Eating in Edmonton isn’t hard part … finding great food is a little tougher though!

If you’re a consultant commuting from Toronto to Edmonton and back, on a weekly basis, there are two decent perks

You rack up about 3340 miles a week (with the super elite bonus, it’s 6680 miles a week) – that’s enough to get your Super Elite status in about 7 months without trying. I’m not going to discuss the fact that the Aeroplan program only really makes sense for those SE members – everyone else is pretty much treated like dogshit.

You’ll rack up some decent hotel points and probably hit 75 nights in about 6 months., if you’re a SPG member, then that’s as far as you want to go before you switch to another hotel and getting platinum status. Even the Q1 SPG promotion doesn’t have me completely excited. I’m going to get this within the first 45 days – then what? Hopefully, there will be a better Q2 promo

So the next best thing, when working in another city, is trying to explore the food scene. Here in Edmonton, it would be easy to expect absolutely nothing in the city but this would be a bit misleading. The problem with “Deadmonton” is that the weather is so horrible in winter (today’s max temperature was -32C), that going out for a decent meal here is just a painful logistical experience. My goal for this year, is to recreate the list of the 25 best things to eat in Edmonton … I’ve been to one place on this list so far, but Tres Carnales would easily be one of the best taco joints I’ve been to in North America and would have my top 10 list, without even reading this article. There is an excellent taco review from 2012, that I also have to wander through.



Outside of the best tacos in the city, I’ve had some excellent Lebanese food at Co Co Di. I’ve been here 4 times in the last 3 months, so this place is definitely a reliable “go to” place here. I’ve had almost everything on their menu; like most of restaurants, they have one or two outstanding items and the rest is average, run-of-the-mill stuff. Don’t go for the decor or even the service – they are cheesy and slow, respectively, but do go for the appetizers/mezes off the menu.





The mezes are definitely the highlight of the meals here and they have a sampler platter – as you can tell from the plates that were attacked. The fattoush is outstanding … I would recommend the restaurant just for this pomegranate seed laden salad. It’s simply superb – especially if you ask for it “extra sour”.





Next on my decent eating place would be Pampa Brazilian Steakhouse. It’s a definite recommendation in Edmonton but in terms of great Brazilian, it doesn’t rate even close to the Porcaos of the world.  The meat was decently salted and with the quality of the Alberta beef, you don’t need much seasoning for perfection. The salad bar has a nice variety of salads, deli meats, ceviche, olives, plus a variety of oils and vinegars.





Next on my decent eating place would be Pampa Brazilian Steakhouse. It’s a definite recommendation in Edmonton but in terms of great Brazilian, it doesn’t rate even close to the Porcaos of the world.  The meat was decently salted and with the quality of the Alberta beef, you don’t need much seasoning for perfection. The salad bar has a nice variety of salads, deli meats, ceviche, olives, plus a variety of oils and vinegars. They also have a very decent desert menu. If you’re looking for a top 10 meat sweats type of place … here is another awesome list to explore.



Another great place to go for dinner would be a place that easily make my top 10 seafood meals in the world : Sabor Divino. They have excellent food and it’s definitely not the cheapest place in the world, but the seafood platter @ $102 + tax is simply a deal. It’s enough for two people – and pictures don’t do it justice. There is a reason that it makes the Edmonton twitter top 5.

I’ve been to this place three time and  it’s always met or exceeded my expectations. With a pricy restaurant like this, they have knowledgeable and very professional service. Three times means consistently excellent … Little fluff all substance. BTW … if you’re wondering about the picture below … that would be the Valencia Seafood Paella … it’s enough to feed 5 people.

Here is the list of restaurants in this blog post

Tres Carnales Taqueria
Address 10119 100A Street, Rice Howard Way, Edmonton, AB T5J 0C8
Phone (780) 429-0911
Hours Mon-Fri 11am-10pm, Sat 4-10pm


Azucar Picante Restaurant and Cantina
Address 13062 50 St NW, Edmonton, AB
Phone (780) 479-7400
Hours Mon-Thu 11:30 am-10 pm, Fri-Sat 11:30am-2:30am, Sun 2pm-8pm


Co Co Di
Address 11454 Jasper Ave NW Edmonton, AB
Phone (780) 425-1717
Hours Mon-Thu 11:30 am-10 pm, Fri-Sat 11:30am-2:30am, Sun 2pm-8pm


Pampa Steakhouse
Address 9929 109th Street, Edmonton, AB
Phone (780) 756-3030
Hours Mon-Thu 11:30 am-10 pm, Fri-Sat 11:30am-2:30am, Sun 2pm-8pm


Sabor Divino
Address 10220-103 Street, Edmonton, AB
Phone (780) 757-1114
Hours Mon-Thu 11:30 am-10 pm, Fri-Sat 11:30am-2:30am, Sun 2pm-8pm