Foodies Guide for Banff, Canada

The Grizzly House has an amazing four course Fondue Dinner. We had the Exotic Fondue (named after the different exotic animal meats). Starting with the soup, we had French Onion, made to perfection. If you've never had Cheese Fondue (like Alex) this is the place to try it! For the main course, we had the seven piece meat selection. Venison, ahi tuna, ostrich, buffalo, frog legs, alligator and kangaroo served with a 600 degree hot rock on the table to sear the meats. Best eaten medium to medium rare, although the tuna I recommend rare. Frog legs well done (2 min both sides), afterward so juicy & moist. Finally, dessert was chocolate fondue with fruits & wafers.

Banff Dinning - Cesar Monell

Then for a great lunch at Bear Street Tavern we had thin crust gourmet pizzas. We had The Canadian with mozzarella, pepperoni, bacon, mushrooms, drizzled with maple syrup. Our waitress gave us some extra condiments like maple syrup & rosemary chili oil which gave it an extra kick! Also, local beers from the nearby Cranmore Brewing Company made this a tasty food & beer treat!

The Keg Steakhouse Restaurant had their "features" of the night. We went with their cocktail feature Fireside Fog, vodka based creamy drink where you could smell and taste vanilla. The view looking straight down on the drink gives the appearance of snowy mountains. The main feature was the Guinness Braised Lamb Shank. So tender and savory off the bone, you really will want to eat the skin, fat and all of it! So succulent on its own, but if you need they have gravy on the side and your choice of sauce. We had the Bearnaise & Whiskey Peppercorn sauce paired with a Shiraz Red Wine, it was a memorable mouth watering choice. We asked to substitute the baked potato, we saw how big and the other toppings it came with from other tables, instead of the mashed potato. The chives, whipped butter, bacon bits and sour cream you can add to your heart's delight. The services were top notch.

Our Foodies Guide recommendation for the Grizzley House is that between the service and the Fondue Diner experience it would be worth exploring to open your palate. For the Bear Tavern an adventurous tongue will be your preferred tasting between rosemary chili oil and/or maple syrup on your pizza crust. Well, just give it a try. The Keg, OMG talking about lamb. This restaurant is everywhere in Canada so it's very well known. The lamb braised to perfection, slow cooked to tenderness and paired with succulent sauces is a must have. So please be our guest, put your taste buds to the test, we will guide you to your best foodie experience !

This trip report is part of our ongoing series on travel to Banff, Canada. In need of further inspiration? Check out Carlie Lee’s guide, Checking Banff off the Bucket List.