Block Kitchen and Bar

I had the best meal of my entire trip to Banff at the Block! The menu isn’t especially large, but everything sounds appealing. The food and service are excellent. There are a few specials every day and many of the lunch items are on the dinner menu as well. I ordered the Thai Chicken Curry (daily special), probably the best curry I have ever had. My other two partners ordered the crispy chicken sandwich and the burger. Everything is well executed: presentation and attention to detail. I will definitely eat here again before going home. Thank You!!!
They also play great music!
Went back the following day to savor my last meal in Banff. I highly recommend ordering whatever the daily special is. I ordered the Thai chicken curry again and it was a different curry from the previous day but equally tasty. We also ordered the pork belly sandwich and poutines –amazing! You’d think after eating there twice we would find something about the place we didn’t love. Everyone who works there is nice and attentive. Looking forward to our return trip to Banff and to Block!

The food was 5 stars… Service was 3. This place has the potential to be 5 stars. Maybe the staff was having an off night. Location and parking are easy. I think the food was slightly over priced, but not totally out of range.

The best food we had in Banff. The food is creative and very delicious. We tried the fried chicken sandwich and the curry.

Came here for my boyfriends birthday dinner while we were out in banff. I love small, unique restaurants and that is exactly what this place is. I enjoyed the wonderful Juniper Flower drink and it was so tasty. I asked the bartender about the different ingredients in the drink and he explained each, showed me the bottles and let me smell them as well which was really nice (do not find that kind of attention from a lot of places). Then we got a bottle of wine which was fantastic. The charcuterie board was amazing and then the smoked bison flat bread to top it off and it was one of the best dinners I have had in a while. This place is totally worth a try. Definitely an adult place, would not bring children. If you like something unique and different that has great tasting food and good drinks, definitely check this place out, you won’t be disappointed.

Mega Salat! Wir waren sehr zufrieden! Nette und unaufdringliche Bedienung! Schöné Überraschung in Banff! Klare Empfehlung!

Our food was ok. The flavors in the curry special I had were good but I was disappointed that the chicken was all brown meat. The same with my daughters chicken skewers. With the pricy nature of these dishes I would have expected a higher quality (white/​breast meat).

Everything was perfect! Had their gluten free salad which tasted amazingly good. It had a good balance of sweet, salty and a tad of crunchiness from the walnuts. The ambience of the place was very comfortable with nice interior design and outdoor seats for those who would like to feel the cool breeze. The service was also very commendable as she was really friendly and welcoming. Though their lunch menu was not particularly extensive, the quality of the food certainly makes up for it. Overall, I would recommend anyone to try out this place, both for their lunch and dinner menu!

Small place. Great food and awesome drinks.
Tucked away just off the Main Street definitely worth the stop by. Price of food is good and it is very tasty. Can’t wait to go back!

I like coming to Block for a drink, but am eating here less often now that they have reduced the number of vegetarian options on the menu. They used to have more meatless options, including daily specials, and I miss them.
However, there are still a few items I can eat on the menu, and they are decent. Staff are quite friendly to chat with if you are sitting at the bar, so it is a good place for us to stop while wandering the shops. We’ll almost always get a bit of Banff gossip when we pop in. They have a small selection of wines and cocktails in addition to a few beers on tap.
Not a large place, but they do apparently take reservations if you want to be certain to get a seat. There is a small patio in good weather.

We had incredible dinner here, one of the better meals I’ve had! It’s hard to describe the food, maybe Asian-​Indian-​Mediterranean fusion? But menu is not very long but filled with interesting choices. Everything we ordered was exceptional and it’s a vibrant, young atmosphere. My wife particularly enjoyed a cocktail with gin and beet, very innovative and delicious. Best to get a reservation, it’s very busy.

Good vibe! The place is small. Tables, kitchen and bar are very close to each other and it seats about 30 ppl when full.
The menu has interesting choices and most flavours are really good and new. My advice: don’t over use the coconut oil and the ragout needs to come out of the menu.

Stopped by for lunch on our first trip into Banff based on the ratings on Unilocal and menu items. It’s good… However the prices were more than posted on the website! We had the duck poutine (which is more of a pulled pork and curry looking/​tasting sauce. $ 20) and the bison flatbread. We were quite disappointed by the flatbread as it was about the size of a hand for the price of $ 17!!? What is that about!

