Tooloulou’s

We stopped in here for a quick breakfast bagel for our hike around Banff.
The atmosphere and the wait staff and a look at their menu convinced us that we had to come back before our trip ended.
The best mix of Arcadian and Louisiana.
Y’all have to try their southern food. It’s the best.

One of the best breakfasts I have ever had. Period. I only wish I had known about this place sooner! Your typical breakfast fare along with some delicious options with a cajun/​creole flare. I was feeling «adventurous» so I ordered the crawfish and asparagus omelette. Some of you reading this might think that sounds less than appetizing, but I can’t describe to you in words how delicious it was. Everything ordered at my table was presented nicely and tasted even better. It lines up pretty quick, so go early! Great service and decent coffee.

After searching for a place to eat for dinner during our first night in Banff, we finally decided to eat here out of all the other choices nearby. The food looked good and the restaurant was cute, so I thought this place would be decent if not great.
Mistakes were made.
This was by far the most disappointing meal of our trip. Not only did the food come out ridiculously slow (we waited nearly forty minutes for our appetizer, entrée, and house salad), the food was mediocre and portions were dinky. We ordered the seafood skillet, which came with two «jumbo shrimp», 2 scallops, and some crawfish, rice, and cornbread for $ 39. For this price, I expected much more. The shrimp were NOT jumbo size, that was definitely false advertising. The crawfish was also salty and the scallops were overcooked :(The fried oysters were okay, but they only gave us three pieces! For like $ 12. That is a bit pricey. The only thing that was worth getting was the house salad. If it weren’t for that, we would have left the restaurant hungry…
The service was also lacking. Our waitress was too busy to take our order, so another guy took it. After that, she never came to our table until we tried to get her attention since the food still hadn’t come out yet.
If it weren’t for the salad, I would have given this place one star.

I’m a pretty big breakfast fan, and this was one of the best I have ever had! Our waitress was from England and was one of the nicest people ever, sadly I can’t remember her name! She made the experience even better! I had the breakfast poutine which I had never tried until that day (the waitress recommended it). I absolutely loved it. If I can remember right, It had fried potatoes, cheese curds, bacon, onions, eggs, and hollandaise sauce. I think I’m going to be spoiled, because no breakfast poutine could ever top that! If you’re in the Banff area, you have to try this place.
We had a party of 6 and had to wait about 25 minutes since it is such a small place. It was definitely worth the wait.

Average food, average service, average prices.
Unfortunately nothing really struck me as being memorable.
It’s a very small restaurant and they have a lot of wasted table space (two people seated at four seat tables). So that translates to waiting for a table. They might want to consider having a few two seat tables or perhaps have shared table seating like bench seating. It’s frustrating to wait for a table when there are 12 empty chairs staring you in the face. Their setup isn’t very efficient.
Because this place specializes in canjun food I figured they must do it right, so I ordered the quintessential canjun dish, jambalaya. It was OK. no doubt it was made in-​house but it tasted like store bought. So yea I’ve had better. It wasn’t even spicy. It was pretty much blah.
My overall recommendation… If there’s a long wait for a table, move on to another restaurant.

We waited 20 minutes for an outside table since it was a lovely, clear day in Banff. You can order lunch or breakfast until 2pm. We opted for the breakfast.
My boyfriend ordered Apple cinnamon French toast. It was super sweet and filling. He said it was «okay». I think he went into sugar overload as he was lethargic thereafter.
I had the eggs Shannon: poached eggs over a buttermilk biscuit and crawfish on top. It was a bit too «crawfishy» for my liking.
The restaurant is tiny, with a good vibe. Is definitely would try them again as they have endless options.

Extensive menu with fantastic food. We’ve been for breakfast twice now and will be back again. First time waitress was fantastic, very attentive and chatty. Second time a different waitress was just okay. Needed to be reminded of things like cream for coffee. Seemed rushed although Touloulous is always busy and packed out for breakfast. Expect to wait but it is so worth it for the French toast.

