Fiddle River Restaurant — Restaurant in Municipality of Jasper

Fiddle River Restaurant $170 + $32.40 TIP

Upon entering the restaurant, the hostess wouldn’t change the table when I said I didn’t want to be seated by the entrance of the restaurant. We had made reservations three weeks in advance and arrived on time. During dinner, I couldn’t help but notice a table away from the entrance, in a corner with a window out to the patio stood empty the entire time we were in the restaurant. Not ok. The sink in both the men’s and women’s restrooms were out of service which is not only inconvenient, but who wants to wash their buttery fingers after eating crab with hand sanitizer. Gross. However, our server was polite, prompt, and professional.

Here’s what we ate:

Seafood Chowder - 😁😁lots of seafood, and the broth was rich and creamy.

French onion soup - 😕 not enough cheese ☹️, which did not live up to the description in the menu which boasted, “…baked with bubbling melted Swiss & Parmesan cheese.” Broth was flavourful although I prefer a sherry or Guinness if alcohol is going to be added, instead of the IPA; it made the broth too sweet instead of savoury.

Ceviche -😁 smallish portion. Tasty, but a little pop of spice would have added some character. Lots of variety of seafood. Lime instead of lemon as the splash of citrus would have added the flavour I was looking for.

Fiddle Fish Pot - 😁😁 - lots of fish, shellfish, and molluscs. Broth was rich and flavourful. Tomato added an acidic balance, and the rice made it a filling meal.

Atlantic King Crab - 😁😊 plentiful portion of crab legs served with rice mixed with lentils, a piece of broccoli, 1/3 of a red pepper, and a mix of buttered lima beans and corn. I hate corn, but the rest of the vegetables were good. The crab was tasty and just enough butter was served, but not with a warmer, so it was cold by end and I didn’t use it after it became cold.

Hot caramel sundae 😁😁😁 big, sweet, and delicious. Lots of ice cream, caramel sauce, and whipped cream with a cherry and caramel dipped lady finger.

Crème brûlée - 😁😁😁 very nice with a toasted almond crunch on top. Creamy vanilla custard and the perfect sweetness. Strawberry coulis and cream on the side with whipped cream and a maraschino cherry. Lovely presentation.

Overall, the experience was not worth the $200+ we spent. It’s a shame we had to wait until dessert to be impressed by what we...

We did not have a reservation but we were seated quickly, close to the windows where we got a good view of the mountains. Service was kind of slow. When the server first came to our table, I asked what was the fresh catch of the day. She responded and then went away without asking if we needed more time (the good thing was that she gave good details of how it was cooked, instead of just "halibut", and told us the price of it, which I was surprised by because they don't usually mention the price here in the US). Then when she came back and we ordered the fresh catch of the day and the elk striploin, she apologized for not telling us what items they were out of (I noticed that she did tell the table next to ours when we were either eating or waiting for our food), then she said “you need more time” and left our table again. I did need more time, but I’m more used to that as a question than a statement, which made me feel like she was impatient with me, despite her smile and apparent friendliness, since I’ve never had a server do this (leave my table while taking orders, multiple times, without asking if I needed more time) regardless of how busy the place was.

Regarding the food, the seafood chowder had an Indian flavor to it, which wasn't bad, but wasn't what I was expecting from my "New England" chowder, based on the description of that item. The fresh catch of the day was cooked with green curry, not my preferred flavor for halibut, so we ordered that for my husband, while I got the schnitzel for myself in place of the elk striploin. Unfortunately, the schnitzel was quite tasteless, even with the special dipping sauce, and definitely not "tender" as described on the menu. So I had to switch entrees with my husband, even though the halibut was so flaky that the squeaky sound it makes against my teeth reminded me of when you rub styrofoam against itself. The side salad that came with the schnitzel was good and flavorful though, and the complimentary bread and butter was good.

The wait for the food was quite long, which I don't blame them for since I guess they were busy; you just need to be prepared for it (allow enough time in your schedule and don't go only when you're already hungry). But in short, that was $90 (before tips) that I would rather...

I took my girlfriend for our first weekend away and wanted to surprise her with a nice takeaway dinner. I researched this restaurant ahead of time and the menu looked really beautiful, as did the photos. However, upon receiving our order, the food just simply didn't match the menu descriptions. The 'smoked' chowder was not smoked whatsoever and had huge chunks of what seemed to be canned salmon. The fish cakes also tasted like they were made from canned fish. The mushroom bruschetta was rubbery and soggy. The coconut prawns were advertised on the menu as "tiger prawns," and the site photos depicted large, lightly crusted prawns- however the shrimp we were served looked nothing like this. They were small, heavily battered and tasted exactly like Costco brand coconut shrimp- the kind you would dump out of a box and bake for a casual party. I am certain they were boxed and not made fresh in-house. Finally, the "cinnamon bannock" was not bannock (bannock dough baked in the oven as a quickbread) but the smallest pieces of frybread (fried bannock dough) I have ever seen, and very poorly cooked- gluey, tough and over cooked, and tasted like they were cooked in old fish grease. The 'haskap berry jam' was not a fruit preserve at all. It was just some cooked-down berries. I guess the reason why I feel so ripped off isn't because the food was 'bad' per se- it was just really average, diner-quality food and I paid $120...