Parker's Table — Restaurant in Alberta

This is my first time in Banff, and I stayed at the Rimrock Hotel; which the Primrose restaurant is in.

I dined at the Primrose for almost every breakfast and a few dinners during my stay. The buffet had a nice selection of food to offer, and was constantly restocked with fresh food. Although I am a huge buffet person, their menu was absolutely delicious and the presentation made it ever better. I ordered the avocado toast, and I’ve got to say it was one of the best I’ve ever eaten. The service was quite good at times. Lani, in particular, exceeded our expectations. As a group of 6, she was very attentive and friendly. We had a wonderful morning chatting to her. She was very energetic in a professional manor and made our experience quite enjoyable.

On our first night, Wednesday… we ate at the Primrose for Pasta Night Buffet. As a vegetarian, the chef was able to make a unique sauce catering my needs right on the spot at the buffet. The restaurant was quite packed, but the service was the best I’ve ever seen. Jessica was AMAZING. As a sunset lover, she was able to give me many good tips and advice to find the best sunsets possible. As a waitress, I was stunned by what she was able to help me with. Her friendliness and thoughtfulness was incredible. I would go back to the restaurant just to see her. Jessica made the primrose restaurant one of my favourites.

On my last night, we had the usual dinner menu at the Primrose. This is when my 5 stars might be a bit generous. The food I ordered was beautiful and very tasty, but someone who I was eating with received a frozen avocado on their dish, and the service was just not great. As their were only a few people eating there, I was expecting the service to be a bit better. Our waitress Lois was very kind, but we had to ask for water many times. On a very quiet day, again, I would have expected more.

Overall, it is a great restaurant. Yummy food, amazing service at times, and a beautiful mountain view overlooking where you...

Mediocre restaurant with fine dining price tag.

Currently on a tour with the Rocky Mountaineer (an amazing experience), and have stayed at some wonderful resorts with amazing dining experiences. While the Rocky Mountain hotel in Banff is a beautiful place, the dining experience at The Primrose restaurant was not so pleasant - both on the service and food quality fronts. Specifics for those who are interested. Ordered a nice bottle of wine (a red blend) - server first brought a white wine, and then brought the wrong red (a Pinot), and then finally brought the correct bottle. This took about 25 minutes. Server then attempted to open the bottle without removing the foil. They then screwed the corkscrew through the cork. (Didn't blame the server, was a clear example of poor training as the server had just started.) The majority of our group ordered steaks. Preparation was decent, but quality of cut was poor - i.e., tough and grisly. (Not what I typically receive when paying $65 for a steak.) Timing was slow, about an hour before receiving our appetizers.

Normally at a more expensive restaurant a manger would stop by and ask about our experience (where we could have offered constructive feedback), but no-one stopped by to inquire during our stay.

Finally, we were celebrating a birthday of a member in our party. Generally there's some token recognition by the restaurant - but nothing by The Primrose.

All of these factors combined led to an extremely disappointing dining experience. Banff has a number of great dining options, so I would recommend considering other options over...

Good omelettes, terrible allergen labelling

Dined here for three breakfasts as part of our stay at the rimrock hotel. Our breakfast buffet was complimentary as part of our stay, but had we had to pay, we felt it was expensive for what was on offer, especially when compared to the buffet at the Banff springs, which is only a couple of dollars more, but with twice the amount on offer. The freshly made omelettes by the chefs were a highlight of the breakfast and were very good. Our servers were also friendly and helpful.

However, the biggest issue with the food here was the complete lack of allergen information. I have a severe nut allergy and none of the food was labelled with its allergens. I had to ask the managers and servers for each item to check if I could eat it, which felt like a waste of mine and theirs time when adequate labelling would solve this. Something this basic seems like a simple thing that all hotel buffets, let alone a hotel of the quality of the Rimrock should have.

When I asked what pastries and muffins were nut free, I was told the kitchen could get me one of everything that was nut free, which again was in some ways helpful, but when all I wanted to know was could I eat the croissant, rather than being brought a variety of pastries, this felt unnecessary. The manager on the shifts didn’t seem concerned by the lack of allergy information on the buffet, or that it was something that should be fixed.

If this could be resolved, the breakfast offer at primrose would be...