My husband and twin sons had dinner here and is was perfect. We all agreed it was our best meal to date. We had beef tenderloin, ribeye and short ribs. The bread is a total guilty pleasure and worth any bit of guilt you may have! We will be back! read more

The Bison Restaurant - Beef Tenderloin... the best I've had. This is a must on your stay in Banff. - Canadian (New) Near Me - Banff, Alberta

Highly recommend, our server, Kevin, was amazing. Food was great. Amanda J Brown, on the guitar was a delight. Ambiance, decor, open kitchen, bar...was all perfect, will definitely be back. read more

I think I'm one of the very few people who don't mind the commercialism in the city of Banff. I'm not a gung ho outdoors person who refuses to build a latrine and bring dry foods for camping so I always look forward to civilization that has a backyard view of the mountains. I simply love the fact that I'm reminded of the comfort of running electricity and a roof over my head that I can purchase food after a day of hiking. The Bison was actually recommended by a barista in Starbucks in Banff after picking her brain of where our group should go to eat. That's what I really don't mind doing. Asking locals of their own personal opinions of where to eat if they had family coming in. I also dismissed the other barista's recommendation of the Silver Dragon. I say this in jokingly, just because I'm Asian, doesn't mean I want some fried rice when I come to the mountains. I was highly skeptical that a group of 4 could get a table during dinner rush but luckily they accomodated us by sitting on the patio. Although a bit cool at night, I can't complain as I got a backdrop of a mountain range as I sipped on my Caesar. Which is a point I think that needs to be touched on. Our waitress did a pretty amazing job. My Caesar didn't have a celery (I like munching on the celery with a Caesar) and asked if she could work some magic. Sure enough, I got a whole stalk plunked into my Caesar. Pretty amusing that it wasn't shaped or presented in a delicate way which I did not mind since my request is a bit troublesome. I was totally fine with that! We started with a wine and cheese platter. To be honest, it didn't floor my like the chartecurie I had at the River House in St. Albert. The Bison/Beef sausage paired with the cheese and the mustard were pleasant but I didn't care much for the bland pickeled mini onions and the crackers which remind me of what Costco carries. You know, those brown crackers with dried fruit in the middle. My girlfriend and I shared the soft shell crab burger. I was a little bit disappointed with the taste. All I can recall from this dish was a dry bun and dry fried batter. My friends had the bison burger which looked more savory but all I can recommend is to stay away from the soft shell crab. Bill came out to about 25-30 a person after grat was included. I want to highlight our waitress for another point. We were unsure if more friends were going to join us. We mentioned this to our waitress and the amount attention she gave us to ensure a table was reserved is something that I believe needs to be mentioned. That extra care that a waitress demonstrates to show that they're not just workers at a restaurants shows that they treat their customers and peers as real human beings. Would I come back here for the food? Maybe not but I would come back here to unwind for the view and hopefully to experience the same service. read more

Lack luster under seasoned food. Atmosphere was loud and busy. Under seasoned ribs with little flare. Slow service but very kind servers. Very busy place. Very pricey. read more

Not bad, not bad. If there's brillat-saravin cheese when you walk in, then you know it's going to be good. The restaurant itself is nicely decorated - long wooden tables and a sweet looking bar. Foodwise I had a steak sandwich, which I gotta admit was not great - the steak was a bit overcooked and not very tender. The cheese fondue and meat plate, on the other hand, seems to be the thing to get. It's nicely presented on a cutting board and sampling pork, duck, beef, etc is quite delicious. Would come back here again if I've ever in Banff to try some of their other dishes. read more

A solid four stars. Positives: -Bison short ribs are to die for. Incredibly tender and tasty with vegetables in a pan. -Bread with butter, canola oil, and sea salt is excellent. -Hostesses and wait staff are extraordinarily hot. Sorry - I couldn't help it. Ok: -Bison short ribs portion could be larger for ~$36. -Scallop and bison ravioli appetizer is good but portions way too small for ~$16. Overall very pleasant experience and I would recommend. read more