Great option for dinner in Banff. Conveniently located right in the middle of downtown.
Good food. We ordered a flatbread and a curry special as well as an appetizer. All plates arrived quickly and were great. Service is prompt and friendly.
This is a tiny restaurant that gets busy fast so make sure you have a reservation.

Walked by this place many times before and kind of skipped by since it was pretty small inside and looked fairly busy. Anyways, determined, we put in a reservation (7:30 pm for next day cause they were that busy the same day!) for just the wife and baby.
Just so happened that they had a tapas special Tuesday night. We ordered the Pork Belly Asian Wraps (great sauces to go with the pork, although the pork is missing some texture), Duck Poutine (good blend or sauce with the duck meat), Seared Saikyo Miso Scallops (great texture and nice Asian flare of cous cous) and the Zen Salad (pretty decent, almost too much dressing, could use a little more toasted walnuts to mask the dressing).
We were starting to get full but wanted to try more which for me is a great sign of a fantastic menu. The environment is quite lively, and the décor is quite nice. Seating on the bench is quite tough on the bum, but worth the workout for the food we got to experience. We’ll definitely be back to try other menu items, thanks for the wonderful time!

Fantastic– saw so many people look at the menu and pass by while we were eating here and couldn’t help feeling sorry for them. Incomprehensibly, we almost had the place to ourselves.
Please eat here so that it stays open. I would like to come back next time I’m in Banff.
Oh yes the food… Inventive, fresh, with unexpected juxtapositions that worked phenomenally. Scallops, chicken skewers, pig and fig, apple and squash soup special, red curry mussels special, duck spring rolls… Mm-​mm-​mm!

This place was straight-​up awesome all-​around. Had the charcuterie and cheese board which featured a good variety of local and house-​made items. Next was the pork belly topped burger, great flavor and bun. This was paired with a great side salad; again, a lot of great flavor. Fries were thin-​cut and well-​seasoned.
Interesting beer selection. I had a pale ale from New Brunswick and an IPA from BC, both went well with the food. The wine list was small, but some good options which paired well with the food.
Our server Chevon was friendly and attentive. Would definitely return and explore the menu further.

Loved this cute little tapas & wine bar! The food was delicious — highly recommend the curry which today was a panang curry better than most Thai places & the spicy shrimp! The staff is really friendly and service is great!
I would recommend making a reservation as the restaurant is small. There is a parking lot across the street which is convenient.

