What They're Saying About Us ...

"Edmonton has the best restaurant in Canada, the Hardware Grill. The room is Frasier-and-Niles chic, but the lack of pretension is pure Martin Crane."
Heather Mallick, The Globe and Mail, August 4, 2001.

"If I were going to single out one guy for doing exemplary service to revive downtown, I would pick hardware grills festive mover, Larry Stewart. In a little over six years he and his many dedicated helpers have earned this facility’s reputation as the stand-alone restaurant king of downtown.__ ..the hardware grill is an enormous success with a reputation that travels far beyond the city or province.
Tom Elsworthy Edmonton Sun November 2002

"The Hardware Grill is spacious, comfortable and thoroughly modern. The service is everything it should be…The menu is imaginative, the idiom contemporary, the effects easy to understand and enjoy… The list of table wines is fabulous, mixing California with France and Italy with easy grace."
Where to Eat in Canada, 2002-2003 guide, Oberon Press.

"Elegance, adventure at superb Hardware Grill" ".....right now, right at this moment, the Hardware Grill is the best restaurant in town". "Through it all, the service was threaded as perfectly as an Italian stitch. I can't think of another spot that so effortlessly juggles elegance and adventure."
Restaurant review by Wayne Moriarty, Edmonton Journal, February 18, 2000.
 
"The signature filet of Angus beef, tall and tender, topped with melted goat cheese in a shiitake-port reduction, is superb."
Anne Suche on the West's 10 Top City Restaurants, Western Living, October 1999.

"Once it was a hardware store, today it wins the Wine Spectator Award of Excellence. A handsome room, renowned for seasonal Canadian cuisine like applewood smoked salmon, truffled potato perogies and Smoky Lake bison — how the west really was won."
Readers' Top 100 Restaurants, EnRoute Dining Guide 1998. Prairie Regional Winner

"When Hardware Grill opened its just about a year ago. foodies in Edmonton said a silent prayer of thanks. That's because chef and owner Larry Stewart is recognized as being one of the most talented chef's in Alberta. This alone sets great expectations for the Hardware Grill, and it hasn't disappointed. Stewart's philosophy is simple, community and region-based. Take a look at how the regional food cultures developed in Europe and you will see the same concept duplicated at the Hardware Grill. Local family ownership, products, artistry and décor intertwine to create a unique dining experience."
Restaurant review by Phil Joy, The Edmonton Sun, October 1, 1997.

"Where hammers and nails once ruled, now knives and forks await. Located on the site of an old hardware store, Edmonton’s Hardware Grill offers great modern food in a vintage location. Edmonton’s restaurant scene is abuzz with reports on newcomer [hardware grill] on Jasper Avenue, an imaginatively refurbished room in what was once the W.W. Arcade hardware store. The Grill has been doing spectacular business since day one, and from the first bite, it’s easy to taste why. Nostalgia never tasted so good."
Curtis Gillespie for Western Living, "Beyond Nuts and Bolts," March 1997

"This is my adopted home, and we've tried to incorporate many of the ideas we've picked up from around the world without forgetting where we are. The focus is on local, whether it's local artists, local trades and the freshest ingredients. We try to buy everything here, in fact. Why sell strawberries when they are out of season? We make a compote with saskatoons and rhubarb instead. It only makes sense [says Larry Stewart]. And based on my visit for lunch the other day (several days before, let it be said, I met the Stewarts), the quality, creative spirit, purity of flavors and attention to detail shone brightly."
Alan Kellogg for The Edmonton Journal "City Landmark finally lands a tenant with great taste" February, 1997

"We sampled three selections from the appetizer and salad list and we are eager to award five spoons (out of five) for creativity, preparation and presentation. Our final appetizer, a mushroom ragout in gorgonzola sauce was, again, a thrill. With flattering apologies to the appropriate eateries, the Hardware Grill appetizer show is the best and most exclusive in our town, possibly the province. While we sipped on a bottle of Tavernelle from Castelli di banfi (1985), we were in a heightened state from which to appreciate our entrees - beef tenderloin topped with goat's cheese and a smoked chicken risotto with porcini mushrooms and sun-dried tomatoes in a rich sauce. Top marks for both."
Tom Elsworthy, The Edmonton Sun "Hardware Grill has the Thrills"