Recommended by locals, we had to try The Bison. It was easy to grab a table thanks to OpenTable, despite Banff being packed during peak season. Quality of ingredients, inventiveness of the menu, and passion is definitely there. Love the menu. However, the execution was just so-so. Bison short ribs: very much a one-dimensional dish. Good, yes... but everything in the cast iron skillet tasted the same, and was a bit too rich and salty. Desperately needed something to help cut through all that richness. Mussels: was almost the best mussel dish I have ever had. Flavor perfection, no grit, and cooked beautifully in cast iron. The mussels themselves were awesome. However, they were anti-climactically served with terrible wedge cut potatoes with poor texture (grainy, mealy, and bone dry). Then, the exact same terrible potatoes showed up with the otherwise delicious bison burger. Good restaurant, but they need to try a lot harder to elevate their cuisine to the next level. read more

My husband and I came to the Bison while on a holiday in Banff National Park, and the restaurant is top notch. We're from Washington, DC, which also has great food, and the Bison was right up there with some of the best meals we've had in our home city. You MUST get the venison. Holy hell, was it delicious! I don't know what is in the venison meatloaf but it's so flavorful. It also came with a venison steak. The steak wasn't gamey at all, it was lean, buttery, and cooked to perfection. The drinks are also excellent. This was by far, one of the best meals we had in the area. Highly recommend. read more

We enjoyed our meal here, however it wasn't outstanding. We had the Kung Pao Quail, which was interesting and tasty. The bison steak was very good, however one of the steaks came out cold. They quickly took it back and replaced it with another - very good service. In particular, the potato dish the steak came with was excellent! Overall, a good meal, but a bit expensive. read more

One of the best places to eat in Banff city centre area...nice seating upstairs with reasonable service...they have great meat options including elk and bison...but some of the stuff may be a bit chewy and hard...so better ask the server if u want something more tender...good place overall and recommended...one thing they can improve on is service, which is kinda average for a touristy place like banff... read more

Absolutely love this restaurant Great tastes, service and ambiance One of my most favorite places to eat in all of Canada Menu choices are appealing, locally sourced - great quality - service was efficient and friendly. Could do without the big screen TV above the bar- there is enough to keep your senses occupied! read more

If you're in the mood for bison, this is the place. They have bison short ribs, bison appetizers, and everything is from Alberta farm. the only thing I wanted more of was the bison ravioli. I mean it was only an appetizer! Can it please be in entree!!! Also the bison entree was so rich! It needed maybe pastas or potatoes to balance out the flavor. But the server is wonderful and the seats are large sofas so it makes it feel like a king/queen. read more

The Bison Restaurant - Bison carpaccio - Canadian (New) Near Me - Banff, Alberta

See all

This may have been our favorite meal during our vacation. The elk tartare was awesome and the bison ragu + ricotta dumpling and the roasted maitake mushroom were both great. The rigatoni was good, but not on the same level as the other dishes. Really enjoyed the meal. read more

Called the same day to book dinner for my family of 5 , few minutes after 5 pm when they open to celebrate my husband's birthday the lady that answered said she can find a place for us if we come at 5 or 5:30, I rushed with 3 kids to arrive at 5:37 paid parking and was told sorry we can not take you now !? You are 7 min late what a great customer service... you could have just said sorry we are fully booked this evening you know .. read more

My friend Chad recommended that we visit The Bison when we were in Banff, and that in and of itself is a high recommendation. You see, Chad is a bit obsessive about "local" and slow, and sustainable, which are all good things, especially coming from a red seal chef, and coffee fanatic. So, naturally, as soon as we got to town, we rang them up and made a reservation. So after a day of skiing, we made our way to Bear Street and climbed the stairs (albeit a bit more slowly then yesterday; evidence that I am getting older). We were warmly greeted by both a hostess downstairs and up, and quickly led to our table. My dinner guests were my lovely wife and 7 year old son (who immediately noted that the kids menu didn't have much to colour, and queried the accompaniment of the crayons. Our server was friendly, attentive, and quickly had our drinks in our hands. To be honest, this was my first meh experience of the evening. I ordered the Canmore local brewed pilsner (I think it was the Powder Hound) which left me wanting something with more substance. I guess that goes to the beer and wine list. The beer list was pedestrian at best, with options like Corona on the menu. The wine list was better, quite extensive, but for a establishment that is all about local, there could have been more Canadian wines on the list. The wine list was pretty pricey too. We shared a very tasty caesar salade and a plate of escargot to start. I know, not very local, either of them for Banff Alberta, but nonetheless, they were both tasty apps. From there I had a nice slice of organic pork from Lethbridge Alberta, with a tasty bourbon and fig reduction. Mich had a half chicken which she found over cooked and quite dry. So, three out of four ain't bad? All in all, the dinning experience was enjoyable, the food was on the whole very tasty. I will go back, and try some other dishes, but I can't in good conscience give The BIson a 5 star rating, because there is still room for improvement. But then, there is always room isn't there? Don't take my word for it, next time you are in Banff, make a point of visiting The Bison. read more

