The Main Dish

If I lived near here, I’d probably stop cooking altogether. Which really is a shame — I like cooking! Why you gotta be better than me at it, Main Dish?
It’s tasty food that’s ready to go. Go where? Well, to your home with you, or in your belly right there if you want. They’ve got some seating. You could park your keister next to the sunny window, and watch Bridgeland go by as you stuff some local, organic whatevers in your face. If you’re out an about often, its a pretty nice lunch time alternative to the coffee shops you’re probably getting tired of frequenting. The Main Dish would certainly be an alright place for a quick, casual business lunch meeting. For a date? Ehhh… I’d pass, but it might be cool as a stop if you were doing a river path bike ride or something like that.
If it’s 5 o’clock somewhere, they’ve even got wine and beer on tap. If you’re having trouble justifying that at whatever time of day you’re here, they put together a pretty tasty espresso drinks.
I’d recommend going when the kitchen stations are open, and I wish I could tell you exactly when that is, but if you go over regular person lunch time you should be fine. When they’re closed, I’ve actually found it pretty difficult to piece together a full meal, and all the grab and go stuff seemed really pricey, especially since I’d need to do some grocery shopping and cooking to turn it into a dinner.

Food = 2 stars
Service = 4 stars
Value = 1 star
Average = 2 stars
I really took exception to paying $ 15 for a small container of vegetarian chili. The chili itself was good; it wasn’t something I couldn’t make at home for $ 5. You are definitely paying for convenience here and it’s not a place I would frequent. The service here is quite good and they are there to answer any questions you may have. But I’d rather pay less and help myself.

Where do I start?! I AM IN LOVE with this place. The staff is always friendly and helpful and actually look like they want to be there. They are all a breath of fresh air!
The food. Wow. I enjoy cooking most nights (when time permits) at home but with our busy schedules, this place really saves the day! The variety is fit for everyone’s taste or craving.
Thank you, thank you, thank you!

Oh I am really in love with this place! I wish there was something just like the Main Dish close to wear I live — I would pop in to buy lunches and dinners to go, and salads, pastas and pre-​cooked meals to stock my fridge with, all the time!
The staff is super friendly and helpful. As it was my first time in, they all explained how the place works, the difference between pre-​made meals that you can take to-​go, as well as the hot and made to order dishes if you are staying to eat in.
The have a small wine bar, high end loose leaf teas, a fabulous selection of truffles and macarons for dessert. And the drink cooler is stocked with really cool lemonades and fresh pressed juices.
I had a soup and salad combo that had one of the best broccoli cheddar soups ever! It was so yummy, but somehow seemed actually healthy (or health conscience at least!)
I 100% suggest stopping in to The Main Dish to try out the array of unique and salads, sides, apps and mains.

Main dish is located in General avenue in the NE along with other… general shops. Parking along the streets can be easily found.
I actually had a chiropractor appointment at Bridgeland Sport & Spine right across the street so I decided to walk over after and grab some brunch. It was Saturday around 1145AM and a gf of mine met up with me for a bite. Once you enter, you are greeted by a display of gourmet food you can take home or dine in. There is a Hot cuisine or soup/​salad/​sandwich counter which you can also take home or dine in. There are different displays of drinks; they offer Cru Juice, boxed water, and other drinks or you can go up to the front and order a coffee, latte, smoothies or alcoholic drink beverage. Gluten free desserts and regular delicious desserts are also available! They even have a freezer of fiasco gelato and ice cream sandwiches!
How it works is that you write down your order on a paper, your table number (if applicable) and pay for your order first at the front. If you dine in, you take your own drinks and they will bring your food right to your table. There is also outdoor seating which is perfect if the weather is suitable. We decided to order brunch from the hot cuisine. I ordered the TMD Bridgeland Benny and my gf ordered the Monte Crisco French toast. The benny came with back bacon, medium poached eggs on a toasted English muffin with delicious brown butter hollandaise on top. It was supposed to come with roasted baby tomatoes but mine only came with one. It also came with a block of white cheddar potatoe cake with a dollop of sour cream? and a little bit of fruit. Michelle’s Monte Crisco French toast was pretty straight forward, a fried ham and cheese sandwich stuffed between thick cuts of French toast, drizzled with maple syrup and a small side of fruit. I enjoyed my benny, the eggs were poached perfectly and the hollandaise was sweet brown butter and super tasty. I didn’t care for the potatoe cake though, I found it didn’t have much flavor and I wish it was crispier! Michelle’s French toast looked crispy, she thought it was okay, nothing special but good. We had a couple ladies come around and ask if everything was good which was nice. I wish that they would fill our waters but we had to go up to the front and ask it to be filled (if you got tap water).
Overall, our experience was good. I don’t love their system of paying for your dine in food before you get it but otherwise, the idea of being able to have healthy gourmet food to take away or eat in is a great.

