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| - An uptown Italian restaurant with a focus on shareable dishes, and a great reputation. 4.5 stars though... really? People must be eating at a lot of bad Italian places if this is so far off the norm. I'd give them 3.5 stars based on quality to price ratio. That is to say, the quality is good, but the price more than commensurately so...so if you have lots of cash burning a hole in your pocket, I recommend it.
Here you will find an array of appetizers, a few pastas, and meat/starch/salad combos, but also daily specials such as (the night we were there) chicken leg and barley risotto. I can't complain on the quality of the food, the meat was good and the greens popping with fresh citrus, and my wife was a fan of the barley risotto. BUT there is a portion problem: while the mains are billed as "shareable", and come in (stylish) serving dishes, are you really supposed to share one chicken leg? Is a chicken leg so expensive that you couldn't throw in another one at ~$20/plate? This is the kind of place where most people will have more than one course and/or drinks with dinner (I must note that I thoroughly enjoyed my cocktail), so giving a little more value on the main would be appreciated.
As I said, this is the kind of place you can come with trendy friends and have multiple courses and/or drinks (it is very easy to spend $50-60/person). The service is very professional, and the large room and patio of hard surfaces such as tiles and wood beams are broken up to just so to have a lively (loud) atmosphere without feeling like you're in a cafeteria. The service and room combo therefore make Borgo also amenable to romantic yet unsleepy dinner dates. Despite this, there are enough non-Americanized Italian restaurants in Calgary now that you don't automatically get 4 stars just for being different. If you're looking for a lively atmosphere and classy service, come here. If you're looking for somewhere cozy, or a place to go regularly for affordable portions, this isn't the best match.
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