Service was okay but nothing great. Our server seemed a bit busy but still managed to take care of us. The roasted beet salad tasted as if the beets had been baked and left to sit in the refrigerator too long. Our entries were all great. The steelhead trout was beautifully prepared and the combination of favors was lovely. While the yellowtale tuna is seared and served rare. The sliced the tuna before serving and plated it before the steelhead so unfortunately it had too much time and became cool. Still tasty but I prefer seared tuna to be served as a steak so it maintains some of its warms or if you do slice it make sure it's the last meal you prepare, plate and serve. Great flavor but this restaurant has loose ends to tie with their service. read more

Make reservations! For starters we have the Ricotta dumplings They have mushroom cream, chili oil, Gorgonzola and crispy chicken $16 it was delicious and I don't like mushrooms my wife loved it. I would highly recommend this appetizer. The other appetizer we had was Alberta bison tataki $19 that had shimeji mushrooms, ponzu. Bonito and preserved orange zest. It was so good my wife devoured most of it before I got to try much! Another recommend! For mains we had the pomegranate molasses duck breast $41 which my wife said was phenomenal! The Risotto was made with pomegranate which was a big hit. We also had the Alberta raised bison ribeye.$88! It came with poblano cream potatoes , Broccolini, chimichurri, red wine sauce. Most of it was pretty goo but for $88 I don't expect all the gristle in a bout 1/4 of it. So add 2 glasses of wine at $25 each and we have a $200 diner. Add tip (service was pretty good, and we are out the door for $240. Not cheap by any stretch. I would recommend a pass on the bison ribeye at the current price for sure. Otherwise was a great dinner. read more

We only had 2 dinners in Banff, the first one at Evergreen was a disater. Bison was much better. We didn't make any reservation, walk in and was put at a table right next to the stair. Luckly the high back chair was big & comfy enough to not border me. The best part of the dinner was the escargot over bone mallow. Maestro in southern cal serves up a nice bone mallow appertizer just like that but this one added my other favorite, escargot, well done ! The bison rib was actually decent not great, it doesn't melt in your mouth, a little bit chewy but tasty. The bison rib eye was better, probably the medium rare kept it tendor. Overall nice meal and restaurant. read more

The Bison Restaurant - escagot over bone mallow - Canadian (New) Near Me - Banff, Alberta

Hands down the best restaurant in Banff and surrounding areas! Reasonable price (compare to similar restaurants in GTA). We ordered a bottle of wine, 2 appetizers and 2 mains, came to under $200 including tips and tax (gotta love Alberta 5% tax) The name said it all, the Bison! Must try the Bison steak and Bison burger. read more

Great flavors and superb menu. The Elk gnocchi appetizer was phenomenal. Duck breast tonight with bacon mashed potatoes and roasted veggies.the whole atmosphere is superb and the service was top notch. Definitely the place for a fabulous dinner. Exceptional pairing options for drinks with the meal. Don't forget the dessert either. Wow fabulous. Service was great. Friendly and creative. They all paid attention to making our meal fantastic. read more

Great kitchen and all that comes from it! Escargot with marrow was very tasty and not too heavy. Bison carpaccio is different-good. Pavlova is a light-perfect desert. You'll definitely have room for it! read more

