Encounters Wine Small Plate Kitchen

Thank You Sarah, for being the best to give us a memorable experience dining at your restaurant..

I hope Kitchen Encounters stays with us in the CNP forever!

So good! Food tasted fresh and well prepared. Definitely a unique cuisine if you’re looking for something different or not really sure what you want .We will be back for the pork belly and maple chicken. Great service

We dined at this restaurant for our anniversary after hearing great things about it. We were very impressed! The ambiance was warm and inviting, the staff were friendly, and the food was amazing. We chose several small plates from the menu and the portion sizes were good. Fine dining in the Crowsnest Pass that was reasonably priced, would highly recommend!

We have a seasonal RV site in the Crowsnest Pass and for the last two years we have seen the road signs for “Encounters” and we have always said we should go one day. We finally were organized enough to go this month as you have to reserve ahead of time. What a shame that we have we have waited so long! This is world class dining in a casual, accessible setting right here at home in Alberta. Set in a renovated building in downtown Coleman this restaurant invites you into its open space kitchen and dining room. There is a bar that overlooks the kitchen, but most tables are spread around an intimate room with lovely art displayed on walls. A selection of high and low tables provide an interesting space that offers a public experience while maintaining privacy for diners. ‘Small plates and Wine Bar” is the draw to this restaurant and the menu does not disappoint. In fact, as I reviewed the choices, I wondered how these dishes all can be available here and cooked at a high standard. The answer is that they are all delicious and offer the diner choices of small plates from the “field, land and sea” as well as a choice of larger main dishes. From grilled veggies to scallops to stuffed mushrooms to steak bites this is a list that will appeal to all. Most importantly as my wife is gluten intolerant most choices are GF and we were offered a hand GF tagged menu to help us in our choices. The wine list is interesting and offers choices of both glass and bottle but really the cost of a bottle is very reasonable so why have only a glass? We chose our wine off the special menu, a “Ciro Rosso Classico 2021”. Fruit forward, nice mellow tannins and went nicely with everything we ordered. There was also a good list of local Alberta craft beers to explore if wine isn’t your preference. We explored the small plates, as we tried the goat cheese stuffed dates, chorizo stuffed portabello mushrooms, scallops in pesto, and BBQ short ribs, all excellent! I spotted cioppino on the mains and had to order but Lori was getting full so just ordered more of the dates, so good! The cioppino is a seafood stew, originated in San Francisco and in this version the clams, mussels, shrimp and scallops were all perfectly cooked in a lovely tomato based broth. We enjoyed this dish last month in Napa at Hog Island Oysters and the Encounters interpretation stacks up well, done to order in the mountains of Alberta! “Encounters Wine Bar and Small Plate Kitchen” is open from Thursday to Saturday by reservation. Well worth the effort to book a table and enjoy this gem in the heart of the Crowsnest Pass. We are already planning a return visit and want explore the rest of the menu but we likely still order some of those delicious stuffed dates!