Spanish Tapas at Candela
My latest installment in the Open Table Experiment took place last night at Candela in Calgary. This Spanish-style establishment serves a large assortment of tapas, or small dishes meant to share, ranging from deep-fried, vegetarian, seafood, Asian fusion, and sweets. Located in the bustling Mission district, Candela conveniently offers clients a small parking lot - a much-appreciated perk when it can take dozens of tours around the area to find a place to park for a meal.
The decor is warm and inviting - you walk in through double glass doors and are greeted immediately by the hostess. The restaurant boasts an open concept dining room, with a large bar situated in the middle. Minimalistic in style, the bar does not overpower the room like it could, considering its size. They've kept the bar lower to the ground, so it keeps the flow of the room moving. Seating is cozy and comfortable, with benches and chairs throughout. For first impressions, Candela is inviting and seems like it could be a vibrant, fun experience on a busier night. We also questioned the noise levels when it was busier - with such an open room, it could potentially be tough to have a conversation. Who knows, really, without testing out that theory, right?
Oddly enough, we were seated in the corner between the only other two tables of guests. I had made a reservation for 3 and they had that in their system; however, they seated us in a crowded corner with only 2 place settings. It just seemed weird to be situated within inches of both other parties like that. Because it was a corner, we had enough seating room, at least.
Our waitress was extremely friendly and helpful, as well as patient with us, as we tried to decided what to order. She suggested 2-3 plates per person for a full meal, but noted that they try to bring out the dishes 1-2 at a time, depending on how large they are. We appreciated this concept, as it allowed us to graze and not be overburdened with too many dishes at our small table. The portions are definitely small, but the sharing idea is wonderful. I love being able to try out a bunch of different dishes without feeling stuffed by the end of the meal, or bad for wasting food. I feel that this smaller dish concept would go over very well at East Indian or Chinese restaurants where you want to order lots for a good variety, but usually end up with WAY too much food!
We ordered 5 dishes initially, but realized halfway through that more would be needed. Orders were made and food arrived in a timely fashion, so we didn't experience any great lulls in our meal. I have to say, I love the concept, but, as noted below, the food was good but definitely not outstanding.
In no particular order, here is my opinion of the food we consumed.
Crispy Chicken Lollipops (with such a neat name, we had to try this dish!): This dish comes with 2 'lollipops' so our server asked if we wanted to add a 3rd, which was very considerate of her. Normally, I'm not a fan of deep-fried foods, but this dish was alright. The breading was fairly thin, but had some tasty spices mixed in. The chicken was tender and still slightly moist. Overall, we enjoyed this dish.
Beets (with goat cheese, pine nuts, and arugula): I really enjoyed this dish - the beets mixed with the cheese was a very nice flavor. The guys - not so much, but beets are vegetables, after all...
Seared Scallops: Okay. The scallops were small and slightly on the dry side. The breading or spices covering them gave a bit of extra flavor, but not enough overall to be really enjoyable. Places like Cibo offer much better scallops!
Ahi Tuna Sashimi (with watermelon): Not exactly sashimi - the watermelon really overpowers the tiny sliver of tuna that you get with each piece. The tuna itself was not very tasty, either. Skip this one.
Chicken Taco: While it comes on two corn tortillas for some reason (one should be enough), the chicken mixture was superb! This is definitely one dish to try, and you may even want another! The chicken is juicy and the corn tortillas fresh.
Japa Sliders: We had to try this because we weren't sure what it would be! I still can't tell you what the meat was in the sliders, but it was good (red meat, of some type) - juicy and flavorful. The guys thought the ginger was too much, but I enjoyed it. The white bun detracted from the slider, but that's me - I do not like white bread at all (so tasteless!). The habanero potato chips were pretty awesome, though!
Beef Short Rib Pad Thai: Overall, this was very peanut-y in flavor, which is good. It was not spicy, which we sort of expected and wanted, and I thought the beef was very, very fatty. I liked the flavor when I got a mouthful without the beef, but spice would have been good too. Toss up for this dish - good, but not great.
