The Moose Pub — Restaurant in Valemount

You don't end up in Valemount by accident. No one drifts into this remote junction of highway and mountain without intention--or at the very least, without a broken-down rig and a busted GPS. But for the seasoned traveler, the wandering soul chasing snow, solitude, or Sasquatch, there's a warm little watering hole that doesn't pretend to be anything more than what it is: The Moose Pub.

Smack in the center of the highway drag, The Moose sits like a beacon of honest drink and no-nonsense food. It's not trying to be hip, or ironic, or rustic-chic. It's just... real. Neon signs humming softly in the windows, and that kind of worn-in barstool that tells you someone has sat here--probably every night--for the last twenty years.

Now, let's talk beer. If you're coming in expecting 16 craft taps and a tasting flight served on a reclaimed cedar plank--go back to Vancouver. The Moose has no taps. That's right. Not a single one. It's a bit of a letdown at first. But then you eye the beer list and it's respectable spread of bottles and cans. Local-ish, domestic, some imports if you're lucky. Cold. Cheap. Efficient. It helps that's it's attached to the towns liquor and beet store. Go figure.

Hungry? Skip the kale! Order the Double Ultimate Burger - a tower of greasy, beefy defiance against veganology. It's not a burger; it's an edible dare. If you're not hungry enough to wrestle that beast, stick to fries and humility. If you are that hungry, just remember: you're walking distance from most accommodations. And after this burger, you'll be crawling and rolling.

The Moose stays open late, and it's the kind of place that doesn't judge. You might run into loggers, sledders, truckers, maybe a lost German backpacker who took a wrong turn in Jasper. The jukebox might be playing Skynyrd, or Drake, or some bizarre YouTube playlist the bartender put on in 2013 and never changed. It's fine. It's all fine.

No, you won't find culinary transcendence here. You won't Instagram the presentation. But you'll sit, and you'll drink, and maybe you'll talk to someone who'll tell you a story that sticks.

Valemount doesn't need frills. Neither does its...

I would give zero stars if I could. The waitress named Katelyn was exceptionally rude, arrogant, and snippy. I asked her if the hamburger patties were made with breadcrumbs as I am sensitive to gluten. Her response was that “she did not know as they are not made in-house” and that they ordered them from another vendor. I asked if she could find out and her response was to storm off to the back and then returned to our table with a snippy “They have breadcrumbs” and a condescending look on her face. She made me feel like a major inconvenience for having the audacity to ask questions. Lady, this is your job and if you hate it so much when people ask questions, please just quit….

I ordered the steak and ribs instead, same meal as one of my friends. We both ordered our steaks medium rare, both our steaks were well-done. Under different circumstances I would have returned it but I was hungry after a few long days of hiking and really did not want to deal with her horrible attitude again.

Also, despite the fact that I had clearly stated that I was gluten-free, my order came with a slice of bread as well as bread crumbs in the salad. It doesn’t get much more ignorant than that.

The fries were okay but charging $2 for a side of mayo is laughable…. My other friend ordered sweet potato fries instead of regular fries with her burger and the surcharge was $7 which is ridiculous, a normal surcharge is usually $4.

I have never experienced such horrible attitude and service anywhere else and I have travelled quite a bit.

I thought of emailing the owner instead but after reading the super passive-agressive responses to every single negative review, I didn’t bother.

There aren’t a ton of options to eat in Valemount so they obviously do not need to provide decent customer service, quality food or fair pricing in order to keep their business afloat. Maybe they are nicer to locals who will - along with the flux of Berg Lake hikers - keep this place alive.

If you have any food sensitivities or just care about being treated with respect,...

Wow. Just Wow? And NOT in a good way! We had to seat ourselves while trying to find a clean table. A challenge in itself. It was pretty busy for a weekday, Blue Jays playing I guess. From what I could see, only two Servers working the floor. They were doing pretty good but sure could have used some help. The menu looked quite extensive but holy- moly, talk about expensive. $6.00 for a glass of pop and no refill offered. I ordered the chicken cordon blue burger and it was so-so at best. Kinda greasy and bland. The fries were ok but a man cannot live on fries alone. A lasagna and Caesar salad was also ordered. Very disappointing also. The salad had very little dressing with barely a hint of garlic, the lasagna was also runny with no tangy taste and the garlic toast was basically burnt. Probably the worst Pub experience meals I encountered. Not worth $60.00. Gotta say, a Momma burger from A&W next door would have been better. …..It’s been a few days and WOW! I just read the owner’s response. The response was just as lame as the Pub was. …..a small update again. I’ve been reading other reviews and it appears that the responses from the Owner on reviews has been very negative with nothing but excuses, lame reasons and fake apologies. They continue to say thanks for the review and we will do better. I find it hard to believe as their lip service has been going on for years....