Vero Bistro Moderne

I’ve been to this restaurant three times now. I’ve enjoyed it every time. There’s no question that the food is spectacular. You definitely need a reservation. I found the portions a bit small, but the quality of the food was excellent. A bit pricey, but a nice treat.

Amazing!!! From start to finish! Service truly outstanding from the first sip to the last bite. Yum!!! Jeremy you took the evening beyond expectation. Thank you!

Arrived at restaurant at 9:02pm. Unfortunately. The info on Unilocal was wrong or they didn’t want to seat one person with 48 minutes before closing. Waitress said last seating was at 8:30

It was a superb meal. The restaurant itself is tiny, but it is intimate. The food is just amazing, I loved everything.

The service was good, the food was well presented and tasty
but we felt it was too expensive, so we will not be returning.

The brunch in this place is awesome! You’ve got to try. The restaurant is nice and clean. And the service is always good.

this was my first visit to this place and I intend to give it another go. I had meatballs with poached eggs for my brunch, my partner had bison sausage and poached egg, and a friend of ours had mushroom egg Benedict. I though that my meatballs lacked salt but that is a personal preference. Eggs were cooked to perfection but I found a bit of crunchy bits in my meatballs which puts me off, also I could not taste the hollandaise sauce at all. My portion was adequate for $ 16,50 as I am not a big eater. My boyfriend’s meal was big enough too $ 17,50. Egg Benny on the other hand is too small for a man to be satisfy. It’s one egg Benedict without any potatoes the veggie one was $ 17,95!
The place is tiny and they have squashed too many tables. Staff are good when you are already seated but when you are waiting by the door don’t expect any attention, I understand they were busy but it took good 10 min before anyone approached me despite having a reservation. I used electronic reservation system that is pretty useless as you will be waiting along with the walk ins.
I will give it another try for sure.

5 stars for not only the food but the attentive service. We had the pleasure of being served by Jeremy who was awesome. Best forest mushroom eggs Benny with incredible flavour as well as an artistic plating that made it even more enjoyable to eat. How did this place fly under my radar ??

I feel like Vero is one of the most underrated restaurants when it comes to the breakfast/​brunch scene in Calgary. For one, they take reservations, so thankfully no hour long waits during the weekend. Their menu is quite unique so you won’t find your typical eggs benny here. What you will find is very fresh, healthy food which is supported by local farms. Their versions of the benny sit on top of a freshly baked croissant pasty which in my opinion is better than an english muffin. And with different toppings like wild boar bacon and prawn, montreal smoked meat or forest mushroom fricassee, you really can’t go wrong. Every other menu item I’ve tried has been superb as well, some highlights being the sweet potato gnocchi with poached egg and even their steak and poached egg. I’ve been here for dinner a few times which has been equally as enjoyable, but I find their brunch menu more enticing.

Had the Father’s Day brunch. Everything was superb, from the delicately crisp crostini with the mortadella charcuterie, to the perfect temperature of the prawn sides of the wild boar bacon Eggs Benedict on a delicate house-​made croissant, to the delightfully subtle mango mousse cake with mint and raspberry. Even the fresh-​pressed orange juice was palate-​pleasing!

Very good food and decent wine menu.
The food menu could be updated more often and include some more non meat dishes — fish and vegetarian. The three course set menus on specific days are a good way to try Vero, but obviously you lack the option to choose your preferred dishes from the menu.
Good ambience and décor /​subtlety stylish small restaurant. Was a little too much air conditioning.

