My family and I recently visited Calgary for four days. We were enjoying a whole day wandering around downtown shopping and taking in the sights. After all our walking we stopped for a bit to eat at the first restaurant that we seen. My fiancé was in love at the first sight of it because of its unique name, it was called the Saltlik.

For an appetizer I tried my personal favourite, calamari. Though it is my favourite I will admit that I am picky when it comes to eating it. I find that many restaurants serve it either to greasy or to bland for my tastes. The Saltlik however surprised me, their Wok Fired Calamari was quite large so you were able to really bite in and enjoys its flavours, the calamari was perfectly cooked, lightly floured and not greasy at all. I fully enjoyed it and the only comment I had on the dish was that I wish it had a sauce like a sweet chilli to go along side it. All together it was great!

The Saltlik was able to surprise me once again with my next dish, a simple Caesar salad. It looks like your classic Caesar salad when you receive it but one taste and you immediately notice the difference. Rosemary added to the sauce really takes it to a whole new level which I just love, the flavour is simply amazing. I will definitely give this dish another thumbs up.

Next I was able to have a taste of two of their sandwiches, the first being the grilled vegetable panini sandwich. This Sandwich is a twist on your classic grilled cheese. The cheddar cheese is replaced with a flavourful goat cheese (for those of you who have never tried goat cheese before do not be scared off it is very good) and it is then rounded off with a mixture of grilled veggies including zucchini, peppers and baby argula. The whole thing is placed on a sour dough panini with an olive tapenade spread over. I will admit that I was not a fan of the olive tapenade, but I am also not a fan of olives in general. I will not say that the tapenade gave the sandwich a bad taste, in fact despite my dislike of olives I still enjoyed it. They have successfully taken a classic idea and turned it into something that really awakens your taste buds, I really appriciate their creativity with this dish. I recommend this to anyone who just wants something light and enjoys olives a bit more then myself.

The other sandwich I had the pleasure of trying was the Lobster and Shrimp BLT, all I have to say about this dish is amazing. It was light and filling, a perfect choice for lunch. The bacon was crisp not chewy (I hate chewy bacon) and the mixture of lobster and shrimp created an amazing flavour.

If I had to describe the Saltlik in one word it would be creative. They have a great talent for taking simple classic dishes and putting their own spin on it leaving your taste buds craving more. Their food is definitely something to get excited over.

My whole experience at the Saltlik was enjoyable. I was greeted immediately with a smile and brought to my seat, the waitress was very attentive and made sure we enjoyed everything, she really went the extra mile. Both the inside and outside of the house were kept clean and inviting, even the bathroom was in immaculate condition. The Saltlik’s Calgary location is a perfect choice to stop and eat if your out for a stroll near Stephen Avenue.