentially what your local Chinese takeout Ginger Beef would be if it was doused in ambrosia. Served with a bit of candied ginger, these bite-​size morsels will leave you sniffing and licking the plate.
In addition to the food, the bartender, Travis, is a first-​class cocktail artist. His martini and Negroni are among the best in town. And while you can’t really go wrong with the written cocktail list, I highly recommend trying the Bullflower, particularly if you are a fan of lemonade.
All that said, I will admit that the portion to price ratio is a bit on the steep side. I can’t go more than once in a JAROblue moon, but when I do, I make sure to eat first to help save my wallet from a beating. It is, however, a tapas bar, so smaller portions should not be unexpected. Just expect to fight your friends over the last bite of every dish.

Only been for the martinis, but plan to go back for food sometime soon. All I have to say about the martini I had was SO GOOD! I couldn’t stop drinking it to try any other kinds… it was like chocolate to me. Oh wait, it was the chocolate martini. Anyhow, for that alone I would go back, but I want to try the food and more importantly the dessert (I have my eye on the white chocolate cake)!
We went on a Sunday so it was quiet and the service prompt. I felt welcome and I loved the ambience. It has a romantic kind of tone to it. I cannot wait to go back and take my husband with me!

Made my second visit to this place on Friday night and got to try the food this time.
The place was full on Friday night at 10ish when we arrived, a good sign. There were some spots at the bar so the three of us saddled up, and a fourth joined us a short time later.
I picked the tapas with a little bit of input from the ladies I was with, but they picked the wine (red of course). For our noshing I chose the frosted beef tenders ($ 15), smoked swordfish ceviche ($ 15), and by the bartenders recommendation, the parsnip pave ($ 8). Some of the plates is the lounge’s own twist on some popular common menu items.
The frosted beef tenders are small chunks of beef, battered and lightly fried, and topped with a ginger & mirin reduction. It’s like ginger beef, but a little different. Each morsel looks like a meatball, but inside the light breading is a delicious tender chunk of heaven.
The ceviche was interesting. While I’ve had better ceviche, this one did not disappoint in the slightest. The spicy aioli was an excellent compliment to the swordfish.
Our bartender made an excellent suggestion with the parsnip pave. It was a hit with all three of us. This is a must order. It’s nice and crunchy with a good kick from the vinaigrette. There’s also bacon, you can never go wrong with bacon.
As we were enjoying our wine and waiting for our tapas I had tweeted that I was at the lounge and was eagerly awaiting the food. During the evening my food related tweet and my Unilocal check-​in tweet were re-​tweeted by the lounge. Near the end of our visit the bar tender brought by a crème brule on the house. Whether this was a thank-​you gesture for the tweets or for any other reason it didn’t matter. This was a five-​star visit long before the free dessert.

I went here on a Friday night around 8pm and there were only a few tables left — 2 tables for couples and one table for 6+people. The smaller tables are along the west wall when you enter and are situated close together, making conversations between tables very easy. This is a great aspect of JaroBlue b/​c you are able to see what the table next to you is having an interaction is encouraged! In fact, when my Friday and I were there we ended up joining a table next to us!
My favorite thing about this venue is the atmosphere. Plush seating mixed with dim lighting gives this place a lounge feel to it — a place you could just go for a nice evening out with friends to catch up or a romantic dinner with your significant other. The music isn’t overpowering allowing for conversation, and it exudes class. There are some place in Calgary, where if you dressed up, you would not fit in — JaroBlue is the perfect place for anyone who wants to glam up and have a nice night out.
We enjoyed a bottle of New Zealand Gewurtraminer which was deliciously fruity, and as it turned out, well paired with the tapas we picked — the lamb tortellini and the swordfishe ceviche ($ 15 each). When the plates came out, the presentation was so well donel. We added an extra tortellini as it only had 3 and we wanted to share evenly. Even though the portions look small, they are more than filling.
Overall, we had an awesome experience and as we were leaving around 10pm, we noticed that there was a line out the door. We were thankful we go there when we did, but it was comforting to know that there is an awesome place to go late at night :-)