I came here on during Victoria Day weekend. We made reservations the day of, and they were very accommodating. Service here is impeccable. Our waiter was absolutely friendly and super fun to chat with.
My friends and I ordered the following:
1) CRAB & CORN BISQUE: It was good, but not THAT amazing.
2) MISSISSIPPI MUSSELS: My friends ordered this, but I didn’t eat it. However, they said it was pretty amazing. The cornbread was good as well (that we saved it for the next day to eat too).
3) SHRIMP & CRAWFISH ETOUFFÉE: Good mix of crawfish and shrimp in some delicious sauce. Kind of gets spicy over time.
4) CREOLE JAMBALAYA: I had this for myself. I totally devoured it. It was kind of spicy as I ate more of it – but it was definitely a delicious dish.
Overall, had a great time at Tooloulous. Will definitely recommend this to anyone who’s visiting Banff.

This place is incredible. So good that we went for supper one night and breakfast the next morning! We had the full bucket of crawfish and frog legs and alligator bites. Everything was excellent– the food, the atmosphere, the friendly staff. I highly recommend this place!

Got here late and still awesome staff ready to serve. I love Cajon food and most like gumbo and jambalaya. Both were on the menu.
I went for the gumbo and it was just amazing with the right amount of heat. Served generously with a big hunk of fresh corn bread. Highly recommend!

Good ol’ Southern cooking. We wanted to try the alligator bites were certainly interesting. I wouldn’t say they were overly delicious but it was an experience trying them and glad that we did. Some pieces tasted quite fishy and others were more chewy.
We split the full rack of ribs which was a ton of food. We were glad we shared just an app and this entrée. The ribs were very tasty and the sauce had a nice sweetness to them. Quite tender as well. The cajun fries were nice and the green beans with cheese and a tomato sauce was excellent.
The service was very prompt and our server was overly friendly. Overall, an interesting, tasty and very filling dinner.

Awesome spot in Banff. Authentic down home Cajun quisine with fun kitschy décor, super cool staff and a great cocktail menu, too. We took a table for two facing the street. A nice little nook where we could check out the goings on at the club across the street.
Meanwhile, I put an order in for an Alabama Slammer solely based on the name and let me tell you it was delish and packed quite a punch! Served in a mason jar.
My man had a spicy gumbo. Very tasty, spicy and filling. I went for a little something on the lighter side; the Steamer Bucket. A mixture of clams, mussels and craw fish in a light lemon broth. Perfect. Fun presentation in a steel bucket with instructions on how to take those little craws apart. Comes with a nice big slab of corn bread.
I loved this place. Next time I’d give the gator and frog combo a try!

Busy little restaurant in the Banff! Got there for their breakfast menu and ordered the sizzling rivalry Benedict. The eggs were nicely poached and overall the flavour was pretty good. One of them came with shrimp the other came with crab. The down side was that the crab tasted a little fishy.
Get there early before the massive wave or else you’ll get a line up

Must dine here if you are ever in Banff! Had dinner with a couple of friends and ordered the alligator bites and frogs legs DELISH! Also had the mussels and ribs, fantastic.
Service was awesome, the staff answered all our questions and made ordering our meal simple. The restaurant is a little bit on the small size but that added to the ambiance. Will definately come back next time I’m in town.

We came here for breakfast after looking online at the menu and we weren’t disappointed! If I lived in Banff, I’d probably go broke from trying everything on their menu! I love breakfast foods and they have everything from waffles/​pancakes/​crepes to eggs benedict/​omelets and plates with sausage and eggs and you-​name-​it! Or simple things like fruit and toast or bagels.
I ordered the Wrap It Up breakfast wrap– it was a great size, everything in it tasted so fresh and it had the perfect ratio of stuffing to wrap and eggs. What made it even more stellar were the skillet potatoes– I even took my extras home and I only had about 10 pieces. They were crispy and salted just right. I know they’re just potatoes but honestly the best I’ve ever had!
My hubby got the Vik & Dik (just regular) eggs benedict and practically licked his plate clean. I had to fight him off stealing my potatoes after he finished his! We also shared the strawberries and cream crepes– they were tasty. Perhaps not the best crêpe I’ve had but decent! The berries were very fresh.
It was a Tuesday morning so I doubt it’s as busy as they usually get but still quite a steady stream of people flowing in– no one seemed to wait super long to be seated.
We will be back and willing to try the lunch/​dinner times too! I still keep thinking about those skillet potatoes…

