Le Beaujolais

We had a lovely dinner here while on vacation from the Bay Area. The décor is wood paneled, warm, calm and upscale with views of the mountains and downtown from the spacious second floor windows. White table cloths, a red rose and tapestries, with friendly professional staff. The crisp Arctic Char was perfectly done, with the skin crispy as promised, surrounded by pommes château, grated parsnips, beet, on a bed of spinach. Duck breast with foie gras with similar vegetables, no spinach, was delicious. Plating was a little messier than you’d expect given the silver domed presentation, but all was served at a perfect temperature. De-​caf coffee was good and strong. Given the prices were no higher than other popular, much more casual places in town, I’d say you receive a wonderful dining experience here, and I don’t agree at all with the previous negative reviews.

pretty bougie place I am not sure how to pronounce it maybe it is in spanish? anyway the food is interesting and not bad but they did not have traditional Spanish food like enchiladas and nachos instead they had these shellfish things called escargot lol

When I first arrived, I instantly appreciated that this was going to be a different dining experience than most of the places we had been to in Banff. The service was excellent from the beginning. I found this a pleasant surprise because I thought I was a bit underdressed for the occasion. The team generously dealt with the children in the party, joking with them about the size of the steaks that they had ordered and asking them who their favorite hockey teams were. With respect to the food, I had a delightful beef tartar and carpaccio combination followed by a wonderfully delicate roasted duck. The vegetable pairing was more pedestrian than I expected, but the duck and foie gras more than made up for it. What I was not a fan of was the wagyu ribeye. It was actually one of the worst ribeye steaks I have ever had, and the price point associated with this particular dish makes this essentially unacceptable.

I wish I could give more than five stars this was a memorable experience I would recommend to anyone. I went here for my birthday last year — I did the six course dinner that they customize to your tastes. I didn’t make the reservation (it was a surprise) but they apparently asked what kind of foods I liked and then incorporated that into a cohesive, beautiful dinner that was some of the best food I have ever had in my life. They even made a birthday cake from scratch that was impeccable and followed a specific design that has become tradition for my birthday cakes. They really met every strange or specific request with class and grace and I couldn’t have been happier.

Firstly, let me say the food was very good. Not particularly to die for but still great. The management was a very different case. We had a group of 8 and entered into a restaurant that was pretty empty on a Sunday evening around 7pm. This should have been a red flag for us here in Banff. It was a busy weekend in Banff with no reservations across town, yet this place was empty. We were waited by a lovely young woman who had only been working there for 2 weeks (according to her). Our food came late. We had to ask for our wine and drinks to be refilled. A few things on the menu were not available or out which was more challenging for us because we had a couple of people that had dietary restrictions. We asked our waitress why our drink and food order took some time, and she said that they had very few reservations in the daytime and thus, the bartender was not called in that day. She made the drinks HERSELF while trying to wait our table along with others. Our appetizers came late because she put our order in after she made our drinks. When you go to a place like this, you do not expect the bartender not to be there because it was expected to be slow. We were starving and staring at the bread across our table for about 15 minutes before it was served to us. Nevertheless, we knew the issues were not our waitress’s fault. When bringing up the issues with the manager, he was so arrogant and rude! He did not once apologize but insisted that we received the service of a 4-​diamond restaurant. Instead, he blamed it on our «substitutions» in the menu which: a) we called ahead of time to confirm and b) did not know they would be out of so many of their menu items. I can’t explain how rude he was. While I was talking to him very politely, he walked away twice! I was literally explaining to him the issues we had and he just walked away and blew me off. So extremely disrespectful. Perhaps he is not aware of this, but the restaurant business is about hospitality and besides our very nice waitress, there was no hospitality on his part. He took off a small portion of our bill but at this end of the day, it wasn’t about the money. When you pay big $$ at restaurants, you expect service. I will give one star for the great food but the manager’s attitude was completely uncalled for and quite frankly, ruined our first night here in Banff. I will never come here or recommend this place to anyone. He is honestly the worst restaurant manager I have come across in my life and has a some sort of stick up his you know what. Our group was actually discussing our experience with a waitress from our our hotel (Fairmont), and she talked about her negative experience there and having to deal with a very pretentious and rude atmosphere. I highly recommend that you go somewhere else. This place is not worth it at all. We are trying Trough tomorrow in Canmore and are so very excited after our horrible experience here.

