Banff Ave Brewing

Awesome place! Stopped in for an unplanned visit with my wife and sister just after they opened, and asked about the brewery tours that they had posted on their signs. Took us in right away for a complimentary tour with Pete, who knew his stuff about beer. Not the biggest brewery I’ve been too, but definitely cool to learn how they do things a bit differently here. Stuck around after the tour for the six beer sampler and some appetizers — chicken wings and curly fries. Both were hot and tasted great! And all the beers were fresh, cold and delicious. I’ll be going back here for sure!

So the service is fine, but as someone coming from america, this beer is gross. The pale ale and the IPA are horrible, zero hop flavor, basically a glass of malt liqour. Reminded me of old english. Glad we got monday night pint night prices, if i had paid full price i would be livid

Great food, ranging from regular selections (burgers and such) to local game meat selections. All looked good. Actually had some poutine and some soup (fabulous cheddar broccoli). Washed it down with a couple of their locally brewed beers, which were very tasty. A bit difficult to find (upstairs-​small sign), but worth the effort.

It appears that things have changed over at Banff Ave. Gone are the inviting nitro beers, replaced with multiple variants of IPAs (which our server told us, is intentional on behalf of the head brewmaster who wants to «challenge customer tastes»…) Reverend Rundle Stout was one of the absolute best stouts available in western Canada. I guess it didn’t «challenge my tastes» enough.
Frankly, the trend of ramming up the IBUs is getting a little ridiculous in North American IPAs. When more than half your menu is eye-​twitchingly bitter IPAs, something is amiss. The quality of their mainstays appear to have slipped as well, with the Black Pil tasting a little more watery than I remember. The menu has been modernized, perhaps made worse, with more upscale menu options and the dismissal of a few old favourites.
I visited Banff Ave twice recently and found that the service was not as good as it was in the past either, with our table being relatively abandoned for a while before slightly rude service appeared to take an order. Did I sense some anti-​tourist chip-​on-​the-​shoulder? Is Calgary non-​local? Hmm.
Perhaps I caught Banff Ave during some evolutionary growing pains. Because they are partnered with my favourite brewpub, Last Best in Calgary, I do expect the best from Banff Ave given their long history and innovative brewers. I’ll be back again.

They were also out of their IPA when we were there, but the food was solid, and the beer flight was good.
We had the classic poutine. It was yummy. Caesar was ok, and pepper and sea salt wings were good. Nice spot for lunch, with lots of TVs. We got to watch some US Football.

As I start this review, I am just going to state, service is absolutely horrible. I will review food as it arrives… whenever that will be.
Water came in a rocks glass, with no ice. That’s after 7 minutes of waiting for our waitress to come take our drink order. She returned another 10 minutes later taking my cowrorker’s order after mine. Waitress seemed ultra confused that my coworker wanted his soup and app before his main course. 20 minutes later, we finally received our first refill of water (only at the request of my coworker flagging the waitress down, however)
At 40 minutes, the first appz came. Popcorn came in a bucket and tasted like microwave. The non-​chicken tortilla (per my coworker) tastes like a tomato soup with beans; it has a tostada with sour cream on top.
At exactly 59 minutes we received our burgers. Burger was a good size, but a little dry. My fried egg was overcooked by modern standards. Fries looked like they were from McDonalds, were cold, but still maintained somewhat of a crisp.
Originally wanted to give this place one star, but someone did come out and apologize saying they were understaffed. All in all, average food, bad service. But maybe they’ll improve in the future.

Stopped in for some poutine and drinks. Excellent server and atmosphere was nice. Great selection of beers that they brew themselves. The temperature on my food wasn’t hot enough but came out very fast.
There was actually a wedding supper happening in the area beside our seats, which was interesting to see everyone coming in and getting set up for that. Seemed like a funny place for that kind of event.

ZERO STARS!!!
Mid September, average Saturday afternoon. Took a table for two, waited ten minutes. Not a peep! So we walked.

Stopped in for a beer. Like the atmosphere. Very friendly staff. Had a pint of their IPA. Thought it was good.

We love Last Best in Calgary and so we had to check this place out. The place is small and dark with an awesome little balcony overlooking main street Banff. We sat at the bar and ordered a flight. 6 8oz beers at a very good price. The Pond Hockey Pale and Double IPA were the best by far. They were out of the IPA unfortunately. The bartenders were great and fun to talk to. Can’t wait to come back and try the food also next time!

Ok, they are a brewery but let me tell you that their CHOCOLATE SOUFFLÉ IS THE BEST I’ve ever had! I could come back here just for that.
Their balcony seatings, all facing out (like bar counter) looking at the beautiful mountain range, are super. I wish I lived nearby. This place would be my frequent hangout! Awesome and friendly service as well by the way!

