Calgary is a diverse and vibrant city with innovative local businesses. We love buying local and supporting businesses that have strong roots in our city.
International Avenue is a colorful business district that showcases the ethnic diversity of our city with pride. International Avenue is located on 17th Avenue SE from 26 to 61 streets and has stores, retail outlets and restaurants from around the world.
We have picked three of our favorite restaurants and sharing our experience. Hope these encourage you to buy and support local in Calgary also!
Begim Restaurant
Begim restaurant is a family-run Uzbek restaurant with the most delicious food from Central Asia. The ambience is warm and decorated with cultural artifacts. There is ample parking at the front and back of the building.
Our favorite from the menu is Uzbek Osh which is traditional Uzbek Pilaf with rice, carrots, lamb meat, chickpeas, raisins and delicious roasted garlic. The lamb is cooked super tender and the distinct smell of lamb meat is drowned in the wholesome spices. A spicy sauce is served on the side, if you want a little heat. I recommend enjoying some green tea alongside.
All meat is halal.
Chillies Restaurant
Chillies Restaurant is the place to go if you want to enjoy authentic Pakistani street food especially Nihari (thick spicy gravy + meat) and Bun Kebab (Pakistani take on the burger with a meat patty and spicy sauce). I also love their Haleem, Papri Chaat and Biryani. Their menu is quite extensive and they have lots of other options also including pasta, donairs or fried chicken, to ensure that all taste buds are satisfied. We opted for chicken fillets and fries for the kids and went for the spicier options ourselves.
For lunch or a light dinner, I love the roll parathas that are kebab pieces rolled in fried bread with a spicy sauce and salad.
This place is no-frills, so expect to pick the food yourself from the counter and take the plates back. However, you will have no complaints with the quality of the food!
They always have many food items packed and ready to go at the front if you want to do takeaway or take some more deliciousness home with you!
Tandoori Kebab Hut
I love the husband and wife team that run Tandoori Kebab Hut, another amazing local business on International Avenue in Calgary. They are hard-working, humble and always have a welcoming smile on their face! Their positive attitude shows in the quality of their food, which is par excellence!
Tandoori Kebab Hut specializes in South Asian (Pakistani + Indian) dishes such as kebabs, curries, biryani, roti and much more!
Highly recommend their roll parathas and Tandoori platter.
We usually do take-away from Tandoori Kebab Hut (their website is great!) and I was happy to see that they have set up a lovely area to sit down and enjoy the meal hot at the restaurant also!
I promise you that you will be going back for many more visits!
Hope you enjoyed the review of some of our favorite local businesses in Calgary and will be trying them also!
Find out more about supporting local businesses here at calgary.ca/buylocal
Disclaimer: This blog post is sponsored by City of Calgary. All opinions are my own.
I seriously need to try all of these! Reading your post is already making me hungry ?
Great post!
Thank you! Yes, they are all awesome local options!