Lonely Mouth Bar

Lonely Mouth Bar opened on 17th Avenue SW in December 2021, in the former Ox Bar de Tapas space, as a cozy Japanese-inspired bar from Concorde Entertainment Group with executive chef Tomo Mitsuno. The menu is built for sharing and eating with your hands: sushi hand rolls, tempura, house-made udon with a good chew, and snacks like oysters, tuna tartare, pork dumplings and pickled cucumber. Sake leads the drinks, with 39 bottles on the list and staff who know them well.

Avenue Calgary named it one of the city's best new restaurants of 2023, praising the bluefin tuna tartare, chicken wings brined and dried overnight, a tonkatsu sando made with pork shoulder cooked sous vide for 24 hours, and sweet-potato doughnuts with miso caramel and sesame gelato. Its verdict: cozy, fun to eat and backed by drinks that make the visit feel special. Lonely Mouth also placed #77 on Canada's 100 Best Restaurants in 2023.