This might be one of the nicest sinks in Calgary to pee in. The basin is very wide, deep, and accommodating, beginning right at the outer edge of the sink. It’s also very stylish and minimalist with that hidden drain and an almost brutalist angular structure. It’s low enough for even beginner sink pissers. The Mexican pop is delightful and the mirror is so tall you can admire yourself as you go! I would heartily recommend this restaurant for anyone interested in urinating in a sink.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Jennifer Wallace
We visited Milpa in the final weekend of the YYCEXP and were very excited to give it a try. The space itself is pretty cool from the front, with the repeating teal/tiffany blue arches and lighting, it's an Instagram Photo Op in real time. We were greeted warmly and immediately felt like we were on vacation, with the music and general atmosphere of the space - initial impressions had us very excited.However, once sat, we were abandoned for close to 20 minutes. Plenty of staff walked past us, checked on tables all around, but we did not meet our server for some time... this would be the theme for the night. She was very friendly and warm, explained the concept of the menu and answered our questions - we placed basic drink orders, a 9oz glass of red wine and a bottle of beer, and made our selections from the preset YYCEXP menu. SLOW is the only thing I can say about the service for the remainder of the night. First courses came out about 20 minutes later (both cold dishes), before our drinks, which didn't arrive for another 10 min. Spacing of the food was strange, even for a shared plate model, which saw us waiting with food cooling in front of us often. My partner ordered a second beer mid way through and it took another 25-30 minutes to get that. When I booked the reservation, it noted they allow for 2 hours service for a group of 2 or 4, which SHOULD have been plenty of time... even after we asked for the bill, it was another 30 min before we got out of there. At least it was consistent, everyone around us was making comments about the poor service as well.Food wise, we generally enjoyed most items, but looking at the pricing on the actual menu, I can say that not everything was of a quality that matched the pricing. Based on that, I would not bother with the salsa tasting (so small), coconut ceviche (delicious but small for price) or Empanada (generally flavorless, had so little filling it was mostly dough) again. That said, the Papas Bravas were delicious, the sauce was perfection. The Rajas Poblanas was rich, warm and had just the right amount of spice, which paired perfectly with the fresh corn and flour tortillas. Equally fantastic was the Quesabirra, they were loaded with flavorful tender brisket and cheese, the consumme I could have sipped right from the bowl. The dessert options were not on the regular menu, but we would have returned for the chocolate mousse if it was.As we are not cocktail people, the drink options were a disappointment - especially the wine side, which is setup to basically force you to purchase a whole bottle by pricing very limited single glass items super high, $27 for a 9oz glass of essentially house red (though I had I known we were going to be there so long, I maybe would have ordered a bottle haha)Overall, sadly the service, or lack there of, ruined the experience for us. We enjoyed the food overall, but the very slow no chalant service and the pricing vs. product will likely make sure we do not return.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 3
Service: 2
Yaina Diaz
I had a fascinating experience
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Conrad
Everything was great. I wish we could have tried more. We had the pork & pineapple, and a couple margaritas. Would recommend.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Lea Smith
Had dinner here with some friends and decided to get the 3 course menu and a daiquiri. It was a total of $63 before tip.The coconut ceviche was good, as well as the beef empanada. The salsa tasting and papas bravas, I feel was not worth it. The server was okay. she split our bill wrong so I ended up paying more than my share.I believe most people are interested in the interior design based on all the social media posts and it is very pretty from the front of the restaurant so try and get a table there.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 3
Service: 3
Recommended dishes: Birria Tacos, Coconut Ceviche
soufiane boukhabrine
Positives:- Staff is very friendly and helpful- Restaurant decor is very beautifulNegatives:- Food is very fresh but tastes just ok, nothing fantastic. Portions contain too much tortilla chips and not enough of the actual food.- Prices on the menu in the restaurant are more expensive than the prices advertised on their website. This should be fixed.- Music is way too loud that we got overwhelmed and couldn’t enjoy our meal properly and just wanted to leaveRecommendation:We go out quite often in Calgary and are not very hard to please, in our opinion this was a miss. Some very easy improvements could be made to make the experience more enjoyable: more actual food and less tortilla chips, fix menu prices on the website, reduce sound of the music