Every part of me wanted to love this place! I was so disapointed when I had to miss the Unilocal Elite event at Jaroblue that I knew I had to get in soon so I could experience it myself.
Unfortunately, I was a tad disapointed. We ordered duck, ahi tuna, and asparagus with tea. It was ok. For the price we paid, I would have hoped for a little bit more umph, but it was still decent. The portion sizes are quite small, which apparently is a silly unwritten rule of fancier places. Even then, I will definitely come be back and order this meal again.
The décor is unique. You are seated very close to the table next to you, but it’s so dark it doesn’t matter. I was personally very uncomfortable in my little chair. It isn’t the kind of place I’d stay all night. The most interesting part of the décor was these huge horse paintings on the walls. They just didn’t seem to match anything else there… but who am I to judge someones taste in art!
Now for the wosrt part… the service. Oh man, I’d give the service a one star. Unfortunately, it was just awful. Maybe it was because my sister and I were there on a Friday night, and just drinking tea, but it was just terrible. We were basically just completely ignored. It took forever to get drinks, then forever to order our food, and the waitor never came back to refill our tea water or regular water. Totally disapointing. When it was time to leave, I had to go to the bar to ask for our bill.
I really wanted to love this place, so I will be back for anothr go around because I think they are better than this.

Great atmosphere. Great service. Great wine.
Small portions (naturally) and hence a bit pricey. But we would definitely go back !

Great place to go. The tappas are great. Recommend the Ahi Tuna.
Love the energy here and the wait staff just seems to get it right.
Portions could be a bit larger but all and all, good way to spend a few hours on a Friday.

JAROblue has become one of my favourite go to places for an amazing late evening snack or cocktails.
The ambiance inside is subdued and chill, seating is a combo of comfortable banquet seating with tables and chairs or if you’re lucky, snag the couch and low table. If you’re dining or imbibing solo, go sit at the bar and chat with the friendly barkeep.
Lately I’ve been settling in at the bar and indulging in some of the great cocktails on offer. If you don’t see it listed, ask. They should be able to make it or come up with something else to suprise you. One drink you MUST try is the Travis Espresso Martini. While there is an espresso martini on the menu, this is very different and has become my favourite cocktail to start out with there.
Some menu highlights: the lamb tortelini; housemade tortelini stuffed with lamb served on a bed of a citrus demi-​glaze and shaved mancheego cheese. The parsnip pave; parsnips are not a favourite veggie for me and normally I’d cross the street to avoid them. However, I’m now getting cravings for this dish. layers of roasted parsnip served with a mushroom and bacon vinegarette.
Often I order whatever is on the fresh sheet that night, it’s always changing and always good. Most recently I had a grilled medium bone in pork chop thinly sliced and served on a bed of a blueberry barbeque sauce. Wow…
¹⁰⁄₃₀

JAROblue is okay. It’s on trendy 17^th Ave and looks trendy inside as well. The restaurant/​bar is a narrow space, with a single aisle down the middle, with seating on both sides, the bar, kitchen and bathrooms are in the back.
My friend had a lunch coupon, so we stopped by around 1430 on a warm Sunday. There was only one other party there. So we ordered, my friend an octopus salad, while I ordered a lamb sandwich. My friend ordered a beer while I opted for an iced tea. The waitress/​bartender was very nice and appeared to be from Northern England or Scotland. After ordering, a long wait occurred. There was no other customers ordering food at the time and a salad and sandwich both are not time-​consuming items to prepare. Yet the wait was very long.
The food was fine, the lamb sandwich was good and flavorful. However, the accompanying salad was very salty. The strawberries in the salad was classy though. My friend’s Octopus Salad was also overly salty. Finally, they also applied our lunch coupon to the drinks also… a good value.
Overall, a trendy place with good food. However, service time was slow.