The foie gras was to die for!

I have eaten here before and was impressed. This time my group was met with scorn by the snobbish young guy at the front. It was not an excellent first impression. The rest of the staff were great and the food was okay (not as good as I’ve previously had here). Be prepared to either put up with the snob at the front or don’t bother. There are other choices in Banff that are just as good and you can skip the attitude. I recommend a staffing change promptly or likely more business will be lost.

Found this place in a local directory of best places to eat. My husband my kids and myself went there for breakfast. The portions were small and I really mean small. Very oily cooking. Food arrived 20 – 30 min after we ordered My portion arrived 5 – 8 mum after others (ordered the same thing) with burned harsh brown. When I mentioned it to the hostess she didn’t even acknowledge it. Taste of food is ok aside that it’s oily. Good views. Go there for ambience and coffee not breakfast.

Classic French with Canadian twist. Elk Osso Bucco and Arctic Char both very good. Lobster salad a delicious start. Chocolate Almond warm cake with poached pear great finish. Service first rate!

Le Beaujolais lives up to the hype, but I disagree with the $$$$. In comparison to all other Banff restaurants, it’s not that much more & the food is amazing. The 6-​course meal is a bit over priced & we ended up spending $ 150 (2 people) which included 2 cocktails, 1 appetizer, the lamb entrée, the elk entrée, 2 glasses of wine with diner, & a dessert. Everything tasted amazing.

Happy New Year, Happy Groundhog Day, and… oops, I am still early for Happy Valentine’s Day ;-)
With my work schedule being what it has been, my keeping up with my write ups has been less than stellar… sorry for this…
I went to Le Beaujolais during my stay in Banff over the New Year holiday. In fact, I went on the 29^th of January. It is a restaurant that sits on the 2^nd floor of a corner building right off the park and bridge in Banff. In fact, from the street, it doesn’t look like much.
On this evening, with my companion we went and upon arriving we were greeted and our coats taken and then lead to our table. The décor is classic style, as the restaurant seems to adhere to a French «older» style (this is the best way I can put it). The nice thing about the restaurant is that it is has windows running on two sides of its walls so there is little chance of not sitting somewhere with a bit of a view of the street :-)
The wine list is reasonable in selection and price, I have to say. For my starter, I ordered the Lobster Bisque which was VERY good and not heavy laden with cream. My companion’s Crème di Tomate soup was also very good and though creamy, not too heavy. Of all the things I chose to order for my main was the Veal Scallopini (believe it or not, this is the second time I have actually ordered this dish ANYWHERE), my companion had the Dover Sole Meuniore which was deboned and prepared at the table. My Veal Scallopini was good and in fact, just what I needed as it was served with roasted vegetables. A bit on the salty side, but then again, I don’t use much salt if any when I cook, so for many, it may be just fine. The Dover sole was in fact very good (I got to taste a bit) and the presentation (de boning) and preparation of the plate at the table was quite nice. For dessert, I ordered a signature dessert of the restaurant called the «Raspberry Ballon» which was very good. Not sugary and it was creamy (almost a mousse, but more in line of a semi freddo). Very delicate flavour. My companion had the Poires Bernoise which was also quite good, but personally, I liked mine better.
The dinner was very good and the service was also good. One thing that must be said is that it is a higher end restaurant… this may be a bit off putting to some given the place (it’s not as «ritzy» looking as the Maple Leaf Grille on the same strip in Baff), however, given the quality of the food and the location, it is a very nice evening out.

Service was a bit slow, but has a wonderful wine menu. We went with a ’05 CdP (Laurent) and a full menu. Just lovely.

Decided to go here on our last day in the mountains and what a great way to end off a great trip. The restaurant itself is very well maintained and the atmosphere is warm and inviting especially for a fine dinning establishment. We started with the Chefs Choice, which was beef tartar and foie gras pâté, it was the perfect start to the meal. My wife had the arctic char and I had the elk osso bucco. Both dishes were excellently prepared and beautifully presented. For dessert we decided on the poached pear with salted caramel ice cream, it was as good as it sounds. The price point isn’t for the weak hearted, but if you are willing to pay for quality this is the place for you.

