Ox & Angela

This is a great Spanish tapas place. Some of the food is a little adventurous, so it is not for the average Calgary diner. You order many small dishes to share. I recommend the paella. There is a good amount of vegetarian choices, which makes my wife happy.

Love the ambiance at this place. It’s a perfect date spot. Our server was incredibly nice and attentive. Our cocktails were delicious. The food was pretty good overall although there were some things I probably would not try again. It is a bit pricey, but such is the case with most tapas restaurants.

Excellent, authentic Spanish food.
I went to Ox & Angela for brunch on a recent visit to Calgary and was so impressed that I brought my friend back for dinner the same night. Both meals were fantastic, as were the cocktails and the service.
Brunch was eggs baked in tomato sauce with cheese curds and crispy serrano ham served with sourdough toast.
Dinner was the «Spanish Table»: 10 courses of tapas — a great value at $ 45. Will definitely be heading back next time I’m in town.

The bovine must be a significant contributor to a business to receive top billing over poor Angela. The Ox could be a dude I guess. There are celebrities named after stones, liquid fuel, and money, so why not. Ox & Angela (which could be compressed to O&A…but I never will) is a Spanish tapas restaurant balancing the knife of edge of what defines tapas. Don’t get me wrong, it’s good, and my crystal ball foretells an extremely positive review, but I adhere to the tradition demanding a tapas restaurant list dozens upon dozens of options for people to pull from. I’ve been to some with literally sixty options.
Tapas must be difficult for a restaurant to offer given the number of options required. You have to support a large enough staff to handle the orders, or else freeze everything beforehand, a horrid idea leading my preference to limited tapas over a menu offering the world stuck in an ice age. That being said, a successful restaurant in a town like Calgary shouldn’t have that problem. Ox & Angela offers less than thirty options that can be classed as actual tapas. Not bad, could be more, but far beyond some of the insults to the name I’ve been to. A local business in my hometown only features tapas in title only, renaming the appetizers page. A disgrace. Ox & Angela is birthed from Mary’s womb in comparison. However, to enjoy the full experience, the suggestion is to order the «The Spanish Table», which is, let’s be honest, actually a chef’s menu – a set list of small plates (about ten). At $ 45 per person, such a menu is a remarkable deal. I’ve spent triple that on some tasting menus.
The décor is charming, with a wall splitting the establishment. I love restaurants that do this – it increases intimacy, but more importantly, it greatly decreases sound pollution. I’ve been in colossal restaurants where one cannot hear friends across a table. Ox & Angela takes it one step further by altering the décor in each half, leading me to think one side is the Ox while the other side is the Angela. I would wager I was on the Angela side… it looked more feminine.
There were three of us that day, a day where the The Spanish Table was $ 10 off. Given its two person minimum, it became the obvious choice. Each course was shared, and of course, it had to open with olives, followed by Persian dates wrapped with serrano ham and stuffed with manchego cheese, walnuts, and coated in pomegranate molasses. Sharing that plate was dry cured Spanish serrano ham. Then came the (apparently) famous croquettes with salt cod, potato allioli (not a spelling mistake, the Spaniards add an «L») and chili oil. So far, so good. What was elaborately described as toasted pan rustica with crushed tomatoes, garlic, and extra virgin olive oil was really a mouthful for bruschetta. After that was a personal favorite, albacore tuna with tomato relish and crispy capers. It remained a favorite for about three minutes, followed by something that shouldn’t have been amazing but was – ensalada escalivada – charred marinated vegetables, whipped goat cheese, and anchovies. Yes, anchovies. After which, we had a butter lettuce salad with toasted walnuts, apple, manchego cheese, and a sherry vinaigrette.
Bored yet? Not I. Patatas Bravas – crispy fried baby potatoes, something I’m going to replicate the first chance I get. It was followed by the only course I was not a fan of – grilled spring onions on romesco sauce. But redemption came moments with grilled hanger steak with browned mushrooms, olorosso sherry butter, and pickled onions. We had room for dessert, so while one of us had the flan, the rest had churros in chocolate sauce.
By the way, I just love saying flan. Flan, flan, flan.
Along with drinks, the bill came to around $ 150, pretty much a bargain in my book. Ox & Angela is a legitimate score. The food is fantastic, sublime and astounding. I immediately wanted to return. However, I would not order the «The Spanish Table» again, as that menu is fixed. I would spice it up with other options, or better still, challenge the chef (whose name is listed on menu) to create something entirely original. Given the selection, I bet he would take up the task. Ox & Angela makes virtually no mistakes and knocks everything else out of the park.
Flan, Flan, Flan…
Food: ⁵⁄₅
Service: ⁵⁄₅
Presentation: ⁵⁄₅
Value: ⁵⁄₅
Recommendation: ⁵⁄₅