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 3
Service: 5
Mary Jane Leung
Tried this place with a friend for the annual YYC Exp. We had a bunch of salsas with taro and nacho chips, the coconut ceviche, patatas bravas, beef birria tacos which were so simple and filling. Dessert was 2 fried tostadas covered in cinnamon sugar with vegan coconut ice cream. It was delightful but I was only able to eat half of one tostada. So much food…the resto is beautiful and service is attentive plus the music was at a decent volume where we could still talk comfortably. Highly recommend!!!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
brandon fong
TLDR: A bit of a miss for me I must say.My group made a reservation for a large group multiple days prior, however it still took them almost ~15 minutes to get all the tables set up when we arrived at the designated time. We thought the ambience was nice and the interior was well decorated and felt very cozy, however the environment that the workers and servers provided us, was far from it.Some patrons of my group felt uncomfortable eating at the restaurant because it felt like the workers were constantly staring at our group, or just in general not in a very pleasant mood to serve.A few of my party members also had a few concerns about their food, one example of this was explicitly asking for the vegetarian option, however when the food arrived, they received the chicken counterpart instead. Being one of the last dishes received and the unwelcoming environment that we faced, we decided that we wouldn't bring the issue up as we didn't want to cause a scene or worsen workers' already bad moods.Another incident occurred when another one of my party members asked for the steak substitute of the chicharrón machete as he cannot eat the regular one, which was communicated to the worker. However, when the food arrived, the regular pork version was presented. But like I previously mentioned, due tho the environment we felt like we were in, we thought it was best to not voice our concern.As a side note, if you're planning on having a celebration or special event here and have a cake, please be aware that they do charge a $4.50 cake cutting fee per person. They brought some plates and dropped off the cake for us to cut by OURSELVES. Other than the candle, the plates they provided, and a few workers singing our friend a happy birthday song, everyone can come to agree it was not the $4.50 service that we anticipated. 20% mandatory gratuity for groups of 8 or larger does seem kinda steep but there's not much you can say about that honestly. Honestly, just can't believe we had to pay that cake cutting fee on top of that gratuity.Overall, I don't think our group will be coming back to this restaurant as we felt that the food was not worth the premium cost that came with it.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 3
Service: 3
John May
This dinner was my fifth meal of YYCEXP 2024.First Course - Coconut Ceviche / Salsa Tasting - The coconut ceviche (7.5/10) was the choice between these two. It's a light, tasty, unique appy that I would have again. The salsa tasting (6.5/10) was adequate, but grading on a curve with FF/NT versions doesn't quite stack up.Second Course - Rajas Poblanos - Just awesome; confit chicken is delicious, peppers and corn and creamy sauce all exactly right, while top tier tortillas seal the deal - 9/10 / Quesabirria - Of the birria tacos I've had in Calgary and elsewhere, this stacks up reasonably well but doesn't distinguish itself, consomme is good but not stellar - 7.5/10 / Papas Bravas - 8/10, cooked well, not greasy and a good sauce, this is the right side dish to get when I'm back next time / Potato Empanada - Good, but not spectacular; saved by the sauces - 7/10Third Course - La Dona - absolutely excellent mousse with unique presentation and the raspberry salt granita was exactly the right accompaniment; looks neat, tastes outstanding, would order again - 8.5/10 - Buñuelos - While the guava syrup was very tasty, just didn't love the crunchy texture on these or the oddness of the vegan ice cream; fine, but for an event menu, probably should have offered the churros instead - 6.5/10.Overall: This was a fantastic meal. Not everything was a home run, but nothing was a miss, and there were some real standouts, especially the Rajas Poblanos. Not only that, but Milpa does YYCExp right: taking star dishes off its normal menu for new patrons to try the place out and show off what they can do. It worked: in spite of strong competition from other good Calgary restaurants in this category, I will 100% be back.
Genuinely one of the most fun dining experiences I've had in a long time. Such friendly service, great vibe and beautiful setting. ✨
Mark Mazur
This was a great evening from start to finish. Our waiter was off the charts! He recommended our meal, starters to mains and he was so right. We had a party of five and shared everything. I would go back anytime!