Block: Kitchen and Bar (that’s how it’s phrased) has a novelty wine rack where bottles poke out of the wall. The light fixtures are either copper bowls or wireframe models of wormholes (at least I think). The name of the restaurant in branded into the serving boards. The drinks menu is glued to a slab of wood. The menu sits on a podium at the entrance. To put it simply, Block is cool, but in that annoying, trendy cool, the kind you both love and hate. The kind you like to hang around with and glean some attention from, but when away, begin to loathe and begrudge. That guy that both plays video games and goes to the gym. That girl that has a baby and regains her figure inside of a week. I bet the owners all smell like jasmine and say words like «urban» and «rustic» in casual conversation. One of them probably has an epic and perfectly groomed hipster beard.
I’m not heading towards a negative review. I love Block… like I love Samuel L. Jackson or Christopher Walken, amazing actors, though you suspect are probably a little weird. I mean read that description above; it works. The food is absolutely stunning, let’s get that out of the way, but let’s also not deny some of the issues one could find with this restaurant. For one, its bar takes up more real estate than the anything else in the entire establishment. It’s obtrusive the way West Edmonton Mall is. Block’s menu differentiates food by vegetarian, gluten free or vegan… because apparently that has to be a thing now. Block’s website opens with the words «Urban Rustic» (I knew it!), stealing my most common descriptors, though I admit ones that don’t indicate anything about what kind of food to expect.
There’s another issue with the menu. It commits a sin that I admit personally gets my hackles up: it lists appetizers as tapas. For those who need clarification, tapas should be presented as dozens of small offerings at cheap prices, meant to encourage numerous dishes shared among friends. It is not a synonym for «starters». An 18 $ cheese board is not tapas, neither is a $ 29 charcuterie. Asian lettuce wraps for $ 14? No. About the only thing that could qualify are the $ 5 fries (served with sumac and spicy mayo). A restaurant in my hometown committed that same transgression, and the public never let them forget it. Okay, so it’s established, you cannot rename appetizers as tapas unless you wish to invite ridicule.
That pushed aside, what’s left is truly impressive. The menu options, even the ones under the tapas banner, are all tempting. We ended up settling on the 16 $ Block burger (Angus beef, pork belly, roasted tomatoes, onion compote, mayo, and smoked cheddar) and the smoked pepper sausage & cheese sandwich (asiago, smoked mozzarella, leafy greens, onion compote, and grainy mustard), both served with the aforementioned side of fries. Although it took a while for our meal to arrive, the delivered wooden planks were topped with two of the best looking and tasting sandwiches I’ve ever had. These are the types of meals reputations are built on.
They can be forgiven for the whole tapas thing; maybe I’m just working out issues. Here’s the thing: there’s a restaurant in my hometown that mimics many of the themes Block succeeds at. Where it differs is that Block’s «urban» and «rustic» ideology didn’t impede my enjoyment of the meal. With our local place, it did – chairs were oddly shaped, the bathrooms were labeled like Picasso-​prints – I felt like I had to solve Lemarchand’s box each time I ate there (a Hellraiser reference… yeah, no one got it on my review of that place either). Clarification through comparison – Block is a Lancer Evolution with proper ground effects and a stage 2 turbo tune while this local place is a Subaru WRX with an STI body kit and an 80 lbs. metal wing (wow, damning)
The Block is cool in ways that enhanced my experience, like the small reeds tied with a knot rather than large toothpicks to keep sandwiches together. Yes, it’s a tad more expensive than your average lunch, but there’s value with the delivered meal. If I lived in Banff – and seriously, why would I – I could imagine Block being my regular spot. I’d imagine having a reserved stool by the bar where I would enjoy a meal while chatting it up with the owners… because I might, just might, come off a little cooler by just hanging out with them. They’d call me by my first name. I’d ask for a sandwich, and they’d just make me sandwich. I wouldn’t care what was in it. They’d serve me wine and we’d talk about the cool people they had in their establishment that day. They’d introduce me, say I was cool… sigh…dreamy – I-I…mean…sorry.
They got good burgers.
Food: ⁵⁄₅
Service: 3.5÷5
Presentation: ⁴⁄₅
Value: 4.5÷5
Recommendation: 4.5÷5

Wandering around Banff we checked on Unilocal to see what was good around us, oddly enough the highest rated places where right next to where we were standing.
Checking each of the menus we decided on Block. Small modern venue, only negative thought was that the TVs playing sports were a distraction from the vibe they were trying to create, maybe some interesting video art or foreign films, sports just seemed out of place.
When we got there it was just a few patrons but quickly filled up and we were told it is always pretty busy here.
The bartender, Andy, was our waiter and he did a decent job and was very pleasant.
The Orange Mojito was excellent and the Kiwi G&T was one of the best Gin and Tonics I’ve had the pleasure to experience.
The food was pretty good but not quite great. Decent portions and very flavorful. The sauces were bright and exciting.
I would recommend eating here while in Banff.

This place is amazing! We enjoyed the tapa style. It’s a picnic of delicious gourmet food. The drinks are fresh, made from fresh fruit and organic ingredients. We really liked the watermelon splashand the orange mojito.

We have been here twice now. Once alone and once with our 7 year old. Kids are ok till 10pm
Small and squishy but well located. Food options are good for vegans, vegetarians and omnivores. Drink list is good, beer is good. Juice for the kids.
We ordered several tapas both times and they all came out nicely; hummus platter, cheese platter, edamame… you can’t really screw this stuff up… or can you?
The staff is friendly and there are some seats outside that work well in summer. Great pit stop for a good nosh… they have good mules too.
Room at the bar for a quick bevvie where you can enjoy boarding and nature videos on the screens.
There are usually specials that look decent.
We would definitely return.