Love for the Locals: Leva Bar

Leva Bar is one of my favourite small establishments in Edmonton. While it appears to be more like a cafe, Leva offers a full dinner menu and gelato shop. The nice thing is that it's open late until 11pm Sunday through Wednesday, in case you're in the mood for something that isn't fast food or bar food at night :)

I very much like the interior of the place. The space encourages the use of mostly natural light so that it is very bright during the day time, while they use candles to subtly light the tables during the evenings...(I could have sworn I took pictures of the restaurant layout itself, but I have yet to find them. Since I plan to go back to Leva at some point this summer, I will definitely add photos to this post!)

P and I actually had one of our first dates at Leva which consisted of tea and gelato in the morning! We opted for strawberry and pistachio :) Mmm... and a nice cup of Earl Grey to go with it... Thanks to the endorsement of my blog, P has become an aspiring hand model.

We have since been back for what P calls a "pre-dinner" date. I'm pretty convinced that tiramisu before dinner is going to be the next big thing, because it is down right fantastic for my tastebuds. The cakes at Leva are actually quiet light and not too sweet, which pairs quite nicely with a cup of tea. The tiramisu was light, creamy, and oh so yummy with strawberries in it. Oh, how I love my strawberries.

More recently, we sat in for a nice dinner of salad and pizza. The pizzas are more contemporary with thin crust and sparse toppings of more than just your average pepperoni and such. I very much appreciate that the crust is both crispy on the outside, but tender on the inside, and the cheese is spread to nearly the edges of the pizza.

We started with a salad to share - Pear, Strawberry, and Arugula - essentially what it is. Complete with almond slivers and a vinaigrette dressing. Tasty, although a little pricey for what you get, but you do get pretty much what they say you will get, so fair is fair. *end run-on*

Behold! Leva's Proscuitto Cotto with Rapini and Funghi :) It's one of the only two pizzas with mushroom, and this would be your Pizze Rossi (pizza with tomato sauce) option. I'm curious to try the Pizze Biance (pizza with garlic cream or pesto sauce) but it has potatoes on it?...I have yet to have a pizza with potatoes on it. Gotta add that to my bucket list!

Leva Bar has a very calm atmosphere to it, where it's not necessarily buzzing (while not empty, mind you), and you can have a decent conversation with your date without having to yell at the top of your lungs. I've already told P that I plan to return (with or without him) for more Leva pizza! If you're in the campus area at any time of day between 7 in the morning and 11 at night, you should definitely give it a try!

-M