Bow Valley Grill

We dined here for dinner and the breakfast buffet. Prime rib was excellent and service was crisp. Breakfast was above average with plenty of choices. I really enjoyed the French toast and omelette station.

Best brunch ever! It is a bit on the busier side but it is well worth it. Reasonable price as well (about $ 45 each for the buffet). My favs were the eggs Benedict, the seafood taco station was incredible and the banana bread french toast was an amazing dessert. Will definitely come back.

Not just a pretty face. Finally made it back to Banff to try this place and it is certainly deserving of all its praise. Dinner was excellent and the breakfast buffet was very good. Service is top notch! Definitely one of the best services you’ll ever receive.
Braised Beef Short Rib…5 stars. This is the best short rib I’ve had in the Calgary area. The meat was fork tender and very flavorful. Whatever sauce the ribs were cooked in seeped into the thick cut of meat, not overwhelming but complimenting the taste of the protein. This was a well marbled cut, as well, cause I could taste the gelatinous goodness in every bite. The mashed potatoes were decadent, loaded with butter and cream.
Roast Alberta Prime Rib…5 Stars. As good as it gets. Nice flavorful crust with a juicy tender interior. Not much else to say other than it was delicious. Same mashed potatoes as the short ribs.
Saturday Breakfast Buffet…4 Stars. Once you’ve taken in the sight of all the food, you’ll realize there are a few hits and misses among the bunch and that some typical items are missing. Overall, this is a very good breakfast buffet and certainly worth visiting. In the bakery department, the apple turnovers and danishes are buttery delicious. The omelet station has a chef preparing your dish personally but the items are limited. The roasted tomatoes are excellent! Love the poached eggs but the scrambled ones were forgettable (the pot had no lid, leaving them dry with a crusty surface). The bacon was very good… you could taste the smokey flavor and there’s nothing better than freshly cooked bacon. The two selections of sausages were tasteless, unless you’re into that type. One of them should’ve at least been the fatty richer variety. The savory bread pudding was also forgettable… thin dry slices with a rich wine sauce equals a train wreck (reason why hardly any slices were taken). The pancakes are out of this world, best I’ve had! If anything, come for the pancakes! The French toast was also very good, as well as, the homemade apple preserve. The menu is always changing, so I’m sure there’ll be something different every time you visit.

Not only is the Fairmont gorgeous but has great selection of restaurants. The Bow Valley Grill has the most amazing brunch I have ever experienced. Awesome food. Good variety and great service. Definitely recommend

As a guest at the Fairmont I had breakfast here daily. There are a lot of options but none very appealing or well done.

We were here for breakfast several times. Very good. Good service and omellete station was wonderful

It took us a while to figure out where this place was, turns out it’s on the 1^st level by the elevators.
Anyway, my family and I went here for Dinner on a Saturday. We made reservations for 10 people. When we got to our seats, we were sort of seperated. 1 family on one table and another family on the other. It was okay but it was hard to make conversations because the gap between the two tables was quite large, it didn’t really bother us that much but it would’ve been nice to have one table for the 10 of us.
My biggest complaints though: for a high end restaurant, this restaurant did not satisfy at all. The food was expensive and the serving was tiny, this is coming from someone who doesn’t eat a lot, so you can just imagine the serving size. On top of that, we ordered pop and the cup was tiny and we never got refills. The server didn’t even bother asking if we needed more bread or water, when we waited for the food for nearly an hour, maybe more. When we finally got our bill, they added the 2 tables totals in one bill. We thought she was going to separate it since they took our orders at 2 different times, we got our food at different times, we were basically far from each other and was treated like 2 completely different tables. When we politely asked our server if we could separate the bill, she raised her voice and was all bitchy about it. Yeah, definitely don’t recommend this place.

After 10 painful vomiting hours I have enough energy to write my review.
We went here for the dinner buffet. $ 49 per person. It was Valentine’s weekend so it was to be a special outing. The food looked amazing and was very good. The service was impeccable. Why a low rating then? I was a victim of food poisoning. From 7:30am to about 5:30pm I was violently ill. Still recovering as I type in this review.
I can’t tell what was the culprit as I must have tried about 8 – 10 dishes.

