đź“Ť Quick Facts
• Location: 240 8 Ave SW, Calgary, AB
• Phone Number: 403-888-1658 (text line only)
• Website: https://www.barbarellabar.ca/
• Cuisine Type: Coastal Italian
We dropped into Barbarella about 9 pm on a Tuesday evening. Plenty of time to get a bite and see what the fuss was about.
The inside is a moody, high-energy late-night space where you leave Calgary’s downtown core and step into a chic, mid-century escape inspired by the Italian Riviera. It’s open and airy, blending retro surf-shack vibes with high-end, modern design.
As you enter, the central bar is directly ahead, anchoring the room, with wood-panelled walls, hanging greenery overhead and polished terrazzo beneath your feet. To the right, in the lounge area, plush sofas and mismatched leather chairs surround two retro, red chalet-style stoves suspended from the ceiling, hovering just above the seating. Their soft glow casts dramatic shadows across the lounge, giving the open space a cozy, intimate feel.
Upbeat music fills the air, blending with the clatter of the open kitchen and the lively hum of conversation. It feels effortlessly stylish and relaxed.
The restaurant seating is a mix of comfortable, plush booths and sleek tables, arranged to keep the room feeling lively and welcoming.
We were offered a table right next to the front door, which isn’t usually our first choice, so we asked for an alternative. A table at the back by the kitchen might be a letdown for many, but we love to watch the kitchen in action, so it worked for us.
The first thing we noticed, and maybe it’s a small thing, was that the menu was upside down on the table. It seemed odd. It’s the first thing people see when they sit down, so you’d think getting it right would be an easy one. It’s a small detail, but small details matter.
We were asked if we wanted sparkling or still water, and our glasses were filled with our choice. We ordered two non-alcoholic beers, which Linda brought back and poured for us at the table.
We also ordered the deep-fried squash blossoms, only to be told they were no longer available. We were told they had been so popular that they couldn’t keep them in stock, so they stopped offering them. I would think if they were that popular, they’d want to keep them.
Linda, our server, recommended the tomato-hazelnut dip with basil, olive oil and focaccia, so we decided to give it a try.
The pizza had a story behind it, so I need to step back into my own memories for a moment to explain. Before we moved to Calgary, my son sent me a picture of a Barbarella pizza with stracciatella cheese in the middle.
At the time, we were heavily involved in our own food business, which included running a food stall at St. John’s farmers market. The picture he sent had me intrigued, and I loved the idea of it so much that I created my own pizza using a similar idea to sell at the market. Ours was The Three Little Pigs, with burrata cheese. It was very popular.
When we went into Barbarella, I knew I had to try the real thing.
I ordered the Tomato pizza, topped with tomato sauce, shaved garlic, olive oil and stracciatella cheese, just like the one my son had sent a picture of years ago. While Geoff opted for the Barbarella Burger, with truffle, raclette cheese and brioche, served with French fries.
The appetizer bread was fresh, warm and heavenly, drizzled with olive oil and good enough to eat all by itself. It was springy, pillowy and incredibly airy, with a satisfying, rustic chew. The tomato dip was a thick, chunky, deeply savoury paste made from blended sun-dried tomatoes and hazelnuts, with toasted, halved hazelnuts sprinkled over the top. I think there were supposed to be ribbons of basil, but we could only see two big pieces.
As soon as the pizza comes out of the oven, they top it with cold, incredibly creamy stracciatella cheese (the ultra-rich, buttery insides of a burrata ball). It looked amazing when it arrived, very similar to the picture my son sent. The light, beautifully blistered crust was soft and acted as the perfect canvas. Instead of being buried under a mountain of baked cheese, it featured vibrant tomato sauce, a scattering of shaved garlic and a rich drizzle of olive oil.
The contrast between the piping-hot crust and the cool, luxurious cheese worked magic on the plate. Great pizza.
Geoff’s burger had a grilled brioche bun, two four-ounce fresh Alberta beef patties, crispy iceberg lettuce, raw white onion rings and an incredibly generous slather of truffle aioli. Instead of standard cheddar, they topped it with a blanket of rich, nutty raclette cheese, aka gooey Alpine cheese. It was served with a side of hot, golden French fries.
Finding a massive, raw, blocky end-piece of onion overpowered everything else and ruined the bite. When a kitchen is slamming out lunch orders on Stephen Avenue, I can understand how something like that might slip through. But the restaurant was quiet, and this should have been caught. For a premium downtown spot, they should absolutely be slicing those onions with more care.
I couldn’t really taste the truffle in the aioli, but setting the onion incident aside, the burger was somewhere in the middle of the pack. The fries were standard, and the accompanying aioli didn’t have much punch either.
We ordered two desserts to share.
Chocolate semifreddo: almond brittle, caramel and amaretti
Sicilian cannoli: orange and berry crumb
The cannoli had a thin, bubbly pastry shell fried to a perfect brittle crunch, filled with smooth ricotta cream. The orange citrus flavouring was a little overpowering for my taste, drowning out any other flavours. The crumb also looked far too much like cheap imitation bacon bits, which I found a little off-putting.
For anyone unfamiliar with semifreddo, think of it as the lovechild of premium ice cream and frozen mousse. It gives you that rich, velvety, melt-in-your-mouth creaminess without the firmness of traditional ice cream.
The semifreddo arrived in squares of rich, salted chocolate, with a silky drizzle of caramel, crunchy almond brittle on the sides and shattered amaretti cookies. The deep, slightly bitter chocolate cuts through the sweet caramel, and the brittle’s snap keeps the velvety texture from feeling one-note.
Years ago, my son’s picture sparked an idea that became a popular item at our food stall in St. John’s. Coming to Barbarella and finally trying the pizza that started it all felt like a full-circle moment. The original lived up to the image that had stuck with me all those years, and I’m glad I finally got to try it for myself.
Turns out, it only took three years and a move of more than 3,000 kilometres across the country to bring that pizza story full circle. ’Tis a good thing we didn’t request delivery!
đź“Š Scorecard
🍴 FOOD 3.5/ 5
✨ EXPERIENCE 4/ 5
Average of Service & Hospitality, Atmosphere & Vibe, and Value for Money.
• Service & Hospitality 4/ 5
• Atmosphere & Vibe 4.5/ 5
• Value for Money 3.5/ 5