A great place to get some sangria! Doesn’t matter if you like red or white, both are delicious. Full of fruit, wine, and liquor; it goes down smooth and one glass and you can start to feel nice and relaxed. I would recommend the picture though, because one isn’t enough. I’ve heard that in the summer that they come out with a rosé sangria that has a nice rosé wine, cava, and lemon and orange liquor. Can’t wait to come back to try that one on the patio.
The wait staff is incredibly friendly. They went out of their way to make sure everything was a great meal, or in this case, drinks. It’s also a bit lower key than the areas around; a nice change of pace from the normal 17^th Ave experience.

Fantastic food and service but needs a tiny but more light. we ended up using our phones for more light so we could actually read the menu.
The tapas are fantastic and really the stars of the menu. So amazing.

One of the things I crave from time to time is paella. I’ve only ever had it while I’ve traveled, but the wonderful flavors of saffron, spices and seafood infused rice is amazing. I was really excited to learn that they have it at O&A, along with refreshing sangria! When we sat down, we immediately ordered the paella (as it does note on the menu to allow time). We also ordered pan seared scallops, marinated beets, manilla steamed clams, pan roasted duck breast and the ZFC.
That atmosphere here is nice and cozy, Spanish influenced stone walls and lit by the glow of candle light.
If I didn’t already love Spanish food, I definitely did after dining at O&A. Everything was so delicious, including the churros and the flan we got to end our meal.

We’ve had brunch and lunch here a number of times and always leave satisfied. Delicious food selection and very cool ambience. Make sure you aren’t in a rush if you’re ordering the paella, or just order it straight away once seated, because it does take awhile to prepare.
Works nicely for larger parties. We look forward to returning for dinner next time!

I’ve been twice to Ox & Angela now. The second time didn’t impress me all that much. We were a group of 10. The service was mediocre. I understand tapas are supposed to be «small» but I found it was hard to justify only that much food for such a high price. I was very excited to try the paella but was so disappointed that upon first bite, it seemed as if the chef had not tasted it prior to it be served. Can you say SALTY?! So much salt. Overload. It was a disaster in my mouth. Completely ruined the taste of the paella. The only thing I can say that I love are the patatas bravas, otherwise go spend your money somewhere else where you can actually see the people you are dining with — too dark in there!

The patatas de la mañana was literally a giant bowl of potatoes, the sauce had a strong BBQ taste and over powered the pork belly, egg, and everything else that was in it. I was so excited to taste the fried pork belly but unfortunately it was more like bacon bits. I’m a huge fan of pork belly and it was definitely lost in this dish. This tasted like what should have been a side dish served with a serving of meat, but it was instead served in a big bowl. Personally not to my liking.

Exceptional experience.
Each dish we ordered was unique in its own way. We couldn’t wait to see what would come out next.
The service was wonderful — there was even a wedding party (testament to the quality of the restaurant, if you ask me) going on while we were there, and our server still was attentive.
Would absolutely go back!

Awesome wine and food. Sat at the bar and the staff was super friendly and accommodating. Was there with two friends visiting from Louisiana. I’m vegan– my friends are not– and they did a couple of dishes just for me.

A friend and I are visiting from California and decided to have dinner in this awesome little spot. As it was valentine’s day the only available spots were the bar and we were sat immediately. We were assisted by Taylor and his partner behind the bar was Steven. Both were amazing, attentive, and excellent bartenders. The food was amazing and we have the absolute best time. The service was what made this place over the top. Just wonderful people, and Taylor offered us suggestions around Calgary for our stay and some advice for our trip to the Saddledome the following day as we were here to see some hockey. :)
A big thank you to them and the wonderful chef. You guys were awesome.