Stopped in for dinner and I was blown away! The bartender is super friendly and she made me an amazing mescal margarita with infused habanero.I ordered the Tostada de Atun for an appetizer and the Chicharron Machete for the main course. The portions are large and so flavorful! I'll be back for sure.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Chicharron
Paolo Salazar
Had an amazing bday here. Think menu here is more unique and better than other dt mexican restaurants
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Jordan Ramey
I’m me of my favorite new restaurants we’ve tried in 2024. Excellent food, service, and cocktails!Dietary restrictions: Gluten friendly
This might be one of the nicest sinks in Calgary to pee in. The basin is very wide, deep, and accommodating, beginning right at the outer edge of the sink. It’s also very stylish and minimalist with that hidden drain and an almost brutalist angular structure. It’s low enough for even beginner sink pissers. The Mexican pop is delightful and the mirror is so tall you can admire yourself as you go! I would heartily recommend this restaurant for anyone interested in urinating in a sink.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
We visited Milpa in the final weekend of the YYCEXP and were very excited to give it a try. The space itself is pretty cool from the front, with the repeating teal/tiffany blue arches and lighting, it's an Instagram Photo Op in real time. We were greeted warmly and immediately felt like we were on vacation, with the music and general atmosphere of the space - initial impressions had us very excited.However, once sat, we were abandoned for close to 20 minutes. Plenty of staff walked past us, checked on tables all around, but we did not meet our server for some time... this would be the theme for the night. She was very friendly and warm, explained the concept of the menu and answered our questions - we placed basic drink orders, a 9oz glass of red wine and a bottle of beer, and made our selections from the preset YYCEXP menu. SLOW is the only thing I can say about the service for the remainder of the night. First courses came out about 20 minutes later (both cold dishes), before our drinks, which didn't arrive for another 10 min. Spacing of the food was strange, even for a shared plate model, which saw us waiting with food cooling in front of us often. My partner ordered a second beer mid way through and it took another 25-30 minutes to get that. When I booked the reservation, it noted they allow for 2 hours service for a group of 2 or 4, which SHOULD have been plenty of time... even after we asked for the bill, it was another 30 min before we got out of there. At least it was consistent, everyone around us was making comments about the poor service as well.Food wise, we generally enjoyed most items, but looking at the pricing on the actual menu, I can say that not everything was of a quality that matched the pricing. Based on that, I would not bother with the salsa tasting (so small), coconut ceviche (delicious but small for price) or Empanada (generally flavorless, had so little filling it was mostly dough) again. That said, the Papas Bravas were delicious, the sauce was perfection. The Rajas Poblanas was rich, warm and had just the right amount of spice, which paired perfectly with the fresh corn and flour tortillas. Equally fantastic was the Quesabirra, they were loaded with flavorful tender brisket and cheese, the consumme I could have sipped right from the bowl. The dessert options were not on the regular menu, but we would have returned for the chocolate mousse if it was.As we are not cocktail people, the drink options were a disappointment - especially the wine side, which is setup to basically force you to purchase a whole bottle by pricing very limited single glass items super high, $27 for a 9oz glass of essentially house red (though I had I known we were going to be there so long, I maybe would have ordered a bottle haha)Overall, sadly the service, or lack there of, ruined the experience for us. We enjoyed the food overall, but the very slow no chalant service and the pricing vs. product will likely make sure we do not return.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 3
Service: 2
I had a fascinating experience
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Everything was great. I wish we could have tried more. We had the pork & pineapple, and a couple margaritas. Would recommend.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Had dinner here with some friends and decided to get the 3 course menu and a daiquiri. It was a total of $63 before tip.The coconut ceviche was good, as well as the beef empanada. The salsa tasting and papas bravas, I feel was not worth it. The server was okay. she split our bill wrong so I ended up paying more than my share.I believe most people are interested in the interior design based on all the social media posts and it is very pretty from the front of the restaurant so try and get a table there.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 3
Service: 3
Recommended dishes: Birria Tacos, Coconut Ceviche
Positives:- Staff is very friendly and helpful- Restaurant decor is very beautifulNegatives:- Food is very fresh but tastes just ok, nothing fantastic. Portions contain too much tortilla chips and not enough of the actual food.- Prices on the menu in the restaurant are more expensive than the prices advertised on their website. This should be fixed.- Music is way too loud that we got overwhelmed and couldn’t enjoy our meal properly and just wanted to leaveRecommendation:We go out quite often in Calgary and are not very hard to please, in our opinion this was a miss. Some very easy improvements could be made to make the experience more enjoyable: more actual food and less tortilla chips, fix menu prices on the website, reduce sound of the music
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 3