Was really quiet which was surprising. Used to be very hard to get in. The quality was superb which explains its reputation. Perhaps the slightly faded façade fools some people. Excellent value for Banff.

Wow… another disappointment in Banff. My husband and I decided to try this restaurant because of the reviews and we were let down. We should have known better. Never… ever…eat along the main strip of a touristy town! We were even warned by an American man that lives half the year in the Banff area but we still didn’t listen. We had high hopes and they were dashed.
The first sign should have been the empty restaurant. Granted it was early but when the streets and sidewalks are teeming with tourists and the restaurant had one other couple eating, that’s a sure sign. While the service was very good, the food was not. The «by the glass» selection of wines was limited… forcing you to pay the crazy prices for a bottle. But that’s okay as long as the food pleases. Wrong. I ordered the Elk Osso Bucco… big mistake. I know Elk is tougher than beef… I have had it before many times… but when there is gristle all throughout the meat, that’s when I say enough is enough. The plate cost $ 40 for about 3 ounces of meat. I had mixed feelings… the portion was small but then the quality was so bad, I didn’t want anymore. My husband had the lobster bisque… bland, slight tomato flavor too but it had nice bits of tender lobster ($ 17). He also had the Double Beef dinner, another pricey dish, since it included tenderloin and ’48 hours’ braised beef — apparently a reference to some new sort of metric time because the beef was still on the tough side. The tenderloin was served with gravy (okay) but the Béarnaise sauce with the braised beef… it was white and lacking any of the tarragon vinegar zing or even the yolky/​buttery béarnaise flavor… go figure.
Okay…so now a positive. The risotto with the Osso Bucco was very tasty — finished al dente with a very flavorful cream sauce. They should offer that as a main course and forget the Elk. And did I mention the wait staff was good! The owner visited several times and shared a bit of history and the wait staff was efficient and charming. The ample windows provided a great view of the valley and mountains too.
So sad… this place has been open for over 30 years. We thought for sure it would be good to be able to stay open for that long, but I guess they are relying on the one-​time tourist visits. Maybe it was a bad night… but darn, that ruined it for me. Go to Canmore (20 min south of Banff) where the real restaurants are located (slightly cheaper too, it seems).

Wowie was I ever impressed.
i’ve had dinner service here before a while back and it was delectable. This time I came back for the breakfast/​brunch which I did not expect much of. But they sure proved me wrong.
This great lil spot sits on the 2^nd floor corner facing the park and Banff Avenue up along the bridge. The large panoramic windows means you get the breathtaking view of the mountains, and the people scurrying along the avenue. Given it’s a french restaurant, you get the crisp white linens, the fancy silverware and you’re napkin laid on your lap upon seating.
It was really hard to choose what to eat, would it be the bagel and smoked salmon, french toast, traditional breakfast, omelettes, smoked salmon eggs benny? We settled on the glazed apple french toast, and traditional breakfast and were super pleased. The french toast was moist throughout and the apples gave it a fresh kick.
The traditional breakfast wasn’t so traditional, as I have never had such good hash browns. Moist and flavorful with every bite to the end. Fresh sausages, bacon and eggs definately made our morning. Fresh orange juice.
Will be coming here again.

I had a fantastic dinner here! I was traveling alone and was hesitant about dining at a romantic restaurant alone. (but I heard they had fantastic French food)…but they were fantastic!
They had a great table set up for one in a location of the restaurant that did not seem awkward.
I was greeted by the manager and my waitress. From the bread to the house made desserts it was delectable. I wasn’t that hungry so I ordered champagne, a glass of white wine, the sole (prepared table side by the manager), and the apple tart with cinnamon ice cream. The presentation was classic french and beautiful… and I cannot tell you the last time I had such delicious sole. After dessert (flaky pastry, carmel, apples, and ice cream) I was presented with a plate of beautiful and delicious house made cookies.
They called me a cab, presented my coat, and were a delightful bunch of restauranteurs. I very much enjoyed my dinner and recommend you go here if you like good food.