Came here during The Big Taste YYC 2015. I wish I had discovered this gem sooner. The restaurant is quite small, so we were glad to have made reservations well ahead of time. Service was quick and efficient throughout our meal. I loved the personal touches in the wall décor of the restaurant, being able to see the face behind the menus was wonderful.
Their plates are dressed beautifully. It really illustrates the phrase «a feast for the eyes». For my main course, I choose the «Organic egg benny with wild boar bacon & jumbo prawns, heirloom tomatoes, hand whipped hollandaise, fresh baked croissant» and the bf chose the «Hot skillet house made beef meatballs with puttanesca sauce, 2 poached vita eggs, croissant, arugula, reggiano shavings».
It was love at first sight when the egg benny arrived. I lovedlovedloved it, and can’t stop thinking about it. The croissant in place of the traditional English muffin was a welcome change, I think I could eat a dozen of them just on their own! I typically don’t eat that much bacon… but their boar bacon… I was speechless. Now I know why the table beside us had ordered two side orders of it on top their meals. The benny was not overly dressed with hollandaise. It was a perfectly balanced dish.
I would highly recommend Vero for brunch and am looking forward to trying out their dinner menu as well. So much excitement and anticipation! If you should go down for some brunch, make sure you order some extra boar bacon, you surely won’t regret it.

(This review is long overdue! I visited Vero in June 2014)
My partner and I were having a vacation in the beautiful Alberta in the summer of 2014. We got there in an afternoon, checked into the hotel. While I already made reservation for dinner that night, I checked the menu again and decided to switch (which I do A LOT)! I wanted to go to a good, nice Italian restaurant, and found Vero. The menu was very interesting, so I decided to call for a table around 5pm. We got lucky because the restaurant was booked full, but since it was early, they were able to take us in 30 mins. Given that we visited from Eastern time, 5:30 dinner was just right!
The restaurant was on the small size, so reservation is needed. The restaurant was already full when we walked in, with a large party occupying one end. We were sat right away, and got served immediately. As I browsed the menu, I noticed the executive chef owner’s last name was Chan, which is my mon’s maiden name, and that’s how people from Hong Kong spell the last name. I confirmed with our server, Jenny is indeed from HK. It is refreshing to know someone from HK who has a passion for something other than finance!
We both ordered appetizers and entrees. I had the cured meat special which was full of flavors and my partner had the veal meatball. My main was the hand rolled noodle in bolognese and my partner had gnocchi. All the dishes definitely had a modern twist to them. Like the veal meatballs are full of delicious Asian spices and my bolognese noodles resembled udon noodles. Refreshing!
The best part of the meal was Jenny came out to chat with us, knowing that I am also from HK. I mentioned to her my excitement about the Asian twist on her food. And she told us stories about her annual trip to Italy for new inspirations! She also treated us with a nice moscato at the end!
After traveling around Alberta for 10 days (Edmonton, the Rockies, etc). We were back to Calgary, we weren’t as lucky this time since we couldn’t get into Jenny’s restaurant because of the stampee. I would go back to Calgary just to go to Vero again! Hopefully it will happen soon!
Again, what a great start to an unforgettable vacation in Alberta.
P. S. What prompted me to finally complete this review is I am making lasagna tonight, and rather than using traditional pasta noodle, I decided to use wonton wrappers instead, inspired by Jenny’s great Italian cooking!

I guess I should start by saying a ton of good reviews about this place happen to be regarding their brunch, so maybe it’s better then… we however, went for dinner the day after Valentine’s Day.
First negative is that they charge for water– come on people… a $ 1.50 for still water? And it was lukewarm at best.
I have to say that my expectations were high, as I expected the prices to be, and they were. We were lucky that we got a generous gift card because had we not, I think we would’ve just gone to the poutinerie next door…
I had a glass of wine to start because the cocktails were pricy and small. My husband tried the orange blossom and it was more like very tart orange juice with a hint of booze. Later he tried the autumn cider one and it was tasty, although still small.
Appetizers: Sweet potato gnocchi because of the reviews about it on here– and yes this dish lives up to its reputation! It was warm and a good portion– with the boar bacon it was divine. I hate gorgonzola so our server told me she’d talk to the chef and go easy on it– I never tasted the gorgonzola flavour so that was lovely! My husband had the veal meatballs and they were average. I don’t get the difference between veal and regular beef taste-​wise, though that might be because the dish was too spicy to tell!
Mains: I had the seafood stew. I can’t actually say if it tasted bad or good because it was so spicy! It had a very generous amount of seafood in it but it was just so spicy that it ruined it. The menu didn’t say anything about spice. And for the steep price, I could go to a different place and get the same dish with pasta and not spicy. It was nothing spectacular. My hubby had the salmon dish and it too, was very spicy. I can’t believe for the price we paid that it was served on a bed of lentils. LENTILS? I buy those at my local wal-​mart and I sure don’t consider them up to the standard of such a high-​end bistro. The salmon had a decent crust on it but again, nothing extraordinary. I could’ve cooked his meal in my own kitchen for ¹⁄₃ the price. It wasn’t the decadent or fancy meal I anticipated.
Dessert: They ran out of tiramisu first off– if you have a small menu how do you simply «run out»? No excuse for being unprepared… now, taste wise– average, portion wise– pathetic. I had the passionfruit crème brûlée and it was ok… the ramekin was a tiny little heart-​shaped thing that was barely ¹⁄₃ full, and my sugar was burnt and you could taste it for sure. The menu said it came with pop rocks (?) but it didn’t. My man had the glass dessert which was chocolate mousse and we got this teeny little jar that gave us each hardly two bites. And it had these crunchy little chocolate balls in it that didn’t compliment the flavour of the mousse at all.
I don’t know if my expectations were too high or if I just don’t «get» fancy, modern bistro cuisine but when we are paying prices like that, I expect nice flavour, decent portions. We walked out feeling like we had missed out and we were glad dinner wasn’t on us. I won’t return unless someone pursuades me into the brunch, because it sounds like it has potential. I just hope they’re buying!