When staying at the Fairmont properties, I normally have excellent customer service. However while dining at the Bow Valley Grill, I had the most appalling customer service by the waitstaff and had a very unpleasant dining experience. As a courtesy to the Fairmont management, I had informed them of my experience via e-​mail and did not receive a response from them even after requesting to be contacted. This was the nail in the coffin that has lead to this poor review.
There must have been a serious staff shortage of the wait staff and in the kitchen of the Bow Valley Grill. Even with the restaurant over half empty, we waited over 10 minutes for the menus, 30 minutes to be served with bread, and over an additional hour (yes, approximately 100+ minutes in total) sitting at the table waiting for the main entrée to be served while practically begging the waiter for water and additional bread. I even went to the wait station to ask for service. The dessert took another 30 minutes to receive. We had to harass the waiter to eventually get our bill which took an addition 30 minutes after we were clearly done eating. The whole meal took over 3.5+ hours which was ridiculous considering we had an appetizer, two entrees, and two desserts. This isn’t the French Laundry where meals are expected to take a long time.
I am sure this exceptional poor night must be contributed to dire circumstances that may have been out of the management’s control, however I would be highly embarrassed by the quality of service if I was associated with the establishment. Even if I’m staying at the Fairmont Banff Springs, I refuse to eat at the Bow Valley Grill and would much rather travel up to Fairmont Lake Louise for a meal.

Food was perfectly cooked and inventive. The bison Mac and Cheese was really rich and flavorful as well as their trout dish. Service was a bit slow when we were seated but improved after our server arrived.

My family of five came here as a treat for dinner, and we were absolutely delighted by the meal!
The ambience is classic Fairmont — a mixture of class and comfort, clean and spacious dining environment.
Service is professional and attentive, but still friendly.
And the food? Well worth the money!
We started with the duet of romaine salad (a lovely mixture of two romaines with nicoise style flavourings), the seared scallops (fantastic, large, perfectly cooked, on a bed of delicious lentils imbued with duck confit), the mussels (steamed in a very flavourful broth), and a caesar salad (very good).
The wine list is thoughtful, and well aid out, which give us time to have a sip before the main dishes arrive.
Ny wife and I opt for the 10 oz ribeye, my sons go for the tenderloin. The tenderloin is just that — tender, flavourful, perfectly cooked, served on a bed of home made spaetzle with foie gras and mushrooms. My mouth is watering just talking about it. The ribeyes are to die for — so tender I could almost cut it with my fork, with the rich nutty flavour that comes from long dry aging. Now that’s a good steak!
I know this place is one of the more expensive eateries in Banff, but unlike the tourist traps, this place delivers top quality food for the dollar.
Very highly recommended.
Also came here for the breakfast buffet — wow!
One of the better (and expensive) ones I have been to.
There is a very large selection of quality meats products from the traditional breakfast items like bacon and sausage to smoked salmon. There is a fantastic smoothie bar, a very good selection of grains, nuts, fruits (fresh and dried) an omelet station, and more. it isn’t possible for one person to sample all the food there, and the good news is that it is all very high quality.
Service is friendly and you won’t have to wait for your coffee, tea, or gluten free toast.
You just have to pay for the excellence, that’s all.

Smoothie bar, great views, average age 55+, masses of tour bus guests prior to 8 AM but worth the price. Mediocre tea so bring your own and OJ from concentrate so plan properly.
Service is terrible, had to ask for honey three times and we weren’t even done eating and waitress was at the table talking about our bill — think factory service standards!!!

The weekend brunch here gets my vote for «best brunch» probably… well, ever. A statement I don’t make loosely and was echoed by the 3 others dining with me. It’s definitely priced for that title though at $ 45pp but it’s worth it even if it’s not really in my budget to do frequently. I love the antique charm of the décor and the views of the river valley. Our service was top notch — bus boy bent over backwards and was on top of our every movement. The chiefs offered great service, I saw them giving a few people with dietary restrictions tours of the buffet and even making up «off buffet» variances to suit various different things. One kitchen staff member happily called the pastry department for ingredients to confirm something for a guest. My fiancé asked for an salmon eggs benedict with eggs a little bit harder than usual and the omelet chief cheerfully created him one (this is not his job), tracked down the table we were at and delivered it personally. I’ve never seen the likes of this on a buffet before.
The success of the food (beyond the quality kitchen staff the banff springs is famous for) is small batches of food. They do not have HUGE platers of food waiting for people, they have small plates (a la carte sizing) that are rotated VERY frequently. I never saw the same plate twice as I walked around (you can tell because the garnish is all similar but different). Everything tasted fresh (because it was) like you’d expect in a high quality a la carte meal. This type of arrangement is like ordering a whole menu because you can, laying it out and picking at what you’d like to sample rather than food for the masses type experience. Some things are in fact made to order — pasta and omelet stations were available.
My dining companions were ga ga for the seafood and wild meats. I am a vegetarian but was equally enamoured in what I was able to eat from. The highlights for me was the mac and cheese (I’m not sure the cheese mixture in there, but it was to die for), banana bread french toast, desert offerings and the baked brie with a tomato, olive and caper tapenade. Everything was great, even the things I didn’t like as much were mostly just things I didn’t want to waste stomach space on (but would gladly eat a different day).
There were only two negatives to report from brunch: 1. I totally over did it and regretted it for hours and missed out on the hot springs that day because I didn’t feel well and 2. There was a very upset man being turned away because her didn’t have a reservation. Let that be a lesson for you all boys and girls, reservations for brunch are essential and eat with moderation! Otherwise, this is a «totally recommend» as long as the price is something you can work with.

