Full Circle Pizza and Oyster Bar

 

Full Circle Pizza and Oyster Bar

933 17 Avenue SW, Calgary, AB 

(587) 351-3141
Reservations can be made on OpenTable

 

It was time for us three besties to celebrate a birthday.  We love pizza and the birthday girl loves oysters, so we decided to try the relatively new restaurant called Full Circle Pizza and Oyster Bar.  When you walk in, it has a New York kind of feel; industrial, simple, with exposed brick, concrete floor, wood tables and a subtle color palette. The space is long but narrow, with the bar placed middle right, the open food prep area far left back, and then the tables placed at the front, middle and back of the room. They've done a great job of not overcrowding the space and keeping the tables separate enough that you don't feel like you're eating with others you didn't invite (one of my pet peeves, as you know).  

The menu is a quite eclectic and I have to say, a little bizarre.  When you read through some of the items, it makes your stomach turn to think of biting into a pizza slice with steelhead trout, mascarpone, roe and chives on it (California Pi) or a pizza slice with braised octopus, bonito flakes, seaweed and corn (Dr. Octo-Pi),  but we were assured by our server that anything we ordered, we'd be pleasantly surprised to find that all the ingredients really do work well together. 

Not everything on the menu is strange though, and there are many normal options for various taste buds, from salads ($9-$12)  pastas ($18-$21), calzones ($16-$17) to mains of beef, pork and catch of the day ($26-market price).  

 

Our Dutch friend was extremely skeptical when first scanning the menu, being a connoisseur of the blandest of flavour palettes (which she admits), and she was not about to try any of the pizzas,  so she settled on the Farfalle pasta with meat ragu ($17).  The birthday girl, who will pretty much eat any food combo, even if it's been in her fridge and has formed a layer of mold, decided to start with oysters ($3-$6 each) as well as the Beef Carpaccio pizza with grana padano, aged balsamic, egg yolk and arugula ($19).  As for me, the one who can never get enough spice, but will throw out food in three days at risk of contamination, decided to try the spiciest pizza on the menu, Flaming Moe,  with hot peppers, calabrese, sriacha and red onion ($19).  I had fresh arugula added to mine for some fresh greens. 

 

The food arrived promptly and smelled delicious. My Dutch friend's pasta was loaded with tender pulled beef throughout, with a beautiful smoky flavour, topped with big flakes of grana padano on top.  My pizza looked a bit sparse and underwhelming when it came to the amount of toppings placed on it, but when I took a bite, it was full of so much flavour. Though it was advertised as spicy, it was quite mild, so I think they could definitely intensify the heat level. Birthday girl's pizza was also delicious, with nice thin, tender pieces of beef on top that melded with the egg and balsamic, which formed a nice sweet sauce.  

 

At the end of our meal, we all were craving a little something sweet, so we ordered the smores ($8 for 3).  They were perfectly done, with a two crisp graham wafers, a smoked, half melted marshmallow in-between, with chocolate drizzle on top. I think "heaven" was the word we used as we bit into them. To top things off, the server presented birthday girl with a complimentary smoked oyster that she thoroughly enjoyed as well. It was the perfect way to finish the evening. 

 

By the end, we went from skeptics to customers who talked about returning again.  Though we probably won't ever try octopus or trout pizza, we look forward to coming back for another adventurous meal (ok, except for our Dutch friend who has already settled on the Carbonara pasta next time). 

Hey that's okay, we may all have different taste buds, but the one thing we share is a love for food. More importantly though,  we love each other, and that's the best recipe of all. 

 

Happy Birthday my beautiful friend who sparkles each and everyday xo