Love is in the air at Heartland Café.
The beloved Olde Towne Okotoks restaurant has made OpenTable’s list of Top 100 Romantic Restaurants in Canada for the fourth year in a row, something that makes Heartland proprietor Laszlo Radi incredibly proud.
"It feels good," said Radi. "We work hard and we get something nice, the appreciation of our work."
Thirteen other restaurants in Alberta made the list — nine in Calgary, two in Edmonton and two in Banff.
OpenTable, one of the world's most popular restaurant review and reservation platforms, created the list using dining metrics, including over 900,000 reviews from diners from Dec. 1, 2023 to Nov. 30, 2024.
With the results being generated by user reviews, Radi considers the restaurant's success a testament to the community's support.
"That's why we got all these recognitions lately," said Radi on the satisfaction of his customers.
He welcomes all the feedback he can get, which has brought some exciting new additions to the restaurant, such as a new tasting menu and monthly jazz nights.
Radi, who runs the restaurant alongside his wife Viktoria, prides himself on the restaurant being a family business, with everyone in the family, save for his son, working at Heartland.
"We're here 12 to 14 hours a day, seven days a week basically, and we make sure that everything is perfect," he said. "We know our customers, and they want to come here because they know that we're here."
Radi plans to keep on the same award-winning track going forward, making changes whenever the opportunity presents itself.
"We just keep doing it, and we try to do it better. That's the key."
Heartland Café was also featured on OpenTable's first-ever Top 100 Restaurants with Healthy Bites in Canada list last year, alongside just six other restaurants in Alberta.
Learn more about Heartland Café, including the restaurant's menu and reservations, on its website.