Meh overpriced food. I’ve tried breakfast, lunch and dinner. All meh and overpriced.

I came here bc it was recommended by a friend who works in the area… I ordered the salad and it took over 30mins to come out… I don’t know it they were growing the salad in the back or what but it really should not take that long.
The chicken on the salad was dry and overall my meal was extremely unsatisfying
I do not recommend this place

This is another place that gets a star removed because of the outlandish prices. I understand rent is expensive in Bridgeland, but I ordered a egg/​cheese sandwich on whole grain and it cost $ 8. That is without anything else… no fruit/​coffee/​etc.
This is a local grab-​and-​go eatery where the entire concept is that it’s fresh meals to go. If you’re not able to cook a gourmet meal, you can pick it up here and then warm it up at home. The food by and large looks delicious, but you would pay the same prices at
and get larger portions.
The shop also has some hot-​meal areas where you can order a variety of dishes fresh off the grill. It’s also possible to get a sandwich made to order. There is also a coffee bar if you don’t want to the Starbucks that is a few doors down.
The staff are friendly enough and on the warmer days, there are chairs and tables outside to enjoy a glass of wine with your meal. (You can also order your food and eat at the restaurant.) Everything is definitely well-​made and fresh, but I just didn’t fid it to be remarkable to warrant the steep prices. If you’re in the area and not in the mood to slave over a stove, this is a good place to go, but I know that I will not be making a habit of it.

This place is terrific, I was not expecting this when I came for the first time last week, I love the variety of foods, and it’s great to eat in, but I enjoyed the takeout as much as eating in, the balsamic mushroom chicken is great, same with the gourmet sandwiches, all made fresh, and the different salads to go, I’m glad I discovered this place as some days you don’t feel like cooking, you want something fast and fresh and delicious. Also I like their hours of operation, a must try.

Stopped in here for a bite on my way to adventures and ordered from the hot menu.
Overall the food is really good. Hubs and I both got the sun dried tomato gnocchi and neither of us got what we expected. It was good but I wasn’t prepared for the sauce to mostly be butter. It was good and the ingredients were great so I can’t complain for my brain glitch that didn’t translate the menu properly (it makes sense) but I’m not sure I’d reorder that dish. I’ve previously had others given me samples of the take out food which is all pretty good but we didn’t pick any up ourselves this day.
Their desserts seem to be brought in. The chocolate explosion is the same one BPs has for example so that’s a little off putting.

Interesting concept, poorly executed. Ordering shouldn’t be confusing or difficult, menu should be representative of what you have to offer.

Trying the new Brunch menu today with the TMD Bridgeland Benny. They even offer it with the option of gluten free bread. It was Yummy. New menu has lots of the favorites plus a bunch of new dishes for me to try. Looking forward to my next brunch.

This place has ok food, for Calgary. definitely not worth how much you pay. A very small lunch (very small portion of veggies and medium sized piece of tofu) cost me $ 10. I don’t think lunch is possible for less than $ 10 here.
there is absolutely no reason to spend this much. the food is no better than you can get from the deli at any grocery store.

