Pasta on the menu as Bush arrives in Calgary

Patrons at a Calgary Italian restaurant were surprised when a former U.S. president joined them for dinner Monday night.

George W. Bush, who is in Calgary to deliver a speech to an invitation-only audience, dined at Osteria de Medici in the northwest neighbourhood of Kensington as a dozen police officers and secret service agents waited outside.

"I think he's got a pasta dish," said George Morrison, one of the senior servers. "There may be a little seafood there too I think."

The restaurant had same-day notice of Bush's visit, which required tight security, said Morrison.

"It was a big surprise for everyone," Morrison said. "It's a great thing for our restaurant and the city of Calgary to have such a great gentleman as Mr. Bush to come in."

Morrison said Bush is the most high-profile guest the restaurant has ever had, though film actors and hockey players have dined there.

'I would have liked to meet the guy'

Chris Chapman had just sat down to look at the menu when he noticed Bush walk through the front door.

"I looked up and saw him walk by. I tried to point him out to my mom. Everyone else want to see him, but he never came out. He just kind of stayed in the back room there," said Chapman.

"I wouldn't have minded shaking his hand. [It's] President Bush. For everything he has done, I would still have liked to meet the guy."

Outside, several curious onlookers vowed to give the former president a piece of their mind when he left the restaurant, but when Bush finally did emerge, surrounded by bodyguards and secret service agents, nobody said anything to him, except for a couple of reporters who called out "Mr. President."

Bush didn't reply, just waved to the small crowd before being whisked away in a dark limo.

The former president is speaking to an invitation-only luncheon crowd of 1,500 guests at the Telus Convention Centre downtown on Tuesday. Security is expected to be tight with signs already up warning that guests could be searched.

Protesters planning demonstrations are being directed by security and police to nearby Olympic Plaza.