Tag Archives: Matrix Hotel

Edmonton Restaurant Review: Wildflower Grill (2018 Update)

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Braised Beef Short Rib

It’s been almost four years since I blogged about Wildflower Grill. Yet, several months ago, the eatery was sold to a new owner and is now under the direction of new Executive Chef J.P. Dublado. When Downtown Dining Week rolled around in March, I thought it’d be the perfect opportunity to revisit this fine establishment.

The interior of Wildflower Grill.

Early on a Monday night, my friend and I showed up to a largely empty restaurant located outside of the Matrix Hotel on 106 Street and 100 Avenue. My advance reservation on OpenTable seemed quite unnecessary. Still, it’s hard to predict when businesses will be busy, so I recommend booking ahead whenever possible. We were seated in a booth right next to the bar. I’m not sure if that’s considered their lounge space, or if it’s all part of the dining room. It felt kind of tucked away though, which was nice for conversation.

Strawberry Smash Cocktail
Non-Alcoholic Homemade Blueberry Iced Tea

My friend opted to quench her thirst with the Strawberry Smash cocktail ($12). I decided on a sweetly refreshing non-alcoholic Homemade Blueberry Iced Tea ($5.50). For food, we already had our mind set on the $45 three-course executive dinner menu on offer for Downtown Dining Week. Since there were no options for each course, it made it easy for the kitchen to serve us, and we simply went along for the ride.

Albacore Tuna with Barley and Wild Rice

Dish number one was a beautiful Albacore Tuna with Barley and Wild Rice (a similar item on their menu is regularly $17). The fish was seared perfectly, leaving a raw center. It was served with greens and deep fried wild rice, creating a crunchy texture (think Rice Krispies) and earthy flavour. The addition of tomatoes and radishes brought in pops of colour. Best of all were the dollops of dressing sporadically dotted on the plate. We weren’t sure what it was made of, but it reminded me of a sweet aioli that I’ve had before.

Braised Beef Short Rib

Course two was our entrée of Braised Beef Short Rib. This doesn’t seem to be available regularly, but I’d estimate it to be about $37 based on other selections seen in their menu. It was supposed to be served with maple roasted carrots. However, those were absent. Instead, they were substituted with delicious Brussels sprouts. The leek and potato pavé provided the starch without coming across as heavy. I expected the short rib to pull apart more easily, so I was surprised to find that I required a knife. No matter though, it was delicious and the meat was quite tender. Topped with frizzled onions, this was a delight. Despite all appearances, the beef wasn’t the star of the show. Turns out, the few pieces of richly flavoured chèvre and parm agnolotti would be my favourite part of the dish. I think about that stuffed pasta fondly.

Chocolate Mousse

The closest dessert on their menu to what we had that evening is likely their Chocolate Bar ($10). Ours was a ball of Chocolate Mousse encased in ganache. A stroke of berry coulis sat underneath with candied peanuts and caramel ice cream on the side. Having been layered with a coating of glaze, the consistency of the mousse became thicker and felt very decadent. The sweet-salty-tart balance worked its magic and was an excellent ending to a wonderful meal.

I really hope that the restaurant is doing well and we were just visiting on an unusually quiet night. Even with the changes to this business, they haven’t missed a beat. The quality is most certainly still there. Our food was superb and the service we received was attentive and friendly. Personally, I look forward to going back again soon.

Edmonton Restaurant Review: Wildflower Grill

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Bread to start off our meal.

Bread to start off our meal.

Wildflower Grill (@LaziaWFEast), brought to us by the owners of Lazia and the relatively new EAST, opened as part of the Matrix Hotel several years ago. Since it landed, it has received various accolades and continues to be recognized for their Canadian cuisine. In fact, readers of The Tomato named them the No. 90 best place to eat and drink in the city in 2013 for their braised beef short ribs alone.

In all the years that it has been there, I had heard so many good things and read some excellent reviews, but had never made a point of going. I think the price point may have been one reason that I steered away from it, but as I’ve gotten a little older, I’ve decided that food is literally one of my great loves in life, and I’m okay with the idea of indulging in a sumptuous meal every once in a while.

As such, since my friend and I were spending an evening nearby at the Art Gallery of Alberta to attend the museum’s most recent Road Trip themed Late Night Refinery event, we selected Wildflower Grill as the place to start our festivities.

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The menus

Because I’m a fan of reservations, I made sure to book a table in advance using the OpenTable system, so we were seated promptly when we arrived at the restaurant. Although it was starting to get warmer outside at the end of May, it still wasn’t quite mild enough to sit on the patio, so we opted to stay indoors as did everyone else. The interior of the establishment is quite sleek and modern, using lighter brown woods and shots of yellow, orange and green in the walls and art to make it feel welcoming.

Our server gave us the daily specials soon after we sat down and he was able to answer any questions we had about the food. He was also friendly, joking with us a little, but always remaining professional. When our food was ready, two other staff members brought our plates to us, but as soon as our server walked by he noticed that one was missing and immediately went to see why it hadn’t made it with the rest of the items, so it showed me that he was very attentive, which deserves props.

Three mushroom ravioli.

Three mushroom ravioli.

The menu isn’t extensive, but it still offers plenty of choices, which made it hard for my friend and I to choose what we wanted to go with. All the mains sounded fantastic; however, in the end, we both ordered two small dishes each. Assured by our server that it would be enough, we were happy to go that route as it meant we could sample more items, and we figured that if we were still hungry, we could always get dessert afterwards. Despite that thought, we never had to worry about leaving the restaurant with a half empty stomach because they started us off with an amuse bouche of smoked salmon and grapefruit as well as fresh baked bread that readied us for what lay ahead.

My dining companion ate the Potato Gnocchi and the Sour Cherry & Maple Glazed Duck Confit. The gnocchi was served with a sweet pea puree, triple smoked bacon, serrano ham chips and egg floss. I took a bite of it and the flavours were wonderful. They really popped and the gnocchi was browned and crisped from pan frying, so it had the proper texture. The sweet pea puree and the tomatoes were there to balance out the saltiness of the bacon and ham. Aside from gnocchi, my friend can usually never pass up the opportunity to eat duck and I think that it was appropriate. The meat was tender and paired well with the roast garlic risotto, caramelized brussel sprouts and carrots that it sat upon.

The potato gnocchi.
An amuse bouche to cleanse our palettes.
The duck confit.
Our drinks for the evening.
The braised beef short ribs!

My meal consisted of the Three Mushroom Ravioli and the Braised Beef Shortrib (I couldn’t go there without trying this). The ravioli had a nice, not too thick pasta shell, and was amply stuffed with mushrooms. Placed on a bed of asparagus and drizzled with truffle oil, smoked applewood cheddar fonduta and topped with some shaved piave vecchio cheese (similar to Parmigiano Reggiano), the ravioli was a great example of pasta made from scratch. The beef short ribs were nothing short of spectacular. It was pure meat with very little detectable fat, if any at all, that pretty much melted in your mouth. The port demi glace and white balsamic reduction actually tasted great with bites of the ravioli that I combined with my short ribs.

Needless to say, we left completely satisfied and stuffed from those dishes (no room at all for dessert). I’m happy that The Tomato‘s list pushed me to try another establishment that I just never seemed to get to. Whether I’m back there this year or a few years from now, I am positive that it will be another good experience.

For a more in-depth look at the establishment’s involvement in the community and its efforts towards sustainability visit The Local Good to read my profile of Wildflower Grill.