After a decade of talking about opening their own restaurant, Calgary couple James Waters and Christina Mah finally made it happen. James was running Diner Deluxe and Christina was managing Raw Bar, but they were on the hunt for a restaurant to open as their own.
“We'd always talked about wanting to own a restaurant, but first we had to learn everything about the business,” James says. “We decided to start diving in so we looked heavily for a restaurant, but couldn’t find anything.” James and Christina were ready to put their idea on the back burner, but as fate would have it they were soon approached about buying in as general managing partners of the former location of Home Tasting Room. They happily agreed and after a short six weeks of renovations they reopened on Apr. 1, 2016, as Klein / Harris.
Klein / Harris is a casual-upscale eatery and lounge specializing in farm-to-table Canadian cuisine. The restaurant has a menu consisting entirely of Canadian-sourced ingredients along with an adventurous cocktail list of classic staples and Canadian-inspired creations. “I wanted to do something that would help Calgary and represent us as being Calgarian,” James explains. “By doing all Canadian ingredients we want to keep the money out here. We want to support anyone who is doing stuff in culinary or food." At the time when James and Christina opened Klein / Harris, Calgary was really starting to feel the pinch of the economic downturn. So the couple (who are both born and raised Calgarians) decided to use their passion for food and drinks to bolster the local economy.
Think your friends might be familiar with this business? Ask your friends on Facebook to see what they think.
Home Tasting Room is a wine-centric restaurant serving fresh, sustainable food. The flourless chocolate torte is made of white chocolate and served with a beet-and-lime ganache. Additional desserts include strawberry shortcake and a daily crème brûlée. Pair these with port and dessert wines.
View this Smart ListDuck appears a couple of times on Klein/Harris’s modern menu: try it smoked with apples and caramelized onions or go for a duck breast with added shredded leg meat and veggies. Or stop in for happy hour for a special on a bucket of duck wings – think chicken wings, but meatier and more indulgent.
View this Smart ListBilled as a wine-centric restaurant, Home Tasting Room offers your standard burgers, steaks and salad, but things get really interesting with its tasting plates. Designed to be shared (a perfect way to break the ice), adventurous business lunchers can test out the Korean spiced beef tartar or sweetbread tacos or stick to a colleague-pleasing cheese or charcuterie plate.
View this Smart List