The Bison Restaurant & Terrace — Restaurant in Banff

We came to Banff to celebrate our dear friend’s 30th birthday. We decided on Bison for dinner. Reservation was made for 8:30 on terrace. We received a call that our reservation was now push until 9:30 and the terrace was closed so we had been moved inside. A couple of us were the first to arrive to set up the table. We where greeted by Josh who was as absolute sweetheart. We then went upstairs to our table and the first thing we noticed was the terrace, opened and with other diners out enjoying it. Instead of asking why are reservation on the terrace was canceled yet it was still open we just went ahead and started decorating the table inside. We booked for a party of 10 but unfortunately a couple of our friends did not make it. We were sitting at the table waiting for the birthday girl to arrive when our waiter Paul ID#1344 started to fill water glasses. We had photos of the birthday girl laid out and Paul was a bit frazzled I noticed trying to fill water glasses around them. I told him not to worry about the one glass and to fill the other one, Paul then snipped back that our table was booked for 10 people so he needs to fill the water. I tried to explain that unfortunately only 8 will be arriving but he turned and walked away. My friend sitting across from me instantly noticed the rudeness from him but we both let it go. Unfortunately from that point on Paul had nothing but attitude towards me. I have worked in the service industry for many years and I have never felt so disrespected. From being snarky and aggressive he went out of his way to make me uncomfortable. The birthday girl was running a little behind, it was 9:50 and Paul came to tell us we needed to order our food now as the kitchen closes at 10pm. We then rushed to find meals, the birthday girl made it in time to order thankfully but it was not our fault the restaurant bumped our reservation giving us only 30mins until close for birthday dinner? Very unpleasant and unprofessional. I was told the Manager felt bad and he bought the table a round of shots, that was very kind and we are all thankful for it. Unfortunately the whole experience takes away from the couple good things that did happened. I asked Paul very kindly to take photos of the group, I passed him my phone and when he was done I held my hand out to receive my phone back to which he went over my hand to pass to another female. I was not the only one at the table who was noticing the disrespect at this point, they where rushing us to leave on top of all this so the group promptly decided to get our bills (it’s now only 10:30pm). I did not order food, I ordered 5 tequila shooters and that was it. I received my bill to which Paul told me there was an automatic gratuity added, understandable for a larger group. I paid my bill at $142.49 (yes, for 5 shots) and left. I then asked my friends to see their bills, not a single other person was charged gratuity and another friend who also order 5 tequila shots plus two meals bill was cheaper than mine. Yes, same tequila and the meals were $30 a piece yet my bill was over $50 more. I went back inside as I planned on talking with the manager. I then find out a couple of our friends did not pay their bills, a simple misunderstanding and yes they were paid the moment we found out they were forgotten. We apologized and left, myself forgetting to talk with the manager about Paul’s treatment towards me. I was told the food was good but unfortunately the service was very unpleasant and the whole experience was...

Absolutely tremendous experience. We booked a table several weeks in advance (a necessity on the weekends it seems) of our honeymoon trip to Banff and this was the pinnacle of our culinary adventures (not to detract from the many other amazing restaurants in the area, but the Bison was our number one). We started off with some fantastic Seaciders as well as the corn and jalapeno pancake, which had an unexpected pleasantly sweet not exactly spicy flavor that we've yet to quite pin down. My wife went with the gnocchi special, which did not disappoint with a creamy zing of fall squash. Meanwhile, I was presumptuously bold and ordered the Bison tomahawk steak, which truly can feed two and perhaps more. Bison is by far my favorite red meat and this steak was cooked to a perfect medium level of doneness retaining all of the juices that made it nothing short of ambrosia. The au jus was well balanced and tangy, my sides of grilled brussel sprouts, raspberry vinaigrette mixed greens salad, and a tomato and pea risotto (there was quite the cacophony coming from a neighboring table by the time dinner was served, so, this was our best guess on what flavors came through in line with what we could hear from our waitress), all of which complemented the meal to accentuate the second best aspect of our trip (my wife gave me a side eyed glance on more than one occasion that suggested she'd caught on to the emotional affair I was having with my steak 😄). I succumbed to the sheer volume and was forced to pack the remainder, which traveled rather well, though we had just enough room to enjoy the light and airy lemon posset -- a fantastic end to one of the greatest meals I'd enjoyed in my many years (my wife was impressed as well 😉). The environment was quite relaxing, despite some of our noisier neighbors, with a twilight view of the mountains from the upper level deck, and our waitress was attentive, knowledgeable, and accommodating. I cannot say enough good things about our experience and would recommend this as an absolute must when...

This restaurant’s namesake dish (the ‘Alberta Bison Tomahawk’) is going to cost you an arm and a leg, but this is where the big boys and girls eat. We recommend you work up an appetite from a day full of activities so the dinner here will be an occasion to look forward to.

Stepping up to the bustling upstairs dining area, we noticed immediately a lively performance across the room at the open kitchen. There were pans sizzling away and a noticeable orange glow from the oven. The chefs were busy making magic.

We enjoyed thumbing through the menu selection and settled on some Escargot to start, and the Alberta Bison Tomahawk and Wood Fired Duck for mains. A particular page of the menu that caught our eye was the one with a map showing where the restaurant sourced all of its key ingredients from.

The meal here was substantive. The bison meat was done medium rare (as requested) and had a vibrant red glow to it. The meat was lightly seasoned so to maximise the natural flavours. As expected, each of the sides brought more enjoyment to the meat by adding tanginess from the tomato salsa, creaminess from the potatoes, and refreshment from the salad greens. The broccolini were also done to perfect texture.

While the bison was an amazing centrepiece to our meal, it did not steal any thunder from the duck, which was itself a standout dish. We were pleasantly surprised by the way the crispy rice submerged in a rich layer of duck broth would still end up being simultaneously crunchy, juicy and fragrant. Kudos to the chefs who came up with such interesting combinations.

This restaurant captured the same wonder in its food as the surrounding mountains did when we drove through the national park. Coming here to dine really cemented our experience at Banff and we heartily recommend this to anyone who is after something...