There are a number of dishes with shrimp in them which, due to an allergy, we couldn't try last night, but I would be curious to hear how people like these items. I'm not sure I'll return to Candela anytime soon - not with so many new places to try and old favorites still around to visit again. However, it was still an enjoyable evening and food was pretty good overall. It can't be perfect every time, right?
The decor is warm and inviting - you walk in through double glass doors and are greeted immediately by the hostess. The restaurant boasts an open concept dining room, with a large bar situated in the middle. Minimalistic in style, the bar does not overpower the room like it could, considering its size. They've kept the bar lower to the ground, so it keeps the flow of the room moving. Seating is cozy and comfortable, with benches and chairs throughout. For first impressions, Candela is inviting and seems like it could be a vibrant, fun experience on a busier night. We also questioned the noise levels when it was busier - with such an open room, it could potentially be tough to have a conversation. Who knows, really, without testing out that theory, right?
Oddly enough, we were seated in the corner between the only other two tables of guests. I had made a reservation for 3 and they had that in their system; however, they seated us in a crowded corner with only 2 place settings. It just seemed weird to be situated within inches of both other parties like that. Because it was a corner, we had enough seating room, at least.
Our waitress was extremely friendly and helpful, as well as patient with us, as we tried to decided what to order. She suggested 2-3 plates per person for a full meal, but noted that they try to bring out the dishes 1-2 at a time, depending on how large they are. We appreciated this concept, as it allowed us to graze and not be overburdened with too many dishes at our small table. The portions are definitely small, but the sharing idea is wonderful. I love being able to try out a bunch of different dishes without feeling stuffed by the end of the meal, or bad for wasting food. I feel that this smaller dish concept would go over very well at East Indian or Chinese restaurants where you want to order lots for a good variety, but usually end up with WAY too much food!
We ordered 5 dishes initially, but realized halfway through that more would be needed. Orders were made and food arrived in a timely fashion, so we didn't experience any great lulls in our meal. I have to say, I love the concept, but, as noted below, the food was good but definitely not outstanding.
In no particular order, here is my opinion of the food we consumed.
Crispy Chicken Lollipops (with such a neat name, we had to try this dish!): This dish comes with 2 'lollipops' so our server asked if we wanted to add a 3rd, which was very considerate of her. Normally, I'm not a fan of deep-fried foods, but this dish was alright. The breading was fairly thin, but had some tasty spices mixed in. The chicken was tender and still slightly moist. Overall, we enjoyed this dish.
Beets (with goat cheese, pine nuts, and arugula): I really enjoyed this dish - the beets mixed with the cheese was a very nice flavor. The guys - not so much, but beets are vegetables, after all...
Seared Scallops: Okay. The scallops were small and slightly on the dry side. The breading or spices covering them gave a bit of extra flavor, but not enough overall to be really enjoyable. Places like Cibo offer much better scallops!
Ahi Tuna Sashimi (with watermelon): Not exactly sashimi - the watermelon really overpowers the tiny sliver of tuna that you get with each piece. The tuna itself was not very tasty, either. Skip this one.
Chicken Taco: While it comes on two corn tortillas for some reason (one should be enough), the chicken mixture was superb! This is definitely one dish to try, and you may even want another! The chicken is juicy and the corn tortillas fresh.
Japa Sliders: We had to try this because we weren't sure what it would be! I still can't tell you what the meat was in the sliders, but it was good (red meat, of some type) - juicy and flavorful. The guys thought the ginger was too much, but I enjoyed it. The white bun detracted from the slider, but that's me - I do not like white bread at all (so tasteless!). The habanero potato chips were pretty awesome, though!
Beef Short Rib Pad Thai: Overall, this was very peanut-y in flavor, which is good. It was not spicy, which we sort of expected and wanted, and I thought the beef was very, very fatty. I liked the flavor when I got a mouthful without the beef, but spice would have been good too. Toss up for this dish - good, but not great.
There are a number of dishes with shrimp in them which, due to an allergy, we couldn't try last night, but I would be curious to hear how people like these items. I'm not sure I'll return to Candela anytime soon - not with so many new places to try and old favorites still around to visit again. However, it was still an enjoyable evening and food was pretty good overall. It can't be perfect every time, right?
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