Nicely decorated restaurant, casual but comfortable. My friend and I sit at the corner of a table for two by the window for dinner. An awesome place to look at the passers-​by (and vice versa). The waiters are welcoming and attentive. There were many choices on the menu and did took us some time to decide.
I forgot the names of the items we ordered. Sorry about that. We ordered a seafood pot where there should have mussels, scallops and clams. Too bad they didnt serve scallops on the day we tried the restaurant so they gave us more mussels and clams instead. I can’t compare whether they have given us more though I trusted them. But I thought the portion was smaller than I expect.
The other main dish we have was a spicy veggie cajun rice. I don’t eat spicy stuff so can’t give a proper review on that. According to my friend, that is a nice dish.
Ohh ~ And the corn bread as sides for both dishes are delicious too.
We also get ourselves a butter beer — caramel sauce with soda? Quite good and refreshing too.
I am not exactly blown away by the food but they are nice to try. Nice atmosphere for sure.

Great breakfast spot!
Portions were huge.
Had the corn beef hash which was great, came with a pancake on the side, lol.
Kids enjoyed their pancakes and my wife got to enjoy some gluten free toast with her meal, so that was a treat for her.
The bacon was outstanding as well, and the wall of hot sauce was impressive if you’re a spicy food/​hot sauce lover like me.

A+ all around. Even before we were seated people were explaining how wonderful their meal was. I was anxious to see for myself and boy was I overjoyed to share their remarks of praise!
My table shared a starter house salad and crab cakes. The salad was your average mixed greens with tomato and cucumber but the dressing was very flavorful and complemented the leafy greens well. It was not overly dressed either. We loved the crab cakes! Not too dough-​y or egg-​y, a common problems among crab cakes. These were crisp and naturally slightly sweetened by the crab. A great way to begin a hearty meal.
For my entrée I got the gumbo. SO GOOD. It was spicy, so not a dish for people who don’t care for spice. I liked the different layers of spice and flavor presented in the dish, each eluding to the next. The cornbread was a great side for this dish to help mop up the roux. My mom ordered the shrimp and my dad ordered a blackened fish. I tried a bite (or two) of both and enjoyed them as well. The fish and shrimp was nicely seasoned with spice. It’s easy to over cook seafood but these were cooked to perfection. Both dishes were served with sautéed green beans (very yummy) and a side of your choice (they both got sweet potato fries, also great).
Our waiter, Joe, was quite friendly and talkative. We enjoyed his enthusiasm!
Definitely a restaurant to dine at while in Banff, you won’t be disappointed.

I think this might be the best place we ate in Banff, a bit surprising since I wouldn’t expect to find good cajun food here.
I got the shrimp and grits and my wife got the snapper with étouffée over the top (forgot what it was called). The shrimp and grits had some cheesy buttery grits that was to die for — soul food at its best and some very big flavorful shrimp. Contrasting that richness is some fried green tomatoes — the tartness cuts through perfectly. Some balsamic bacon green beans rounds out the meal. Yum.
The snapper on the other hand was ok — a little bit dry and the étouffée was not quite what we expected. But the dirty rice that went with it was phenomenal and the green beans were there too. Yum.
It’s a gem. There’s also a coupon book somewhere in town that gets you 10% off. They also have a variety of hot sauces to make things extra spicy if you want that you can help yourself to.

#149
A side stop here because Melissa’s is closed until 2 December for «maintenance» yielded mixed results. I gave it 3 stars but it should be 2.5 stars.
A half hour wait seemed reasonable until I saw 4 tables of 2 people each table. The problem you ask? Each of the 4 tables were two x two seats meaning the tables could be separated allowing 4 sets of 2 people to not have to wait. And yes, there is room.
After finally being seated, I ordered the Belgian waffle with strawberries and chocolate with whipped cream ($ 13.95) and unsweetened iced tea southern style ($ 2.95 for a small Bell Mason jar with NO refills). The waffle was delicious! The tea was good as well but no refills, come on.
The server seemed pretty nice and even though it was busy, she was reasonably attentive. This gave it the boost to 3 stars.
Would I come back?
At this point, I am on the fence since the pricing seems a little off, even for Banff. I am thinking I would just drive 20 minutes to Trailhead Café at Lake Louise (unless Melissa’s was open).