ZOMG! Yes, JAROblue deserves a ZOMG. It’s a danger to subpar food places that its so close to me. I love that there’s yet another spot in Calgary raisin’ the bar on quality food, service and drink. Open but a mere 4 years, this hangout has my vote for an evening out of tapas and cocktails. Make it in by 730 for a table and enjoy the ambiance all night long.
A few of us descended on JAROblue for a Friday night dinner during Unilocal Eats. Being a tapas bar, we figured the best form was to share those sharing plates amongst ourselves and taste as much as we could handle. By the end of the night we sampled (in my order of very very most favourite to favourite… because there wasn’t a single thing there I didn’t enjoy):
— Braised octopus w/​potato and homemade chorizo (loves!)
— Charcuterie (a very very close second to loves!)
— Lamb tortellini
— Pear salad
— Marinated olives
5 sharing plates between 5 of us came out to $ 22/​person. Not to mention each of us feeling full and satisfied with what landed in front of us.
And in a class all of its own was the feature brûlée, which is currently a hazelnut. Served with warm shortbread cookies, it’s deserving of its own ZOMG! The top layer was like a candied skating rink. Hard, sleek and smooth, a smash of the spoon broke it into perfect pieces to eat with a mouthful of sweet sustenance underneath. If you get nothing else at JAROblue, please oh please order the brûlée.
Atmosphere, can I even describe it? It’s smooth. The patio is small, but makes for a lovely evening hangout if you’re the first ones to snag a spot. Indoors, there are soft silver couches/​benches lining the walls with dark wooden tables in front of them. We spent much time admiring the photos of Sable Island horses.
In terms of cocktails, I have no comment at this time. I was on a strick liquid and fermented wheat diet today. But there were a few of them on the list, good thing I’m in the ‘hood. I may just have to meander on back, score my own spot on the patio and sip a sunny afternoon away very soon.

A sassy place like JAROblue deserves an equally sassy review from me:
I suggested this place at the recommendation of a friend. She raved about the fabulous décor, the great food and the wonderful service. What happened to that? Our service was complete crap.
First, let me acknowledge that one poor dining experience doesn’t reflect the restaurant as a whole. The food, service, value and atmosphere all contribute to the total dining experience, but the thing that stood out the most for us that night was how terrible our server was. Even worse, our server turned out to be a friend’s boyfriend. I couldn’t even protest with a poor tip without feeling guilty.
I was impressed that they were willing to reserve a table for us even though they don’t normally do reservations. We were able to sit on the patio and enjoy one of the last summer nights of the season. Our server came out and told us about the drink specials. He apologized for how expensive the sangria was even though it was on special ($ 15 for a pint). I thought that was nice. We ordered our drinks and they came out promptly.
We decided on food… waited…
Our server came out, and we told him we were going to order food. He was flustered and surprised that we were planning on eating. He told us that a lot of people just order drinks and assumed we were doing the same. He says, okay, walks back inside… we waited…
Server came out to fill our glasses. Forgot that we were going to order until I reminded him. Walked back inside… waited…
Another server came to fill our glasses and spilled ice all over our table… waited…
Finally we put in our order. It took a noticeably long time for our food to come out. We ordered the pork tenderloin, the braised octopus, the halibut, the pear salad and the mushrooms on toast. We also ordering the cheese board, the crème brûlée and some sort of pudding cake after. Overall, the food was very good. I would have given it 4 stars. The octopus was a little rubbery, but the dish itself was designed nicely. The crème brûlée was runny. I think they must have made a bad batch that day because crème brûlée is NOT supposed to be like that.
Other than being served a cracked water glass, the service got better by the end of the night. He was keen on helping us split the bill four ways, which was appreciated, but he still managed to mess it up. I think by that time we were too laughed out and too exhausted to even care.
Overall, the dining experience at JAROblue was underwhelming. It was that type of super fabulous place that could probably get away with a few minor faults, but we experienced too many to not notice. I really do want to like this place, but for now, I can only give it two stars. Maybe I’ll do a followup review later.

I recently discovered that JAROBlue is not a clothing store.
I remember when JAROBlue opened in the wake of what (I think) was a clothing store in that location and thought, «Another clothing store? Well that’s neat,» and promptly never thought of it again.
It was only months later that I discovered that JAROBlue was actually a restaurant; and it still took me a couple years after learning that to head in and see what it’s all about.
This ‘discovery’ happened at the JAROBlue new menu launch party and I have to say, I’m sorry I didn’t try and figure out this spot sooner.
I was delighted by the food, the wine, the décor and the staff. Everything from the lemon & tarragon octopus to the mushroom toast was delicious and interesting. The wine selection was good, the cheese platter offered a variety of fair, they grow herbs out on the patio, and judging by the patrons attending the party, JARO seems like a bumpin’ place to hang out.
They threw a pretty decent launch party overall and successfully convinced me that I should make the effort, break the «what the heck is that place» spell, and to go JARO to actually sit down and eat something. (Even though the strings from the helium balloons on the ceiling kept flitting into my face… but somehow I don’t think that’s a regular occurrence at this restaurant, so I forgive them).
I’ll throw on my fedora and heals and see you dudes a JARO for octopus and wine later.
T.

