It took me three tries to get into Three Boars Eatery but I finally made it. After being foiled by lengthy lineups on two occasions, we got smart and went early on a Tuesday at 5 p.m. (an hour after they opened).
If you’re into craft beer or single malt scotch or bourbon, this is the place to be. You’ll have to fight for one of the seats at the bar though; the place is tiny. However, now that summer is here (more or less) the patio out front has lots more seating and its a great place to sit, sip and people watch along 109 Street.
Upstairs in the old house is where you dine. The decor is simple and rustic and you feel like you’re sitting down to a good ol’ feast in a country farmhouse. Very cool.
The Boars are Chuck Elves, Brayden Kozak and Brian Welch — three young men with the right stuff: thoughtful libations, and dishes made from locally sourced food in small plate style to share amongst friends. The menu changes often depending on what they find at the farmers’ market or get from their suppliers, or in some cases, how popular a dish is. I caught this tweet a couple of weeks ago:
Yes, they’re “crazy like that”. Being able to change up a menu mid-service shows the crazy talent of the chef. The night we were there, the Boars were on Menu #22 and they had only been open a month.
The menu is set out in three whimsically-titled sections: Bar Snacks, Rabbit Food and Sharesies. Cute.
We started with a plate of the patatas bravas (roasted fingerling potatoes with a sriracha mayo for dipping).
These patatas bravas were crispy on the outside with enough give on the inside to please everyone at our table. The sauce had just the right sass to be noticeable while remaining subtle enough to not overpower the fingerlings.
The sautéed mushrooms with egg yolk on toast caught our eye from the Rabbit Food section. The Bar Snacks section also offers meatless dishes, so if you’re an herbivore, not to worry, you can still dig in to lots of good stuff here.
This is a dish that you will crave to have again. The creamy egg yolk over a mix of fried mushrooms on top of a toasted baguette (from Bonjour Bakery aka Treestone) was completely decadent. Next time I will not share this one.
If meat is your thing, the Sharesies section is where you will, quite possibly, have an awakening. What impressed me is the use of off-cuts, like the lamb neck served confit-style over a mound of fingerling potatoes and cheese curds. Not for dieters, but everyone deserves a treat every now and then!
The boars got creative with their bánh mì as well, filling a crusty, chewy baguette with braised beef tongue, expertly julienned vegetables, homemade pate, that saucy sriracha mayo and sprigs of cilantro. I hope this one shows up as a regular on the menu because it is definitely something I’d crawl back for.
Also getting thumbs up from my dining partners was the Spring Creek Ranch flat iron steak with Gull Valley tomatoes and artisanal greens. Nicely done, Boars, nicely done! The steak was tender, grilled to a perfect medium rare and the large portion of salad dressed in a garlic confit balsamic dressing allowed some respite from all that juicy protein.
One more dish that we couldn’t say no to was the Cornish game hen:
Sprinkled with bits of lardon and nestled in a glorious puddle of sage-infused apple cider vinegar, this little bird was juicy and tender beyond belief. The exquisite roasting and the finishing with just the right smattering of sea salt is worth mentioning. The right amount of salt is an area where many a cook fails. Not here.
Desserts: Take it or leave it – The Boars offer only one dessert nightly, but trust me, you should take it whatever it is. Fresh baked fig and chocolate cookies were on offer the night we dined and they were warm and wonderful with just the right chew factor. The server recommended we wash down our cookies with a dark Belgian ale called Pannepot. I wouldn’t have thought to do that on my own, so I’m glad she recommended it because the beer had deep chocolate notes which complemented the cookies to a T.
Is the Three Boars Eatery worth the hype that has surrounded it thus far? Yes. Oh, yes. Go forth, Edmonton: eat, share, love.
My CBC Edmonton radio review of the Three Boars can be heard here.
