Gorilla Whale - Calgary, Alberta

I was so pleased with my visit here! We had booked online for a Saturday brunch and ended up having the place to ourselves! The space is very comfortable and cozy. Everything on their menu sounded delicious, it was so hard to decide. Tempura soft shell crab benedict... This is ... what dreams are made of. We also tried the Orange Gochujang scramble. Fantastic. I can't wait to come back and try some of the other items. Service was very attentive, and they brought out Japanese donut bites for my birthday! Such an unexpected and thoughtful surprise. Definitely eat here 😋 Update - have now tried the fried rice and chicken burger! 😍😍 Read more

The food was pretty good. The decor is really nice and cozy! The staff are really nice and give great advice on what to order! Pictured are the 3 desserts on the menu, the deconstructed salmon roll, stir-fry noodles, and cucumber salad!

I had a bit more of a unique experience through a private event with a set menu. Food was amazing, certain items were not for me, but overall, really loved what was served. Salmon and chicken were some of the best I've ever had and the bread was a great way ... to clean up the plates and enjoy every bit. Atmosphere is cozy and welcoming. Staff are great, always helpful and friendly. Would definitely recommend for events of 20+ people (birthdays, graduation, any special occasion) Read more

Went here for a date with my wife on a Friday night and it was great. We expected it to be busy and it was but we were seated quickly at the bar and decided to just stay there when they offered up a table. It was comfortable and the ... bartender was fun to watch. It was clear that he knew his way around a cocktail as he moved through the drinks with ease. The food did not disappoint either. The offerings are fair portions and great for sharing. Each plate came out at a great place so as to keep you satisfied yet still comfortable. The staff were friendly and helpful and all seemed to be working well together. The decor is great and has some awesome concert posters around the dining room. Definitely recommend this place. Read more

The place is modern and hip, with rock star posters and candid celebrity shots of celebrities in the bathroom. The food, however, is disappointing. For pre-dinner drinks, my husband tried the Gorilla Whale - a ginger rice lager $6.50. It's different. The best I can describe it, is like a ... sour beer without the sour. I ordered their Cold Tea cocktail, a mix of Vodka, shochu, lime juice, coconut water, ginger syrup, green tea syrup, cold brewed green tea for $12 It's ok, very light flavors but I did have an expectation of green tea flavors (between the syrup and the tea itself you would think you would taste it). For Appys, we ordered the Seared Fois for $18. The fois gras came with cornflake cookie, sesame, Japanese whiskey stewed blueberries. All the strong flavors took away from the fois and made the dish sweet, but I have a sweet tooth so I didn't mind. Next we tried their yakitori which each order coming with 2 skewers. First up, skin on chicken thigh for $6 which did come with quite a few pieces of chicken and a delicious smokey flavor. Second order was drunken rum and coconut prawns for $8 (4 pieces of shrimp). It tasted like plain shrimp, which I do like but I was just expecting the drunken rum flavor. House tare and fresh egg yolk dipping sauce for the skewers was good. Different, and in a good way this time. Although I prefer my skewers plain to get the smokey flavors. For our mains, we shared the Godzilla Burger $20 consisting of binchotan grilled wagyu beef, foie gras, unagi, iceberg, ‘mac’ sauce, and a side of greens. I like saucy things so it wasn't bad but it had a lot of strong flavors going on. With all the sauce on it, you definitely didn't taste any binchotan grill. As my husband described it, you could take the Patty out and you wouldn't even notice because it all just tastes like sauce. Our second main was Straight Up Ramen $16 described as "land & sky broth, tamari, farm egg, house cured confit pork belly, nori, green onion, corn, bean sprouts, and shiso butter." Unfortunately the broth was bland and the noodles had a weird taste - best described as a sour taste? Regardless, it's not good. The egg was the best part of this bowl - the yolk was still runny and the whites just cooked. My husband's description is, "it's like when you make instant noodles at home and you don't want the sodium so you don't use the full seasoning package and all you get is water." Read more