There’s an endless number of places to eat in Downtown Banff. We ended up here because after 10pm most places shut down. Fortunately, a few breweries remain open late. Banff Ave Brewing brings several aspects of nightlight to patrons. It proves ample TVs to watch sporting events, pool tables for visitors wanting to hang out, plenty of space to drink and better than average food. It’s the ideal laid back spot for families, friends, hikers and skiers to enjoy a night in Banff. The staff is attentive, helpful and good service in the norm.
While we had a few drinks we came for dinner. There’s an array of starters, entrees and desserts to keep everyone content. We began the feast with the Meatball Poutine. It’s enough to feed three (if you are having a meal, too). The fries tasted like they were cut on site, meatballs were homemade and the gravy was sufficient. We enjoy it.
Meanwhile the main courses were better. I ordered the meatloaf (at the recommendation of our server) and it was darn good, although I have to admit I didn’t eat the fried egg and onion ring that came on top, but the bacon that is also piled on it good. My buddies ordered the buffalo chicken sandwich and raved about it. Excellent buffalo sauce and tender chicken. We also ordered a slice of Southern pecan pie, which did a solid job at representing The South (US).
In short, this is a great place for late night bite. When in Banff you won’t go wrong if you choose to dine here.

Mediocre food and service. Our waitress was super nice, but she barely came around and somehow our order came out wrong. My friend is lactose intolerant so she can’t have butter, her burger had butter on the bun and they didn’t give her lettuce. They forgot the cheese on my burger and gave me fries instead of a side salad. I mean, not a huge deal, but there was some sort of miscommunication somewhere. They took it back to get fixed and it came down no more than 3 minutes later.
The actual food wasn’t note worthy. We also split the duck confit sliders whichi were different, but not notable. The poutine was average as well.
Overall, an okay place. There were lots of tables at 5pm on a Sunday. It was seat yourself so we grabbed a huge booth for our party of 2.

Well, you lose a star for being a brew pub without gluten free beer available. You lose another star for bringing me regular pasta when I ordered gluten free.
However, you partly redeem yourself for having gluten free menu items and some delicious red wines that are made exclusively for your restaurant.
I’m not a fan of restaurants with televisions, but that’s just me. The food was OK, the wine was good, the service mediocre.

This place was pretty cool and I enjoy brewpubs like this. I got the «Mason Jar» cocktail, which was $ 12. My sisters and my sister’s husband got beers made by this brewery. The drink menu was awesome and I enjoyed sipping my drink. It was citrus with bourbon. The food menu was great with a lot options including salads, burgers, sandwiches, and even poutine. We got salt and pepper wings and beer cheese pretzels. The wings were too salty. Located in downtown Banff, this is a go-​to spot when going out in town. All cool young people.

Just an average restaurant. Salads were good, average beer, decent atmosphere. My spaghetti was entirely devoid of flavor somehow, that would warrant a 1 star. How do you have a flavorless spaghetti?! I honestly may go to the doctor when I get back to see if I have a sinus infection, no idea how it could be that flavorless.
Service was good, duck salad was really tasty, homemade chips were a nice touch. Overall, like I said: average place.

Free fast wifi!
We ended up eating here twice!
First night we ordered the poutine and the duck breast salad. Finding fresh kale out in the middle of nowhere is pretty hard. They do a pretty good job of a fantastic salad. Arugula and kale topped with a seared duck breast! MMMmmm… and Bacon vinaigrette?! YUM!!!
Poutine was delicious! How can you go wrong with french fries, curds, and gravy?!
Second night, we ordered the pork chop and the duck salad again. Pork chop was cooked medium well; it was still pretty juicy for such an overcooked pork chop. Definitely was nothing like Nopa SF’s but was acceptable. It came with a maple syrup sauce.
Service can be a bit slow on refilling drinks and the kitchen takes about 20 – 25 minutes to get food out.

Went there for a Stagette. We were late for our reservation and the host made a point of making us feel bad about it, Which I felt was unnecessary especially since a group of people were in the midst of leaving, freeing up a table. The waitress made up for the snarky host. They should give her a raise, she was pleasant, cheerful, and attentive. I would have given a one star rating had it not been for her service. Yes we were late, but we did call prior, to move our reservation by 30 minutes. Being in the service industry, I don’t think it’s prudent to scold your clientele especially when a table opened up right away allowing you to seat us.

This place hits the spot after a day of skiing. We visited Banff during low season, and it was still bustling here.
They brew a bunch of their own beers and I tried the current seasonal which was an Amber — it was excellent.
I had the buffalo chicken sandwich which was juicy and flavorful. The fries were awesome too — somehow fries are always better when served in a cone.

Un des très bons endroits à Banff pour manger un bout (par exemple: Burger ou Sandwich) ou pour boire une verre (ils brassent leur propre bière). Particularité à tester: la bière mélangée à la vodka et servie avec une boule de glacé vanille dedans ! (je n’ai pas eu l’occasion de goûter).

This is where I always like to start my evenings off in Banff. It’s a relaxed place to hang out until really really late on any day of the week and they serve up delicious beer that you’ve never had anywhere else.
It’s the right environment to enjoy great beer after a day of skiing. If you feel like going partying later that evening, this is the place to collect your thoughts and convert from ski mode, to party mode over a few local pints. Adding to this stellar laid-​back and cozy atmosphere its the friendly staff. It’s a cool bar, but everyone is down to earth and no one acts «to cool for school» because of it.
I’m excited to try the food next time I’m in because unfortunately, it’s been far too long for me to comment.
See you again soon, BA Brewing company! (Now, did the BA stand for Banff Ave… or Bad-​Ass?)