Stopped in for a special 1 year wedding anniversary meal with my husband. Everything about The Bison was lovely; the decor, the server, the music, the food... yes, everything. Rosemary & sea salt bread was served complimentary. So tasty! Appetizer: Open Flame Escargot. I really liked this dish. It was flavourful and perfectly cooked... and the escargot didn't taste the dirt. The one and only time before this that I've tried escargot was at Red Lobster (years ago) and the stuff tasted like dirt to me. The Bison cooked their Open Flame Escargot so well that I think I like escargot now! Main course: Springbank Bison Striploin. Everything was good about this dish, except that it could have had a few more vegetables on it. I would like to try some other dishes at this restaurant in the future. We did not opt for dessert because we were too full. read more

Very noisy. We ordered directly burgers and we've been warned that we'll have to wait longer than other customers ordering starters + main course. Food was very good though. read more

It took an unbelievably long time (1 hour+) to get our food which then showed up burnt. Wine is priced at 3x what it sells for off the shelf. The environment is smoky because of the wood stove so the back door is left open which makes the place drafty and cold in the winter. The menu states explicitly that you should leave a 15-20% gratuity which is just tacky (and not nearly earned in our experience). The only real redeeming quality of this restaurant is their commitment to local and organic sources. All told, you'll have a better fine dining experience at the McDonald's down the street. read more

The Bison is one of my favorite places to eat while in Banff. We went there for Bon Appetit Banff a while ago and really enjoyed their pre set menus. We had the Bison Cruda & Fire Roasted Chestnut Soup to start. For the entree, we had the Cast Iron Monkfish with red wine bacon butter sauce, orzo risotto, and wilted kale (when I hear "wilted" kale, I just think of kale left out too long) and the Star Anise Spiced Duck Breast with pear and blue cheese strudel, buttered fall vegetables. Both entrees were excellent and we were very pleased with our selections. For dessert, we had the Pumpkin Cake in a Jar which had a fun presentation and the Crème Brulee that was flavored with maple, bacon, and displayed with a small butter biscuit on top. It was a very memorable meal. The last time we were in Banff, we neglected to make a reservation and wasn't able to get in that evening. It is on our list of places to go back to the next time we are in the area. read more

Our family went there for dinner. I had the duck confit, my hubby had bison short ribs, son had bison tenderloin, and daughter had the bison burger. We also had the escargot on bone marrow and the beef tartar as appetizers. I would have given Bison a 5, except the bison short ribs were pretty tough to chew, not melt-in-your-mouth kind of tender. It could be because it is bison, not beef, but I feel if the short ribs were cooked a little longer in the juice, it could be more tender. The duck confit was pretty decent. It is real duck confit. Overall, it was a good experience on the expensive side. read more

Amazing! Great food, wonderful atmosphere...We went for dinner and were not disappointed. My hubby liked his dinner so much he ordered a second one! Great atmosphere that is casual and comfortable that makes you want to stay and chat with the friendly staff for a while Be sure to look at the local art Be bold-have multiple courses--you are probably on vacation and the calories don't count! read more

The Bison Restaurant - Bison Carpaccio - Canadian (New) Near Me - Banff, Alberta

See all

The food was amazing. Think our group had one of everything. We started with the pumpkin ravioli, bison carpaccio, and bison onion soup. All were excellent. Simple yet elegant flavors. Next we had the bison spare ribs, duck breast, chicken and pork chop. All had great earthy, deep rich flavors. Soooo good. Sadly we were too full to have any sweets but they looked just as good. The service was slower but allowed us to digest our food, enjoy the restaurant and our company. Would defiantly go back. read more

The Bison has the most amazing French Toast! I find myself dreaming about the layers upon layers of deliciousness in the dish. It has the crispy french bread, of course, but it also has a blueberry compote, apple slaw, whip cream, gruyere cheese and BACON! So yummy! On this trip to the Bison, I had my fav dish with coffee. My compatriots had traditional breakfast fair, and all in all, a very satisfying meal. Our server was a little slow...maybe a bit hung from the night before? But, this is Banff, what should we expect! We were a bit hung too! read more

By chance we happened on this restaurant as we were searching for a place to eat in Banff. We noticed some very unusual, yummy looking food as we walked by so we chose to stop. We ate outside and had the best pizza ever called Donair. You are given honey and chili oil to dip it in. Excellent! They also have daily specials and have very nice servers. I hope we can visit it again! read more

