Another pizza place has thrown its pie into the dining ring, but this one has some Italian street cred.

LDV Pizza Bar is above La Dolce Vita where chef Rocco Cosentino has been cooking authentic Italian dishes for decades. Upstairs, his son Rocco Jr. went the casual route with a pub where a wood-fired oven pumps out perfect pies that he learned to make in Italy. While pizza is the main attraction, you can skip the slice and order from homemade pasta, oven baked whole trout or rotisserie beef striploin. —Jaelyn Molyneux

LDV Pizza Bar, 916 First Ave. N.E., Calgary, 403-263-5999, www.ldvpizzabar.com

Bigger might better for Petite Restaurant and Lounge.

While its former location was cozy with just a handful of tables, its new space is all the better for feeding friends. At any given time there could be 190 people noshing on lobster ravioli and beef tartare and that’s just to start. Chef Jared Alvey’s menu has mains that pair sable fish with pork belly and duck breast with butternut squash risotto. It’s a line up that makes for fancy feasting in a space built for casual chatter among friends.

Did I mention there’s sticky toffee pudding? —Jaelyn Molyneux

Petite Restaurant and Lounge, 344 17 Ave. S.W., Calgary, 403-452-5350, www.petiterestaurant.ca

If you build it, we will come and eat.

The renovation dust has settled at the Community Natural Foods 10th Street location and from the sawing in hammering the Community Café has emerged. In keeping with the grocery store's nearly 35-year tradition, the café takes organic, all-natural ingredients and whips them into ready-to-serve meals. The wood-fired pizza oven cranks out pies sold by the slice. There’s a build-your–own burrito counter, a smoothie station and a salad bar with all the fixings. Hot entrees include artichoke lasagna and butter chicken, all of which can be packed to go or eaten in at the café’s smattering of tables.

Letting someone else do the cooking just moved to the top of our grocery list. —Jaelyn Molyneux

Community Natural Foods, 1304 10 Ave. S.W., Calgary, 403-930-6363, www.communitynaturalfoods.com

The patio must be pretty, pleasant, popular and playful.

Latitude 53
Rain or shine, this contemporary downtown art gallery is throwing unmatched rooftop patio soirees every Thursday evening until August 18 alongside a rotation of incubator artists and fresh DJ’s.

 Latitude 53, 10248-106 St., Edmonton, 780-423-5353, www.latitude53.org


Urban Diner
Just off 124th Street, stroll on over for brunch, lunch or dinner on a private, muraled, garden-style patio and you’ll feel like you’re holidaying in 1950s' Europe.

 Urban Diner, 12427-102 Ave. NW, Edmonton, 780-488-7274, www.urbandiner.com


Packrat Louie
Nestled in the heart of Old Strathcona, don’t let the squeals from their Patio Pig Roast ($60) fool you. This classy place is elegance personified. 

Packrat Louie, 10335-83 Ave., Old Strathcona, Edmonton, 780-433-0123, www.packratlouie.com


Leva Café & Bar
Quaint and set in the old Garneau District, here’s where the best Italian cappuccinos, pizzas and gelatos lull patio tenants into summer comas. Look for the yellow umbrellas.

 Leva Café & Bar, 11053-86 Ave., Edmonton, 780-479-5382, www.levabar.com

The Black Dog
Playing canopy to the mainfloor bar and the grungy-but-popular Underdog, the renovated, elevated Wooftop patio on Whyte Avenue is guaranteed to be heaving on hot summer nights. This is the nightlife. The Black Dog, 10425-82 Ave., Edmonton, 780-439-1082, www.blackdog.ca

—Caroline Gault

A venue Ménage à trois is creating quite the sausage party in Calgary’s Mission district. 

Wurst is one-third restaurant (on the top floor), one-third bier hall (on the lower level) and one-third biergarten (on its impending patio) and, when added up, all parts equal one Bavarian tri-fecta. The openness of the restaurant permits trees to stretch angelically to the ceiling and this magnificent space will no doubt cause patrons to invent occasions just to host a private function.  Navigating the menu, you will see everything from Venison Merguez Corndogs for $14 to Jäger Schnitzel for $21.

