Il Gallo Nero

Still closed from the flood last year in July? It is now Jan 2014 and boarded up still?

I’ve been hearing about this place for a while from an old law school pal and decided to give it a try for lunch a week ago. I liked the free parking and was immediately impressed by the feeling when my pal and I walked in. It wasn’t all that busy so we got a great table right away. We both decided to try the soup de jour, a seafood chowder, and the veal special. The soup was flat out one of the best I have ever had… anywhere. The flavor was amazing, and the chunks of seafood were both plentiful and savory… wow!
The main course was also fantastic… the veal was fork tender with just the right amount of sauce and the veggies were perfectly cooked… the pasta was fine but not quite up to the standard set by the other offerings… still very good. The waiter was attentive and his suggestion for a complimentary bottle of wine, Italian of course, was spot on.
If this quality bears the scrutiny of consistency this will certainly become a new regular spot for me… Give it a try…

Went here for lunch last week with our office for Christmas, and appears we were not alone. The menu items we ordered were all incredibly well cooked, delivered hot, and the service was top notch. The noise level from the other patrons was too loud though to carry on your own conversation, which was no fault of the restaurant, but prevented me from a 5-​star rating. Also, due to the layout of the room, it prevented everyone from sitting together.

I wanted to want you–
I needed to need you —
Oh how I would have loved to love you…
I have been waiting and wanting to dine here for some time. I dig everything about this place — the ‘Gallo Nero’, the Black Rooster — the symbol of Chianti Classico in central Italy. The location next to the Stampede grounds, the funky little façade on 17^th.
My timing was poor. Guests in from south of the 49^th. Stampede. Rodeo in the morning and wagons in the evening. In between the chaos ??? fine Italian dining???
For non-​Calgarians Stampede is Christmas, Mardi Gras, the State fair of Texas and a Roman orgy -(think Caligula –not Caesar), all rolled into one. The morning spent at the rodeo in 90 °F heat was all that you would expect and following the final bulls our stetson topped Budweiser fueled posse of 20, adorned in boots, buckles, big hair and denim descended upon the ‘black rooster’.
To their credit they did not bar the door. The tables had been arranged in advance and we were seated promptly -(all the better to get out in a timely so as not to miss the first wagon race)– but service was slow, the wine glasses were refilled sporadically and the fixed menu seemed a little uninspired.
Now i get that the proprietor might be a little put off by the ’ Western Wannabees’ pounding Barolo in his fine dining establishment but, come on, this is Calgary during the Stampede not Teatro alla Scala during the Milanese opera season– ya gotta go with the flow.
We dined — We drank — we dashed back to the grounds. But something didn’t feel quite right. Perhaps it is possible to enjoy Osso buco while downing fine northern Italian wine dressed like Porter Wagoner — but not here… at least not on this night.
Three stars and a promise to try it all again soon, off Stampede season for a better read.