The environment was very comfortable and pleasant. Our waitress Emma took great care of us and had a cute accent. We ordered the Bison trio and the carbonara both were good. The trio consisted of sausage, rib eye, and short rib with some roasted veggies. The rib eye was a little chewy. The meat was seasoned lightly and you could really taste the bison. The carbonara had long circular noodles that were hollow inside. I thought it was a fun twist on it. Overall I would come again! read more

The Bison Restaurant - Canadian (New) Near Me - Banff, Alberta

See all

I feel so lucky to have found this place. It is as close to perfection as you can get other than a five star Michelin restaurant. I had venison that was prepared to perfection. My husband had bison short ribs falling off the bone. But the venison was the hit. The deserts were also just about as perfect as one can get. Very nice wait staff as well. Enjoy the view too !!! read more

Sitting upstairs alfresco was the perfect way to end a day of beautiful adventures. We were told the area was full of good food and Bison did not disappoint! Our waitress was happy to help with food and beer selections from their intriguing menu. We enjoyed our risotto app and salad but our tastebuds went crazy over the pear, pesto, garlic, arugula and blue cheese pizza. Too bad we weren't in town long enough to go back. read more

Amazing food. Good service and ambiance. Loved it. Had the beef tenderloin. It was perfect!! read more

The Bison Restaurant - Beef tenderloin - Canadian (New) Near Me - Banff, Alberta

The food and service was amazing. You have to call for a reservation or you won't get in. A very nice 2nd choice is the maple leave just as good not as busy. read more

Amazing spot for Sunday brunch. Live music, delicious food & a beautiful bright restaurant with a Mountain View. Service was excellent from the hostess to wait staff. read more

See all

A bit pretentious ,decent food, smallish portions. Try the outside deck. read more

Great place to eat, top two in Banff. Nice ambiance, nice staff and great bar seating. Everything is Canadian including the booze which makes it a good opportunity to try something new with each order. The braised bison short rib was the perfect portion to end up full, but not destroyed. If they hadn't kept it that size I probably would have over done it. It went very well with the Syrah which was very peppery. No room for dessert but I want the last bite to be the short rib anyways. read more

I've had three very different experiences at the Bison. My first visit was for a Sunday brunch with a couple friends. The atmosphere was very light, polished, and the service was fantastic. There are two things I love in this world: fresh king crab and a good Eggs Benny. So, imagine my excitement when I saw that their special of the day was King Crab Eggs Eggs Benedict. It was exactly as heavenly as I'd hoped. Everyone elses' breakfasts looked just as good, and their breakfast Mimosas were delicious. Our second visit was completely different. Wanting a formal night out, but not wanting to go to Saltlik (again), we made reservations and came here. When going for dinner (even a late one) on a Saturday night, I would make sure you have reservations, as there was a couple trying to get in without one and they were turned away. They're set up on OpenTable, so I was able to make them from my phone (from the Yelp app, actually, I think). The Bison was dimly lit, and looked nothing like the restaurant we had brunch at earlier. We had the duck tacos (incredible) as an appetizer and I had an absolutely incredible steak. I felt comfortable enough to order it rare (I wouldn't do that at many restaurants), and it came perfectly cooked. The food was a little long coming out, but they were busy. Nothing felt like it had sat under heat lamps, and the atmosphere was perfect for good conversation, so we hardly noticed. Our server was fantastic, and the whole experience was exactly what we were looking for. The last visit was the day after my steak dinner: we wanted another brunch experience. Their feature for brunch was duck confit, but... they were out of duck confit. Given that it starred in most of their dishes, it seriously limited the selection. So much so that we ended up paying for our Mimosas and going somewhere else. We had nothing against the service (we had the same server as the night before), and the food being brought out looked great, there was just nothing besides the duck that looked particularly enticing. It's not a cheap restaurant, so it just made sense to find something we really did want. I love the versatility of this place and how it transitions throughout the day. Definitely a place to visit when you're in Banff, regardless of the time. read more

We ordered the venison rack and osso buco, and the bison steak. The bison was excellent, but the venison, was amazing! We enjoyed this as much as any meal we've had in years. Order this with the Malbec and you have a wonderful meal. If I could change one thing it would be the music. 70's soul did nothing to add ambiance, but if they spent the whole budget on the chef and couldn't afford better music it's forgivable in this case. Well done! read more