I went to Candela last night with two girlfriends and was really excited as I had heard many great things about the place. I liked the layout and ambiance and found it to be really cozy. I got there first and was immediately asked about water - I love that they have unlimited sparkling for $2 per person!!
We were sort of slow to order as one of my friends was running late and I felt that our server was put off by this. Whenever she came to the table it was as if she was doing us a favor and she barely cracked a smile the entire evening.
We had the chorizo, the adobo pork and the kale salad. I loved all the plates but they were very small for the prices. We also got the lobster risotto and I was pretty disappointed. It took about 45 minutes to arrive, the lobster was very overcooked and the whole dish was not great.
All in all the food was nice, the ambiance was great and I had a good time. Unfortunately our server made the experience less than delightful. It pretty much took away a lot of the likability of the entire place. I was also surprised that we never saw a manager. Perhaps they should spend a little more time out front observing their staff to ensure customers are having the best experience possible. There's too much competition in Calgary these days to be mediocre.......