1888 CHOP HOUSE
1888 CHOP HOUSE things to do, attractions, restaurants, events info and trip planning
Description
Locally sourced beef, seafood & many wines in an upscale space at the Fairmont Banff Springs Hotel.
attractions: Fairmont Banff Springs, Bow Falls Viewpoint, Surprise Corner Viewpoint, Bow Falls, Fairmont Spa, Sulphur Mountain, YWCA Banff Hotel, Sally Borden Fitness and Recreation, Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity, Professional Development Centre Hotel, restaurants: Silver Dragon Restaurant, THE WALDHAUS, Rundle Bar at Fairmont Banff Springs, THE VERMILLION ROOM, Maclab Bistro, Three Ravens Restaurant & Wine Bar, CASTELLO ITALIANA, STOCK FOOD & DRINK, Vistas Dining Hall, GRAPES
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Description
Locally sourced beef, seafood & many wines in an upscale space at the Fairmont Banff Springs Hotel.
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Dining at 1888 Chop Steakhouse in the Banff Springs Hotel was an overall delightful experience, earning a solid eight out of ten from me. The food itself deserves a commendable nine out of ten, with standout dishes like the Japanese Wagyu stealing the show with its heavenly melt-in-your-mouth texture. However, not all dishes reached the same level of excellence; while the bread and butter were delightful, the shrimp fell short of expectations, and the seafood tart received mixed reviews at our table. The service, on the other hand, was impeccable, earning a perfect ten out of ten. Our server was not only attentive but also incredibly knowledgeable about the menu and wine pairings, enhancing our dining experience significantly. From recommending the perfect wine to complement our meal to providing detailed descriptions of each dish, the service truly exceeded expectations. In terms of dessert, while the tiramisu was enjoyable, it didn't quite reach the heights of the earlier courses. Nonetheless, the overall dining experience at 1888 Chop Steakhouse was memorable and enjoyable, thanks to the combination of excellent food and exceptional service.
AA
00
I would like to start by saying that the service was fantastic. However, this should have been amazing wedding meal, but was not… unfortunately. Compared to our experience in the Rundle Bar. Upon arriving we were greeted warmly and congratulated on our wedding that had happened earlier that day. Corey was our main server and sommelier for the evening and we decided to go for some British Columbia Sparkling Wine along with a Grey Goose Vodka Martini each. Corey was great throughout, he was very friendly but professional at the same time… the BC Sparkling was delicious… so far so good. Then the vodka martinis arrived - far too potent, with a harsh alcohol taste with no smooth finish and no real flavour, thank goodness the olives could help cut through this. Next it is was time to order food and we were served by Corey along with along with an older gentleman and two ladies, all of whom were great, very attentive. My husband went for the Seasonal soup; Onion with Goats cheese cream (although the goats cheese cream was not mentioned), but he enjoyed it and thought it was very tasty. I went for the Beet salad, delicious apart from the feta mousse, which was a goats cheese feta, the menu did not stipulate the type of milk used for the feta and I do not like goats cheese or milk at all. On to the mains… Icelandic Cod for my husband - lovely crust on the fish and a decent portion size, but dry. I decided to go for the 14oz New York Striploin which had a lovely char and crust but was not cooked rare as I had requested, it was more on the medium side, however we do not appreciate food waste so neither of us wished to return food to the kitchen and have it wasted, the fish was tasty enough and medium cooked meat is just about acceptable for my preference. For some ‘Enhancements’ we chose the Mashed potatoes which were rich, creamy and silky smooth, along with Creamed spinach which was incredibly delicious - the ‘enhancements’ were actually the best part of the meal, great news for the spinach and mash but not so much regarding the rest of food! Finally time for dessert, we both went for the Chocolate Roche, very rich and tasty but far too large for the end of the meal. Additional notes on the experience… the glasses had a lot of water marks and scratches on the base of them, as if they had just been sat it puddles of water to dry and cutlery was not polished, again with water staining and scratches on them. Overall this was a VERY disappointing wedding meal, which should have been something special. For the price paid this was not worthy of a high-class restaurant, other than the service but certainly not the food or cocktails, which was such a shame after having a number of great experiences in the Rundle Bar.
Jamie Higgs-DeyJamie Higgs-Dey
10
The food was not good. The portions were very small. The bill was astronomically high. We ended up going to The Keg the next night, which I would highly recommend. I don't mind paying for the experience if the food is at least DECENT, but the food here wasn't even that!! I would never waste my time or money again coming to this restaurant. I've attached photos to this review (although i find you can't even tell in the photos how small the portions truly were), I didn't even bother taking a picture of the very sad appetizer (what they called a Shrimp cocktail), it was essentially 5 tiny, flavorless little $0.10 (10 CENT) shrimps, naked, on a tiny plate with some very thinly sliced radish (maybe? That's what it looked like, I didn't eat the 'garnish' though.) The lobster tail, (which was about a 1/3 of the size smaller than the one I ordered at The Keg) was priced as "market value", it was not. I was definitely charged more than what the current market value of lobster was. So the sad, bland, little 'shrimp cocktail' (if i can even call it that) was around $40! Oh, and every little thing costs extra. If you want potatoes or a veg on the side with that steak, it doesn't come with it. You pay for it separately. So when you order a steak, it's literally just the steak... which I thought was kind of funny. Usually, you order a 'steak' dinner. It comes as a 'DINNER'. Which generally includes a side of some kind ... salad, a