Service: 5
Tried this place with a friend for the annual YYC Exp. We had a bunch of salsas with taro and nacho chips, the coconut ceviche, patatas bravas, beef birria tacos which were so simple and filling. Dessert was 2 fried tostadas covered in cinnamon sugar with vegan coconut ice cream. It was delightful but I was only able to eat half of one tostada. So much food…the resto is beautiful and service is attentive plus the music was at a decent volume where we could still talk comfortably. Highly recommend!!!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
TLDR: A bit of a miss for me I must say.My group made a reservation for a large group multiple days prior, however it still took them almost ~15 minutes to get all the tables set up when we arrived at the designated time. We thought the ambience was nice and the interior was well decorated and felt very cozy, however the environment that the workers and servers provided us, was far from it.Some patrons of my group felt uncomfortable eating at the restaurant because it felt like the workers were constantly staring at our group, or just in general not in a very pleasant mood to serve.A few of my party members also had a few concerns about their food, one example of this was explicitly asking for the vegetarian option, however when the food arrived, they received the chicken counterpart instead. Being one of the last dishes received and the unwelcoming environment that we faced, we decided that we wouldn't bring the issue up as we didn't want to cause a scene or worsen workers' already bad moods.Another incident occurred when another one of my party members asked for the steak substitute of the chicharrón machete as he cannot eat the regular one, which was communicated to the worker. However, when the food arrived, the regular pork version was presented. But like I previously mentioned, due tho the environment we felt like we were in, we thought it was best to not voice our concern.As a side note, if you're planning on having a celebration or special event here and have a cake, please be aware that they do charge a $4.50 cake cutting fee per person. They brought some plates and dropped off the cake for us to cut by OURSELVES. Other than the candle, the plates they provided, and a few workers singing our friend a happy birthday song, everyone can come to agree it was not the $4.50 service that we anticipated. 20% mandatory gratuity for groups of 8 or larger does seem kinda steep but there's not much you can say about that honestly. Honestly, just can't believe we had to pay that cake cutting fee on top of that gratuity.Overall, I don't think our group will be coming back to this restaurant as we felt that the food was not worth the premium cost that came with it.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 3
Service: 3
This dinner was my fifth meal of YYCEXP 2024.First Course - Coconut Ceviche / Salsa Tasting - The coconut ceviche (7.5/10) was the choice between these two. It's a light, tasty, unique appy that I would have again. The salsa tasting (6.5/10) was adequate, but grading on a curve with FF/NT versions doesn't quite stack up.Second Course - Rajas Poblanos - Just awesome; confit chicken is delicious, peppers and corn and creamy sauce all exactly right, while top tier tortillas seal the deal - 9/10 / Quesabirria - Of the birria tacos I've had in Calgary and elsewhere, this stacks up reasonably well but doesn't distinguish itself, consomme is good but not stellar - 7.5/10 / Papas Bravas - 8/10, cooked well, not greasy and a good sauce, this is the right side dish to get when I'm back next time / Potato Empanada - Good, but not spectacular; saved by the sauces - 7/10Third Course - La Dona - absolutely excellent mousse with unique presentation and the raspberry salt granita was exactly the right accompaniment; looks neat, tastes outstanding, would order again - 8.5/10 - Buñuelos - While the guava syrup was very tasty, just didn't love the crunchy texture on these or the oddness of the vegan ice cream; fine, but for an event menu, probably should have offered the churros instead - 6.5/10.Overall: This was a fantastic meal. Not everything was a home run, but nothing was a miss, and there were some real standouts, especially the Rajas Poblanos. Not only that, but Milpa does YYCExp right: taking star dishes off its normal menu for new patrons to try the place out and show off what they can do. It worked: in spite of strong competition from other good Calgary restaurants in this category, I will 100% be back.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 5
Service: 3
Get the Rajas Poblanos!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 4
Service: 4
Recommended dishes: Rajas Poblanos
Restaurantji Recommends
Genuinely one of the most fun dining experiences I've had in a long time. Such friendly service, great vibe and beautiful setting. ✨
This was a great evening from start to finish. Our waiter was off the charts! He recommended our meal, starters to mains and he was so right. We had a party of five and shared everything. I would go back anytime!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Potatoes Bravas, Papas Bravas and Salsa Tasting, Birria Tacos, Coconut Ceviche
Stopped in for dinner and I was blown away! The bartender is super friendly and she made me an amazing mescal margarita with infused habanero.I ordered the Tostada de Atun for an appetizer and the Chicharron Machete for the main course. The portions are large and so flavorful! I'll be back for sure.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Chicharron
Had an amazing bday here. Think menu here is more unique and better than other dt mexican restaurants
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
I’m me of my favorite new restaurants we’ve tried in 2024. Excellent food, service, and cocktails!Dietary restrictions: Gluten friendly
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Birria Tacos