I come here more often then I admit as it’s not far from me and/​or tends to be on the way to or from the next great adventure. In the past I’ve come to pick up a coffee, lunch or some salads to go with our grilled dinner. This particular trip was to partake in their hot chocolate to support yychotchocolate fest. The hot cocoa was delicious.
The staff are always friendly and helpful. Lots of good eats to choose from and seating for those that want to sit in and take a load off.

I do like the wide range in dietary options — gluten free/​dairy free etc but I had a lacklustre experience here
The service was friendly but they couldn’t handle lineups very well.
I ordered a roast beef sandwich and a caprese salad. The salad was divine but the sandwich was dull. Boring bread that I could find at Superstore — with same taste and grocery store texture, boring romaine lettuce and mediocre toppings with the beef. It was 6 dollars for a half-​sandwich. Not worth the money.

I don’t think «Canadian» is actually a cuisine.
This place is interesting. It’s like a mini-​mart that sells high quality made to order meals. Espresso is reasonably priced, don’t miss out if you’re in the vicinity and want something quick.

The Main Dish earned itself a five stars in my books earlier this week. When it’s your turn to pick up dinner and you need a meal that is gluten, dairy and egg free, things get a little tough — especially when it’s not something you’ve got to worry about on a regular basis.
I knew TMD did a lot of nutrition stuff and healthy take-​home meals. I had even seen a few gluten free tags on some of their food items. I figured if there was any place that could help me out with a killer dinner AND pull off the food restrictions, it would be here.
As luck would have it, I hit them at a not too busy time and Ryan, the Corporate Executive Chef, was on hand to walk me through all of the dishes and help me pick out our meals… he knew most of it right off the top of my head, but offered to double check the ingredients on a couple of items with regards to the egg content.
I ended up with some ribs, roots and a quinoa salad. I’m not doing them nearly enough justice by not remembering the exact descriptions. The ribs were meaty and saucy, we warmed up the BBQ and popped them on for about 12 minutes. The roots were a mixture of exactly that… potatoes, maybe some squash or sweet potato, with some oils and spices and the quinoa salad was the spicy bean quinoa with some corn and such in it.
Ryan was also great at helping me with quantities of the potatoes and quinoa to get with the ribs. Five fabulous stars for you sir, thanks for providing us with a worry free delightful dinner!

I’ve been travelling to and ‘fro Vancouver to Calgary the past few months and, knowing how much I like my deli to-​go section at Whole Foods Market, a friend brought me to The Main Dish.
Unfortunately, nothing at the deli really piqued my interest and instead, we ordered a roast beef sandwich and a scallopini rose pasta dish. Made to order, quick and simple. The roast beef was slow-​roasted and served as cold cuts on simple whole wheat/​flax bun with your typical sandwich veg, some cheese. Nothing really blew me away but I will definitely try the salads next time and they ‘sounded’ pretty good (no pics, just words on the menu).
If I had room I would’ve ended this adventure with their macarons, but I shall save that for next time.

Anther nice find in Bridgeland!
I’ve done take away meals from here a few times and have always been satisfied. There are a variety of items to choose from, and the offerings are interesting and unique. The ribs and sweet potato mash are fantastic and we can never seem to pass on the green beans.
I also recommend the carrot cake, it’s unforgettable.

2 for service, 3 for atmosphere, and 4 for variety of food.
Thus, 3 stars overall.
Let’s start off with the good. The concept is pretty cool. It’s like a market, where you wander around and look at the different food, but its still a restaurant. The food is varied and the menu is interesting. I have had their broccoli salad and it was delicious. I have tried their west coast eggs benny as well, and it was alright. Not the best eggs benny by ANY means, despite what the other reviews say.
Service is not the best. You won’t get any smiles or pleasantries here, at least I never have. Maybe because I am not a Lululemon-​wearing, dog-​walking soccer mom who lives in the area and shops and brunches all day. Food takes YEARS to arrive, but when it does, it’s pretty good.
But it looks like I am the only one in town who expects a pleasant experience with friendly service when I go out for brunch because the place is always packed anyway.