This is a bit of a Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde review. The REGULAR brunch is unrivaled locally in terms of setting, view, food and service. The EASTER brunch (and I’m assuming other special days) is not worth it at all. Read on for details.
The regular brunch has all the items you’d normally expect on a brunch, but they are fancier. For example, prime rib with Yorkshire pudding, banana bread French toast with real maple syrup, and chocolate parfaits. In addition to the staples (including the obligatory omelette station), there is typically a selection of more exotic proteins like duck, rabbit, and bison done up with a la carte quality ingredients like morel mushrooms. There is an assortment of cold seafood and well-​prepared sushi available too. The table to buffet station ratio is low, meaning you aren’t fighting with people to get at the food. The setting us beautiful, with many tables overlooking the golf course, with clear views of the surrounding mountains.
The EASTER brunch on the other hand forgoes the vistas for the interior of one of the hotel’s ballrooms. This also means a lot more traffic at the buffet tables, leading to a less relaxed atmosphere. The special menu for this extra pricey day is supposed to be even fancier than normal, but my experience is the exact opposite. It appeared to be straight out of a 1970’s cookbook, with chicken a la king in puff pastry, beef stroganoff, and overcooked beef roast. While it was supposed to boast a little more seafood than normal, the bowls of cocktail shrimp and crab legs by no means compensate for the lack of game dishes and sushi.
To their credit, the staff moved us to the conservatory, bought us mimosas, and comped a buffet for our party when we pointed out that we brought epicurean friends from out of town especially for this and that it was simultaneously both more expensive and subpar compared to the regular brunch.
If you’d never gone to the regular brunch, you might think the Easter one was okay, but definitely overpriced. If you’d come expecting the regular menu++, it was sorrily disappointing. While they might have taken out critique to heart, I wouldn’t bet on them changing their M.O. on such a high demand day… it is the same bar-​lower effect that you see at nice restaurants on Valentine’s Day.

Spectacular, fantastic! Great food, artfully presented and delicious! Mountain views! Terrific service with attention to the details! Lovely evening, great value for 2 & 3 course meals fix prix! Dessert buffet to die for! Setting the bar pretty high for future date nights!

You get a lot of selection… if this were in San Francisco, it would be easily twice the price…
I can’t give it more than 3 stars though… everything was fairly fresh, but cooked meats were WAY overcooked. Tried the eggs benedict, but the poached egg was poached hard. The duck was fine, the sirloin and the lamb were cooked to dryness.
The dessert selection was good– white peach parfait was very refreshing, and the chocolate terrine was decadent as usual.

Eeeeeeee…
Fairmont’s, on the whole, are overrated. Especially the ones up in the mountains wherein the public area is kept up amazingly well, but the rooms deteriorate and deteriorate, TV’s don’t get updated to newer technologies, décor and beds and especially dingy carpets stay the same… All hidden behind a very popular name.
There was little to nothing that I found extraordinary at the Bow Valley Grill. I’ve been there a few times when I was younger with my parents, but returning with my friends, I did not understand how they could justify the prices, nor did I find the service any different than your local pub, which isn’t to say it was horrible, but it definitely showed added to the fact that I completely believe Fairmont hides behind a great name and doesn’t worry about the quality of anything else.
The décor of the hotel and the bow valley grill, as seen by the public is amazing. But besides that, there is no point in doing anything but a tour here because you do NOT get what you pay for here.
They have a fairly extensive gluten free menu, though from what our server said, most of those dishes were prepared in other parts of the resort in other restaurants (and had to be «brought over, so we don’t advise it» — sign of laziness and if you don’t offer those options or don’t want to commit to them, don’t put them on, or include them with your menus).
I was there with a few friends my age, dressed to the right code («Resort casual (no ripped jeans or exercise wear)») but you could tell our waiters dismay at such a young table (and a table they probably assumed to be cheap or whatever). I could sense that right from our servers treatment of us. Well, apparently, we could afford to stay in that overpriced motel (and I reiterate that the rooms are no better than an average motel, but the décor and views are amazing).
Now on to the food… Some of my colleagues found the food to be quite good with lots of flavour. Me… well I was unlucky maybe. Do NOT get the bouillabaisse. It honestly tasted like they dumped a bunch of seafood in beer and warmed it to lukewarm and served it. Sometimes I worry that my tastes aren’t refined enough, but everyone that tried it at my table spat it out and couldn’t believe I didn’t try and fix something (even the ones that thought that their dish was the best they had ever tasted, so I was sure that the flavour was really off). I didn’t even want to bother with our excuse for a server because he would probably just think we were trying to get free things and just left my $ 30 beer soup for the garb-​orator. Tried the shrimp appetizer. Three medium sized shrimp on wilted veggies does not justify a $ 15 or so price tag.
Dessert bar for $ 12? Also not worth it. There was actually nothing good about my visit besides the waiters were well groomed and the décor/​view was good, so they get 2 stars.
My suggestion if you’re visiting Banff, visit the hotel and the surroundings, but don’t waste your money on a stay or food here, they have no reason to uphold quality when they can ride off the coat tails of a reputation that they haven’t deserved for a long time.