Beer and brats—what's the Wurst that could happen? —Kristin Hursh

Wurst Restaurant, 2437 4th St. SW., Calgary, 403-254-2345, www.wurst.ca

Put down that chardonnay and tap into this boozy scoop.

Gone are the days of beer bellies and six packs–craft brews have never been sexier, and the newly opened Craft Beer Market Restaurant & Bar is sure to be a lively Stampede watering hole. Upon arrival, don’t be alarmed by the 100 levers—they aren't slot machines, but rather taps that lead into the largest beer selection in Canada. Jackpot! 

With a menu of classic North American dishes and ales for every taste, from Grizzly Paw Grumpy Honey Wheat Ale to Amber’s Sap Vampire Maple Lager, you're bound to find a brew to quench your thirst. —Kirstin Hursh

Craft Beer Market Restaurant & Bar, 345 10th Ave. SW, Calgary, 403-514-2337, www.craftbeermarket.ca

Let’s face it: Calgary’s downtown core is better known for harvesting tumble weeds than action on the weekends.

But that' s changing as the Wild West’s tumble weeds have been replaced with West Restaurant and Bar’s new rooftop patio. Live it up and get down! This 1,500-square-foot patio has unleashed an evening energy that is unlike anything downtown Calgary has seen before, be it lunch, dinner or beyond. West’s patio has opened just in time for Stampede and provides enough room to line dance, two step and shimmy. The bylaw officer who approved the sound levels for the music is one groovy fellah.

Hats off. —Kristin Hursh

West Restaurant & Bar, 225 Seventh Ave. SW, Calgary, 403-237-5556, www.westrestaurantandbar.com

When it comes to most things in life, the general rule is you should never mess with a classic, but sometimes, a little tweaking is a lot of fun.

The Big Cheese Poutinerie, the new 17th Avenue hot spot where you’ll spy plenty of young hipsters with high metabolisms hanging out, serves up over 20 different kinds of poutine, and that’s not including the custom-built options. You can’t go wrong with the classic concoction of potatoes, cheese curds and gravy (from $5.49) but if you’re feeling adventurous, or gluttonous for that matter, opt for the Notorious P.I.G. (pulled pork, double smoked bacon and Italian sausage, from $7.99) and for your daily serving of veggies (it counts), the Loaded Veggie has mushrooms, caramelized onion, roasted peppers and peas (from $6.49). 

Rolling to your car not included. —MG

The Big Cheese Poutinerie, 738 17th Ave. SW, Calgary, 403-457-2873, www.mybigcheese.com

After the ski season send-off, it’s time for spring in the mountains. What better way to start a road-trip than lunch at Canmore’s The TroUgh Dining Company. Now open for mid-day noshing, the charming 10-table eatery owned by a mother-son duo has a lunch menu made up of all new offerings.

Get your hiking prep on with the Trough burger ($16) complete with cilantro salsa, cheddar and bacon or start with something lighter with the restaurant’s take on the Buffalo Mozzarella salad ($10) served with a strawberry balsamic glaze. If you’re more of a post-hike diner, treat yourself and the crew to a large bowl of nachos (from $12) served with potato crisps, chorizo, mozza, goat cheese and all the traditional veggie fixings.

The TroUgh Dining Co., 725 Walk of Champions Way (Ninth St.), Canmore, 403-678-2820, www.thetrough.ca

It’s a Kensington conquest: the owners of Muse and Wine Bar have just opened up another hot spot in the hood, Brasserie Kensington.

True to its name, it's a mix of a laid-back feel with an upscale setting, focusing on fun and fabulous brews. We loved the his-and-hers Croque Monsieur (mustard, gruyère and ciabata, $12.50) and the Croque Madame (gruyère and a fried egg $13.75). The Nicoise salad with Albacore tuna confit ($16) is a lunch favourite and the foie gras potato skins with herbs, shaved gruyère, lardons and black truffle essence ($15.50) are a must-have.

It might be time to move to the neighbourhood. —MG

Brasserie Kensington, 100, 1131 Kensington Rd. NW, Calgary, 403-457-4148, www.brasseriekensington.com