With so many new restaurants popping up around Edmonton, it is difficult to decide where to go. So I am here to tell you about my experience at a local eatery, Ampersand 27, located on the beautiful Whyte Avenue strip. We walked in and the decor was trendy and comfortable. We were a large party that had just walked off the street, so we were concerned we wouldn’t find the seating but they were very accommodating and seated us at this beautiful long wood table. It was as though we were seated in a magical forest. The ceiling was covered with branches with little lights attached, as if we were surrounded by fairies. I am by no means a flower child but I really enjoyed the setting.
The menu is seemingly small, which is appreciated, as I dislike having to go through a small novel to find a meal. Sometimes too much is overbearing. Ampersand really is one of the more unique
restaurants, because they bring in local products and ingredients. The menu was divine in its selections from maple butter pork belly which, by the way, they slow roast for 30 hours, to Charcuterie boards, where you design your own creation. They also had flat bread style pizza as well as main course dishes. We decided as a large group we would go with a charcuterie board. Now if you don’t know what that is, it’s basically a board that comes with a different variety of meats, delicious cheeses, pickled vegetables, a variety of smoked fish and fresh baked breads. Usually when ordering this item at a restaurant it would already be prepared for you, but at Ampersand 27 you design your own. With 46 different items to choose from and a group of 10 people, it was a bit more difficult but we just let the food creation flow.When the food arrived our server explained every item on the board and it was wonderful. We dug right into the amazing food. We picked a variety of meats including prosciutto, genoa salami and shaved bison tongue. We went with different cheeses – a blue cheese and the table favourite, Tomme de Haut, which was a mixture of goat and lamb cheese. We quickly devoured the first board and this left us wanting more so we ordered the Alberta beef short rib, the roasted cauliflower and the seared albacore tuna. I wasn’t really a fan of the tuna. It’s not something I personally would normally order but the short ribs were absolutely amazing – my mouth is watering as I type this out. The beef melted in your mouth and was so flavourful. I highly recommend it.
So if you’re looking for a place to take a date or have a nice dinner with friends, head down to Ampersand 27, where they are crafted to be different.
Randi Adams
