Characters Fine DiningHad the beef tartar, per usualHad the beef tartar, per usual it was amazing. I really liked the new presentation of it too! The calamari is the best I have ever eaten (I have sampled a lot). I also enjoyed the fresh made pasta, with garlic, basil, and olive oil. I will always come for more tantalizing experiences!!9/4/2013 12:00:00 AMWhen outstanding food andWhen outstanding food and service are as consistent as it is at Characters, you begin to look at the more subtle aspects of fine dining. One of these is the plating of the dishes. I believe the only boring, plain white, circular plates are the bread ones. To give you an example, when I ordered the T-bone steak it came to me on the most original dish I had ever seen; a wooden cutting board. It's details like this that puts Characters in a league of its own for fine dining in Edmonton.9/2/2013 12:00:00 AMGreat Service!It was my best friends birthday and Characters really went out of its way to make it special! The decorations and birthday sweets were very thoughtful. They had great service and the food was very well presented.6/11/2013 12:00:00 AMI love it when CharactersI love it when Characters releases their new menu and I was lucky enough to have my reservation fall on such a day. To my extreme excitement, my eyes were immediately drawn to the appetizer; my favorite when I'm dining in Las Vegas, the cold shellfish platter! To have this available in Edmonton is truly a dream come true. It says that it is meant for two people, but the table of four of us shared it along with appetizers of our own and were still okay with ordering entrées. I have to admit that we did have to "doggie bag" some of our entrée so that we had room for dessert, but it was well worth it. I am going to have a lot of fun trying everything on the new summer evening menu.6/11/2013 12:00:00 AMWhat a wonderful evening.This place is once of the BEST restaurant in town.6/7/2013 12:00:00 AMI was sad to see then lobsterI was sad to see then lobster month had passed, but was both surprised and intrigued by their choice to have an entire month of specials dedicated to my favorite vegetable asparagus. I started with the asparagus soup which was delicious. For my entrée I have the special which was beef tenderloin with the béarnaise sauce, accompanied by fingerling potatoes and asparagus. Truly a wonderful experience!6/4/2013 12:00:00 AMAbsolutely top notch in everyAbsolutely top notch in every way! It's a real pleasure to go to a restaurant and receive impeccable service and delicious food. I will be going back very soon!5/30/2013 12:00:00 AMA group of us decided to checkA group of us decided to check out Characters because we had heard great things about the food, service, and all-around dining experience. I can honestly say that it is my new favorite restaurant in Edmonton. I love the originality of some of the dishes, but also a selection of more traditional items for those who aren't as adventurous as me. Our server was fantastic and extremely knowledgeable of all of the menu items and I love the fact that it was an open kitchen so we could see our meal being prepared. I highly recommend trying Characters for yourself.5/23/2013 12:00:00 AMFollow on Twitter and Facebook!From the restaurant social media updates I knew that it was lobster month, so it gave me one more reason to go. The lobster special for the day was a wonderful citrus lobster salad with sea asparagus, which was a combination I was not familiar with, but loved. It was very fresh, but not too filling and was the perfect starter for my entrée selection. For that, I continued with the lobster theme and had the lobster spaghetti. It was also very delicious and had a little bit of spice to it which was very nice. For dessert, I was extremely old from my meal, so I chose the dessert sampler which was a wonderful little chocolate cinnamon bun. It was the perfect size to give me that sweet kick without needing a wheelchair to roll me out.5/14/2013 12:00:00 AMFrom social media I new thatFrom social media I new that it was lobster month, which gave me yet another reason to go to my favorite fine dining restaurant. The daily special was a citrus lobster salad with sea aspagus. It was very fresh and the perfect size leading into the next course. To continue with the theme I went with the lobster spaghetti. I loved that it had a little spice, but not so much that it took over the other flavors. I was quite full, but was still craving something sweet, so I went with the desert sampler. It was a chocolate cinnamon bun that was small enough to put down in three bites. The perfect finale to a wonderful dining experience.5/14/2013 12:00:00 AMThrough social media I knewThrough social media I knew that it was lobster month, so it gave me one more reason to go to my favorite fine dining restaurant. The daily special was a citrus lobster salad with sea asparagus. It was very fresh and the perfect size for an appetizer. To continuing the theme I had the lobster spaghetti is my entrée. I love the fact that it had a little bit of spice, but not too much so that it overpowered all of the other flavors. After everything I was quite full, but still was craving something sweet so I went with the dessert sampler. It was a little chocolate cinnamon bun that I was able to take down in just a few bites; the perfect ending to a great dining experience.5/14/2013 12:00:00 AMFine dining DOES exist in Edmonton!Wonderful food - amazing service...does it cost? YES...it's expensive but it's not something you do every day.5/4/2013 12:00:00 AMWe went to Characters forWe went to Characters for our anniversary and everything was excellent. We are planning to go back soon,5/3/2013 12:00:00 AMNew menu day is my favoriteNew menu day is my favorite day to go to Characters, not only for the different menu items, but also to watch head chef Shonn work his magic in the kitchen. The best way that I could describe this would be watching Yoda train his Jedi's in the arts of the force. The new dishes were fantastic and very tasty and I love the idea of the sampler on the dessert menu, because most of the time I am too stuffed to eat a full serving of dessert. The service was outstanding as usual and I'm looking forward to my next visit.5/2/2013 12:00:00 AMWonderful food, comfortableThis is one of my favorite lunch and romantic dinner restaurants. The warm spinach salad is unique in all of Edmonton - add prawns. It is interesting to be able to see the wonderful dishes come out of the kitchen. Busy and yet quiet and organized.5/1/2013 12:00:00 AMExcellent; celiac friendlyWe absolutely loved Characters. From the well-thought-out menu through the classy ambiance and good service, the evening out was enjoyed from start to finish. My baby octopus salad was delightful and the venison was succulent. My mother is celiac, and they were very careful to tailor her choices to be food safe. She enjoyed the lamb very much, and her salad was delicious as well. We each had a dessert, and were so very full. I can't say enough about how excellent our experience was.3/4/2013 12:00:00 AMI'm craving the french fries!In reading some of these reviews, I feel it is important to me to come to the restaurant's defense because of my experiences. I don't understand why people complain about the complementary gourmet french fries with black bean sauce. In speaking with the owner and head chef, he stated that a lot of his customers are requesting gluten-free items. For me gluten-free doesn't matter, but I would much rather have some hot and delicious french fries than stale cold bread any day.
A quick review of my meal, from appetizer to desert, was fantastic.
I'm looking forward to visiting Characters again soon, I'm craving the french fries!1/3/2013 12:00:00 AMMerry ChristmasI was in charge of booking our company's Christmas party and Characters was my first choice. They were able to accommodate a group of 40 of us in a wonderfully set up private room. We were able to choose from a great variety set menu and the prices reflected the options we picked. The best part of that was that there were no bad choices, so everyone in the group left happy. The service was also top-notch, despite the restaurant being packed. I am really looking forward to having next year's party here again, and I know to book early.11/12/2012 12:00:00 AM