starch, etc. Not in this place, though. It was an absolute disappointment. Although they did give me a complimentary drink/ cocktail to go in a little glass bottle, as they were told it was my birthday. At first, I thought it was a mini bottle of whiskey, which I thought was pretty neat. But upon reading the labels, I realized it was actually a mixed drink/cocktail. The tables are all really close together. It felt very claustrophobic. As well as the tables not being very big/there wasn't a lot of space for the drinks and food ordered. Don't let the 'award plaque' fool you when you walk in. If you look closely enough, it was from 2018 (or somewhere within a year or so of that). Maybe they were having a good year that year; or maybe they have since replaced the chef ... Actually, if I remember correctly, I believe the award MIGHT have been for customer service or something like that? It most certainly wasn't for the quality, taste, or fair price of the food. I would honestly just put on your best outfit and travel the 10 minutes into town. They have quite a few really nice, yummy, and fairly priced restaurants in town. Expensive doesn't always mean better!
D. B.D. B.
10
Flew in from out of province and my Fiancé had just proposed to me and booked this restaurant to celebrate after being told by a local they had impeccable service. We were both excited as we always book a steakhouse for milestones in our life, for the food and service and although the $150 porterhouse and sides were great along with the apps and drinks we felt that the service was the same as if we were to dine somewhere local and not as expensive. As having worked in the F&B I don’t usually critique service harshly but after staying at the Lake Louise and had the most wonderful service just at breakfast, I would’ve hoped that this dinner would’ve been the same or better as it was 5x the bill. We were asked about our celebration which we advised we just got engaged and the host was very kind and congratulated us. But no mention at dinner and definitely no congratulation written on our dessert much like some photos I’ve seen. I will say the server we had was polite but had only engaged with those around us, much more often than us. We felt uneasy about not being spoken to as much, or checked on as we were the only visible minority. Our seat was in a back corner near all the jackets, behind a loud group and a group of kids. Which did not help with us being able to celebrate a big day. We do regret dining at this property and was happy we had not booked a stay. For those who just are there for the food I do recommend it but maybe not to celebrate.
Lin YLin Y
30
Update: lowering the review rating to a 2 star even this is not because of the food. We had reservations for the restaurant on April 15th 2022 (our second dining experience here), and they tried to seat us at the same table we hated the last time. We were dressed elegantly and had made our reservation 2 weeks in advance. They had lots of empty tables, but they still took us to the same table in the back of the restaurant. They managed to change our table, but I am not sure why they even have that table by the kitchen with terrible lighting that burns your eyes, you also it need sunglasses. When I asked the hostess if she wants to know why we don’t like that table, she told us that we don’t need to justify it. Overall a very good experience. The service and the food were both amazing. The steaks were perfectly done and the side dishes were delicious as well. The tenderloin was a bit on a smaller side for an 8oz, but it was good enough. The only issue we had was with the table. We had made the reservation weeks in advance, but they sat us in the back of the restaurant on a table that had terrible lighting (almost wished I had brought my sunglasses). However when we asked for a new table, they moved us right away. Luckily there was a window table available and I am not sure why they didn’t give us that table in the first place. The whole experience was very worth it and will totally repeat if we ever stay in the Fairmount again.
Behnam RashidianBehnam Rashidian
10
Absolutely prefect experience. Everything was top notch from the start to finish. The restaurant sits inside the world famous 'Castle in the Rockies' with beautiful decor and atmosphere . Our server Adam was amazing! His knowledge of the menu and meat in general was impressive. He helped guide us in our ordering. He checked in at the prefect time every time and was so attentive. He even kindly guided us on how to eat one of the appetizers to ensure we mixed it properly as it was set that way for presentation only. We had the beef tartare and crab cakes. Out of this world delicious! Then went on to the bison and tuna which is the best bison I've ever had by a mile. The side of whipped potatoes where an absolute delight and an experience in themselves. I can clearly say this was the best meal of our lives. We eat out regularly and aren't afraid of fine dining, so we know good food when we have it. Now keeping in mind this place is very expensive, with many items near or over $100. But you get what you pay for here, a 1 of a kind dining experience in a 1 of a kind hotel looking out at the best views mother nature can muster.
Ryan LockingRyan Locking
20
Nearby Attractions Of 1888 CHOP HOUSE
Fairmont Banff Springs
Bow Falls Viewpoint
Surprise Corner Viewpoint
Bow Falls
Fairmont Spa
Sulphur Mountain
YWCA Banff Hotel
Sally Borden Fitness and Recreation
Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity
Professional Development Centre Hotel

Fairmont Banff Springs
4.7
(6.1K)Click for details

Bow Falls Viewpoint
4.7
(2.5K)Click for details

Surprise Corner Viewpoint
4.6
(684)Click for details

Bow Falls
4.7
(245)Click for details
Nearby Restaurants Of 1888 CHOP HOUSE
Silver Dragon Restaurant
THE WALDHAUS
Rundle Bar at Fairmont Banff Springs
THE VERMILLION ROOM
Maclab Bistro
Three Ravens Restaurant & Wine Bar
CASTELLO ITALIANA
STOCK FOOD & DRINK
Vistas Dining Hall
GRAPES

Silver Dragon Restaurant
4.0
(590)$$
Click for details

THE WALDHAUS
4.5
(466)$$$
Click for details

Rundle Bar at Fairmont Banff Springs
4.6
(391)$$$
Click for details

THE VERMILLION ROOM
4.4
(260)Click for details
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