WALDHAUS — Restaurant in Banff

Authentic Atmosphere But Misses the Mark on Food.

My experience at the Bavarian restaurant had both highs and lows. First off, the check-in process proved to be a testing point. Despite having a reservation, we had to wait for about 10 minutes before we were finally escorted to our table. For those with limited time, this might be a significant inconvenience.

However, once inside, I found the setting quite pleasant and authentic. The restaurant did a good job creating a cozy, Bavarian-style environment that made for a relaxing evening. The wooden furniture, warm lighting, and Germanic decor created an ambiance that was indeed nice and comfortably reminiscent of a traditional Bavarian inn.

The service was another highlight of the evening. The staff was warm, friendly, and very attentive. They were happy to help with menu suggestions and attend to our needs, which significantly enhanced our dining experience.

As for the menu, it was noticeably limited. I do understand that some places choose to focus on a few specialties, but a bit more variety with more authentic dishes would have been appreciated.

Unfortunately, the most important part of any restaurant experience—the food—didn't live up to the other aspects. The soufflé was disappointing as it leaned more towards a bread and cheese bake than a light, airy French meal. The trout, although not unpleasant, was unremarkable and lacked any unique flavor that might have made it memorable. The clafoutis was another letdown; it fell short of the delicious, traditional French dessert I was hoping for.

In summary, this Bavarian restaurant provides a wonderful atmosphere and excellent service, but the food leaves much to be desired. If you're going for a nice, relaxed outing with average food, then this place might just work for you. But if you're a food connoisseur expecting authentic, flavorful Bavarian cuisine, you may want to temper your expectations. I give it three stars with the hope that they will elevate their food to match the other strong elements of their...

Absolutely top notch German food with the associated top notch pricing. Bring your wallet, because this place is very expensive but well worth it. Like everything Fairmont, it's just that little bit better than the best place you've been, but is unfortunately a lot more expensive than the "little bit" that it is better. Frankly, the sky-high pricing is all that keeps this place from being a 5 star.

Now to be fair, the entrees are very generously portioned and are actually fairly reasonably priced. If you can avoid the alcohol and desserts, you might just get out of there with a fairly manageable bill. Now, all that being said....

Black truffle cheese fondue. People, you must have this. It is stunning. Very rich. They recommend it for two, but it will easily be an appropriate appetizer for four. We were very full and didn't even finish all the bread. Interestingly, it came with effectively an entire loaf of bread, and only a very small portion of green apples and mushrooms. I am told that the chef is still experimenting with portions. Either way, this is one spendy fondue but I must recommend it.

The jagerschnitzel was also fantastic--a proper schnitzel with a veal cutlet butterflied and pounded flat with light, airy breaded coating. Delicious and rich mushroom sauce on top with some nicely authentic spatzle and cabbage.

While I do not recommend drinks if you want to keep your tab low, they have a great selection of surprisingly fresh German brews including Hacker-Pschorr--one of my favourite schnitzel accompaniments.

Service was fantastic, our waiter had a great sense of humor and dispensed with some of the stuffyness found elsewhere in the Banff Springs. Great guy, very...

We stayed at the Banff Springs Hotel and admittedly was too late to make a reso for any of their other restaurants for dinner. I had my temperature checked (covid precautions) and I was told to sit wherever I’d like. My server came over and asked if I was familiar with the QR code on the table to view the menu, I said I was but asked if they had a hard copy menu (I was pressed for time as I had an event to be at in 45 minutes) and I didn’t want to waste 5 minutes downloading an app to scan the code so I could see the menu. I didn’t think a hard copy menu was a huge deal, they can always be wiped down and sanitized but I was met with a VERY rude server who made comments about my phone not working or me not being able to work a phone. Keep in mind I’m in my late 20’s and he’s closer to 50, so shaming me over the technology my generation coined was quite comical. I restated that it was a simple question and he could easily say no to my request instead of being so rude. He stormed off and I was left to my downloading to pull up a menu. I’ve served tables for years and was ready to chalk it up to a bad night but he ignored me completely after that. I had to ask HIM if he could take our order after about 15 minutes of waiting. I would’ve been able to forgive the atrocious service if the food was any good but it disappointed all of us. $26 burger was one of the worst I’ve had, the $34 schnitzel was like bland leather and the $21 pretzel was ok except the cheese it comes with is awful. How can CHEESE be awful? It’s cheese. 10/10 would never eat here...