A trip to the Bow Valley Grill for brunch is one of those «go-​to» plans for really treating out of town guests. It’s an experience that truly highlights the «world class» that is situated in our own backyards.
The Fairmont Banff Springs is spectacular in its own right — a see it to believe it hotel and setting among the best in the world. Setting foot on the property only elevates the dining experience: you are indeed part of something special by being here.
The brunch, as brunches go, is top shelf.
A large and satisfying selection of everything you’d expect, and typically many surprises. I personally try to eat less the standard «breakfasty» items, as you can get that anywhere, saving room for the items that make this brunch a step up. Examples are the wild game, prepared and with sauces that surprise. Delicious! Not the «gamey» wild meats I’ve tasted elsewhere!
It does make me wonder, though, about the pesky elk roaming the golf course out front. Hmmmmmm. ..

For fine dining in Banff, this is the best. I have been eating here with my family since for over 10 years and I feel like the Bow Valley Grill is a place worthy of spending time for Brunch or a late Dinner.
Location — Banff Springs Hotel, perched on a hill-​top amongst the rockies, with views of the mountains, the beautiful wildlife, the river and the golf-​course below. The scenery changes with the seasons and the dining experience is as enjoyable in the winter as it is in August.
Food — The food selection is impressive, the menu is extensive and the quality of the food is undeniably high. The buffet for the weekend brunch or the other buffets are excellent. The buffet often features a theme, but overall the food can be described as ‘Alpine’, with influences from Northern Italy, Savoy, Switzerland, Germany, and the Canadian Rockies.
The interior of the restaurant has in recent years been remodeled along with the rest of the hotel and is quite luxurious and elegant without being stuffy.
The pricing is relatively high, but for the quality of the food, the view of the Rockies and the sense of grandeur than comes with eating at the Banff Springs, the price is not out of order.

When a friend mentioned having brunch in Banff this weekend my partner and I jumped at the chance. The Fairmont is a breathtaking hotel, with 770 rooms on the edge of a water view and is nothing less than a castle.
We had a reservation and they seated us in the lobby until someone was free to take us for a Brunch tour. Because anything short of this would be unjust as there must have been 10 serving areas to get food.
Our escort brought us to the dessert area which had at least 10 five star dessert choices, Tiramisu, Lemon Meringue Mouse, Chocolate Cheesecake, Chocolate Tureen, Berry swirl Cheesecake, Strawberry Mouse, Walnut Cranberry flan, Crème Caramel, cookies and brownies. I was so impressed by the dessert list I couldn’t concentrate on all the other areas, but I will try.
One of the most important areas is the omelette area, where you and an in house chef create a fresh omelette of your choice with any ingredient that you want, I decided on a mushroom, spinach and mozzarella cheese omelette.
There was a nice cold food area, with a nice array of salads black bean and potato. There was slices of veal roast, there was pâté and assorted cheeses and two heaping plates of fresh smoked salmon and smoked fish. On the side if you looked very carefully you saw baked brie with raspberry sauce.
The traditional breakfast items were in their own section; eggs Benny, corn beef hash, frittatas, sausages, bacon, waffles, French toast, pancakes and sausage and beside this was a small counter to have your choice of cereal with milk.
The hot menu item choices was out of this world; roast duck with cherry sauce, chicken breast with herb, beef medallion, salmon with creamy leak sauce, smoked braised pork, swordfish, leg of lamb, roasted duck penne, and strip loin.
All these choices come with a selection of salads, a pizza counter, and an eggroll and dumpling counter. We sat at an elaborate table for four with fine crystal and tablecloths to bottomless freshly squeezed orange juice and coffee.
If that isn’t enough how about breathtaking views of the mountainside and exceptional table service.
Now all this at $ 40 plus tax which is pretty good considering if you went out for a fancy meal in Calgary you can count on your entrée being about that much.
This is a nice weekend option that you should definitely pencil in for a family outing or for a group or a special romantic getaway. I can’t say enough good things about the Bow Valley Grill except I wish I had a 10 star rating.