I love this place! I’ve been here twice, once for their famous «no menu Tuesdays» and another time for brunch.
On Tuesday nights is it best to make a reservation as the restaurant is usually always full. However when my friends and I came for brunch it was empty and I don’t know why! Their brunch menu is absolutely divine! The plate presentation is on point and their eggs benedict is nothing like I’ve ever seen before! It is served on a croissant! My boyfriend had the sweet potato gnocchi and that might seem a bit odd for a brunch dish but it was drizzled with maple syrup and bacon pieces, so good I was always munching off his plate! The server was always attentive and even made a specialty martini for a friend of mine.
The prices are high but it is totally worth it. I can’t wait to come back!

My sister is engaged and hasn’t gotten around to planning anything for her big day so when I heard the wedding fair was here, I knew I wanted to have a little sister day with her. I’ve been wanting to give Vero’s brunch menu a try so we planned brunch for the Sunday afternoon before heading to the fair. We made reservations via Opentable.
Vero Bistro is located on the main strip on 10^th Street in Kensington NW, right beside the Poutinery. Street parking should be available, especially on Sundays. When we arrived, we were greeted immediately and sat at a two person table top. It seemed most of the tables were full. I noticed the bright red back drop and the dimmed lighting which was very classy. Water came without question and we were handed menus. I knew I was going to order the sweet potato gnocchi with a sunny side egg because my first visit 6 years ago, I fell in love with the gnocchi and haven’t had it in a while. My sister went with the Vero traditional. Our server was great, always coming around to fill our water and I noticed that all the other servers were very attentive and working as a team.
Our meals came and we were stunned. What beautiful presentation it was! I went for a bite of my gnocchi and it was just like I had it the first time! Soft gnocchi bites with a touch of crisp and full of flavor. It reminds me of my dads stuffing! MMM! My gnocchi also came with an egg on top with some wild boar bacon pieces, sprinkled gorgonzola, walnuts all drizzled with balsamic reduction. Delicious. Danielle’s traditional brunch came with Berkshire pork sausage, wild boar bacon, 2 perfectly poached eggs, with a side salad that came with beets, olives and wonderful dressing as well as a freshly baked croissant and house made cherry jam (which may change daily). Danielle was super impressed with everything, as was I. It was like you can taste the love put into each dish. Each of our plates were perfect sizes, filled us up without making us feel overly full. We were extremely satisfied.
We couldn’t stop talking about how amazing our brunch meals were at the wedding fair. Vero is definitely a place to hit up for AMAZING brunch or even dinner. I think it’s a perfect place to bring your date if you really want to impress them or bring your other half just because.
I will be back Vero… over and over again. Thank you! :)

