Valentines Dinner at the Hawthorn Dining Room
Hello beautiful people! I thought I would take this opportunity to write my FIRST food and drink post. What better way to start my food & drink category - then featuring our first valentines meal as husband and wife! I would just like to start off this post by introducing my wonderful husband and best friend Shayne. He really kicked off our year of "married" firsts by booking us into one of the most stunning restaurants Calgary has to offer. With my big leap into this new world of blogging/youtube, he has been nothing but supportive *and I should note is my full time writing guru/spell checker/video watcher*, and to put him on an even bigger pedestal he agreed to let me feature him in our first "get to know us" video! Read on for more about our meal at the Hawthorn Dinning Room - and click the video below if you want just a little glimpse into our lives and relationship!
Located in the Fairmont Palliser Hotel (steps from the Calgary Tower), this charming restaurant is packed with so much life and charm! Being an interior designer I absolutely love well designed spaces and the Hawrthorn checks every one of my style boxes - lots of accent lighting, warm colours, rich tones and luxurious materials helped set the mood for our delicious dining experience. We kicked off the meal with cocktails - a classic caesar for Shayne and a Whiskey Tea Cup drink for me :) Both packed an alcoholic punch, and great flavours. My specific words to the waiter were "Something boozy but sweet" and this certainly did not disappoint! As this was a Valentines meal, we opted to order the “Valentines Day Dinner” which included; two starters (and bread), two mains with a side, and a dessert. The meal itself was family style so Shayne and I were able to share everything and portion size was perfect - we even ended up bringing a little home!
It has always been a dream of mine to try oysters on ice! *I know lame dream - but come on a girls gotta aspire to something in life* The sauces were a cocktail shrimp sauce and then a lemon sauce for the oysters. Overall it was just as luxurious as I imagined... aside from the weird slurping noise - not something you envision when you see celebrities and influencers posing with a plate in-front of them! We also had fresh bread with regular and garlic butters, I only had one piece to save room but Shayne loves a good challenge and managed to clear that whole plate! The endive salad was delightful - just the perfect light and acidic pairing with the seafood, it did not fill me up, which allowed to save room for the rest of our courses.
Not skipping a beat - the mains were brought to us right as the starter plates were being collected, could not ask for better service! The steak was ordered medium rare upon Shaynes request, which I requested rare at the last second as the waiter walked away (an old trick for any other couple that cant agree! You are guaranteed a win) - our steak did come rare and it was PERFECT for me, Shayne would have preferred a few more grill marks however. I DON’T KNOW HOW they make those fries but someone has to get this girl a recipe! The fish came on a bed of couscous and sauce, which was perfect as sometimes I find fish can lack seasoning, but this pairing gave enough flavour without taking away from the natural fish flavour. We then finished the meal with this cute little chocolate "piñata" over fresh fruits and chocolate sauce - I did try to boomerang the explosion of the heart but as you would expect Shayne hit it right before I could hit the record button... *Like did it even happen if we didn’t get it on a boomerang?*
Overall it was a very romantic evening - the atmosphere, food, and service all aligned for a perfect experience! I would definitely go again - even just for some appetizers and work my way through the cocktail menu. In the future we will likely try and go earlier in the day to head over to Stephen Ave (steps away) for some window shopping and street-shows - really make an event of it! Thanks for reading along - if you haven't had a chance to watch our video - WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR scroll back up and get to know us a little more :)