Forte — Restaurant in Alberta

I recently spent the weekend at the Lodge and dined at Forte on two occasions, one for dinner and one for breakfast.

The dinner was delicious - we had a large group (12 people) and were assigned one server who was fairly prompt to begin with. While the food was great, the service left quite a bit to be desired. We were fairly rushed to make choices but then waited quite some time for our starters and more time for our main course. It was also a constant wait for drinks to be served. This was particularly noticeable delay since the restaurant was not even half full.

Whatever good will the restaurant gained from the dinner experience was lost at breakfast. We waited 15 minutes for a table - despite there being literally dozens of tables available. Once we were seated, our server came over - but not to take our order. Instead, she kindly told us it would be best if we just agreed to have the buffet ($28/person) because any order from the menu would be a minimum of 25 minutes. Keep in mind the restaurant was basically empty so that was a bold way to start. When she finally returned for our drink order, we waited about 10 minutes for a ceaser and a mimosa (both of which were quite small portions despite a hefty price tag). We finally ordered our breakfast, which was a shared eggs Benedict dish (so we could have one portion each) from the menu. In response to this, the server interrupted our order to say that was available in the buffet. I had to again explain I just wanted it made from the menu and she shrugged before walking away.

Our food came out about 20 minutes later and I was unimpressed. The food was not hot and honestly looked like it had been sitting in the buffet before being put in our plate - it did not appear freshly made. The hollondaise was bright yellow and had a film on top; it tasted like it was made from a powder. Overall, not a happy breakfast.

When the bill finally came, it totaled what two buffet's would cost (due to the drinks) and the server could not help but point out it cost as much as two buffets. Very...

For such a beautiful hotel, this restaurant seems out of place. We were recommended to not go with the buffet so we chose the a la carte menu and ordered the octopus, braised beef pasta and the funghi pizza along with the panna cotta for dessert.

The octopus smelled like dog food, and the taste is what I imagine dog food would taste like. The octopus was overcooked (despite it being sous vide) and it was inedible, we had to return it.

The pasta being their signature dish was good but unrefined for a 'signature dish' the meat was dry despite being braised and it was really rich without a real balance to the dish. All in all it was the best thing we tried on the menu but our expectations were high and it fell short.

The funghi pizza was saved by the crust. The crust was brilliant and I would have loved a well-executed pizza to go with such a fine ingredient. Unfortunately, the pizza was over-sauced, lacking balance, it was really monotoned and soggy because of the amount of sauce that was on the pizza. It had potential but it was just another dish that fell short.

The panna cotta was not a panna cottta. It was flat - no jiggle, it was almost a paste and felt more like a fudge than a panna cotta. The flavor was there but the toppings we lost and it just didn't make a lot of sense.

This was probably one of the most disappointing meals I've had considering the price point and the setting. This was technically my wifes and my anniversary dinner and I felt fleeced into spending top dollar for a menu that you would normally find in a hospital (if that).

Otherwise - service was fantastic - our server was very accommodating and super kind and the staff at the restaurant were all very friendly.

I would not recommend this place at all to anybody unless you're going for...

After driving all day to the Mountain Lodge, we were excited to have our first taste of the lodge's cuisine and I left feeling really underwhelmed. My overall impression of the restaurant was that it was quiet, elegant and warm. I arrived before my group and asked if there was a reservation already made for us under our company name but the manager seemed a little stressed out. She informed me that we should've made a reservation. One of my team members arrived after me and made a reservation for 45min later and we waited out in the lobby. We were a party of 8 but, once seated, we had a two hour wait before our food finally arrived. I ordered the same thing as my boss (the quattro formaggi pizza, which I'd heard rave reviews about on my walk over). My pizza and side of brussel sprouts arrived with the rest of our group's food, but it was cold. The other pizza never arrived and the server never checked in to see whether we were finding our food okay - we had to flag her down when we realized the missing pizza wasn't immediately following the rest of the food after about 5 minutes. When we politely inquired about the status of his pizza, we were met with, "It's on it's way" and kept getting brushed off. Over 2.5 hours after placing our orders, the manager came over and explained that half of the oven was broken and that the kitchen had failed to alert her about it until it was too late. We were offered comped breakfasts or discounts on our meals for our long waits, which was appreciated. All in all, I felt disappointed by this experience and I avoided this restaurant for the rest of my stay...