Behind the Name: Calgary's Alloy

How one of Calgary's top spots for fine dining got its name

Since opening in fall 2007, Calgary’s Alloy Dining has bucked the trend of where a contemporary restaurant should be located. The unorthodox location on 42nd Avenue S.E. has proved to be a recipe for success for its co-owners Uri Heilik and chef Rogelio Herrera as they have been serving up world-class wines, inventive cocktails and globally-inspired cuisine–by tapping into their respective Mediterranean and Latin heritages for well over a decade.

Their recent ranking as one of the city's top spots in Avenue Magazine's Calgary's Best Restaurants for 2021 reinforces that Alloy is just getting better with age.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

A post shared by Alloy Dining (@alloydining)

The word alloy makes one think of all things metal-related and the reason why Heilik and Herrera decided to use it as the name for their eatery is not too far off. A textbook definition of an alloy is a combination of metals or a metal combined with an element.

The co-owners continually fuse together the elements that help make a great restaurant: the food, the service, the dining room, the wine, et al.

“All these elements on their own become stronger when together,” says Heilik. “Also, because we are in an industrial area it especially felt like a fitting name.”

The duo considered some other names, but I think it's fair to say that Alloy just stuck like a magnet!

Alloy is open for dinner Wednesdays to Saturdays and plans to resume lunch service some time in April. Reserve a table on their website.