Edmonton has an incredibly vibrant food scene, but this is far from being a new thing. The city has had fantastic restaurants serving everything from sushi to steak for decades. To celebrate these long-running favourites, WHERE Edmonton Magazine has compiled this list of 20 spots that have been serving delicious dishes to guests for more than 20 years!
BARB AND ERNIE’S OLD COUNTRY INN
date opened: 1975
type of food: German
signature dish: Eggs Benedict
location: 9906-72 Ave., 780-433-3242
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Barb and Ernie’s Old Country Inn has gained a reputation for home-style cooking and a quaint atmosphere. With over 200 breakfast options to choose from (including their renowned Eggs Benedict), it’s a great place to start your morning. Find it hard to settle on just one German specialty? Try out their German Buffet on Saturday or Sunday and feast on German sausages, red cabbage, sauerkraut, spatzle, and more! A family business, Barb and Ernie retired in 2011, passing on the reins to their eldest son and his wife, Thomas and Charlene Feuchter. A sample of their proud restaurant and family history can be read on the front of their menus, connecting every diner to the restaurant and its story. —Georgia Ashworth
HIGHLEVEL DINER
date opened: 1982
type of food: Casual Albertan
signature dish: Cinnamon Buns
location: 10912-88 Ave., 780-433-0993
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The Highlevel Diner has been a staple of the Garneau area for over 30 years, providing a warm, inviting environment to enjoy fresh and wholesome food. The diner has been committed to using food from local producers, long before it was easy to do so, and takes pride in supporting sustainable farming practices. Their cinnamon buns have won the Best Cinnamon Bun in the City Contest every time it has been run, and their famed Ural Burger has been satisfying hungry customers for more than 25 years. As you bite into their hearty, healthy food, you can admire featured artwork from local artists. Watch out this September and October for the works of Bonnie Wozniak and Linda McEachern. —G.A.
MANOR BISTRO
date opened: 1993
type of food: French Bistro
signature dish: Nasi Goreng
location: 10109-125 St., 780-482-7577
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Tucked into a stunning historic home, everything at this cozy spot — from the bread to the pâté — is made in-house from scratch. Chef Cyrilles has been with the restaurant for more than 20 years and though he is classically French trained, he also takes inspiration for his dishes from his Dutch roots. Take for example the Indonesian-inspired Nasi Goreng (the restaurant’s most popular and signature dish). It would seem odd for a European Bistro to serve a spicy, somewhat exotic dish, but because Indonesia was a colony of the Netherlands, it is a dish you would commonly find in Holland today. —Lindsay Shapka
MIKADO
date opened: 1972
type of food: Japanese
signature dish: Dragon Eyes Roll
location: 10350-109 St., 780-425-8096
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The first Japanese restaurant in Edmonton, Mikado has been serving its appetizing and authentic rolls and dishes for over forty years. Owner David Okumiya is incredibly amiable with his customers and knows many by name, having served several generations of the same family. He says he always listens to their feedback and has learnt the reason most keep coming back is for the restaurant’s consistent quality. The quality is kept top-notch with fresh ingredients flown in weekly from all over the world: Tsukiji, Japan (the world’s largest fish market), California, Nova Scotia, and the B.C. Coast. Start your meal here with any of the tasty rolls, and follow them with the slow-grilled Alaskan Black Cod, which is cooked on a genuine Robata grill imported from Japan. —Matthew Stepanic
SORRENTINO’S
date opened: 1986
type of food: Italian
signature dish: Cannelloni
location: 10844-95 St., 780-425-0960
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Carmelo Rago has built himself an empire of Italian restaurants throughout the city, from his classic Sorrentino’s Italian restaurants and upscale Bistecca Italian Steakhouse and Wine Bar, to the Caffè Sorrentino and his new contemporary Buco Pizzeria+Vino. He’s succeeded, he says, because of a great team and paying attention to his customers. He opened his first restaurant, Sorrento, in 1979 and named it after the area his family was born. The company name is a spin on that first restaurant’s and means a smaller Sorrento. All of the Sorrentino’s Restaurant Group’s restaurants serve unique but complex dishes, and we recommend the most popular Cannelloni dish or the Butternut Squash Ravioli, with a spicy garam masala cream reduction and ricotta cheese. —M.S.
For the complete list of restaurants from WHERE Edmonton Magazine, visit the website!
