A recent addition to the 17th Avenue Southwest dining scene, Cleaver dispels the notion that Irish cuisine is all about meat and potatoes served in quaint, wooden pubs and washed down with pints of Guinness. Owners Barbara Spain and Alex Rivera, recent arrivals from Dublin, are charming and urbane.
As the restaurant’s name suggests, there is meat. It is prominently featured in the cheekily titled Cock n’ Bull section of its menu. This features a 42-ounce, bone-in rib eye that’s meant to be shared. There’s also the cock for two, a chicken served with its claws still attached and dangling above a bowl full of its gravy and stuffing. Cleaver also serves Irish-style breads, baked in-house, that are dense and nutty. Also of the Old Country, weekend brunch consists of full Irish breakfast. Barbara is intent on making common Irish foods with an elevated twist. Many of the single-serving items on the menu feature ingredients such as chili oil, coriander and jalapeño peppers.
“I’m trying not to be influenced by Calgary food, staying with our European style. I’ve been using black pudding with scallops and getting rave reviews, though people are scared to eat those kind of things here.“ She also points to the unlikely popularity of the panko-coated bone marrow, saying that while it’s a common dish in Europe, here, not so much. But all is not Irish eccentricity. There are fusion touches in the lamb chops with korma dip, pan seared tuna with spice and pineapple as well as the tempura kale with ginger dip that has Cleaver’s rapidly growing clientele raving.
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Cleaver offers a varied menu of small plates that are great for sharing, but its signature dish is probably The Cock, a whole chicken, head included, served with stuffing bread sauce and fries. The menu also includes chef-driven takes on nose-to-tail items like black pudding, beef cheeks and bone marrow.
View this Smart ListHead to Cleaver on 17th Avenue Southwest and order the house mojito – the Culture Shock, featuring rum, mint, lime and raspberries – and settle in for a read of the highly entertaining menu. A delicious recommended pairing with this top-notch drink is the slider trio.
View this Smart ListWith all of the creative small plates on this hip Irish-inspired restaurant’s menu, it almost feels silly to “waste” a dish on an order of fries, but its double-dipped duck fat fries with Parmesan and truffles are not your typical frites. Make sure you do, however, save some room for one (or two) of Cleaver’s signature cocktails.
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