History

At the Confluence of Then and Now

river café

In the summer of 1991, we set about transforming an aging park concession on Calgary’s Prince’s Island. River Café began as a small full service café, operating summer only, with just a roof sheltering the tables from the elements. In 1995, we transformed the open air space, enclosing it with windows and walls to expanded the seating and operate year-round. We repurposed found materials and worked with local artists.

Our vision was to create a unique restaurant that would feel as though it had always existed and that belonged in this remarkable setting along the Bow River. We built a fieldstone fireplace, created an open kitchen with an oven and grill that were fueled by orchard wood, and a bar made from a real boat. We created a large outdoor terrace overlooking the lagoon and landscaped it with mostly native plants which would flourish without irrigation.

deane house

Deane House is a gorgeously updated historic house surrounded by lush gardens where Calgary's Elbow & Bow River's meet. Featuring seasonal, regional culinary exploration, celebrate the wedding of your dreams with us.

Built in 1906 and named for the last superintendent of Calgary, Captain Richard Burton Deane, Deane House sits on the banks of the Bow and Elbow rivers. Moved twice and eventually to its current location East of the river, Deane House graced the pages of Popular Mechanics for the extraordinary feat of engineering in the 1930’s that brought it to Inglewood. An old house with many lives, Deane has been a boarding house, art gallery, and long-time restaurant, reopening late summer of 2016 under new management.

The group behind River Café celebrates Canadian cuisine with utmost dedication to the environment and sustainable practices, with strong roots in old world habits of warm, open handed hospitality. The newly renovated interior features a series of carefully curated rooms, each with its own unique character. The garden room, library, tenement bar and verandah each inspires taste of place, past and present. The sprawling green exterior, comprised of flourishing gardens and expansive lawns combine to create a stunning wedding backdrop.

Add your love story to our history.