Came here for brunch. First plus. They take reservations! So our party of 8 were cool as cucumbers as we made our way into Kensington on a Saturday morning.
Our server was attentive and courteous, I have never had so many cups of coffee. I had the jitters upon leaving. It was very good coffee too!
The restaurant itself is funky, with red walls and mirror-​ie things, I was ensconced against the long black booth side complete with throw pillows.
Our party size allowed everyone to have a sampling of pretty much everything on the brunch menu. I had the sweet potato gnocchi. So you get a delicious egg on top, then boar bacon, then cheese. DROOOOOOOOOOLLLLL. It was delicious.
Then I was kicking myself for not ordering any other dish as mine was the only one that did not come with a housemade croissant.
They make their own croissants people, take me to heaven! I see now they offer it as a side, so I should have been smart and added it to my order.
My husband had the meatballs, which looked fantastic, but didn’t get to try any of them, as he made sure he was the only one to taste them and their infinite greatness.
I can’t wait to come back here again, for brunch or dinner! Or just all three of my daily meals.

Invited to join some friends at an Italian Bistro for breakfast, I was intrigued by what the menu would have.
As you enter this quaint Bistro you are met with an amazingly calming atmosphere. Very different than your usual breakfast bustle. The décor is modern and classy. Highly recommend it to relax with friends on a Saturday morning. You will have some great food met with very personal service.
My choice for this morning was the Mushroom Benny. Very creative presentation and great flavours. Egg was done to perfection. Next time I may ask for an additional egg and some wild Boar bacon in the side.

Not a lot of love for Vero after my weekend birthday dinner and first visit. I didn’t dislike it, but I wish I went somewhere else.
My original plans were cancelled when my first choice closed for a private event the night of our reservation but we got last minute reservations here and I’d heard good things.
As a vegetarian I get one option on a menu in places like this and I loved the dish on the menu on their website and that was a deciding factor. Unfortunately, there was a totally different menu when we got there and my heart sank because I had to have risotto and that’s a bit heavy for a warm August evening.
I had the peach belini and it was just OK. It was a bit too tart and for $ 10 it’s passable.
The table had the sweet potato gnocchi and truffled edamame, Both were good but the edamame didn’t go with anyone’s main as far as taste profiles. The gnocchi I wished was my main.
My main the crimini mushroom risotto with white beans. Over all it was bland and not cohesive and not what I wanted to have in the first place. Somewhere between all of the ingredients there were sometimes hard crunches like biting into broken glass so much so I had a really good inspection. I think it was slightly under cooked risotto in a number of grains and no so much glass. Still unsettling.
For dessert I really wanted chocolate but their menu was sans chocolate. They had two coffee flavored dishes and two cream dishes with fruit flavoring which is a shockingly uneven selection. I ordered the passionfruit crème brûlée. The presentation was nice until you looked inside the little heart shaped ramakin and wonder who ate the rest of your dessert. It was ¹⁄₃ full and although it was a perfect amount it looks stingy in the dish. I liked the fruit flavor of the cream and LOVED the poprocks. The crackle and the zing of the flavor paired wonderfully. Almost made me over look the unintentional crackle of my main. Almost.
We did tell the restaurant we were celebrating a birthday and noticed another dessert come out after ours with a sparkler so our server just didn’t remember I guess. I didn’t know I could have expected pyrotechnics but as soon as I learned I could have I felt much less important to Vero and my server.
Overall the food was good quality and lovely prepared with exception of the risotto but it lacked any kind of fireworks for me (literally and figuratively) and without a dollar figure attached it might have been acceptable but once you attach the actual bill to that meal I start thinking of the dozens of other places I would have loved to drop that kind of money. I also wouldn’t have left ANY of them with an unsatisfied chocolate craving.

Really nice place… The service was excellent and the food really really good! They have a no menu Tuesday (the chef will decide all dishes to serve) and on Wednesday they only had 2 options, one is the 28 days aged beef which is awesome and the other one changes every week… I think this is a very original idea to have different menus 2 days a week for people who likes to try new things… All other days they have their regular menu, which is great!
The only thing that can be improved is the parking; as the wine and cocktails are very good, so definitely would become a frequent customer of this restaurant…