Chic. Sleek. Fun.
Posh wall art tied in with intriquing room dividers, throw in a mix of couch or table seating and tight lil bar at the back and you’ve got one of the best tapas scenes in Calgary. Laid back, romantic lighting (dim), steady stream of lounge music in the background and its the perfect setting to get your drink on.
They’ve got a nice sized drink menu, taking a sip from everyone’s drink I can say that this place can’t go wrong with drink flavors. Yummm. Food was equally impressive, small sharing size portions in really good flavors as well.
Jaro, you sexy thing, I will be seeing you soon.

I remember the good old days of business travel. After a day of work, we’d seek out a city’s coolest cocktail lounges or martini bars to blow our per diems in style.
Perhaps, maybe even sparking up a Cuban, if the the lounge rolled that way.
Sadly, with all the «Health and Safety,» «Workers Comp,» «medical research» and «class action lawsuits,» my Cuban-​smoking martini nights somehow slipped away with smoking bans.
But you know what? I’ve since come to realize I can STILL blow a per diem in style at a cool little spot, and love the experience just the same.
Enter JAROblue.
This place is solid, all the way around.
We hit it up looking to fill a couple of hours one evening.
Wanting nothing more than a great ambiance to soak up, eat great tapas, drink great drinks, and most importantly — communicate, it was the perfect environment for all of the above.
No beverage sat empty — be it water, or a glass of wine — without our server being on top of it.
For food, we asked our server to bring us his recommendations. Everything was absolutely delicious. Outstanding.
Really, we could have sat there talking, eating, and drinking, well into the night. Our only limitation was the kitchen’s «last call.»
However, JAROblue is definitely worthy of repeat visits, and repeat I shall!

After I first arrived in Calgary, I was desperately looking to find a chic yet casual place, where I could have cocktails or coffee, tapas or just sit and talk. I found JaroBlue!
I love, LOVE the interior of the place. It’s stylish yet comfortable, and the vibe beats many other places I have been to in Calgary. The drinks are unique, well-​made and delicious! The service is great too! But I will just cut to the chase and tell you what my favourite thing about JaroBlue is: the horse photos on the walls. *gasp* GORGEOUS. So beautiful and captivating. It’s almost worth it to go to JaroBlue just to look at these giant blown up artistic photos of beautiful horses. Or maybe that’s just me.
Either way, love this place!

Girlfriend (*pointing to self*) is headed to the States this weekend and speaking of the States, I hadn’t had decent tapas since I lived out there. That was until last night.
A group of us hit 17^th Ave and made our way to Jaroblue. Known as a tapas lounge, Jaroblue delivers on all fronts.
Coming in at 1500 square feet, Jaroblue is intimate enough to enjoy the company with whom you’ve come, and yet big enough to ensure that you do not feel overcrowded and cramped.
The food is deliciously prepared using nothing but the finest and freshest ingredients.
Jollean C. isn’t kidding when she warns about coming prepared with a heap of disposable cash, but once in awhile, it’s a-​ok to indulge isn’t it!!!

I was very pleasantly surprised!
I’m in town for business and our boss-​man suggested this place for the team. It looked painfully trendy, and the menu seemed to suggest style over substance. The actual experience turned out to be much more relaxed than my prejudice, the wait staff attractive and warm, and it was almost perfect for an evening of eating, drinking, sharing and unwinding for small groups. It’d probably be crowded for groups over 8 if they want to sit together, but 4 – 6, right on.
We went with the Chef’s Choice thing, which included lamb chops + meatballs, some brothy thing with cedar jelly, a salad with surprise beets, spicy shrimp and snow peas, a rabbit liver pâté and a couple things I’m forgetting. Everything was good-​to-​very good, and I’d probably recommend it for similar group situations. They also made a near-​perfect Old Fashioned and Strongbow on tap.