Been here several times always great service! Went here for breakfast the other day fantastic eggs Benedict tons of flavour ! Would definitely recommend and who doesn’t like Sangria with breakfast
For dinner the scallops are to die for the gianbino sauce is authentic definitely reminds me of my childhood!

Brunch was pretty good… at least for 2 of 3 diners in our party. The more «classic» breakfast orders were delicious. Eggs were «fried» to perfection and the accompanying hash was an original take on a breakfast staple. Unfortunately, the supposedly more deeply Spanish inspired dish, the «paella-​like breakfast noodle», promoted by our server, was disappointing. To us, this noodle dish seemed like a mish-​mash of cheap ingredients one could readily find in their pantry and freezer at home — think $ 1/​bag Asian vermicelli noodles, frozen green peas, overcooked sausage and a dollop of random white sauce thrown together in a skillet and baked by an inebriated person.
Because I was one of the lucky ones to have completely enjoyed my order, I would dine again at Ox & Angela. I can’t say the same for my brunch buddy who ordered the noodle dish, however.

Pretty chill spot, big space but on the kitchen side feels very cozy. Furniture was odd, chairs were similar to ones I sat in through grade school. Food selection is nice, lots of tapas selections and the tasting for two is offered at a good price. Ended up getting a bunch of plates with work colleagues: fried artichokes (great), fried cheese (also very good), duck (good portion, perfectly cooked) and the dates are a can’t miss. For desert we shared the flan which was very tasty, and the churros with chocolate were delicious but the size was disappointing (good portion, just that each churro was too small). I would come again, but not before I went back to their sister restaurant Native Tongue– much better food at similar prices.
I would come back, tough to compare to the real deal tapas I had the fortune of having in San Sebastian, Spain just a month prior. This is probably the closest you will come to that food in Calgary.

The cocktails are absolutely fantastic!!!
Great ambience… food meh! Nothing to write home about! They need to get a chef from Spain who knows what real paella is & teach them how to cook it.

I’ve been a few times, and each time it has exceeded my expectations!
Tapas have a notion of tiny things that leave one hungry, but not here! Portions are made for sharing, each dish was explained as it appeared on the table, and they seemed to time it all so that there was always a new dish but not too many plates on the table. and they even added an extra meat ball so that the 4 of us could have 1 each!
Very enjoyable time, worked out to about 60 per person, that includes a pitcher of sangria plus one cocktail each so all in all it is a great deal for the quality of the dining.
I’ve also had their brunch set menu, it was 25 per person, but SO much food we couldn’t finish it all.
I recommend the potatas bravas, meat balls, and stuffed dates!

This is a brunch review…
Excellent ruffian Spanish Tapas hangout that meets all my pet peeves that high end restaurants in Calgary normally miss; hotel silver, well appointed fixtures, thick cloth napkins and heavy glass.
The selection is all original with a choice between a fixed tapas fare or entrees. Sharing two of the entrees the dishes were came out hot, well presented and seasoned. The French press coffee had the trademark aroma of Rosso roasted beans. The waitress was very friendly, well versed in the menu and making rexcomendations based on palate preferences.
Looking forward to trying Ox and Angela for dinner soon!

Their Big Taste fare is simple but full of complex favour. It’s perfect of a couple of dieters not wanted to stuff their bellies full but give their palate a full circus experience.
Dates wrapped in bacon, Orrechette in sauce, shishito peppers, Ox and Angela brought the things I can only dream about while browsing through the spanish cookbooks found in the city library.
Pattatas, you think there’s only so much you can do with PO-​TA-​TOES
Boil em, mash em, stick em in a stew. But I the combination of fried, the spices,
the refreshing touch of sour cream
I’m not like some people who get apprehensive about ordering clams/​oysters
for fear of getting the collywobbles. I SHOULD be careful but in a place like
Ox, I’m sure the last mistake they’ll make is give you bad clams. Anyways their clams is amazing and I ordered it outside of the Big Taste menu and despite the wide-​eyed reaction from our waiter I took him up to the challenge.
Ox and Angela is on top of Calgary’s Tapas game. The menu is well done and I like how it’s organized not just by price, but how dense/​light the dish will be.